vocabulary 2
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Accessible (adj)
Easy to reach or to approach
The introduction to the complex novel was, thankfully, written in clear accessible language.
Synonyms: approachable, attainable
Accommodate (verb)
To give consideration to
The hospitable couple was happy to accommodate the needs of their finicky guest.
Synonyms: oblige, abet
Advantageous (adj)
Giving an advantage
The house's location in the best school district was advantageous to the seller.
Synonyms: favorable, beneficial
Adversary (noun)
One who opposes or resists
Franklin hoped to defeat his adversary in the afternoon's tennis match.
Synonyms: opponent, enemy
Absolve (verb) To forgive; to free from guilt
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Marta felt greatly relieved after her mother absolved her for breaking the vase.
Synonyms: exculpate, pardon
Accentuate (verb)
To emphasize
Carla used red ribbons to accentuate the coppery tones in her hair.
Synonyms: highlight, stress
Aerate (verb)
To supply with air
Every spring, Soloman used his tiller to aerate the compact soil.
Synonyms: oxygenate, carbonate
Aesthete (noun)
Person having or affecting sensitivity to beauty
Consuela's friends called her an aesthete when she claimed that Monet's paintings made her cry.
Synonyms: connoisseur, epicure
Anthology (noun) A collection of selected literary pieces
The writer was thrilled when his story was included in an anthology of American masterpieces.
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Synonym: collection, compilation
Antidote (noun)
Something that relieves or counteracts
Veronique found that listening to French music was an antidote for her homesickness.
Synonyms: cure, remedy
Apathetic (adj)
Showing little or no emotion
Carmine was concerned about his usually cheerful brother's apathetic attitude.
Synonyms: impassive, indifferent.
Appalling (adj)
Inspiring dismay or disgust
Hector found his roommate's habit of leaving his dirty socks on the floor appalling.
Synonyms: dreadful, awful
Appraise (verb)
To evaluate the worth of
Simone, an expert in African sculpture, was asked to appraise the ambassador's collection of masks.
Synonyms: assess, review
Archaic (adj) Characteristic of an earlier time
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In the world of high fashion, two-year-old shoes are considered positively archaic.
Synonyms: antiquated, ancient
Archetypal (adj)
Characteristic of the original model or perfect example
Shakespeare's sonnets are considered archetypal love poems
Synonyms: classic, consummate
Augment (verb)
To make greater
Wanda read the dictionary every night to augment her vocabulary.
Synonyms: enhance, amplify
Authoritarian (adj)
Favoring absolute obedience to authority
Marco's authoritarian mother never allowed him to watch more than one hour of television a day.
Synonyms: strict, despotic
Avian (adj) Relating to birds
The old man affectionately referred to pigeons as his "avian friends."
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Synonyms: bird-like
Awe (noun)
Emotion combining dread and wonder
Charlie was in awe of his uncle, a professional football player and chess champion.
Synonyms: veneration, amazement
Belated (adj)
Past the normal or proper time
Even though I forgot his birthday, I hoe my father accepts my belated card.
Synonyms: tardy, overdue
Benefactor (noun)
One who offers financial help
Michael's aunt and benefactor paid his college tuition.
Synonym: patron
Beneficial (adj)
Helpful
there is no doub that eating vegetables is beneficial to one's health.
Synonyms: advantageous, salutary
Benevolent (adj) Kind, helpful
Sherman revealed his benevolent side when he offered to help Carter with his
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homework.
Synonyms: altruistic, generous
Brandish (verb)
To shake or wave menacingly
The baseball player was fined for brandishing his bat at the opposing pitcher.
Synonyms: flourish, swing
Buffer (noun)
Protective barrier
The dense trees acted as a buffer against the heavy rain.
Synonyms: cushion, mediator
Buffoonery (noun)
Foolish behavior
Clarence, an irrepressible comic, was held after cass for his buffoonery.
Synonyms: jocularity, clowning
Camaraderie (noun)
Spirit of friendship
The manager hoped the retreat would increase the camaraderie among the feuding workers.
Synonyms: sociability, espirit de corps
Catastrophic (adj) Relating to extreme misfortune
The effects of the massive hurricane were catastrophic.
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Synonyms: devastating, disastrous
Celebrated (adj)
Widely known, respected
The fans waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the celebrated actress.
Synonyms: admired, famous
Censure (verb)
To find fault with
The critical teacher was quick to censure her students for even small mistakes.
Synonyms: blame, criticize
Civility (noun)
Politeness
The usually unruly Thomas acted with great civility when his favorite uncle visited.
Synonyms: courtesy, consideration
Clairvoyance (noun)
Ability to see things beyond ordinary perception
Rosa used her clairvoyance to help Alexander find his lost keys.
Synonyms: divination, foretelling
Clairty (noun) Clearness
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The refreshing water in the mountain stream was remarkable for its clarity.
Synonyms: lucidity, limpidity
Colossal (adj)
Immense, enormous
After pushing with all his might, Frank realized he could never move the colossal boulder.
Synonyms: gigantic, tremendous
Combative (adj)
Eager to fight
The teacher suggested the combative student channel his aggression into boxing.
Synonyms: aggressive belligerent
Combustion (noun)
Act of burning
Campers must use fire with great caution to prevent combustion of the parched brush.
Synonyms: igniting, kindling
Commemorate (verb) To mark by a ceremony
Each year, the Franklins commemorate their anniversary by visiting the site of their first date.
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Synonyms: observe, remember
Comparable (adj)
Similar, equivalent
Helen will only accept something of comparable value for her ticket to the concert.
Synonyms: akin, analogous
Composed (adj)
Calm
Although her stomach was in knots, the actress appeared perfectly composed when she took the stage.
Synonyms: serene, unperturbed
Comprehensible (adj)
Understandable
Shannon spoke slowly so her directions would be comprehensible to her foreign visitor.
Synonyms: intelligle, coherent
Compulsion (noun)
An irresistible impulse
Tamar, a shoe fanatic, could not resist the compulsion to buy the shiny red boots.
Synonyms: urge, obligation
Condone (verb) To treat as acceptable
Crystal condoned her friend's
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late arrival because she found it hard to be on time herself.
Synonyms: excuse, sanction
Conduit (noun)
Means for transmitting or distributing
Jason, a notorious gossip, was a conduit for information about his friends.
Synonyms: channel, pipeline
Corrective (adj)
Intended to correct
The school decided to take corrective measures to prevent truancy.
Synonyms: remedial, curative
Corroborate (verb)
To support with evidence
"Unless you can corroborate your story, it will not be admissible in court," the attorney told his client.
Synonyms: verify, prove
Corrosive (adj)
Bitingly sarcastic
The cruel Estella's corrosive comments made Pip cry.
Synonyms: caustic, sardonic
Cunning (adj) Showing clever insight
The general devised a cunning
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strategy to outfox the enemy.
Synonyms: crafty, ingenious
Curtail (verb)
To make less
Doreen decided to curtail her spending after she bounced a check.
Synonyms: shorten, reduce
Deferment (noun)
The act of delaying
Sybil was frustrated by the deferment of her much anticipated vacation.
Synonyms: postponement, reprieve
Defiant (adj)
Showing bold resistance
The defiant toddler refused to leave the park.
Synonyms: impudent, disobedient
Demean (verb)
To lower status
The embarrassing photograph demeaned the candidate in the eyes of the voters.
Synonyms: humble, degrade
Demeanor (noun) Behavior towards others
Carlos was well liked because of his charming demeanor.
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Synonyms: disposition, comportment
Derelict (adj)
Abandoned
The derelict house was condemned as a public hazard.
Synonyms: destitute, forsaken
Derivative (adj)
Lacking originality
Critics panned the movie as a derivative version of last year's Best Picture.
Synonyms: banal, cliche
Diffident (adj)
Lacking self-confidence
The diffident student never raised her hand in class, even when she knew the answer.
Synonyms: timid, bashful
discern (verb)
To recognize as separate as distinct
The pastry connoisseur was able to discern Swiss from Belgian chocolate.
Synonyms: detect, discriminate
Disconcert (verb) To throw into confusion
Jennifer's outspoken criticism of the meal disoncerted the
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waiter.
Synonyms: unnerve, bewilder
Disdain (noun)
Feeling of contempt
The arrogant writer did not hide his disdain for his uneducated dinner companion.
Synonyms: scorn, discersion
Distortion (noun)
The act of twisting out of shape
The story about the actress in the gossip column was a distortion of the truth.
Synonyms: contortion, mutilation
Drab (adj)
Dull, monotonous
The drab winter scene made Keisha long for the vibrant colors of spring.
Synonyms: dreary, colorless
Drub (verb)
To defeat decisively
The powerful young boxer drubbed the longtime champion.
Synonyms: beat, thrash
Dubious (adj) Questionable
Karl found Kevin's claim that he was sick dubious, as he had
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just seen him playing football.
Synonyms: suspect, doubtful
Duplicity (noun)
Deceptive thought, speech, or action
The life of an undercover detective is filed with necessary duplicity.
Synonyms: deceit, dishonesty
Ecstatic (adj)
Overwhelmingly emotional
They were ecstatic when their team won the championship game in the last second.
Synonyms: overjoyed, rapturous
Egotist (noun)
Self-important person
Darren dreaded carpooling with the egotist Shelly, who talked about herself nonstop.
Synonyms: blowhard, braggart
Elate (verb)
To fill with joy
It elated Margaret to be awarded first place in the science fair.
Synonyms: delight, thrill
Eloquent (adj) Fluent, expressive
Kim, an eloquent speaker, was
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the best choice to make the presentation for the group.
Synonyms: articulate, persuasive
Elusive (adj)
Hard to grasp
The words to the song are elusive, as the singer tends to mumble.
Synonyms: evasive, obscure
Embellish (verb)
To decorate
Sari embellished the plain curtains with satin ribbons and tassels.
Synonyms: adorn, garnish
Entangle (verb)
To involve in trouble
Jonah regretted entangling Parker in his legal difficulties.
Synonyms: embroil, implicate
Epistolary (adj)
Contained or carried on in letters
The shoebox filled with letters was the ony remains of Ming's epistolary friendship with Emile.
Epitaph (noun) Brief statement honoring a dead person
"Beloved by all," was the
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epitaph Edgar chose for his wife's tombstone.
Synonyms: inscription, eulogy
Equitable (adj)
Fair and equal
The judge made an equitable decision dividing the estate evenly among the sisters.
Synonyms: impartial, unbiased
Ethical (adj)
Conforming to accepted standards
Mary did the ethical thing and turned in the diamond necklace she found.
Synonyms: honorable, moral
Eulogy (noun)
Speech or writing in praise of deceased
Ernesto delivered a moving eulogy at his uncle's funeral.
Synonyms: homage, panegyric
Euphoria (noun)
Feeling of great happiness
Cassandra was overcome with euphoria when she met her long-lost sister.
Synonyms: elation, ebullience
Exalt (verb) To elevate by praise
The fireman was publicly
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exalted for his heroism.
Synonyms: glorify, honor
Exasperation (noun)
The state of being irritated
The longer Jorge waited in line at the ticket counter, the more his exasperation grew.
Synonyms: irritation, frustration
Exception (noun)
A case to which the rule does not apply
The teacher made an exception and let Gina eat her snack in class.
Synonyms: anomaly, deviation
Extant (adj)
Currently existing
Some consider Clint Eastwood the greatest extant American director.
Synonyms: living, surviving
Extenuating (adj)
Partially excusing
The extenuating circumstance of Calviin's illness caused the teacher to excuse his lateness.
Synonyms: mitigating, qualifying
Extol (verb) To praise highly
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The statesman extolled the ambassador who single-handedly negotiated the peace treaty.
Synonyms: glorify, exalt
Facade (noun)
false or superficial appearance
Emily's smile is just a facade masking her broken heart.
Synonyms: mask, deceit
Fidelity (noun)
State of being faithful
Unlike her fickle friend Benji, May Belle was known for her fidelity.
Synonyms: loyalty, devotion
Finite (adj)
Having definite limits
The exasperated mother had finite patience for her toddler's tantrums.
Synonyms: limited, circumscribed
Flagrant (adj)
Noticeably offensive
The executive was fired for his flagrant abuse of the company expense account.
Synonyms: glaring, outrageous
Flaunt (verb) To display showily
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Sheila, who could not resist bragging, flaunted the "A" marked on her test paper.
Synonyms: parade, brandish
Flaw (noun)
An imperfection
The otherwise perfect diamond had a tiny flaw that reduced its value.
Synonyms: defect, blemish
Flourish (verb)
To make bold, sweeping gestures
The fairy godmother flourished her wand and turned the pumpkin into a carriage.
Synonyms: brandish, wave
Foil (noun)
One that enhances or underscores by contrast
The sweet cookie was a perfect foil to the sour lemon sorbet.
Synonyms: complement
Fragile (adj)
Delicate
Jade placed the fragile vase out of reach of her rambunctious boys.
Synonyms: frail, brittle
Fraud (noun) Trick
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The con man's fraud involved selling swampland to gullible investors.
Synonyms: deceit, racket
Frugal (adj)
Thrifty, cheap
The frugal shopper only bought items that were on sale.
Synonyms: sparing, provident
Futile (adj)
Without purpose, completely ineffective
Arguing with Andrew is futile because he never changes his mind.
Synonyms: hopeless, vain
Gargantuan (adj)
Gigantic
The gargantuan monster towered over the ten-story bulding.
Synonyms: enormous, colossal
Garish (adj)
Offensively bright
The garish wallpaper offended Jerome, who preferred subtle colors.
Synonyms: gaudy, loud
Genial (adj) Sympathetic, friendly
The genial host warmly
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greeted his many guests.
Synonyms: pleasant, cordial
Grandiose (adj)
With an affectation of grandeur
The sweeping, grandiose staircase looked preposterous in the modest entry hall.
Synonyms: pretentious, pompous
Gravity (noun)
Importance, significance
Understanding the gravity of his error, Ken offered his humblest apology.
Synonyms: seriousness, magnitude
Gruff (adj)
Rough or stern in manner or speech
Heidi's grandfather was gruff, barking stern orders and hardly smiling.
Synonyms: surly, brusque
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