268. assuage : ease; lessen(pain)
* Your messages of cheer should assuage her suffering.
269. assumption : something taken for granted; the taking over or taking possession of
* The young princess made the foolish assumption that the regent would not object to her Assumption of power.
270. assurance : promise or pledge; certainty; self-confidence
* When Gutherie gave Guiness his assurance that rehearsals were going well,he spoke with such assurance that Guiness was convinced.
274. astringent : binding; causing contraction; harsh or severe
* The astringent quality of unsweetened lemon juice made swallowing difficult.
278. asylum : place of refuge or shelter; protection
* The refugees sought asylum from religious persecution in a new land.
279. asymmetric : not identical on both sides of a dividing central line
* Because one eyebrow was set markedly higher than the other, William's face had a particularly asymmetric appearance.
281. atheistic : denying the existence of God
* His atheistic remarks shocked the religious worshippers.
285. attenuate : make thin; weaken
* By withdrawing their forces, the generals hoped to attenuate the enemy lines.
286. attest : testify; bear witness
* Having served as a member of a grand jury, I can attest that our system of indicting individuals is in need of improvement.
287. attribute : essential quality
* His outstanding attribute was his kindness.
288. attribute : ascribe; explain
* I attribute her success in science to the encouragement she received from her parents.
292. augment : increase
* How can we hope to augment our forces when our allies are deserting us?
293. augury : omen; prophecy
* He interpreted the departures of the birds as an augury of evil.
294. august : impressive; majestic
* Visiting the palace at Versailes, she was impressed by the august surroundings in which she found herself.
297. auspicious : favoring success
* With favorable weather conditions, it was an auspicious moment to set sail
302. authoritative : having the weight of authority; dictatorial
* We accepted her analysis of the situation as authoritative.
308. avarice : greed for wealth
* King Midas's avarice has been famous for centuries.
309. aver : state confidently
* I wish to aver that I am certain of success.
310. averse : reluctant
* He was averse to revealing the sources of his information.
311. aversion : firm dislike
* Their mutual aversion was so great that they refused to speak to one another.
312. avert : prevent; turn away
* She averted her eyes from the dead cat on the highway.
313. aviary : enclosure for birds
* The aviary at the zoo held nearly 300 birds.
315. avocation : secondary or minor occupation
* His hobby proved to be so fascinating and profitable that gradually he abandoned his regular occupation and concentrated on his avocation.
316. avow : declare openly
* I must avow that I am innocent.
338. bantering : good-naturedly ridiculing
* They resented his bantering remarks because they misinterpreted his teasing as sarcasm.
342. baroque : highly ornate
* Accustomed to the severe, angular lines of modern skyscrapers, they found the flamboyance of baroque architecture amusing.
343. barrage : barrier laid down by artillery fire; overwhelming profusion
* The company was forced to retreat through the barrage of heavy canyons.
344. barrister : counselor-at-law
* Galsworthy started as a barrister, but when he found the practice of law boring, turned to writing.
346. bask : luxuriate; take pleasure in warmth
* basking on the beach, she relaxed so completely that she fell asleep.
358. beguile : amuse; delude; cheat
* I beguiled himself during the long hours by playing solitaire.
362. belabor : explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree; assail verbally
* The debate coach warned her student not to bore the audience by belaboring his point. 366. belittle : disparage; depreciate
* Parents should not belittle their children's early attempts at drawing, but should encourage their efforts.
367. bellicose : warlike
* His bellicose disposition alienated his friends.
368. belligerent : quarrelsome
* Whenever he had too much to drink, he became belligerent and tried to pick fights with strangers.
370. benediction : blessing
* The appearance of the sun after the many rainy days was like a benediction
371. benefactor : gift giver; patron
* Scrooge later became Tiny Tim's benefactor and gave him a benediction.
372. beneficent : kindly; doing good
* The overgenerous philanthropist had to curb his beneficent impulses before he gave away all his money and left himself with nothing.
373. beneficiary : person entitled to benefits or proceeds of an insurance policy
* You may change your beneficiary as often as you wish.
374. benevolent : generous; charitable
* His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.
375. benign : kindly; favorable; not malignant
* The old man was well liked because of his benign attitude toward friend and stranger alike.
378. bequeath : leave to someone by means of a will; hand down
* In his will, Father bequeathed his watch to Phillip; the bequest meant a great deal to the boy.
383. beset : harass; trouble
* Many problems beset the American public school system.
387. betroth : become engaged to marry
* The announcement that they had become betrothed surprised their friends who had not suspected any romance.
389. bicameral : two-chambered, as a legislative body
* The United States Congress is a bicameral body.
391. biennial : every two years
* The group held biennial meetings instead of annual ones.
392. bifurcated : divided into two branches; forked
* With a bifurcated branch and a piece of elastic rubber, he made a crude but effective slingshot.
418. boon : blessing; benefit
* The recent rains that filled our empty reservoirs were a boon to the whole community.
421. bountiful : generous; showing bounty
* She distributed gifts in a bountiful and gracious manner.
427. braggart : boaster
* Modest by nature, she was no braggart, preferring to let her accomplishments speak for themselves.
430. brazen : insolent
* Her brazen contempt for authority angered the officials.
432. breadth : width; extent
* We were impressed by the breadth of her knowledge.
433. brevity : conciseness
* brevity is essential when you send a telegram or cablegram; you are charged for every word.
459. cacophony : discord
* Some people seem to enjoy the cacophony of an orchestra that is tuning up.
462. cadence : rhythmic rise and fall (of words or sounds); beat
* Marching down the road, the troops sang out, following the cadence set by the sergeant.
469. calorific : heat-producing
* Coal is much more calorific than green wood.
474. candor : frankness
* The candor and simplicity of his speech impressed all, it was all clear he held nothing back.
478. cant : pious phraseology; jargon of criminals
* Angry that the president had slashed the education budget, we dismissed his speech on the importance of education as mere cant.
484. capacious : spacious
* In the capacious areas of the railroad terminal, thousands of travelers lingered while waiting for their train.
487. caprice : whim
* She was an unpredictable creature, acting on caprice, never taking thought of the consequences.
489. caption : title; chapter heading; text under illustration
* I find the captions that accompany these cartoons very clever and humorous
499. carnage : destruction of life
* The carnage that can be caused by atomic warfare adds to the responsibilities of our statesmen.
500. carnal : fleshly
* The public was more interested in carnal pleasures than in spiritual matters. |
