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| superfluous, extraneous (adj) |
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| -----Unnecessary; extra-----Your essay has too many superfluous words; go and delete them. |
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| -----Deliberately deceptive in behavior or speech-----The duplicitous man convinced Brenda that he was a Harvard graduate, a doctor, and a Lutheran. |
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| -----Wasteful; describing someone who squanders time and money-----Hollywood stars tend to be more profligate than parsimonious. |
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| -----A sudden realization; an insightful moment-----I just had an epiphany... but then I forgot about it. |
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| -----Causing harm in a subtle or stealthy manner; devious-----The insidious disease did not show its effects until 9 months after it had lodged itself in her system. |
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| -----Empty; lacking serious purpose-----Cher vowed to give up her vacuous lifestyle for a more serious purpose. |
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| harbinger, portent, presage (n) |
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| -----Indications or omens that something important (or bad) is about to happen-----Global warming is a harbinger of coming trouble for humans and animals. |
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| -----To beset; to surround with problems-----I was beleaguered by a host of problems when I first got to China. |
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| -----To grow rapidly and expand-----The community support for the team burgeoned as the town and school rallied behind their victorious team. |
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| -----Domineering and arrogant; haughty-----Henry VIII and Louis XIV were both imperious leaders. |
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| -----Peevish, irritable-----When adults start throwing temper tantrums, they act petulantly. |
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| -----Amiable; agreeable; marked by a pleasing personality-----Giselle has such a complaisant personality that even the meanest New Yorkers will stop to sing with her. |
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| -----To behave in a servile manner; subservient-----If the girls of KAA ever met Andrew Garfield, they'd probably fawn over him. A lot. |
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| -----Very stuborrn; obstinate; inflexible-----The obdurate king would not listen to any of his advisers and simply went to war. |
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| -----Exuding fragrance; full of a specified smell-----The redolent fragrance of a particularly delicious feast floated through the hall. |
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| -----Deception; deliberate trickery-----Cynthia used chicanery to get Max to give her a raise. |
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| -----A difficult problem; a dilemma with no easy solution-----Allison and Ben faced a difficult conundrum: should she get married or become a single mother? |
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| -----A disrespectful or disparaging remark-----She made a slight against my mother, so I had to punch her. |
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| -----To surrender; comply without protest-----She capitulated when she realized that there was no use struggling anymore. |
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| -----Very discouraging; dismaying; dispiriting-----Her disheartening defeat in the competition ruined her self-esteem. |
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| -----Of doubtful authenticity-----The story of Ponce de Leon discovering Florida is apocryphal; there's no evidence! |
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| -----Learned and authoritative-----The Mayor's magisterial tone continued when he announced that the Wicked Witch is "positively dead." |
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| plastic, malleable, pliable (adj) |
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| -----Flexible; easily shaped or influenced by outside forces-----Locke believed that humans are by nature malleable; that is, easily shaped by others. |
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| -----The feeling of distress caused by humiliation, failure, or embarrassment-----Brian was full of chagrin when he discovered that his cologne was driving everyone away from him. |
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| -----Noisily and stubbornly defiant; unruly; boisterous-----The obstreperous children were difficult to control. |
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