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| -----no longer in use; outmoded in design or style-----The typewriter, mimeograph machine, and walkman are now obsolete, replaced by the computer, photocopier, and iPod. |
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| -----very favorable-----The Mogul princes of India were required to wait to marry until the emperor's astrologers felt that all of the planetary signs were auspicious. |
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| -----very depressed, despondent; mournful-----When Shah Jahan's wife died during childbirth, the morose emperor canceled all appointments and refused to eat or drink for eight days. |
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| -----a deadlock; stalemate; failure to reach an agreement-----The Constitutional Convention was almost totally derailed by an impasse between the large states and the small states, broken by the Great Compromise. |
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| -----the false assignment of an event, person, scene, or language to a time when the event, person, scene, or word did not exist-----"Last Supper" by Dirk Bouts shows Christ and his disciples eating in a royal palace in what is today Belgium. This is a de |
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| -----to give a false impression; to contradict-----Kat's poem belied her true feelings about Patrick; although she said she hated him, Kat actually really liked Patrick. |
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| mitigate, mollify, assuage, alleviate |
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| -----to relieve; to lessen; to ease-----Americans use pills to mitigate the symptoms of everything from migraine headaches to acid indigestion. |
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| -----to strongly desire; to crave-----Lord Voldemort covets the Elder Wand in the story of Harry Potter. |
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| -----direct opposite; the complete reverse; antipode-----Ben and Allison have antithetical lifestyles: Ben is an unemployed slacker, and Allison is an ambitious career woman. |
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| -----an original model-----The Model T served as a prototype for the world's first affordable, mass-produced automobile. |
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| -----detached; distant physically or emotionally; reserved; standing near but apart-----Although Gatsby is courted by powerful men and beautiful women, Gatsby chooses to remain distant and aloof. |
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| trite, hackneyed, banal, platitudinous |
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| -----unoriginal; commonplace; overused; cliched-----Although Paula was nice, her comments were filled with trite, banal, and hackneyed phrases: every singer was "great," "beautiful," and "amazing." |
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| -----a preceding event; a forerunner-----The move "Up's" literary antecedents include fairy tales in which heroes such as Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood are tested by encountering someone who seems nice but is evil. |
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| -----believable; credible----- In the 'Bourne Ultimatum', Jason Bourne breaks into Noah Vosen's office and steals a set of classified documents. This is plausible because his is Jason Bourne. |
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| -----unbelievable; incredible-----In "Live Free or Die Hard", John McClane successfully uses his car as a projectile to shoot down a helicopter. This is implausible because it's Bruce Willis. |
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| -----careful; cautious; sensible-----Someone who looks before s/he leaps is a prudent person who prefers to avoid risks. |
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| -----relating to what is beautiful; an appreciation of what is beautiful or attractive-----Andy's friends tell him his chest hair is not aesthetically pleasing. |
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| -----a seemingly contradictory statement that nonetheless expresses a truth-----A classic paradox: "It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you, but when we are apart I feel it too." |
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| enigmatic and inscrutable |
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| -----mysterious; puzzling; unfathomable; baffling-----The Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile has puzzled art lovers for centuries. |
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| -----to comply, agree, give in-----Captain Barbossa states, "I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request. Means no!", meaning that he won't comply with Elizabeth's request. |
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| -----unaffected simplicity; lacking worldly expertise; overly credulous; unsophisticated-----Cady of "Mean Girls" was originally very naive when compared to the jaded girls at North Shore. |
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| -----independent; not controlled by others-----Agent Zed explains that MIB is an autonomous organization that is "not a part of the system." |
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| -----completely useless; doomed to failure-----Heather, Beth, and Carrie attempt to humiliate John Tucker, but their schemes prove to be futile and only seem to increase his popularity. |
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| -----native to an area-----Potatoes, tomatoes, and sunflowers are indigenous or endemic to the New World. |
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| -----characterized by being everywhere; omnipresent; widespread; pervasive-----Cellphones, iPods, and Starbucks are all ubiquitous -- we see them everywhere. |
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