Term
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Definition
A secret group seeking to overturn something
The boys on the street formed a cabal to keep girls out of their tree house.
Synonyms: Camp; circle; clan; clique; coterie; in-group; mafia; mob; ring |
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Term
Cacophony
noun
Context Clue: As cacophonous as car alarms |
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Definition
Harsh; jarring noise; discordant; unpleasant-sounding; grating; strident
The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable cacophony as they tried to tune their instruments.
Synonyms: Chaos; clamor; din; discord; disharmony; noise. |
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Term
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Definition
A false and malicious accusation; misrepresentation
The unscrupulous politician used calumny to bring down his opponent in the senatorial race.
Synonyms: Defamantion; libel; slander. |
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Term
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Definition
A lie
That tabloid's feature story about a goat giving birth to a human child was clearly a canard.
Synonyms: Falsehood; falsity; fib; misrepresentation; prevarication; tale; untruth.
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Term
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Definition
Impartial and honest in speech
The observations of a child can be charming since they are candid and unpretentious.
Synonyms: Direct; forthright; frank; honest; open; sincere; straight; straightforward; undisguised. |
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Term
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Definition
Changing one's mind quickly and often
Queen Elizabeth I was quite capricious; her courtiers could never be sure which one would catch her fancy.
Synonyms: Arbitrary; chance; changeable; erratic; fickle; inconstant; mercurial; random; whimsical; willful. |
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Term
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Definition
Science or art of making maps
Gail's interest in cartography may stem from the extensive traveling she did as a child.
Synonyms: Charting; surverying; topography. |
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Term
Castigate
verb
Context Clue: Severe public contigation |
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Definition
To punish or criticize harshly
Martina castigated her boyfriend for not remembering her birthday.
Synonyms: Admonish; chastise; chide; rebuke; reprimand; reproach; reprove; scold; tax; upbraid; public censure. |
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Term
Catalyst
noun
Context Clue: A catalyst for change |
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Definition
Something that brings about a change in something else; substance that initiates or speeds up a chemical reaction without itself being affected
The imposition of harsh taxes was the catalyst that finally brought on the revolution.
Synonyms: Accelerator; goad; impetus; impulse; incentive; motivation; spur; stimulant. |
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Term
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Definition
Universal; broad and comprehensive
Hot tea with honey is a catholic remedy for a sore throat.
Synonyms: Extensive; general. |
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Term
Caustic
adj
Context Clue: Burned by caustic chemicals |
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Definition
Biting in wit; able to burn, dissolve, or corrode by chemical action
Dorothy Parker gained her caustic reputation from her cutting, yet witty, insults.
Synonyms: Acerbic; biting; mordant; trenchant; stinging; harsh; corrosive |
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Term
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Definition
Great disorder or confused situation
In most religious traditions, God created an ordered universe from chaos.
Synonyms: Clutter; confusion; disarrangement; disarray; disorder; disorderliness; disorganization; jumble; mess; muddle; scramble; snarl; topsy-turviness; turmoil.
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Term
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Definition
Someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs
The attitude that men most be obeyed since they are inherently superior to women is common among male chauvinists.
Synonyms: Biased; colored; one-sided; partial; partisan; prejudicial; prepossessed; tendentious.
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Term
Chicanery
noun
Context Clue: Resorting to chicanery |
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Definition
Deception by means of craft or guile; trickery to deceive someone
Dishonest used-car salesmen often use chicanery to sell their beat-up old cars.
Synonyms: Artifice; conniving; craftiness; deception; deviousness; misrepresentation; pettifoggery; shadiness; sneakiness; sophistry; subterfuge; underhandedness; fraud |
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Term
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Definition
Cautious; aware of potential consequences
She was very circumspect in her language and behavior when first introduced to her fiancee's parents.
Synonyms: Alert; cautious; heedful; mindful; prudent; solicitous; vigilant; wary. |
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Term
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Definition
Sickly sweet; excessive
When Enid and Jay first started dating, their cloying affection towards one another often made their friends ill.
Synonyms: Excessive; fulsome. |
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Term
Coagulate
verb
Context Clue: Blood coagulating |
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Definition
Thicken; congeal; clot
Even after you remove the pudding from the burner, it will continue to coagulate as it stands. |
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Term
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Definition
To grow together to form a single whole
The sun and planets eventually coalesced out of a vast cloud of gas and dust.
Synonyms: Amalgamate; blend; condense; consolidate; fuse; unite. |
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Term
Coda
noun
Context Clue: A fitting coda to a life |
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Definition
Conclusing section of a musical or literary composition; something that round out, summarizes, or concludes.
Several months after Charlie Chaplin's death, his body was briefly kidnapped from a Swiss cemetery by a pair of bungling thieves - a macabre coda that Chaplin might have concocted to end one of his own two-reel comedies. |
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Term
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Definition
Strongbox; large chest for money
The bulletproof glass of the coffer is what keeps the corwn jewels secure.
Synonyms: Treasury; chest; exchequer; war chest. |
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Term
Cogent
adj
Context Clue: Cogent reasons |
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Definition
Convincing and well-reasoned; powerfully persuasive
Swayed by the cogent argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.
Synonyms: convincing; persuasive; solid; sound; telling; valid; well-argued. |
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Term
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Definition
Collaboration; complicity; conspiracy
It came to light that the police chief and the mafia had a collusion in running the numbers racket.
Synonyms: Connicance; intrigue; machination. |
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Term
Commensurate
adj
Context Clue: Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications |
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Definition
Corresponding in extend, degree, amount, etc.; proportionate; adequate
By the close of World War II much progress had been made in assigning nurses rank and responsibilities commensurate with their training and abilities.
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Term
Compendium
noun
Context Clue: A usueful compendium of information |
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Definition
Comprehensive though brief summary of a large work; digest or abstract; inventory
This text can serve as a valuable compendium of the tremendous amount of new discoveries being made in the field of nanotechnology. |
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Term
Complaisant
adj
Context Clue: A complaisant Supreme Court |
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Definition
Obliging; eager to please; overly polite
Fearing that the king might become enraged if his will were thwarted, the complaisant Parliament recognized Henry VIII as king of Ireland. |
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Term
Compliant (1)
adj
Context Clue: Compliant to their parents' wishes |
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Definition
Submissive; yielding; willing to obey; acquiescent
Because Joel usually gave in and went along with whatever his friends suggested, his mother worried that he might be too compliant. |
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Term
Compliant (2)
adj
Context Clue: Energy-star compliant dishwashers |
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Definition
Conforming to requirements; meeting official obligations
The computer giant replied that its accounting was "withing the letter of acceptance industry practice" and was "fully compliant with regulatory standards." |
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Term
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Definition
To overlook, pardon, or disregard
Some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as condoning an air of lawlessness.
Synonyms: Exculpate; excuse; pardon; remit. |
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Term
Connoisseur
noun
Context Clue: A connoisseur of fine wines |
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Definition
A person with expert knowledge or discriminating tastes; person competent to act as a judge of art, etc.
Dr. Crane was a connoisseur of fine food and wine, drinking and eating only the best.
Synonyms: Authority; epicure; expert; gastronome; gourmet. |
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Term
Confound
verb
Context Clue: Confounding the experts |
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Definition
Confuse; mix up; puzzle; baffle; thwart; refute (an argument)
No mystery, no matter how puzzling, could confound Sherlock Holmes for long. |
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Term
Contention
noun
Context Clue: Data supporting the contention |
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Definition
Claim or thesis; disagreement; debate; strife; conflict
It is our contention that, if you follow our tactics, you will boost yout score on the GRE. |
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Term
Contrite
adj
Context Clue: A contrite sinner |
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Definition
Deeply sorrowful and repentant for a wrong; penitent; remorseful; deeply sorry
After three residents were mugged in the lobby while the watchman was away from his past, he felt very contrite.
Synonyms: Apologetic; regretful; remorseful. |
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Term
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Definition
Rebellious
The contumacious teenager ran away from home when her parents told her she was grounded.
Synonyms: Factious; insubordinate; insurgent; mutinous; rebellious; seditious. |
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Term
Conundrum
noun
Context Clue: A pussling conundrum |
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Definition
Riddle, especially one involving a pun; puzzle; difficult problem; dilemma
David came up with a new solution to the conundrum "What is blank and white and read all over?" Instead of answering, "A newspaper!" he responded, "Pravra!" |
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Term
Converge
verb
Context Clue: Roads converging at an intersection |
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Definition
Come together; approach an intersecting point; tend to meet
African-American men from all over the United States converged on Washington DC, to take part in the historic Million Man March. |
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Term
Convoluted
adj
Context Clue: Twisted, convoluted logic |
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Definition
Intricate; highly complex, even devious; involved; coiled around
His argument was so convoluted that few of us would follow its twists and turns.
Synonyms: Byzantine; complex; elaborate; intricate; knotty; labyrinthine; perplexing; tangled. |
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Term
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Definition
To support with evidence
All the DA needed were fingerprints to corroborate the witness's testimony that he saw the defendant in the victim's apartment.
Synonyms: Authenticate; back; buttress; confirm; substantiate; validate; verify. |
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Term
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Definition
To pamper; treat with great care
Marta just loved to cosset her first and only grandchild
Synonyms: Cater to; cuddle; dandle; fondle; love; pamper; pet; spoil. |
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Term
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Definition
An intimate group of persons with a similar purpose
Angel invited a coterie of fellow stamp enthusiasts to a stamp-trading party.
Synonyms: Clique, set |
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Term
Craven
adj
Context Clue: Too craven to fight |
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Definition
Lacking courage; cowardly; contemptibly timorous; spineless
The craven lion cringed in the corner of his cage, terrified of the mouse.
Synonyms: Fainthearted; spineless; timid. |
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Term
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Definition
Too trusting; gullible
Although some 4-year-olds believe in the Tooth Fairy, only the most credulous 9-year-olds also believe in her.
Synonyms: Naive; susceptible; trusting. |
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Term
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Definition
Steadily increasing in volume or force
The crescendo of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel prepared to jump his motorcycle over the school buses.
Synonyms: Acme; capstone; climax; crest; culmen; culmination; meridian; peak. |
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Term
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Definition
Greed; strong desire
The thief stared at the shining jewels with cupidity in his gleaming eyes.
Synonyms: Avarice; covetousness; rapacity |
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Term
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Definition
Cranky person, usually old
Ernesto was a notorious curmudgeoun who snapped at anyone who disturbed him for any reason.
Synonyms: Crab; coot; grouch. |
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