verb /abˈstān/

• Restrain oneself from doing or enjoying something
  • - abstaining from chocolate
• Refrain from drinking alcohol
  • - most pregnant women abstain or drink very little
• Formally decline to vote either for or against a proposal or motion
  • - forty-one voted with the opposition, and some sixty more abstained

verb /əˈdəltəˌrāt/ 

• Render (something) poorer in quality by adding another substance, typically an inferior one
  • - the meat was ground fine and adulterated with potato flour

verb /-ˌkāt/ 

• Publicly recommend or support
  • - they advocated an ethical foreign policy

noun /ˈadvəkit/

• A person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy
  • - he was an untiring advocate of economic reform
• A person who pleads on someone else's behalf
  • - care managers can become advocates for their clients
• A pleader in a court of law; a lawyer
  • - Marshall was a skilled advocate but a mediocre judge

noun /əˈnäməlē/ 

• Something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected
  • - there are a number of anomalies in the present system
  • - a legal anomaly
  • - the apparent anomaly that those who produced the wealth were the poorest
  • - the position abounds in anomaly
• The angular distance of a planet or satellite from its last perihelion or perigee

noun /anˈtipəTHē/ 

• A deep-seated feeling of dislike; aversion
  • - his fundamental antipathy to capitalism
  • - a thinly disguised mutual antipathy

noun /ˈapəTHē/ 

• Lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern
  • - widespread apathy among students

verb /əˈswāj/

• Make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense
  • - the letter assuaged the fears of most members
• Satisfy (an appetite or desire)
  • - an opportunity occurred to assuage her desire for knowledge

adjective /ôˈdāSHəs/

• Showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks
  • - a series of audacious takeovers
• Showing an impudent lack of respect
  • - an audacious remark

noun /ˈbōlstər/ 

• A long, thick pillow that is placed under other pillows for support
   
• A part of a vehicle or tool providing structural support
   
• A short timber cap over a post designed to increase the bearing of the beams it supports
   

verb /ˈbōlstər/

• Support or strengthen; prop up
  • - the fall in interest rates is starting to bolster confidence
  • - he wished to bolster up his theories with hard data
• Provide (a seat) with padded support
  • - I snuggled down into the heavily bolstered seat

noun /kəˈkäfənē/ 

• A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds
  • - a cacophony of deafening alarm bells
  • - a cacophony of architectural styles
  • - songs of unrelieved cacophony

adjective /kəˈpriSHəs/   

• Given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior
  • - a capricious and often brutal administration
  • - a capricious climate

verb /kəˈräbəˌrāt/  

• Confirm or give support to (a statement, theory, or finding)
  • - the witness had corroborated the boy's account of the attack

verb /diˈrīd/ 

• Express contempt for; ridicule
  • - critics derided the proposals as clumsy attempts to find a solution

verb /ˈdesiˌkāt/

• Remove the moisture from (something, esp. food), typically in order to preserve it
  • - desiccated coconut
• Lacking interest, passion, or energy
  • - a desiccated history of ideas

noun /ˈdisənəns/

• Lack of harmony among musical notes
  • - an unusual degree of dissonance for such choral styles
  • - the harsh dissonances give a sound which is quite untypical of the Renaissance
• A tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements
  • - dissonance between campaign rhetoric and personal behavior

verb /ˈenərˌvāt/ 

• Cause (someone) to feel drained of energy or vitality; weaken
   

adjective /ˈenərvit/ 

• Lacking in energy or vitality
  • - the enervate slightness of his frail form

verb /enˈjendər/  

• Cause or give rise to (a feeling, situation, or condition)
  • - the issue engendered continuing controversy
• (of a father) Beget (offspring)
   
• Come into being; arise

noun /əˈfem(ə)rəl/  

• An ephemeral plant
   

adjective /əˈfem(ə)rəl/ 

• Lasting for a very short time
  • - fashions are ephemeral
• (chiefly of plants) Having a very short life cycle

adjective /iˈkwivəkəl/ 

• Open to more than one interpretation; ambiguous
  • - the equivocal nature of her remarks
• Uncertain or questionable in nature
  • - the results of the investigation were equivocal

adjective /ˈer(y)əˌdīt/ 

• Having or showing great knowledge or learning

noun /ˈyo͞oləjē/ 

• A speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, typically someone who has just died
  • - his good friend delivered a brief eulogy

adjective /ˈfərvid/ 

• Intensely enthusiastic or passionate, esp. to an excessive degree
  • - a letter of fervid thanks
• Burning, hot, or glowing

adjective /ˈgar(y)ələs/ 

• Excessively talkative, esp. on trivial matters
  • - Polonius is portrayed as a foolish, garrulous old man

adjective /ˈgələbəl/ 

• Easily persuaded to believe something; credulous
  • - an attempt to persuade a gullible public to spend their money

adjective /ˌhōməˈjēnēəs/ 

• Of the same kind; alike
  • - timbermen prefer to deal with homogeneous woods
• Consisting of parts all of the same kind
  • - culturally speaking the farmers constitute an extremely homogeneous group
• Containing terms all of the same degree

adjective /inˈjenyo͞oəs/ 

• (of a person or action) Innocent and unsuspecting

adjective /ləˈkänik/

• (of a person, speech, or style of writing) Using very few words
  • - his laconic reply suggested a lack of interest in the topic

adjective /ˈlôdəbəl/ 

• (of an action, idea, or goal) Deserving praise and commendation
  • - laudable though the aim might be, the results have been criticized

adjective /ləˈTHärjik/ 

• Affected by lethargy; sluggish and apathetic
  • - I felt tired and a little lethargic

adjective /lōˈkwāSHəs/ 

• Tending to talk a great deal; talkative

adjective /ˈlo͞osid/ 

• Expressed clearly; easy to understand
  • - a lucid account
  • - write in a clear and lucid style
• Showing ability to think clearly, esp. in the intervals between periods of confusion or insanity
  • - he has a few lucid moments every now and then
• (of a dream) Experienced with the dreamer feeling awake, aware of dreaming, and able to control events consciously
   
• Bright or luminous
  • - birds dipped their wings in the lucid flow of air

adjective /ˈmalyəbəl/  /ˈmalēə-/ 

• (of a metal or other material) Able to be hammered or pressed permanently out of shape without breaking or cracking
   
• Easily influenced; pliable
  • - Anna was shaken enough to be malleable

noun /ˈmisənˌTHrōp/  /ˈmiz/

• A person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society

verb /ˈmitəˌgāt/ 

• Make less severe, serious, or painful
  • - he wanted to mitigate misery in the world
• Lessen the gravity of (an offense or mistake)

adjective /ˈäbd(y)ərit/

• Stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action

adjective /ōˈpāk/

• Not able to be seen through; not transparent
  • - the windows were opaque with steam
• (esp. of language) Hard or impossible to understand; unfathomable
  • - technical jargon that was opaque to her

noun /ōˈpāk/

• An opaque thing or substance
   
• A substance for producing opaque areas on negatives

noun /ˌästənˈtāSHən/ 

• Pretentious and vulgar display, esp. of wealth and luxury, intended to impress or attract notice
  • - the office was spacious, but without any trace of ostentation

noun /ˈparəˌdäks/ 

• A statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory
  • - a potentially serious conflict between quantum mechanics and the general theory of relativity known as the information paradox
• A seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true
  • - in a paradox, he has discovered that stepping back from his job has increased the rewards he gleans from it
• A situation, person, or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities
  • - the mingling of deciduous trees with elements of desert flora forms a fascinating ecological 

noun /ˈpednt/ 

• A person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning

adjective /ˌfilənˈTHräpik/ 

• (of a person or organization) Seeking to promote the welfare of others, esp. by donating money to good causes; generous and benevolent
  • - they receive financial support from philanthropic bodies

verb /ˈplākāt/

• Make (someone) less angry or hostile
  • - they attempted to placate the students with promises

adjective /pragˈmatik/ 

• Dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations
  • - a pragmatic approach to politics
• Relating to philosophical or political pragmatism
   
• Of or relating to pragmatics

noun /priˈsipətət/  /-əˌtāt/

• A substance precipitated from a solution 

verb /priˈsipəˌtāt/

• Cause (an event or situation, typically one that is bad or undesirable) to happen suddenly, unexpectedly, or prematurely
  • - the incident precipitated a political crisis
• Cause to move suddenly and with force
  • - suddenly the ladder broke, precipitating them down into a heap
• Send someone or something suddenly into a particular state or condition
  • - they were precipitated into a conflict for which they were quite unprepared
• Cause (a substance) to be deposited in solid form from a solution
   
• Cause (drops of moisture or particles of dust) to be deposited from the atmosphere or from a vapor or suspension
   

adjective /priˈsipətət/  

• Done, made, or acting suddenly or without careful consideration
  • - I must apologize for my staff—their actions were precipitate
• (of an event or situation) Occurring suddenly or abruptly
  • - a precipitate decline in cultural literacy

verb /priˈvariˌkāt/ 

• Speak or act in an evasive way
  • - he seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked pointed questions

adjective /ˈprädigəl/ 

• Spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant
  • - prodigal habits die hard
• Having or giving something on a lavish scale
  • - the dessert was crunchy with brown sugar and prodigal with whipped cream

noun /ˈprädigəl/ 
prodigals, plural

• A person who spends money in a recklessly extravagant way
   
• A person who leaves home and behaves in such a way, but later makes a repentant return

noun /p(r)əˈprī-iˌterē/ 

• An owner; proprietor
   
• Esp. in North America, a grantee or owner of a colony who has been granted, as an individual or as part of a group, the full rights of self-government 

adjective /p(r)əˈprī-iˌterē/ 

• Of or relating to an owner or ownership
  • - the company has a proprietary right to the property
• (of a product) Marketed under and protected by a registered trade name
  • - proprietary brands of insecticide
• Behaving as if one were the owner of someone or something
  • - he looked about him with a proprietary air

verb /ˈvasəˌlāt/ 

• Alternate or waver between different opinions or actions; be indecisive
  • - I had for a time vacillated between teaching and journalism

verb /ˈvenəˌrāt/ 

• Regard with great respect; revere
  • - Mother Teresa is venerated as a saint

adjective /ˈvälətl/ 

• (of a substance) Easily evaporated at normal temperatures
   
• Liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, esp. for the worse
  • - the political situation was becoming more volatile
• (of a person) Liable to display rapid changes of emotion
   
• (of a computer's memory) Retaining data only as long as there is a power supply connected 

noun /ˈvälətl/ 

• A volatile substance

verb /ˈwāvər/ 

• Shake with a quivering motion
  • - the flame wavered in the draft
• Become unsteady or unreliable
  • - his love for her had never wavered
• Be undecided between two opinions or courses of action; be irresolute
  • - she never wavered from her intention

noun /zēl/ 

• Great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective
  • - his zeal for privatization
  • - Laura brought a missionary zeal to her work