Prodigal

"The prodigal child always spent her allowence the moment she got it.

prodigious

"The magicians perform prodigious tricks for rapt audiences."

prodigy

"<a new drug that is being hailed as the latest prodigy of the medical world>"

profiligate (adj)

"She was very profligate in her spending."

"Profligate movie producers hoping to create the next blockbuster"

Licentious

"<a moralist who decried what she regarded as the licentious and corrupt culture of the entertainment industry>"

Profound

"She sighed profoundly."

"After a week of hard labor all she could ask for was a couple hours of profound sleep."

Profusion

"The apples grow in profusion in this part of the valley."

overabundance

in great quantity

prolific

"<a famously prolific author who could produce several works of fiction and nonfiction a year>"

propensity

"<the criminal propensities of The Family extends over several generations>"

: an often intense natural inclination or preference

Proportionate

"Each investor will receive a proportionate share of the profits."

Commensurate: : corresponding in size, extent, amount, or degree

Propriety

"When attending a wedding, there are certain proprieties that must be observed."

Prosaic

"the prosaic life of a hardworking farmer"

Proscribe

"<regulations proscribe the use harmful chemicals in organic settings."

Protuberance

<the tree trunk had several mossy protuberances where branches had once grown>

Pundit

"<the new mini laptop has gotten a thumbs-up from industry pundits>"

Pungent

"The left has often complained that what it needs isn't polite speech, but voices as pungent as those on the right."

sharply painful

Qualms

"<she has no qualms about downloading pirated music files from the Internet>"

quash

"They will try to <quash the rebellion>, but the people are determined."

Querulous

"Our car trips that were frequently spoiled by a couple of <querulous passengers> in the back"

Quixotic

"<in this age of agri business any attempt at operating an independent farm must be regarded as quixotic>"

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raconteur

"The raconteur was very brief with his story, but the moral went along way with the students."

: a person who excels in telling anecdotes

recalcitrant

"<a heart-to-heart talk with the recalcitrant youth revealed that he had a troubled life at home>"

"<this subject is recalcitrant both to observation and to experiment" — G. G. Simpson>

recant

"Church officials asked the minister to recant."

Redoubtable

"<his next opponent, the reigning champion, would be by far the most redoubtable adversary the young boxer had ever faced>"

FORMIDABLE, STEADFAST

Steadfast

<the steadfast doctrine of original sin — Ellen Glasgow>

Refractory

"They found a refractory lesion during the surgery. Still the woman had hope that she would overcome."

Relegate

"The bill has continued to be relegated to different committees for discussion."

Renege

"They had promised to pay her tuition but later reneged."

Renounce

"Many of his former supporters have renounced him."

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Reprehensible

"<a reprehensible tyrant, who oppressed his country for decades, has finally been brought to justice>"

:worthy of or deserving reprehension : culpable:

blameworthy

Reproach

"His conduct has brought shame and reproach to his family."

Reprobate

"<the board will most likely reprobate the request for parole>"

"America must reprobate our addiction to sugar."

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Repudiate

"The  former spouces repudiated their previous involvement as a couple."

Requisite

"<this new CD is the requisite album of the year for classical music lovers>"

Rescind

"It was about time the miliatary rescinded the banning of gay personelles." 

Resolute

"The leader of the resolution had a resolute character about him, those who followed him knew he had to be."

: marked by firm determination 

BOLD and STEADY

Reticent

<the police created a reticent atmosphere when they strollled into the neighborhood cafe." 

Retribution

"The killer acted without fear of retribution."

"<the neighborhood is being torn apart by an endless cycle of gang violence and retribution>"

Repraisal

Reverent

"A reverent crowd of worshipers gathered in the church." 

Rhapsody

"Listening to Mozart always leave me in rhapsody for the remainder of the evening."

Rhetoric

"the mayor's promise to fight drugs was just rhetoric, since there was no money in the city budget for a drug program"

elocution; grandiloquence

skill of using language, communications effectively; sometimes insincerely with grandiloquence: lofty, extravagantly colorful, pompous language

sanctimonious

The man found the the self program entrepreneur a little too sactimious for his taste.

hypocritically pious or devout

self-righteous

Sanction

"Imposed sanctions of femininity have fired back on many women."

approval

obsolete : a solemn agreement : oath

A reward for conformity or a punishment for nonconformity that reinforces socially approved forms of behavior.

Sanguinary

<a movie so sanguinary that I covered my eyes during at least half of it>

Gory, Murderous

bloodthirsty, murderous <sanguinary hatred>

Satiate

<a couple of satiate dinner guests had ensconced themselves on the living room sofa>

Satisfy fully;

disgust caused by excess or overindulgence

Satire

Examples: The Scary Movies, Austin Powers Movies

Schism

"a schism between leading members of the party.."

Secular

"Those who are young and educated tend to be secular as well."

Sedulous

<an impressively sedulous suitor, he was constantly sending her flowers and other tokens of his affection>

Severance

"Activists are asking the government to sever all diplomatic relations with the country."

division

to become separate or divide.

Skeptical

"She's highly skeptical of the researchers' claims."

an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object

Doubtful

Solicitous

"The DreamAct Activists felt solicitous about their future in this country."

Considerate, Concerned

Solvent

"The be solvent is to be free. That is why we must strive to be debt free."

financially sound

Sophistry

"While his arguement made sense, I would classify it as mere sophistry due to the lack of contextualization."

subtly deceptive reasoning or argumentation

specious reasoning

Specious

<The case against passing the DreamAct is a specious argument that really does not stand up under close examination>

: having a false look of truth or genuineness : sophistic

Spurious

"The purse she had bought was a spurious one but most people wouldn't know the difference."

: outwardly similar or corresponding to something without having its genuine qualities : false, counterfeit

Squander

"Amanda squandered her half of the rent money, insisting she had saved by merely buying only from sales items."

Stolid

"I try to remain as stolid as possible when running, it helps me endure the run."

Stupefy

"Stupefied by the belief that she would not qualify because the small infraction to her record"

Stymie

"Progress on the project has been stymied by lack of money."

Prevent or hinder progress of

Sullen

<sullen skies that matched my mood on the day of the funeral>

Supercilious

Superfluous

"Their desire for superfluous resources is what drives them to dictate who may or may not live here."

Surfeit

Their recruitment strategy only led to < a surfeit of volunteers who simply got in each other's way>

Synthesis 

"The philosophy is a synthesis of severals schools of thought from both Western and Eastern populations." 

Tactic 

"Back in the day, we used different tactics to figure out crimes. 

Temerity

"She had the temerity to ask my wife if we had any food after making a big deal of everyone bringing their own."

Unreasonable or foolhardy comtempt of danger or opposition. Rashness/ recklessness acts

Boldness

Tenuous

"He has a tenulous grasp on reality."

thin; insubstantial

having little substance or strength 

terse

"She gave me a few few terse instructions and promptly left the room."

having  lost emotion or the power of exertion or feeling: dormant, numb

lacking energy or vigor

lethargic, inactive 

tractable

"This new approach should make the problem more tractable." 

capable of being easily led, taught or controlled: Docile

easily handled, managed or wrought 

 transient 

"Had transient thoughts of suicide but never acted upon them."

1) A passing especially quickly into and out of experience. 

2) Affecting something or producing results beyond iteself. 

Fleeting. temporary.

Trenchant 

"The marketing manager has to have a trenchant personality." 

Keen, Sharp

Vigorously effective and articulate 

sharply perceptive: penetrating

clear cut; distinct. 

Truculent

"Die hard Fans became truculent and violent after their team lost." 

feeling or displaying ferocity: Cruel, savage 

Deadly, destructive 

scathingly harsh 

ubiquitous

"Racism in a place like this seems to be ubiquitous."

existing or being everywhere at the same time 

omnipresent 

widespread/ constantly encountered

Ulterior

"It was clear that the woman had ulterior motives."

Hidden, Covert 

More Distant , Situated on the farther side

Going beyond what is openly said and shown and especially what is proper 

Untenable

"The girl quit because her boss kept pushing for untenable goals." 

Not able to be defended/ not able to be occupied 

cannot be achieved 

Untoward

"There is nothing untoward about his appearance." 

Difficult to guide, manage, or work with

not favorable: adverse

Urbane 

"The dialogue was witty and urbane."

Notably polite or polished in manner 

refined; worldly

Vacillate

" I was vacillated by the decision to apply for the job." 

To sway through lack of equilibrium

flactuate; oscillate 

towaver in mind will or feeling: hesitate in choice or options or courses

Venerable

"The venerable old man was a cherished source of advise and wisdom for the villagers."

made sacred by religious or historical association

revered

calling forth respect through age, character and attainments 

veracity 

"The jury did not doubt the veracity of the witness." 

Devotion to the truth

Power of conveying or perceiving truth

truthfulness

Verbose

"SHe is a verbose speaker when given the chance to speak about something she is passionate about." 

Vernacular 

"There is no vernacular opera tradition in America, instead we have the U.S."

Common Speech

Using a language or dialect native to a region or country rather than a literary, cultured or foreign language 

characteristic of a period, place, or group; especially: of relating to, or being the common bulding style of a period or place 

vex

"THe problem has vexed researchers for years."

annoy

to bring trouble, distress, agitation

the bring physical distress 

to perplex, puzzle, baffle 

viable

 "The program that she enlisted in allowed for her to be quite viable in succeeding regardless of the situation she was born into."

capable of surviving 

having attained such a form and development as to be normally capable of surviving outside the mothers womb

capabale of growing and developing, functioning, developing adequately

vilify 

"He was vilified in the press for his comments."

to lower in estimation or importance 

to utter slanderous and abusive statements against: Defame

Virulent

"The country seemed to be returning to the virulent nationlism of it's past."

marked by rapid, severe, and destructive course 

extremely poisonous, full of malice: 

Malignant 

vitrolic

"His speech was full of political vitriol"

uttering or given to censure: containing or characterized by verbal abuse 

abusive 

vivacious

"She wasn't just a vivacious girl, she was a leader, a spirit rare to come by."

lively in temper, conduct, or spirit

Volatile 

"The temperament of the bipolar student is volatile."

vaporizing at relatively low temperatures

Unstable

voluminous

"The buildings high ceilings and voluminous spaces were well liked."

consisting of many folds, coils or convolution. 

bulky, extensive

having or marked by great volume. 

voracious

"THe voracious puppy was eating his own weight in food everyday."

having a huge appetite: renous

excessively eager

hungry

xenophobia 

"The xenophobia that persists in America is eating us alive."

zealot

"Zealots on both sides of the issue resorted to name calling and scare tactics."

Capitalized: a member of a fanatical sect arising in Judea during the first century AD and militantly opposing Roman domination in Palestine

Zealous: a fanatical partisan:: marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion