adj. steep; overhasty

The hill is difficult to climb because it is so precipitous; one slip, and our descent will be precipitous as well. 

n. concise summing up of main points

Before making her presentation at the conference, Ellen wrote a neat precis of the major elements she would cover. 

v. multiply, spread

Since bacteria propagate more quickly in unsanitary environments, it is important to keep hospital rooms clean. 

adj. secret, hidden, not public

We do not care for privy chamber government. 

adj. forgivable, trivial

When Jean Valjean stole a loaf of bread to feed his starving sister, he committed a venial offence. 

adj. agreeable, gracious; engaging

By her winsome manner, she made herself liked by everyone who met her. 

n. profligate

He was denounced as a wastrel who had dissipated his inheritance. 

v. throw headlong; hasten

The removal of American political support appeared to have precipitated the downfall of the Marcos regime. 

adj. marvelous, enormous

Watching the champion weight lifter heave the weighty barbell to shoulder height and then overhead, we marveled at his prodigious strength. 

n. tedious wordiness; verbosity

A writer who suffers from prolixity tells his readers everything they never wanted to know about his subject (or were bored to ask) 

adj. prolix 

v. grow rapidly; spread; multiply

Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage countless get-rich-quick schemes to proliferate.

n. proliferation 

v. predict

I prognosticate disaster unless we change our wasteful ways. 

adj. truthful

I can recommend him for this position because I have always found him veracious and reliable.

n. veracity 

n. nearness; kinship

Their relationship could not be explained as being based on mere propinquity.  They were more than relatives; they were friends. 

adj. capable of being bribed

The venal policeman accepted the bribe offered him by the speeding motorist whom he had stopped. 

v. wiggle out; fake

She tried to wangle an invitation to the party. 

v. spoil the effect of; make inoperative

Fraud will vitiate the contract. 

v. make oneself tidy in appearance, feel self-satisfaction

As Kitty preened before the mirror, carefully smoothing her shining hair, she couldn't help preening herself on her good looks. 

adj. characteristic of earlier times; primitive, unspoiled

This area has been preserved in all its pristine wildness. 

n. change of fortune

Humbled by life's vicissitudes, the last emperor of China worked as a lowly gardener in the palace over which he had once ruled. 

adj. produced by imagination; fanciful; mystical

She was given to visionary schemes that never materialized.

also n. 

adj. corrosive; sarcastic

Such vitriolic criticism is uncalled for. 

n. something that causes a substance in a chemical solution to seperate out in solid form.

Solvents by definitions dissolve; precipitants however, cause solids to precipitate or form. 

v. precipitate 

n. practical rule guiding conduct.

"Love thy neighbor as thyself" is a worthwhile precept. 

rash; premature; hasty; sudden

Though I was angry enough to resign on the spot; I had enough sense to keep myself from quitting a job in such a precipitate fashion. 

n. quality of being true; lasting truth or principle

Do you question the verity of Kato Kaelin's testimony about what he heard the night Nicole Brown was slain?  To the skeptic, everything was relative: there were no enternal verities on which one could believe. 

adj. actual; being truly so; not false or imaginary.

At his computer, Pavel is a veritable wizard, creating graphic effects that seem magical to programmers less skilled than he. 

v. induce, triumph over

He tried to prevail on her to type his essay for him. 

adj. advanced in development

Listening to the grown-up way the child discussed serious topics, we couldn't help remarking how precocious she was.

n. precocity