Basic VII

discreet

careful to protect one's speech or actions in order to avoid offense or draw attention

• The professor thought that he was _____, subtly wiping the stain off of his shirt, but as soon as he stepped off the podium a heckler in the audience burst out, "You missed a spot".

deliberate

think about carefully; weigh the pros and cons of an issue

• Emergency situations such as this call for immediate action and leave no room to _____ over options.

vie

compete for something

• While the other teams in the division actively _____ for the championship, this team seems content simply to go through the motions of playing.

aphorism

a short instructive saying about a general truth

• Nietzsche was known for using _____, sometimes encapsulating a complex philosophical thought in a mere sentence.

besiege

harass, as with questions or requests; cause to feel distressed or worried

• After discovering a priceless artifact in her backyard, Jane was ____ by phone calls, emails, and reporters all trying to buy, hold or see the rare piece of history.

boorish

ill-mannered and coarse or contemptible in behavior or appearance

• Bukowski was known for being a ____ drunk and alienating close friends and family.

antiquated

old-fashioned; belonging to an earlier period in time

• Aunt Betty had _____ notions about marriage, believing that a man should court a woman for at least a year before receiving a kiss.

malodorous

having an unpleasant smell

• Some thermally active fountains spew sulfur fumes--the air around them is sometimes so _____ that many have to plug their noses.

obliging

showing a cheerful willingness to do favors for others

• Even after all his success, I found him to be accommodating and ____, sharing with me his "secret tips" on how to gain wealth and make friends.

cumbersome

difficult to handle or use especially because of size or weight

• Only ten years ago, being an avid reader and a traveler meant carrying a _____ backpack stuffed with books--these days we need only an e-reader.

perquisite

a right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group (especially a hereditary or official right)

• Even as the dishwasher at the French restaurant, Josh quickly learned that he had the _____ of being able to eat terrific food for half the price diners would pay.

champion

to fight for a cause

• Martin Luther King Jr. _____ civil rights fiercely throughout his short life.

complementary

enhancing each other's qualities (for two things or more).

• The head waiter was careful to tell the amateur diners that red wine was _____ with beef, each bringing out subtle taste notes in the other.

balk

refuse to comply

• The students were willing to clean up the broken glass, but when the teacher asked them to mop the entire floor, they _____, citing reasons why they needed to leave.

provisional

under terms not final or fully worked out or agreed upon

• Until the corporate office hands down a definitive decision on use of the extra offices, we will share their use in a _____ arrangement.

chivalrous

being attentive to women like an ideal knight

• Medieval tales are full of stories of _____, in which a young knight must commit deeds of heroism to win the hand of a fair maiden.

decimation

destroying or killing a large part of the population

• The _____ after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is incomprehensible.

excruciating

extremely painful

• After the boulder rolled a couple of feet, pinning my friend's arm, he experienced _____ pain.

debunk

expose as false ideas and claims, especially while ridiculing

• Richard Dawkins tries to ____ religious belief, but his ridicule tends to push people away from his points rather than convince them.

stymie

hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of

• The engineers found their plans _____ at every turn and were ultimately able to make almost no progress on the project.

misogynist

a person who dislikes women in particular

• Many have accused Hemingway of being a quiet _____, but recently unearthed letters argue against this belief.

snub

refuse to acknowledge; reject outright and bluntly

• Wheeler was completely qualified for the committee, but the board _____ him, choosing an obviously lesser qualified candidate instead.

paradoxical

seemingly contradictory but nonetheless possibly true

• That light could be both a particle and a wave seems _____, but nonetheless, it is true.

creditable

deserving of praise but not that amazing

• Critics agreed the movie was _____, but few gave it more than three out of five stars.

qualm

uneasiness about the fitness of an action

• While he could articulate no clear reason why Harkner's plan would fail, he nevertheless felt ____ about committing any resources to it.

carping (n)

persistently petty and unjustified criticism

• The author was very upset about the constant _____ of his critics who posted reviews on social media.

carping (adj)

continually complaining about trivial matters; hypercritical

• Although my mother seemed like a ______ critic during my teenage years, her advice turned out to be wise and useful later in life.

sordid

involving ignoble actions and motives; arousing moral distaste and contempt; foul and run-down and repulsive

• The nightly news simply announced that the senator had had an affair, but the tabloid published all the _____ details of the interaction.

morph

To undergo dramatic change in a seamless and barely noticeable fashion.

• The earnestness of the daytime talk shows of the 1970's has ______ into something far more sensational and vulgar: today guests actually stand up and threaten to take swings at one another.

hamper

prevent the progress or free movement of

• As the rain water began to collect in pools on the highway, it began to _____ the flow of traffic.

evasive

avoiding or escaping from difficulty or danger or commitment

• His responses were clearly ______; he obviously did not want to take on any responsibility or any new work.

deliberately vague or ambiguous

• Every time I call the bank, I receive the same ______ answers about our mortgage and never get a clear response.

miscreant

a person who breaks the law

• "Come back you _____!" yelled the woman who just had her purse stolen.

staid

characterized by dignity and propriety

• Frank came from a _____ environment, so he was shocked that his college roommate sold narcotics.

amply

more than is adequate

• The boat was _____ supplied for its year at sea—no man would go hungry or thirsty.

laborious

characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort

• The most ____ job I've had was working 20 hours a day as a fisherman in King Salmon, Alaska.

abysmal

extremely bad

• Coach Ramsey took his newest player off the field after watching a few painful minutes of her _____ performance.

inkling

a slight suggestion or vague understanding

• Lynne speaks four Romance languages, but she doesn't have an ____ about how East Asian languages are structured.

enumerate

determine the number or amount of

• The survey _____ the number of happy workers and the number of unhappy workers.

specify individually, one by one

• I sat and listened as she _____ all of the things she did not like about the past three months.

dispatch (n)

the property of being prompt and efficient

• She finished her thesis with _____, amazing her advisors who couldn't believe she had written 60 scholarly pages so quickly.

dispatch (v)

dispose of rapidly and without delay and efficiently

• As soon as the angry peasants stormed the castle, they caught the king and swiftly _____ him.

futile

producing no result or effect; unproductive of success

I thought I could repair the car myself, but after two days of work with no success, I have to admit that my efforts were _____.

differentiate

be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait (sometimes in positive sense)

• Mozart's long melodic lines _____ his compositions from other works of late 18th century music.

evolve so as to lead to a new species or develop in a way most suited to the environment

• Animals on Madagascar ____ from other similar animal species due to many years of isolation on the island.

cosmopolitan

comprising many cultures; global in reach and outlook

• There are few cities in the world as diverse and _____ as New York.

vanquish

come out better in a competition, race, or conflict

• For years, Argentina would dominate in World Cup qualifying matches, only to be _____ by one of the European countries during the late stages of the tournament.

constraint

something that limits or restricts

• We don't have many resources, so we'll have to work with some very tight ____.

inarticulate

without or deprived of the use of speech or words

• Although a brilliant economist, Professor Wilson was completely ____, a terrible lecturer.

resignation

the acceptance of something unpleasant that can't be avoided

• Since Jack could not think of a convincing reason why he had to miss the seminar, he attended it with a sense of _____.

dilapidated

in terrible condition

• The main house has been restored but the gazebo is still ____ and unusable.

colossal

so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe

• Few appreciate the ____ scale of the sun: if hollow, it could contain a million Earths.

relegate

assign to a lower position

• When Dexter was unable to fulfill his basic duties, instead of firing him, the boss _____ him to kitchen cleanup.

compound

make more intense, stronger, or more marked

• Her headache was _____ by the construction crew outside, which had six jackhammers going at the same time.