Abhor (Verb)
To regard with horror or loathing; to hate deeply
A pacifist is someone who __________ violence in all forms.
Amend (Verb)
To change in a formal way; to change for the better
If you are not doing well in a particular subject, you may want to ________ your way of studying it.
Buffet (Verb)
To slap or cuff; to strike repeatedly; to drive or force with blows; to force one’s way with difficulty
Blinding snowstorms ___________ the barren landmass of Antarctica for months on end.
Chaos (Noun)
Great confusion; disorder
A great many people lost their fortunes and even their lives in the __________ brought on by the French Revolution.
Commodious (Adjective)
Roomy; spacious
No one would expect a tiny studio apartment to have particularly _________ closets.
Corrosive (Adjective)
Eating away gradually; acid-like; bitterly sarcastic
Sulfuric acid is one of the most _________ substances known to chemistry.
Discern (Verb)
To see clearly; recognize
It is a jury’s job to __________ the truth by carefully evaluating all the evidence presented at the trial.
Extant (Adjective)
Still existing; not exterminated, destroyed or lost
The paintings of animals and human hands in Spain’s Altamira caves are among the oldest _________ species of Stone Age art.
Implicate (Verb)
To involve in; to connect with or be related to
The suspects never stood trial because there was no solid evidence to ______ them in the daring series of robberies.
Inter (Verb)
To bury; to commit to the earth
Jewels and other objects once ________ with Egypt’s pharaohs can now be seen in numerous museums all over the world.
Martinet (Noun)
A strict disciplinarian; a stickler for the rules
When it came to drilling troops, the Revolutionary War general Baron Friedrich von Steuben was something of a ________.
Obviate (Verb)
To anticipate and prevent; to remove; dispose of
Vaccinations can do much to ______ the dangers of childhood illnesses.
Renegade (Noun)
One who leaves a group; a deserter; outlaw
Many a writer has been labeled a _______ for refusing to conform to society’s conventions.
Reprehensible (Adjective)
Deserving blame or punishment
Stalin eliminated many potential rivals by accusing them of all sorts of _____________ acts that they did not commit.
Somber (Adjective)
Dark; gloomy; Depressed in spirit
The atmosphere in the locker room of the losing team could best be described as ___________.
Squalid (Adjective)
Filthy; wretched; debased
Many laws prohibit the types of ________ working conditions found in sweatshops.
Turbulent (Adjective)
Disorderly; riotous; violent; stormy
Letters and diary entries may reveal a person’s lifelong struggle to gain some control over ______ emotions.
Vociferous (Adjective)
Loud and noisy; compelling attention
Relief agencies regularly make _________ appeals for aid for victims of war, terrorism and natural disasters.
Voluminous (Adjective)
Of great size; numerous; writing or speaking at great length
The task of summarizing the _______ reports issued by government agencies may fall to members of a legislator’s staff.
Waive (Verb)
To do without; to give up voluntarily; to put off temporarily
The senator agreed to ________ opposition to the proposed bill if some of its more controversial provisions were substantially modified.
Animosity (Noun)
Strong dislike; bitter hostility
The deep _________ between the Montagues and Capulets could not prevent Romeo and Juliet from falling in love.
Apathy (Noun)
A lack of feeling, emotion or interest
I was horrified when the sales force greeted my great idea for an ad campaign with total ____________.
Apprehensive (Adjective)
Fearful or anxious, especially about the future
As the hurricane approached, __________ residents all along the coast prepared for the worst.
Commend (Verb)
To praise, express approval; to present as worthy of attention; to commit to the care of
The mayor __________ the young people for their volunteer work at a local hospitals and soup kitchens.
Compatible (Adjective)
Able to get along or work well together; capable of use with some other model or system
Eyewitness accounts of an accident rarely are totally ______________.
Condolence (Noun)
An expression of sympathy
A few well-chosen words of ___________ can be a great comfort to someone who has lost a loved one.
Decrepit (Adjective)
Old and Feeble; worn-out, ruined
“I may be aging,” the famous movie star replied, “but I am hardly _________.”
Deride (Verb)
To ridicule, laugh at with contempt
Most people find jokes that ________ somebody’s national origin or social background extremely offensive.
Multifarious (Adjective)
Having great variety; numerous and diverse
Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks reveal that he was a man of ___________ interests.
Obsolete (Adjective)
Out-of-date; no longer in use
In order to remain competitive, manufacturing companies periodically replace _________ machinery.
Omnivorous (Adjective)
Eating every kind of food; eagerly taking in everything, having a wide variety of tastes
An ____________ animal has a greater chance of survival than one that depends on a single food source.
Parsimonious (Adjective)
Stingy; miserly; meager, poor, small
Many people who lost money in the Great Depression later adhered to a _________ lifestyle, even during more prosperous times.
Quandary (Noun)
A state of perplexity or doubt
Try as I might, I could see no way out of the ethical ____________ in which I found myself.
Recalcitrant (Adjective)
Stubbornly disobedient, resisting authority
A ___________ individual may have great difficulty adjusting to a job that requires a good deal of teamwork.
Reprisal (Noun)
An injury done in return for injury
The Highland clans of Scotland engaged in cattle rustling in _________ for real or imagined injuries.
Revel (Verb)
To take great pleasure in; a wild celebration
Some movie stars do not _____________ in the attention that their fans and media pay them.
Stultify (Verb)
To make ineffective or useless; cripple; to have a dulling effect on
Oppressive heat may ________ the mind and spirit as well as the body.
Suave (Adjective)
Smoothly agreeable or polite; pleasing to the senses
Nick Charles, the clever detective in the Thin Man movies, is a sophisticated man-about-town.
Allocate (Verb)
To set apart or designate for a special purpose; to distribute
In their wills many people _________ a portion of their wealth to favorite charities or educational institutions.
Ardent (Adjective)
Very enthusiastic, impassioned
The members of the winning team acknowledged the cheers of their _________ fans.