Barrons 333 - High Frequency Words - with example sentences

abate

subside or moderate

aberrant

abnormal or deviant

abeyance

suspended action

abscond

depart secretly and hide

abstemious

sparing in eating and drinking; temperate

admonish

warn; reprove

adulterate

make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances

aesthetic

artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful

aggregate

gather; accumulate

alacrity

cheerful promptness; eagerness

alleviate

relieve

amalgamate

combine; unite in one body

ambiguous

unclear or doubtful in meaning

ambivalence

the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes

ameliorate

improve

anachronism

something or someone misplaced in time

analogous

comparable

anarchy

absence of governing body; state of disorder

anomalous

abnormal; irregular

antipathy

aversion; dislike

apathy

lack of caring; indifference

appease

pacify or soothe; relieve

apprise

inform

inform (somebody) of something

gain in value

make aware of

approbation

official approval;

official recognition or approval;

appropriate

acquire; take possession of for one's own use

arduous

hard; strenuous;

Use the adjective, arduous, to describe an activity that takes a lot of effort;

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

taxing to the utmost; testing powers of endurance

artless

without guile; open and honest

ascetic

practicing self-denial; austere

assiduous

It means they're careful, methodical and very persistent. Good detectives are classically assiduous types; diligent;

marked by care and persistent effort

assuage

ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger)

attenuate

make thinner; weaken or lessen (in density, force, degree)

audacious

daring; bold

austere

forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented

aver

assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state formally as a fact

To aver is to declare something is true or to state;

report or maintain

banal

hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality

belie

contradict; give a false impression

be in contradiction with

represent falsely

beneficent

kindly; doing good

bolster

support; reinforce

bombastic

pompous; using inflated language

boorish

rude; insensitive;

an adjective used for people with bad manners and a sloppy appearance.

ill-mannered and coarse and contemptible in behavior or appearance

burgeon

grow forth; send out buds

burnish

make shiny by rubbing; polish

buttress

support; prop up

cacophonous

discordant; inharmonious

capricious

unpredictable; fickle

castigation

punishment; severe criticism

catalyst

agent that stimulates or precipitates a reaction, development, or change

caustic

burning; sarcastically biting

chicanery

trickery; deception

coagulate

thicken; congeal; clot

coda

concluding section of a musical or literary composition; something that summarizes

cogent

convincing; powerfully persuasive

When you make a cogent argument, it means your argument is clear and persuasive

commensurate

corresponding in extent, degree, amount, etc.; proportionate

"pay should be commensurate with the time worked"

compendium

brief, comprehensive summary;

A compendium is a comprehensive collection of something.

a publication containing a variety of works

a concise but comprehensive summary of a larger work

complaisant

trying to please; overly polite; obliging

showing a cheerful willingness to do favors for others

if only the world were populated entirely with complaisant people! Complaisant means willing to do something to please others,

compliant

yielding; conforming to requirements

conciliatory

reconciling; soothing;

making or willing to make concessions;

intended to placate;compromising, flexible

Conciliatory describe things that make other people less angry.

condone

overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse

confound

confuse; puzzle; The verb confound means both "to mistake" and "to confuse."

be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly;

mistake one thing for another

connoisseur

person competent to act as a judge of art, etc.; a lover of an art

contention

claim; thesis

contentious

quarrelsome

contrite

penitent; We are sorry to inform you that the adjective contrite means to feel regret, remorse, or even guilt.

feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses

penitent, repentant; feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds

conundrum

riddle; difficult problem

converge

approach; tend to meet; come together

convoluted

coiled around; involved; intricate

craven

cowardly; A craven man is the opposite of those guys: he has not an ounce of courage.

lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful; an abject coward

daunt

intimidate; frighten

decorum

propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners

default

failure to act

deference

courteous regard for another's wish;

courteous regard for people's feelings; "in deference to your wishes"

"his deference to her wishes was very flattering"

a disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others

delineate

portray; depict; sketch

denigrate

blacken; To denigrate is to say bad things — true or false — about a person or thing.

charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

deride

ridicule; make fun of

derivative

unoriginal; obtained from another source

desiccate

dry up

desultory

aimless; haphazard; digressing at random;

If you lack a definite plan or purpose and flit from one thing to another, your actions are desultory.

marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another

deterrent

something that discourages; hindrance

diatribe

bitter scolding; invective

dichotomy

split; branching into two parts (especially contradictory ones)

diffidence

shyness

diffuse

wordy; rambling; spread out (like a gas)

digression

wandering away from the subject

dirge

lament with music

disabuse

correct a false impression; undeceive

discerning

mentally quick and observant; having insight

discordant

not harmonious; conflicting

discredit

defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve

discrepancy

lack of consistency; difference

discrete

separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts

disingenuous

lacking genuine candor; insincere

disinterested

unprejudiced

disjointed

lacking coherence

dismiss

eliminate from consideration; reject

disparage

belittle

disparate

basically different; unrelated

dissemble

disguise; pretend

To dissemble is to hide under a false appearance, to deceive

disseminate

distribute; spread; scatter (like seeds)

dissolution

disintegration; looseness in morals;

separation into component parts

dissonance

discord; opposite of harmony