Advanced I

malfeasance

misconduct or wrongdoing (especially by a public official)

• Not even the mayor’s trademark pearly-toothed grin could save him from charges of ______: while in power, he’d been running an illegal gambling rink in the room behind his office.

penurious

lacking money; poor

• Truly ______, Mary had nothing more than a jar full of pennies.

miserly

• Warren Buffett, famous multi-billionaire, still drives a cheap sedan, not because he is ______, but because luxury cars are gaudy and impractical.

sedulous

done diligently and carefully

• An avid numismatist, Harold ______ amassed a collection of coins from over 100 countries—an endeavor that took over fifteen years across five continents.

indigent (adj)

poor; having very little

• In the so-called Third World, many are ______ and only a privileged few have the resources to enjoy material luxuries.

indigent

a poor or needy person

• The ______, huddled under the overpass, tried to start a small bonfire in the hope of staying warm.

equivocate

to speak vaguely, usually with the intention to mislead or deceive

• After Sharon brought the car home an hour after her curfew, she ______ when her parents pointedly asked her where she had been.

exegesis

critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text

• The Bible is fertile ground for _____—over the past five centuries there have been as many interpretations as there are pages in the Old Testament.

contentious

likely to argue

• Since old grandpa Harry became very ______ during the summer when only reruns were on T.V., the grandkids learned to hide from him at every opportunity.

cow

to intimidate

• Do not be _____ by a 3,000-word vocabulary list: turn that list into a deck of flashcards!

churlish

lacking manners or refinement

• The manager was unnecessarily _______ to his subordinates, rarely deigning to say hello, but always quick with a sartorial jab if someone happened to be wearing anything even slightly mismatching.

perfunctory

done routinely and with little interest or care

• The short film examines modern ______ cleaning rituals such as washing dishes, doing laundry and tooth-brushing.

defray

to help pay the cost of, either in part or full

• In order for Sean to attend the prestigious college, his generous uncle helped _____ the excessive tuition with a monthly donation.

saturnine

morose or gloomy

• Deprived of sunlight, humans become _____; that’s why in very northerly territories people are encouraged to sit under an extremely powerful lamp, lest they become morose.

hector

to bully or intimidate

• The boss’s ______ manner put off many employees, some of whom quit as soon as they found new jobs.

Apostate

a person who has abandoned a religious faith or cause

• An _____ of the Orthodox faith he was raised in, Sheldon continues to seek a more like-minded religious community.

chary

cautious, suspiciously reluctant to do something

• Having received three speeding tickets in the last two months, Jack was _____ of driving at all above the speed limit, even on a straight stretch of highway that looked empty for miles ahead.

conciliate

to make peace with

• His opponents believed his gesture to be ______, yet as soon as they put down their weapons, he unsheathed a hidden sword.

precipitate (adj)

hasty or rash

• Instead of conducting a thorough investigation after the city hall break-in, the governor acted ______, accusing his staff of aiding and abetting the criminals.

precipitate (v)

to cause to happen

• The government's mishandling of the hurricane's aftermath _____ a widespread outbreak of looting and other criminal activity.

truculent

having a fierce, savage nature

• Standing in line for six hours, she became progressively ______, yelling at DMV employees and elbowing other people waiting in line.

expansive

communicative, and prone to talking in a sociable manner

• After a few sips of cognac, the octogenarian shed his irascible demeanor and became ______, speaking fondly of the “good old days”.

ponderous

weighed-down; moving slowly

• Laden with 20 kilograms of college text books, the freshman moved ______ across the campus.

supercilious

haughty and disdainful; looking down on others

• Nelly felt the Quiz Bowl director acted ______ towards the underclassmen; really, she fumed, must he act so preternaturally omniscient each time he intones some obscure fact—as though everybody knows that Mt. Aconcagua is the highest peak in South America.

turpitude

depravity; a depraved act

• During his reign, Caligula indulged in unspeakable sexual practices, so it is not surprising that he will forever be remembered for his ______.

choleric

prone to outbursts of temper; easily angered

• While a brilliant lecturer, Mr. Dawson came across as ______ and unapproachable—very rarely did students come to his office hours.

diatribe

a strong verbal attack against a person or institution

• Steve’s mom launched into a ______ during the PTA meeting, contending that the school was little more than a daycare in which students stare at the wall and teachers stare at the chalkboard.

jingoist

a person who thinks their country is always right and who is in favor of aggressive acts against other countries

• In the days leading up to war, a nation typically breaks up into the two opposing camps: doves, who do their best to avoid war, and ______, who are only too eager to wave national flags from their vehicles and vehemently denounce those who do not do the same.

zeitgeist

spirit of the times

• Each decade has its own ______—the 1990’s was a prosperous time in which the promise of the American Dream never seemed more palpable.

attenuate

to weaken (in terms of intensity); to taper off/become thinner.

• Her animosity towards Bob ______ over the years, and she even went so far as to invite him to her party.

overweening

arrogant; presumptuous

• Mark was so convinced of his basketball skills that in his ______ pride he could not fathom that his name was not on the varsity list; he walked up to the basketball coach and told her she had forgotten to add his name.

expunge

to eliminate completely

• When I turned 18, all of the shoplifting and jaywalking charges were ______ from my criminal record.

byzantine

intricate and complex

• Getting a driver’s license is not simply a matter of taking a test; the regulations and procedures are so _______ that many have found themselves at the mercy of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

imbibe

to drink or absorb as if drinking

• Plato ______ Socrates’ teachings to such an extent that he was able to write volumes of work that he directly attributed, sometimes word for word, to Socrates.

alacrity

an eager willingness to do something

• The first three weeks at his new job, Mark worked with such ______ that upper management knew it would be giving him a promotion.

beg

assume something is true (usu. followed by "the question", meaning that you ask a question in which you assume something that hasn't been proven true)

• By assuming that Charlie was headed to college—which he was not—Maggie ______ the question when she asked him to which school he was headed in the Fall.

insufferable

intolerable, difficult to endure

• Chester always tried to find some area in which he excelled above others; unsurprisingly, his co-workers found him ______ and chose to exclude him from daily luncheons out.

pariah

an outcast

• The once eminent scientist, upon being found guilty of faking his data, has become a ______ in the research community.

arrant

complete and wholly (usually modifying a noun with negative connotation)

• An ______ fool, Lawrence surprised nobody when he lost all his money in a pyramid scheme that was every bit as transparent as it was corrupt.

base

the lowest, without any moral principles

• She was not so ______ as to begrudge the beggar the unwanted crumbs from her dinner plate.

factious

produced by, or characterized by internal dissension

• The controversial bill proved _____, as dissension even within parties resulted

nadir

the lowest point

• For many pop music fans, the rap– and alternative-rock–dominated 90s were the ______ of musical expression.

fractious

irritable and is likely to cause disruption

• We rarely invite my ______ Uncle over for dinner; he always complains about the food, and usually launches into a tirade on some touchy subject.

lascivious

lecherous; sexually perverted

• Lolita is a challenging novel for many, not necessarily because of the elevated prose style but because of the depravity of the main character, Humbert Humbert, who, as an old, _______ man, lusts after a girl.

anathema

a detested person; the source of somebody's hate

• Hundreds of years ago, Galileo was ______ to the church; today the church is ______ to some on the left side of the political spectrum.

prosaic

dull and lacking imagination

• Unlike the talented artists in his workshop, Paul had no such bent for the visual medium, so when it was time for him to make a stained glass painting, he ended up with a ______ mosaic.

artless

without cunning or deceit

• Despite the president's seemingly ______ speeches, he was a skilled and ruthless negotiator.

apogee

the highest point

• The ______ of the Viennese style of music, Mozart’s music continues to mesmerize audiences well into the 21st century.

feckless

lazy and irresponsible

• Two years after graduation, Charlie still lived with his parents and had no job, becoming more ______ with each passing day.

untoward

unfavorable; inconvenient

• Some professors find teaching ______ as having to prepare for lectures and conduct office hours prevents them from focusing on their research.

catholic

of broad scope; universal

• Jonah’s friends said that Jonah’s taste in music was eclectic; Jonah was quick to point out that not only was his taste eclectic but it was also ______: he enjoyed music from countries as far-flung as Mali and Mongolia.

vicissitude

change in one’s circumstances, usually for the worse

• Even great rulers have their ______—massive kingdoms have diminished overnight, and once beloved kings have faced the scorn of angry masses.

kowtow

to bow or act in a subservient manner

• Paul ______ to his boss so often the boss herself became nauseated by his sycophancy.