Vocabulary 6

**Accede - To yield to; assume an office or dignity**

\-- Management was not willing to ^^accede^^ to labor’s initial demands, thus increasing the likelihood of a long and bitter strike.

**Brandish - To wave or flourish in menacing or vigorous fashion**

\-- I ^^brandished^^ my umbrella repeatedly in a vain effort to hail a cab.

**Comprise** **- To include or contain; to be made up of**

\-- Classical symphonies usually ^^comprise^^ three or four movements of varying musical form, tempo, and character.

**Deft** **- Skillful, nimble**

\-- The ^^deft^^ fingers of Spanish seamstresses produced some of the finest, most delicate lace ever seen.

**Destitute** **- Deprived of the necessities of life; lacking in**

\-- Some people fled their homes so suddenly that they arrived at the refugee camp absolutely ^^destitute^^.

**Explicit** **- Definite, clearly stated**

\-- The more ^^explicit^^ your directions are, the easier it will be for all of us to find our way to the campsite.

**Extirpate - To tear up by the roots; to destroy totally**

\-- Even in the prisoner-of-war camps, some basic feelings of decency and humanity were not completely ^^extirpated^^.

**Inopportune - Coming at a bad time**

\-- Why do my relatives always seem to turn up at the most ^^inopportune^^ time imaginable?

**Ironic - Suggesting an incongruity between the expected and real**

\-- The short stories of O. Henry are famous for their ^^ironic^^ endings.

**Musty - Stale, moldy; out-of-state**

\-- Houses that have been closed up for a very long time often have an unpleasant ^^musty^^ smell about them.

**Officious - Meddling; excessively forward in offering services or authority**

\-- The manager of the store warned the entire sales force not to be too ^^officious^^ when helping customers.

**Ominous - Unfavorable, threatening, a bad omen**

\-- The ^^ominous^^ sound of distant thunder warned us of the storm’s approach.

**Pinnacle - A high peak or point**

\-- Some pop musicians reach the ^^pinnacle^^ of their careers comparatively early in life.

**Premeditated - Considered beforehand; deliberately planned**

\-- Some crimes are spontaneous acts of passion; others are quite ^^premeditated^^.

**Rampant - Growing without check; running wild**

\-- All kinds of odd rumors run ^^rampant^^ during a political campaign.

**Solace - Comfort, relief**

\-- Many world leaders seak ^^solace^^ from their tough decisions in the pages of great literature.

**Stately - Dignified, majestic**

\-- The ^^stately^^ procession slowly wound its way from the palace to the cathedral.

**Supple - Bending easily**

\-- Have you ever read Robert Frost’s famous poem about swinging on the ^^supple^^ branches of a birch tree?

**Suppress - To stop by force, put down**

\-- Totalitarian governments usually take strong measures to ^^suppress^^ free speech.

**Venal - Open to or marked by bribery or corruption**

\-- The presence of even one ^^venal^^ official may jeopardize the integrity of an entire organization.

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