Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
wordss
SAT sentence completion practice test 01
1. Today Wegener's theory is ____ ; however, he died an outsider treated with ____ by the scientific establishment.
A. unsupported - approval
B. dismissed - contempt
C. accepted - approbation
D. unchallenged - disdain
E. unrivalled - reverence
2. The revolution in art has not lost its steam; it ____ on as fiercely as ever.
A. trudges
B. meanders
C. edges
D. ambles
E. rages
3. Each occupation has its own ____ ; bankers, lawyers and computer professionals, for example, all use among themselves language which outsiders have difficulty following.
A. merits
B. disadvantages
C. rewards
D. jargon
E. problems
4. ____ by nature, Jones spoke very little even to his own family members.
A. garrulous
B. equivocal
C. taciturn
D. arrogant
E. gregarious
5. Biological clocks are of such ____ adaptive value to living organisms, that we would expect most organisms to ____ them.
A. clear - avoid
B. meager - evolve
C. significant - eschew
D. obvious - possess
E. ambivalent - develop
6. The peasants were the least ____ of all people, bound by tradition and ____ by superstitions.
A. free - fettered
B. enfranchised - rejected
C. enthralled - tied
D. pinioned - limited
E. conventional - encumbered
7. Many people at that time believed that spices help preserve food; however, Hall found that many marketed spices were ____ bacteria, moulds and yeasts.
A. devoid of
B. teeming with
C. improved by
D. destroyed by
E. active against
8. If there is nothing to absorb the energy of sound waves, they travel on ____ , but their intensity ____ as they travel further from their source.
A. erratically - mitigates
B. eternally - alleviates
C. forever - increases
D. steadily - stabilizes
E. indefinitely - diminishes
9. The two artists differed markedly in their temperaments; Palmer was reserved and courteous, Frazer ____ and boastful.
A. phlegmatic
B. choleric
C. constrained
D. tractable
E. stoic
10. The intellectual flexibility inherent in a multicultural nation has been ____ in classrooms where emphasis on British-American literature has not reflected the cultural ____ of our country.
A. eradicated - unanimity
B. encouraged - aspirations
C. stifled - diversity
D. thwarted - uniformity
E. inculcated - divide
11. The conclusion of his argument, while ____ , is far from ____ .
A. stimulating - interesting
B. worthwhile - valueless
C. esoteric - obscure
D. germane - relevant
E. abstruse - incomprehensible
12. In the Middle Ages, the ____ of the great cathedrals did not enter into the architects' plans; almost invariably a cathedral was positioned haphazardly in ____ surroundings.
A. situation - incongruous
B. location - apt
C. ambience - salubrious
D. durability - convenient
E. majesty - grandiose
SAT sentence completion practice test 02
1. Unwilling to admit that they had been in error, the researchers tried to ____ their case with more data obtained from dubious sources.
A. ascertain
B. buttress
C. refute
D. absolve
E. dispute
2. Archaeology is a poor profession; only ____ sums are available for excavating sites and even more ____ amounts for preserving the excavations.
A. paltry - meager
B. miniscule - substantial
C. average - augmented
D. judicious - penurious
E. modest - generous
3. The student was extremely foolhardy; he had the ____ to question the senior professor's judgment.
A. wisdom
B. temerity
C. interest
D. trepidation
E. condescension
4. The formerly ____ waters of the lake have been polluted so that the fish are no longer visible from the surface.
A. muddy
B. tranquil
C. stagnant
D. pellucid
E. rancid
5. After the accident, the nerves to her arm were damaged and so the muscles ____ through disuse.
A. atrophied
B. contracted
C. elongated
D. invigorated
E. dwindled
6. Some critics maintain that Tennyson's poetry is uneven, ranging from the ____ to the ____.
A. sublime - elevated
B. trite - inspired
C. vacuous - inane
D. succinct - laconic
E. sonorous - voluble
7. After grafting there is a ____ of lymphocytes in the lymph glands; the newly produced lymphocytes then move in to attack the foreign tissue.
A. diminution
B. proliferation
C. obliteration
D. paucity
E. attraction
8. One ____ the new scheme is that it might actually ____ just those applicants that it was intended to encourage.
A. highlight of - stimulate
B. feature of - attract
C. problem with - induce
D. attraction of - intimidate
E. drawback of - daunt
9. Corruption is ____ in our society; the integrity of even senior officials is ____ .
A. growing - unquestioned
B. endangered - disputed
C. pervasive - intact
D. rare - corrupted
E. rife - suspect
10. In their day to day decision making, many senior managers do not follow the rational model favored by orthodox management experts, but rather rely on intuitive processes that often appear ____ and ____.
A. cerebral - considered
B. heretical - judgmental
C. conscientious - logical
D. irrational - iconoclastic
E. capricious - deliberate
11. His characteristically ____ views on examination methods at university level have aroused ____ in those who want to introduce innovative and flexible patterns of assessment.
A. hidebound - antagonism
B. moderate - anger
C. reactionary - admiration
D. rigid - support
E. accommodating - annoyance
12. Our grandfather was an entertaining ____; he used to ____ us with marvelous anecdotes that we, in our childlike simplicity, accepted unquestioningly.
A. rascal - bore
B. orator - intimidate
C. raconteur - regale
D. curmudgeon - surprise
E. tyrant - stupefy
1. Scrooge, in the famous novel by Dickens, was a ____ ; he hated the rest of mankind.
A. misanthrope
B. hypochondriac
C. philanthropist
D. hedonist
E. sybarite
2. A businessman must widen his horizons; a ____ attitude will get you nowhere in this age of global communications.
A. moderate
B. petrified
C. parochial
D. diversified
E. comprehensive
3. Our bookshelves at home display a range of books on wide-ranging subjects and in many languages, reflecting the ____ tastes of our family members.
A. anomalous
B. limited
C. arcane
D. furtive
E. eclectic
4. Plastic bags are ____ symbols of consumer society; they are found wherever you travel.
A. rare
B. ephemeral
C. ubiquitous
D. fleeting
E. covert
5. Dr. Stuart needs to ____ his argument with more experimental data; as it stands his thesis is ____ .
A. support - profound
B. bolster - acceptable
C. refine - satisfactory
D. buttress - inadequate
E. define - succinct
6. After an initially warm reception by most reviewers and continued ____ by conservative thinkers, Bloom's work came under heavy fire.
A. criticism
B. endorsement
C. denigration
D. counterattack
E. refutation
7. Through the 19th Century, the classics of Western Civilization were considered to be the ____ of wisdom and culture, and an ____ person - by definition- knew them well.
A. foundation - average
B. epitome - uneducated
C. cornerstone - obtuse
D. font - ecclesiastical
E. repository - educated
8. In this biography we are given a glimpse of the young man ____ pursuing the path of the poet despite ____ and rejection slips.
A. doggedly - disappointment
B. tirelessly - encouragement
C. sporadically - awards
D. successfully - acclaim
E. unsuccessfully - failure
9. All European countries are seeking to diminish the check upon individual ____ which state examinations with their ____ growth have bought in their train.
A. rights - liberating
B. liberties - empowering
C. spontaneity - tyrannous
D. foibles - inevitable
E. creativity - soporific
10. In keeping with his own ____ in international diplomacy, Churchill proposed a personal meeting of heads of government, but the effort was doomed to failure, as the temper of the times was ____ .
A. ideas - pluralistic
B. predilections - inimical
C. aversions - hostile
D. impulses - amicable
E. maxims - salacious
11. The wall and floor decorations created by Indian housewives are usually ____ , remaining hours, days, or at most, weeks before being worn off by human activity or weather and replaced by new ____ .
A. perennial - drawings
B. ephemeral - designs
C. trivial - purchases
D. impermanent - furnishings
E. innovative - pictures
12. The subtle shades of meaning, and still subtler echoes of association, make language an instrument which scarcely anything short of genius can wield with ____ and ____ .
A. confidence - aloofness
B. definiteness - certainty
C. sincerity - hope
D. conservatism - alacrity
E. eloquence - ruthlessness
1. He was treated like a ____ and cast out from his community.
A. ascetic
B. prodigy
C. prodigal
D. pariah
E. tyro
2. The teacher accused me of ____ because my essay was so similar to that of another student.
A. procrastination
B. plagiarism
C. celerity
D. confusion
E. decorum
3. We live in a ____ age; everyone thinks that maximizing pleasure is the point of life.
A. ubiquitous
B. propitious
C. sporadic
D. corrupt
E. hedonistic
4. Thankfully the disease has gone into ____ ; it may not recur for many years.
A. treatment
B. sequestration
C. quarantine
D. remission
E. oblivion
5. People from all over the world are sent by their doctors to breathe the pure, ____ air in this mountain region.
A. invigorating
B. soporific
C. debilitating
D. insalubrious
E. aromatic
6. As were many colonial administrators, Gregory was ____ in his knowledge of the grammar of the local language, though his accent was ____ .
A. deficient - poor
B. competent - adequate
C. faultless - awful
D. well-versed - effective
E. erratic - eccentric
7. Though Adam Bede is presented to us by the author as ____ fiction, there are none of the life-like meanderings of the story of Amos Barton.
A. realistic
B. romantic
C. imaginative
D. educational
E. entertaining
8. There is a general ____ in the United States that our ethics are declining and that our moral standards are ____ .
A. feeling - normalizing
B. idea - futile
C. optimism - improving
D. complaint - deteriorating
E. outlook - escalating
9. Homo sapiens, the proud splitter of the atom, inventor of the electronic computer, ____ of the genetic code may be humbled by a lowly ____ of the sewers and soils - the microbe.
A. designer - inhabitant
B. discoverer - rodent
C. writer - organism
D. decipherer - denizen
E. author - purifier
10. After centuries of obscurity, this philosopher's thesis is enjoying a surprising ____ .
A. dismissal
B. remission
C. decimation
D. longevity
E. renaissance
11. The threat of war, far from ____ , lay heavily in the air, and the villagers, while ____ going about their normal activities, were unable to shake off the feeling of impending catastrophe.
A. receding - ostensibly
B. diminishing - contentedly
C. increasing - apparently
D. escalating - joyfully
E. subsiding - felicitously
12. Although alarmed by the ____ , Professor Symes had no reason to doubt the ____ of his student's results, for this student was nothing if not reliable.
A. conclusions - folly
B. deductions - impudence
C. implications - veracity
D. errors - truth
E. inferences - invalidity
SAT sentence completion practice test 05
1. To reach Simonville, the traveller needs to drive with extreme caution along the ____ curves of the mountain road that climbs ____ to the summit.
A. serpentine - steeply
B. jagged - steadily
C. gentle - precipitously
D. shady - steadily
E. hair-raising - languidly
2. The cricket match seemed ____ to our guests; they were used to watching sports in which the action is over in a couple of hours at the most.
A. unintelligible
B. inconsequential
C. interminable
D. implausible
E. evanescent
3. Our present accountant is most ____ ; unlike the previous _____ incumbent, he has never made a mistake in all the years that he has worked for the firm.
A. unorthodox - heretical
B. dependable - assiduous
C. punctilious - painstaking
D. asinine - diligent
E. meticulous - unreliable
4. The refugee's poor grasp of English is hardly an _____ problem; she can attend classes and improve within a matter of months.
A. implausible
B. insuperable
C. inconsequential
D. evocative
E. injudicious
5. We appreciated his ____ summary of the situation; he wasted no words yet delineated his position most ____ .
A. comprehensive : inadequately
B. succinct : direfully
C. cogent : persuasively
D. verbose : concisely
E. grandiloquent : eloquently
6. His musical tastes are certainly ____ ; he has recordings ranging from classical piano performances to rock concerts, jazz and even Chinese opera.
A. antediluvian
B. eclectic
C. harmonious
D. sonorous
E. dazzling
7. I cannot conclude this preface without ____ that an early and untimely death should have prevented Persius from giving a more finished appearance to his works.
A. rejoicing
B. lamenting
C. affirming
D. commenting
E. mentioning
8. Before his marriage the Duke had led an austere existence and now regarded the affectionate, somewhat ____ behavior of his young wife as simply ____ .
A. restrained - despicable
B. childish - elevating
C. playful - sublime
D. frivolous - puerile
E. unpleasant - delightful
9. Wilson ____ that human beings inherit a tendency to feel an affinity and awe for other living things, in the same way that we are ____ to be inquisitive or to protect our young at all costs.
A. argues - encouraged
B. maintains - trained
C. contends - predisposed
D. fears - taught
E. demurs - genetically programmed
10. The pond was a place of reek and corruption, of ____ smells and of oxygen-starved fish breathing through laboring gills.
A. fragrant
B. evocative
C. dolorous
D. resonant
E. fetid
11. There have been great ____ since his time, but few others have felt so strongly the ____ of human existence.
A. pessimists - futility
B. skeptics - exaltation
C. heretics - sagacity
D. optimists - tremulousness
E. cynics - joy
12. While war has never been absent from the ____ of man, there have been periods in History which appear remarkably ____.
A. archives - ambivalent
B. posterity - serene
C. mind - desultory
D. annals - pacific
E. life - belligerent
SAT sentence completion practice test 06
1. The crew of the air balloon ____ the sand bags to help the balloon rise over the hill.
A. capsized
B. jettisoned
C. salvaged
D. augmented
E. enumerated
2. We were not fooled by his ____ arguments; his plan was obviously ____ .
A. cogent - brilliant
B. hackneyed - banal
C. convoluted - labyrinthine
D. specious - untenable
E. lucid - intelligible
3. Hawkins is ____ in his field; no other contemporary scientist commands the same respect.
A. disparaged
B. ignominious
C. obsolete
D. anachronistic
E. preeminent
4. The model paraded in front of the celebrities with ____ ; it was impossible to tell that this was her first assignment.
A. panache
B. opprobrium
C. shame
D. trepidation
E. terror
5. The term lead pencil is a ____ ; pencils are filled with graphite not lead.
A. misnomer
B. misdemeanor
C. peccadillo
D. euphemism
E. metaphor
6. The ____ weather forced us to stay indoors.
A. enticing
B. glorious
C. restorative
D. inclement
E. congenial
7. It will be hard to ____ Leonid now that you have so ____ him.
A. pacify - soothed
B. mollify - incensed
C. antagonize - irritated
D. anger - ruffled
E. subdue - subjugated
8. The lectures on quantum physics were invariably ____ ; the lecturer ____ his ill-prepared material in a manner guaranteed to send even the most ardent student to sleep.
A. stimulating - delivered
B. pedestrian - enthused about
C. soporific - droned
D. scintillating - intoned
E. arcane - marshaled
9. Edward was understandably upset that he had lost the position, but he was ____ by the conviction that he had done nothing to ____ the dismissal.
A. consoled - merit
B. warmed - avoid
C. comforted - mar
D. miffed - delay
E. saddened - earn
10. Elinor ____ to counteract her negative feelings, but only succeeded in ____ them.
A. tried - allaying
B. hoped - mitigating
C. desired - ameliorating
D. hesitated - deprecating
E. endeavoured - intensifying
11. She was roundly condemned for her ____ ; she betrayed the woman to whom she owed her success.
A. truculence
B. perfidy
C. serendipity
D. pragmatism
E. discernment
12. The progress of the disease is ____ ; it spreads stealthily without any symptoms in the early stages.
A. dramatic
B. acute
C. blatant
D. insidious
E. inexorable
1. The candidate _____ when asked why he had left his last job; he did not want to admit that he had been ____ .
A. demurred - promoted
B. confided - banned
C. dissembled - dismissed
D. rejoiced - wrong
E. hesitated - lauded
2. Tennyson was a well-loved poet; no other poet since has been so ____ .
A. lionized
B. attacked
C. decried
D. poetical
E. abhorred
3. The parliamentary session degenerated into ____ with politicians hurling ____ at each other and refusing to come to order.
A. mayhem - banter
B. disarray - pleasantries
C. tranquillity - invectives
D. chaos - aphorisms
E. anarchy - insults
4. The admiral ____ his order to attack when he saw the white flag raised by the enemy sailors; he was relieved that he could bring an end to the ____ .
A. reiterated - hostilities
B. countermanded - fighting
C. commandeered - truce
D. renounced - hiatus
E. confirmed - aggression
5. In a fit of ____ she threw out the valuable statue simply because it had belonged to her ex-husband.
A. pique
B. goodwill
C. contrition
D. pedantry
E. prudence
6. Many 17th century buildings that are still in existence have been so ____ by successive owners that the original layout is no longer ____ .
A. preserved - visible
B. modified - apparent
C. decimated - enshrouded
D. salvaged - required
E. neglected - appropriate
7. Since ancient times sculpture has been considered the ____ of men; women sculptors have, until recently, consistently met with ____.
A. right - acceptance
B. domain - approbation
C. domicile - ridicule
D. realm - condolence
E. prerogative - opposition
8. ____ action at this time would be inadvisable; we have not yet accumulated sufficient expertise to warrant anything other than a ____ approach.
A. precipitate - cautious
B. hesitant - wary
C. vacillating - circuitous
D. decisive - firm
E. ponderous - direct
9. Many biologists have attempted to ____ the conditions on earth before life evolved in order to answer questions about the ____ of biological molecules.
A. mimic - fitness
B. standardize - shapes
C. replicate - reactions
D. simulate - origin
E. ameliorate - evolution
10. Harding was unable to ____ the results of the survey; although entirely unexpected, the figures were obtained by a market research firm with an ____ reputation.
A. accept - peerless
B. discount - impeccable
C. fault - mediocre
D. counter - unenviable
E. believe - fine
11. The quantum theory was initially regarded as absurd, unnatural and ____ with common sense.
A. consanguineous
B. discernible
C. incompatible
D. decipherable
E. consistent
12. Do not be fooled by her ____ manner; her superficial ____ belies her worldliness.
A. ingenuous - proficiency
B. worldly - simplicity
C. unsophisticated - naiveté
D. gregarious - isolation
E. off-hand - serious
1. The success of the business venture ____ his expectations; he never thought that the firm would prosper.
A. confirmed
B. belied
C. nullified
D. fulfilled
E. ratified
2. For centuries there was no ___ between their descendents; in fact ____ strife continued until modern times.
A. peace - internecine
B. hostility - intermittent
C. malevolence - intense
D. amity - contrived
E. difference - feudal
3. The journalist ____ the efforts of the drug squad to control drug peddling, claiming that they had actually ____ the problem.
A. commended - increased
B. lauded - intensified
C. decried - solved
D. deprecated - exacerbated
E. noted - caused
4. Since the Romans failed to ____ the tribes in Northern Britain, they built a wall to ____ the tribes.
A. conquer - alienate
B. impress - intimidate
C. subjugate - exclude
D. pacify - enrage
E. neutralize - barricade
5. The professor became increasingly ____ in later years, flying into a rage whenever he was opposed.
A. taciturn
B. voluble
C. subdued
D. contrite
E. irascible
6. Although the deep sea has a typically ____ fauna, near vents in the sea bed where warm water emerges live remarkable densities of invertebrates and fish.
A. verdant
B. unique
C. lush
D. pallid
E. sparse
7. Their bantering talk seemed ____, but in fact it masked an underlying ____ .
A. hostile - antipathy
B. amicable - antagonism
C. jovial - assumptions
D. exasperating - frustrations
E. friendly - geniality
8. The new nomenclature was so ____ that many chemists preferred to revert to the older trivial names that were at least shorter.
A. succinct
B. cumbersome
C. irrational
D. facile
E. systematic
9. Even though the auditors ____ the accountant, his reputation was ____ by the allegations of fraud.
A. vindicated - enhanced
B. indicted - blemished
C. betrayed - ruined
D. exonerated - tarnished
E. cleared - condoned
10. Many so-called social playwrights are distinctly ____ ; rather than allowing the members of the audience to form their own opinions, these writers force a viewpoint on the viewer.
A. conciliatory
B. prolific
C. iconoclastic
D. didactic
E. contumacious
11. The archaeologist, viewing the fragmentary remains of the ancient city, reflected on the ____ of human ____ .
A. impermanence - endeavour
B. transience - thought
C. dearth - aspirations
D. futility - humility
E. durability - constructs
12. He was normally entirely ____ , but in the embarrassing situation in which he found himself he felt compelled to ____.
A. equable - evade
B. considerate - concede
C. forthright - prevaricate
D. mendacious - equivocate
E. amenable - capitulate
1. His one vice was gluttony and so it is not surprising that as he aged he became increasingly ____ .
A. emaciated
B. despondent
C. corpulent
D. carping
E. lithe
2. Our once thriving High School Nature Club is now ____ ; the progams have had to be cancelled due to lack of support.
A. defunct
B. extant
C. resurgent
D. burgeoning
E. renovated
3. Having been chief accountant for so many years, Ms. George felt herself to be ____ and was unwilling to ____ control of the department after the merger.
A. slighted - truncate
B. irreplaceable - assume
C. insubordinate - retain
D. decisive - continue
E. indispensable - relinquish
4. Because Elaine's father was a field entomologist who trekked over the continent studying insect infestations, and insisted on taking his young family with him, Elaine and her brother had a(n) ____ childhood.
A. idyllic
B. itinerant
C. sedentary
D. propitious
E. equable
5. Frederica was ____ when her supervisor took only a ___ look at her essay over which she had taken so much care.
A. exultant - superficial
B. vexed - studious
C. disappointed - cursory
D. pleased - patronizing
E. relieved - perfunctory
6. When he was young he ____ ideas of becoming a doctor; however, he was ____ by his father who wanted him to join the family business.
A. harbored - backed
B. entertained - dissuaded
C. produced - critical
D. repudiated - deterred
E. eschewed - encouraged
7. Literary criticism has in recent years become increasingly ____ ; it is almost impossible for the non-literary person to understand its analyses.
A. abstruse
B. accessible
C. colloquial
D. wide-ranging
E. professional
8. The alchemists, though they are often supposed to have been ____ or confidence tricksters, were actually skilful technologists.
A. empiricists
B. polemicists
C. pragmatists
D. theorists
E. charlatans
9. Bullock carts and hand pumps seem ____ in a village whose skyline is dominated by telephone cables and satellite dishes.
A. anachronisms
B. exigencies
C. diversions
D. provocations
E. portents
10. A ____ child, she was soon bored in class; she already knew more mathematics than her junior school teachers.
A. obdurate
B. querulous
C. precocious
D. recalcitrant
E. contemporary
11. Stuart reveled in ____; he would never seek ____ until all possibilities for debate had been exhausted.
A. altercation - clarification
B. polemics - conciliation
C. ambiguities - consolation
D. asceticism - indulgence
E. digressions - direction
12. Turner claimed to paint what he saw; yet no painter ever departed further from close ____ or took more ____ with subjects.
A. imitation - liberties
B. observation - care
C. definition - vagaries
D. imagination - pains
E. resemblance - trouble
attenuate-to make slim or thinner
sporadic all over the place/scatteres (think of spore in flowers how it spreads)
eradicated - to remove or destroy
endemic - naturally pertaning to something/one
prevalent wide spread
idiosyncracies a mixture? CHECK!
guile goal
diurnal beliongin to day time
quotidian daily quotent report
hampered to hold back/interfere
emancipated freedom
strictures remark or comment
ensnared to capture in or involve in
meticulous taking or showing extreme care for small details
cursory fake or hasty on something
sedulous diligent in attention CHECK
unobscured not clear
frivolity an act
triteness laking in freshness
banality fresh or a instance
obscurity uknown or dark
ambivalence uncertainty
profundity depth
tumult violent or noisy
cataclysm violent
upheaval violent
conglomeration cluster
innocuous harmless
disparity difference
dichotomy to put in pairs
diaspora group of jews migrating lol
convergence to act
confluence flowing together
deliniate to make a outline
vernacular-language
1. Today Wegener's theory is ____ ; however, he died an outsider treated with ____ by the scientific establishment.
A. unsupported - approval
B. dismissed - contempt
C. accepted - approbation
D. unchallenged - disdain
E. unrivalled - reverence
2. The revolution in art has not lost its steam; it ____ on as fiercely as ever.
A. trudges
B. meanders
C. edges
D. ambles
E. rages
3. Each occupation has its own ____ ; bankers, lawyers and computer professionals, for example, all use among themselves language which outsiders have difficulty following.
A. merits
B. disadvantages
C. rewards
D. jargon
E. problems
4. ____ by nature, Jones spoke very little even to his own family members.
A. garrulous
B. equivocal
C. taciturn
D. arrogant
E. gregarious
5. Biological clocks are of such ____ adaptive value to living organisms, that we would expect most organisms to ____ them.
A. clear - avoid
B. meager - evolve
C. significant - eschew
D. obvious - possess
E. ambivalent - develop
6. The peasants were the least ____ of all people, bound by tradition and ____ by superstitions.
A. free - fettered
B. enfranchised - rejected
C. enthralled - tied
D. pinioned - limited
E. conventional - encumbered
7. Many people at that time believed that spices help preserve food; however, Hall found that many marketed spices were ____ bacteria, moulds and yeasts.
A. devoid of
B. teeming with
C. improved by
D. destroyed by
E. active against
8. If there is nothing to absorb the energy of sound waves, they travel on ____ , but their intensity ____ as they travel further from their source.
A. erratically - mitigates
B. eternally - alleviates
C. forever - increases
D. steadily - stabilizes
E. indefinitely - diminishes
9. The two artists differed markedly in their temperaments; Palmer was reserved and courteous, Frazer ____ and boastful.
A. phlegmatic
B. choleric
C. constrained
D. tractable
E. stoic
10. The intellectual flexibility inherent in a multicultural nation has been ____ in classrooms where emphasis on British-American literature has not reflected the cultural ____ of our country.
A. eradicated - unanimity
B. encouraged - aspirations
C. stifled - diversity
D. thwarted - uniformity
E. inculcated - divide
11. The conclusion of his argument, while ____ , is far from ____ .
A. stimulating - interesting
B. worthwhile - valueless
C. esoteric - obscure
D. germane - relevant
E. abstruse - incomprehensible
12. In the Middle Ages, the ____ of the great cathedrals did not enter into the architects' plans; almost invariably a cathedral was positioned haphazardly in ____ surroundings.
A. situation - incongruous
B. location - apt
C. ambience - salubrious
D. durability - convenient
E. majesty - grandiose
SAT sentence completion practice test 02
1. Unwilling to admit that they had been in error, the researchers tried to ____ their case with more data obtained from dubious sources.
A. ascertain
B. buttress
C. refute
D. absolve
E. dispute
2. Archaeology is a poor profession; only ____ sums are available for excavating sites and even more ____ amounts for preserving the excavations.
A. paltry - meager
B. miniscule - substantial
C. average - augmented
D. judicious - penurious
E. modest - generous
3. The student was extremely foolhardy; he had the ____ to question the senior professor's judgment.
A. wisdom
B. temerity
C. interest
D. trepidation
E. condescension
4. The formerly ____ waters of the lake have been polluted so that the fish are no longer visible from the surface.
A. muddy
B. tranquil
C. stagnant
D. pellucid
E. rancid
5. After the accident, the nerves to her arm were damaged and so the muscles ____ through disuse.
A. atrophied
B. contracted
C. elongated
D. invigorated
E. dwindled
6. Some critics maintain that Tennyson's poetry is uneven, ranging from the ____ to the ____.
A. sublime - elevated
B. trite - inspired
C. vacuous - inane
D. succinct - laconic
E. sonorous - voluble
7. After grafting there is a ____ of lymphocytes in the lymph glands; the newly produced lymphocytes then move in to attack the foreign tissue.
A. diminution
B. proliferation
C. obliteration
D. paucity
E. attraction
8. One ____ the new scheme is that it might actually ____ just those applicants that it was intended to encourage.
A. highlight of - stimulate
B. feature of - attract
C. problem with - induce
D. attraction of - intimidate
E. drawback of - daunt
9. Corruption is ____ in our society; the integrity of even senior officials is ____ .
A. growing - unquestioned
B. endangered - disputed
C. pervasive - intact
D. rare - corrupted
E. rife - suspect
10. In their day to day decision making, many senior managers do not follow the rational model favored by orthodox management experts, but rather rely on intuitive processes that often appear ____ and ____.
A. cerebral - considered
B. heretical - judgmental
C. conscientious - logical
D. irrational - iconoclastic
E. capricious - deliberate
11. His characteristically ____ views on examination methods at university level have aroused ____ in those who want to introduce innovative and flexible patterns of assessment.
A. hidebound - antagonism
B. moderate - anger
C. reactionary - admiration
D. rigid - support
E. accommodating - annoyance
12. Our grandfather was an entertaining ____; he used to ____ us with marvelous anecdotes that we, in our childlike simplicity, accepted unquestioningly.
A. rascal - bore
B. orator - intimidate
C. raconteur - regale
D. curmudgeon - surprise
E. tyrant - stupefy
1. Scrooge, in the famous novel by Dickens, was a ____ ; he hated the rest of mankind.
A. misanthrope
B. hypochondriac
C. philanthropist
D. hedonist
E. sybarite
2. A businessman must widen his horizons; a ____ attitude will get you nowhere in this age of global communications.
A. moderate
B. petrified
C. parochial
D. diversified
E. comprehensive
3. Our bookshelves at home display a range of books on wide-ranging subjects and in many languages, reflecting the ____ tastes of our family members.
A. anomalous
B. limited
C. arcane
D. furtive
E. eclectic
4. Plastic bags are ____ symbols of consumer society; they are found wherever you travel.
A. rare
B. ephemeral
C. ubiquitous
D. fleeting
E. covert
5. Dr. Stuart needs to ____ his argument with more experimental data; as it stands his thesis is ____ .
A. support - profound
B. bolster - acceptable
C. refine - satisfactory
D. buttress - inadequate
E. define - succinct
6. After an initially warm reception by most reviewers and continued ____ by conservative thinkers, Bloom's work came under heavy fire.
A. criticism
B. endorsement
C. denigration
D. counterattack
E. refutation
7. Through the 19th Century, the classics of Western Civilization were considered to be the ____ of wisdom and culture, and an ____ person - by definition- knew them well.
A. foundation - average
B. epitome - uneducated
C. cornerstone - obtuse
D. font - ecclesiastical
E. repository - educated
8. In this biography we are given a glimpse of the young man ____ pursuing the path of the poet despite ____ and rejection slips.
A. doggedly - disappointment
B. tirelessly - encouragement
C. sporadically - awards
D. successfully - acclaim
E. unsuccessfully - failure
9. All European countries are seeking to diminish the check upon individual ____ which state examinations with their ____ growth have bought in their train.
A. rights - liberating
B. liberties - empowering
C. spontaneity - tyrannous
D. foibles - inevitable
E. creativity - soporific
10. In keeping with his own ____ in international diplomacy, Churchill proposed a personal meeting of heads of government, but the effort was doomed to failure, as the temper of the times was ____ .
A. ideas - pluralistic
B. predilections - inimical
C. aversions - hostile
D. impulses - amicable
E. maxims - salacious
11. The wall and floor decorations created by Indian housewives are usually ____ , remaining hours, days, or at most, weeks before being worn off by human activity or weather and replaced by new ____ .
A. perennial - drawings
B. ephemeral - designs
C. trivial - purchases
D. impermanent - furnishings
E. innovative - pictures
12. The subtle shades of meaning, and still subtler echoes of association, make language an instrument which scarcely anything short of genius can wield with ____ and ____ .
A. confidence - aloofness
B. definiteness - certainty
C. sincerity - hope
D. conservatism - alacrity
E. eloquence - ruthlessness
1. He was treated like a ____ and cast out from his community.
A. ascetic
B. prodigy
C. prodigal
D. pariah
E. tyro
2. The teacher accused me of ____ because my essay was so similar to that of another student.
A. procrastination
B. plagiarism
C. celerity
D. confusion
E. decorum
3. We live in a ____ age; everyone thinks that maximizing pleasure is the point of life.
A. ubiquitous
B. propitious
C. sporadic
D. corrupt
E. hedonistic
4. Thankfully the disease has gone into ____ ; it may not recur for many years.
A. treatment
B. sequestration
C. quarantine
D. remission
E. oblivion
5. People from all over the world are sent by their doctors to breathe the pure, ____ air in this mountain region.
A. invigorating
B. soporific
C. debilitating
D. insalubrious
E. aromatic
6. As were many colonial administrators, Gregory was ____ in his knowledge of the grammar of the local language, though his accent was ____ .
A. deficient - poor
B. competent - adequate
C. faultless - awful
D. well-versed - effective
E. erratic - eccentric
7. Though Adam Bede is presented to us by the author as ____ fiction, there are none of the life-like meanderings of the story of Amos Barton.
A. realistic
B. romantic
C. imaginative
D. educational
E. entertaining
8. There is a general ____ in the United States that our ethics are declining and that our moral standards are ____ .
A. feeling - normalizing
B. idea - futile
C. optimism - improving
D. complaint - deteriorating
E. outlook - escalating
9. Homo sapiens, the proud splitter of the atom, inventor of the electronic computer, ____ of the genetic code may be humbled by a lowly ____ of the sewers and soils - the microbe.
A. designer - inhabitant
B. discoverer - rodent
C. writer - organism
D. decipherer - denizen
E. author - purifier
10. After centuries of obscurity, this philosopher's thesis is enjoying a surprising ____ .
A. dismissal
B. remission
C. decimation
D. longevity
E. renaissance
11. The threat of war, far from ____ , lay heavily in the air, and the villagers, while ____ going about their normal activities, were unable to shake off the feeling of impending catastrophe.
A. receding - ostensibly
B. diminishing - contentedly
C. increasing - apparently
D. escalating - joyfully
E. subsiding - felicitously
12. Although alarmed by the ____ , Professor Symes had no reason to doubt the ____ of his student's results, for this student was nothing if not reliable.
A. conclusions - folly
B. deductions - impudence
C. implications - veracity
D. errors - truth
E. inferences - invalidity
SAT sentence completion practice test 05
1. To reach Simonville, the traveller needs to drive with extreme caution along the ____ curves of the mountain road that climbs ____ to the summit.
A. serpentine - steeply
B. jagged - steadily
C. gentle - precipitously
D. shady - steadily
E. hair-raising - languidly
2. The cricket match seemed ____ to our guests; they were used to watching sports in which the action is over in a couple of hours at the most.
A. unintelligible
B. inconsequential
C. interminable
D. implausible
E. evanescent
3. Our present accountant is most ____ ; unlike the previous _____ incumbent, he has never made a mistake in all the years that he has worked for the firm.
A. unorthodox - heretical
B. dependable - assiduous
C. punctilious - painstaking
D. asinine - diligent
E. meticulous - unreliable
4. The refugee's poor grasp of English is hardly an _____ problem; she can attend classes and improve within a matter of months.
A. implausible
B. insuperable
C. inconsequential
D. evocative
E. injudicious
5. We appreciated his ____ summary of the situation; he wasted no words yet delineated his position most ____ .
A. comprehensive : inadequately
B. succinct : direfully
C. cogent : persuasively
D. verbose : concisely
E. grandiloquent : eloquently
6. His musical tastes are certainly ____ ; he has recordings ranging from classical piano performances to rock concerts, jazz and even Chinese opera.
A. antediluvian
B. eclectic
C. harmonious
D. sonorous
E. dazzling
7. I cannot conclude this preface without ____ that an early and untimely death should have prevented Persius from giving a more finished appearance to his works.
A. rejoicing
B. lamenting
C. affirming
D. commenting
E. mentioning
8. Before his marriage the Duke had led an austere existence and now regarded the affectionate, somewhat ____ behavior of his young wife as simply ____ .
A. restrained - despicable
B. childish - elevating
C. playful - sublime
D. frivolous - puerile
E. unpleasant - delightful
9. Wilson ____ that human beings inherit a tendency to feel an affinity and awe for other living things, in the same way that we are ____ to be inquisitive or to protect our young at all costs.
A. argues - encouraged
B. maintains - trained
C. contends - predisposed
D. fears - taught
E. demurs - genetically programmed
10. The pond was a place of reek and corruption, of ____ smells and of oxygen-starved fish breathing through laboring gills.
A. fragrant
B. evocative
C. dolorous
D. resonant
E. fetid
11. There have been great ____ since his time, but few others have felt so strongly the ____ of human existence.
A. pessimists - futility
B. skeptics - exaltation
C. heretics - sagacity
D. optimists - tremulousness
E. cynics - joy
12. While war has never been absent from the ____ of man, there have been periods in History which appear remarkably ____.
A. archives - ambivalent
B. posterity - serene
C. mind - desultory
D. annals - pacific
E. life - belligerent
SAT sentence completion practice test 06
1. The crew of the air balloon ____ the sand bags to help the balloon rise over the hill.
A. capsized
B. jettisoned
C. salvaged
D. augmented
E. enumerated
2. We were not fooled by his ____ arguments; his plan was obviously ____ .
A. cogent - brilliant
B. hackneyed - banal
C. convoluted - labyrinthine
D. specious - untenable
E. lucid - intelligible
3. Hawkins is ____ in his field; no other contemporary scientist commands the same respect.
A. disparaged
B. ignominious
C. obsolete
D. anachronistic
E. preeminent
4. The model paraded in front of the celebrities with ____ ; it was impossible to tell that this was her first assignment.
A. panache
B. opprobrium
C. shame
D. trepidation
E. terror
5. The term lead pencil is a ____ ; pencils are filled with graphite not lead.
A. misnomer
B. misdemeanor
C. peccadillo
D. euphemism
E. metaphor
6. The ____ weather forced us to stay indoors.
A. enticing
B. glorious
C. restorative
D. inclement
E. congenial
7. It will be hard to ____ Leonid now that you have so ____ him.
A. pacify - soothed
B. mollify - incensed
C. antagonize - irritated
D. anger - ruffled
E. subdue - subjugated
8. The lectures on quantum physics were invariably ____ ; the lecturer ____ his ill-prepared material in a manner guaranteed to send even the most ardent student to sleep.
A. stimulating - delivered
B. pedestrian - enthused about
C. soporific - droned
D. scintillating - intoned
E. arcane - marshaled
9. Edward was understandably upset that he had lost the position, but he was ____ by the conviction that he had done nothing to ____ the dismissal.
A. consoled - merit
B. warmed - avoid
C. comforted - mar
D. miffed - delay
E. saddened - earn
10. Elinor ____ to counteract her negative feelings, but only succeeded in ____ them.
A. tried - allaying
B. hoped - mitigating
C. desired - ameliorating
D. hesitated - deprecating
E. endeavoured - intensifying
11. She was roundly condemned for her ____ ; she betrayed the woman to whom she owed her success.
A. truculence
B. perfidy
C. serendipity
D. pragmatism
E. discernment
12. The progress of the disease is ____ ; it spreads stealthily without any symptoms in the early stages.
A. dramatic
B. acute
C. blatant
D. insidious
E. inexorable
1. The candidate _____ when asked why he had left his last job; he did not want to admit that he had been ____ .
A. demurred - promoted
B. confided - banned
C. dissembled - dismissed
D. rejoiced - wrong
E. hesitated - lauded
2. Tennyson was a well-loved poet; no other poet since has been so ____ .
A. lionized
B. attacked
C. decried
D. poetical
E. abhorred
3. The parliamentary session degenerated into ____ with politicians hurling ____ at each other and refusing to come to order.
A. mayhem - banter
B. disarray - pleasantries
C. tranquillity - invectives
D. chaos - aphorisms
E. anarchy - insults
4. The admiral ____ his order to attack when he saw the white flag raised by the enemy sailors; he was relieved that he could bring an end to the ____ .
A. reiterated - hostilities
B. countermanded - fighting
C. commandeered - truce
D. renounced - hiatus
E. confirmed - aggression
5. In a fit of ____ she threw out the valuable statue simply because it had belonged to her ex-husband.
A. pique
B. goodwill
C. contrition
D. pedantry
E. prudence
6. Many 17th century buildings that are still in existence have been so ____ by successive owners that the original layout is no longer ____ .
A. preserved - visible
B. modified - apparent
C. decimated - enshrouded
D. salvaged - required
E. neglected - appropriate
7. Since ancient times sculpture has been considered the ____ of men; women sculptors have, until recently, consistently met with ____.
A. right - acceptance
B. domain - approbation
C. domicile - ridicule
D. realm - condolence
E. prerogative - opposition
8. ____ action at this time would be inadvisable; we have not yet accumulated sufficient expertise to warrant anything other than a ____ approach.
A. precipitate - cautious
B. hesitant - wary
C. vacillating - circuitous
D. decisive - firm
E. ponderous - direct
9. Many biologists have attempted to ____ the conditions on earth before life evolved in order to answer questions about the ____ of biological molecules.
A. mimic - fitness
B. standardize - shapes
C. replicate - reactions
D. simulate - origin
E. ameliorate - evolution
10. Harding was unable to ____ the results of the survey; although entirely unexpected, the figures were obtained by a market research firm with an ____ reputation.
A. accept - peerless
B. discount - impeccable
C. fault - mediocre
D. counter - unenviable
E. believe - fine
11. The quantum theory was initially regarded as absurd, unnatural and ____ with common sense.
A. consanguineous
B. discernible
C. incompatible
D. decipherable
E. consistent
12. Do not be fooled by her ____ manner; her superficial ____ belies her worldliness.
A. ingenuous - proficiency
B. worldly - simplicity
C. unsophisticated - naiveté
D. gregarious - isolation
E. off-hand - serious
1. The success of the business venture ____ his expectations; he never thought that the firm would prosper.
A. confirmed
B. belied
C. nullified
D. fulfilled
E. ratified
2. For centuries there was no ___ between their descendents; in fact ____ strife continued until modern times.
A. peace - internecine
B. hostility - intermittent
C. malevolence - intense
D. amity - contrived
E. difference - feudal
3. The journalist ____ the efforts of the drug squad to control drug peddling, claiming that they had actually ____ the problem.
A. commended - increased
B. lauded - intensified
C. decried - solved
D. deprecated - exacerbated
E. noted - caused
4. Since the Romans failed to ____ the tribes in Northern Britain, they built a wall to ____ the tribes.
A. conquer - alienate
B. impress - intimidate
C. subjugate - exclude
D. pacify - enrage
E. neutralize - barricade
5. The professor became increasingly ____ in later years, flying into a rage whenever he was opposed.
A. taciturn
B. voluble
C. subdued
D. contrite
E. irascible
6. Although the deep sea has a typically ____ fauna, near vents in the sea bed where warm water emerges live remarkable densities of invertebrates and fish.
A. verdant
B. unique
C. lush
D. pallid
E. sparse
7. Their bantering talk seemed ____, but in fact it masked an underlying ____ .
A. hostile - antipathy
B. amicable - antagonism
C. jovial - assumptions
D. exasperating - frustrations
E. friendly - geniality
8. The new nomenclature was so ____ that many chemists preferred to revert to the older trivial names that were at least shorter.
A. succinct
B. cumbersome
C. irrational
D. facile
E. systematic
9. Even though the auditors ____ the accountant, his reputation was ____ by the allegations of fraud.
A. vindicated - enhanced
B. indicted - blemished
C. betrayed - ruined
D. exonerated - tarnished
E. cleared - condoned
10. Many so-called social playwrights are distinctly ____ ; rather than allowing the members of the audience to form their own opinions, these writers force a viewpoint on the viewer.
A. conciliatory
B. prolific
C. iconoclastic
D. didactic
E. contumacious
11. The archaeologist, viewing the fragmentary remains of the ancient city, reflected on the ____ of human ____ .
A. impermanence - endeavour
B. transience - thought
C. dearth - aspirations
D. futility - humility
E. durability - constructs
12. He was normally entirely ____ , but in the embarrassing situation in which he found himself he felt compelled to ____.
A. equable - evade
B. considerate - concede
C. forthright - prevaricate
D. mendacious - equivocate
E. amenable - capitulate
1. His one vice was gluttony and so it is not surprising that as he aged he became increasingly ____ .
A. emaciated
B. despondent
C. corpulent
D. carping
E. lithe
2. Our once thriving High School Nature Club is now ____ ; the progams have had to be cancelled due to lack of support.
A. defunct
B. extant
C. resurgent
D. burgeoning
E. renovated
3. Having been chief accountant for so many years, Ms. George felt herself to be ____ and was unwilling to ____ control of the department after the merger.
A. slighted - truncate
B. irreplaceable - assume
C. insubordinate - retain
D. decisive - continue
E. indispensable - relinquish
4. Because Elaine's father was a field entomologist who trekked over the continent studying insect infestations, and insisted on taking his young family with him, Elaine and her brother had a(n) ____ childhood.
A. idyllic
B. itinerant
C. sedentary
D. propitious
E. equable
5. Frederica was ____ when her supervisor took only a ___ look at her essay over which she had taken so much care.
A. exultant - superficial
B. vexed - studious
C. disappointed - cursory
D. pleased - patronizing
E. relieved - perfunctory
6. When he was young he ____ ideas of becoming a doctor; however, he was ____ by his father who wanted him to join the family business.
A. harbored - backed
B. entertained - dissuaded
C. produced - critical
D. repudiated - deterred
E. eschewed - encouraged
7. Literary criticism has in recent years become increasingly ____ ; it is almost impossible for the non-literary person to understand its analyses.
A. abstruse
B. accessible
C. colloquial
D. wide-ranging
E. professional
8. The alchemists, though they are often supposed to have been ____ or confidence tricksters, were actually skilful technologists.
A. empiricists
B. polemicists
C. pragmatists
D. theorists
E. charlatans
9. Bullock carts and hand pumps seem ____ in a village whose skyline is dominated by telephone cables and satellite dishes.
A. anachronisms
B. exigencies
C. diversions
D. provocations
E. portents
10. A ____ child, she was soon bored in class; she already knew more mathematics than her junior school teachers.
A. obdurate
B. querulous
C. precocious
D. recalcitrant
E. contemporary
11. Stuart reveled in ____; he would never seek ____ until all possibilities for debate had been exhausted.
A. altercation - clarification
B. polemics - conciliation
C. ambiguities - consolation
D. asceticism - indulgence
E. digressions - direction
12. Turner claimed to paint what he saw; yet no painter ever departed further from close ____ or took more ____ with subjects.
A. imitation - liberties
B. observation - care
C. definition - vagaries
D. imagination - pains
E. resemblance - trouble
attenuate-to make slim or thinner
sporadic all over the place/scatteres (think of spore in flowers how it spreads)
eradicated - to remove or destroy
endemic - naturally pertaning to something/one
prevalent wide spread
idiosyncracies a mixture? CHECK!
guile goal
diurnal beliongin to day time
quotidian daily quotent report
hampered to hold back/interfere
emancipated freedom
strictures remark or comment
ensnared to capture in or involve in
meticulous taking or showing extreme care for small details
cursory fake or hasty on something
sedulous diligent in attention CHECK
unobscured not clear
frivolity an act
triteness laking in freshness
banality fresh or a instance
obscurity uknown or dark
ambivalence uncertainty
profundity depth
tumult violent or noisy
cataclysm violent
upheaval violent
conglomeration cluster
innocuous harmless
disparity difference
dichotomy to put in pairs
diaspora group of jews migrating lol
convergence to act
confluence flowing together
deliniate to make a outline
vernacular-language
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
COMPLEMENTARY-SUPPLEMENTARY ANGLES
Two Angles are Complementary if they add up to 90 degrees
(a Right Angle).
Two Angles are Supplementary if they add up to 180 degrees
(a Right Angle).
Two Angles are Supplementary if they add up to 180 degrees
MATH SAT PYTHAGOREAN THEORUM
A corollary of the Pythagorean theorem's converse is a simple means of determining whether a triangle is right, obtuse, or acute, as follows. Where c is chosen to be the longest of the three sides anda + b > c (otherwise there is no triangle according to the triangle inequality). The following statements apply:[28]
- If a2 + b2 = c2, then the triangle is right.
- If a2 + b2 > c2, then the triangle is acute.
- If a2 + b2 < c2, then the triangle is obtuse.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
W-Z
waif n. A homeless, neglected wanderer.
waive v. To relinquish, especially temporarily, as a right or claim.
wampum n. Beads strung on threads, formerly used among the American Indians as currency.
wane v. To diminish in size and brilliancy.
wantonness n. Recklessness.
weal n. Well-being.
wean v. To transfer (the young) from dependence on mother's milk to another form of nourishment.
wearisome adj. Fatiguing.
wherewith n. The necessary means or resources.
whet v. To make more keen or eager.
whimsical adj. Capricious.
wholly adv. Completely.
wile n. An act or a means of cunning deception.
winsome adj. Attractive.
wintry adj. Lacking warmth of manner.
wiry adj. Thin, but tough and sinewy.
witticism n. A witty, brilliant, or original saying or sentiment.
wittingly adv. With knowledge and by design.
wizen v. To become or cause to become withered or dry.
wizen-faced adj. Having a shriveled face.
wrangle v. To maintain by noisy argument or dispute.
wrest v. To pull or force away by or as by violent twisting or wringing.
wry adj. Deviating from that which is proper or right.
zealot n. One who espouses a cause or pursues an object in an immoderately partisan manner.
zeitgeist n. The intellectual and moral tendencies that characterize any age or epoch.
zenith n. The culminating-point of prosperity, influence, or greatness.
zephyr n. Any soft, gentle wind.
waive v. To relinquish, especially temporarily, as a right or claim.
wampum n. Beads strung on threads, formerly used among the American Indians as currency.
wane v. To diminish in size and brilliancy.
wantonness n. Recklessness.
weal n. Well-being.
wean v. To transfer (the young) from dependence on mother's milk to another form of nourishment.
wearisome adj. Fatiguing.
wherewith n. The necessary means or resources.
whet v. To make more keen or eager.
whimsical adj. Capricious.
wholly adv. Completely.
wile n. An act or a means of cunning deception.
winsome adj. Attractive.
wintry adj. Lacking warmth of manner.
wiry adj. Thin, but tough and sinewy.
witticism n. A witty, brilliant, or original saying or sentiment.
wittingly adv. With knowledge and by design.
wizen v. To become or cause to become withered or dry.
wizen-faced adj. Having a shriveled face.
wrangle v. To maintain by noisy argument or dispute.
wrest v. To pull or force away by or as by violent twisting or wringing.
wry adj. Deviating from that which is proper or right.
zealot n. One who espouses a cause or pursues an object in an immoderately partisan manner.
zeitgeist n. The intellectual and moral tendencies that characterize any age or epoch.
zenith n. The culminating-point of prosperity, influence, or greatness.
zephyr n. Any soft, gentle wind.
V
vacillate v. To waver.
vacuous adj. Empty.
vagabond n. A wanderer.
vagrant n. An idle wanderer.
vainglory n. Excessive, pretentious, and demonstrative vanity.
vale n. Level or low land between hills.
valediction n. A bidding farewell.
valedictorian n. Student who delivers an address at graduating exercises of an educational institution.
valedictory n. A parting address.
valorous adj. Courageous.
vaudeville n. A variety show.
vehement adj. Very eager or urgent.
venal adj. Mercenary, corrupt.
vendition n. The act of selling.
veneer n. Outside show or elegance.
venerable adj. Meriting or commanding high esteem.
venerate v. To cherish reverentially.
venial adj. That may be pardoned or forgiven, a forgivable sin.
venison n. The flesh of deer.
venous adj. Of, pertaining to, or contained or carried in a vein or veins.
veracious adj. Habitually disposed to speak the truth.
veracity n. Truthfulness.
verily adv. In truth.
verity n. Truth.
vermin n. A noxious or troublesome animal.
vernacular n. The language of one's country.
vernal adj. Belonging to or suggestive of the spring.
versatile adj. Having an aptitude for applying oneself to new and varied tasks or to various subjects.
vestige n. A visible trace, mark, or impression, of something absent, lost, or gone.
viceroy n. A ruler acting with royal authority in place of the sovereign in a colony or province.
vicissitude n. A change, especially a complete change, of condition or circumstances, as of fortune.
vie v. To contend.
vigilant adj. Being on the alert to discover and ward off danger or insure safety.
vignette n. A picture having a background or that is shaded off gradually.
vincible adj. Conquerable.
vindicatory adj. Punitive.
vindicative adj. Revengeful.
violoncello n. A stringed instrument held between the player's knees.
virulence n. Extreme poisonousness.
visage n. The face, countenance, or look of a person.
viscount n. In England, a title of nobility, ranking fourth in the order of British peerage.
vitality n. The state or quality of being necessary to existence or continuance.
vitalize v. To endow with life or energy.
vitiate v. To contaminate.
vituperable adj. Deserving of censure.
vivisection n. The dissection of a living animal.
vociferance n. The quality of making a clamor.
vociferate v. To utter with a loud and vehement voice.
vociferous adj. Making a loud outcry.
volant adj. Flying or able to fly.
volatile adj. Changeable.
volition n. An act or exercise of will.
volitive adj. Exercising the will.
voluble adj. Having great fluency in speaking.
votary adj. Consecrated by a vow or promise.
votive adj. Dedicated by a vow.
vacuous adj. Empty.
vagabond n. A wanderer.
vagrant n. An idle wanderer.
vainglory n. Excessive, pretentious, and demonstrative vanity.
vale n. Level or low land between hills.
valediction n. A bidding farewell.
valedictorian n. Student who delivers an address at graduating exercises of an educational institution.
valedictory n. A parting address.
valorous adj. Courageous.
vaudeville n. A variety show.
vehement adj. Very eager or urgent.
venal adj. Mercenary, corrupt.
vendition n. The act of selling.
veneer n. Outside show or elegance.
venerable adj. Meriting or commanding high esteem.
venerate v. To cherish reverentially.
venial adj. That may be pardoned or forgiven, a forgivable sin.
venison n. The flesh of deer.
venous adj. Of, pertaining to, or contained or carried in a vein or veins.
veracious adj. Habitually disposed to speak the truth.
veracity n. Truthfulness.
verily adv. In truth.
verity n. Truth.
vermin n. A noxious or troublesome animal.
vernacular n. The language of one's country.
vernal adj. Belonging to or suggestive of the spring.
versatile adj. Having an aptitude for applying oneself to new and varied tasks or to various subjects.
vestige n. A visible trace, mark, or impression, of something absent, lost, or gone.
viceroy n. A ruler acting with royal authority in place of the sovereign in a colony or province.
vicissitude n. A change, especially a complete change, of condition or circumstances, as of fortune.
vie v. To contend.
vigilant adj. Being on the alert to discover and ward off danger or insure safety.
vignette n. A picture having a background or that is shaded off gradually.
vincible adj. Conquerable.
vindicatory adj. Punitive.
vindicative adj. Revengeful.
violoncello n. A stringed instrument held between the player's knees.
virulence n. Extreme poisonousness.
visage n. The face, countenance, or look of a person.
viscount n. In England, a title of nobility, ranking fourth in the order of British peerage.
vitality n. The state or quality of being necessary to existence or continuance.
vitalize v. To endow with life or energy.
vitiate v. To contaminate.
vituperable adj. Deserving of censure.
vivisection n. The dissection of a living animal.
vociferance n. The quality of making a clamor.
vociferate v. To utter with a loud and vehement voice.
vociferous adj. Making a loud outcry.
volant adj. Flying or able to fly.
volatile adj. Changeable.
volition n. An act or exercise of will.
volitive adj. Exercising the will.
voluble adj. Having great fluency in speaking.
votary adj. Consecrated by a vow or promise.
votive adj. Dedicated by a vow.
U
ubiquitous adj. Being present everywhere.
ulterior adj. Not so pertinent as something else to the matter spoken of.
ultimatum n. A final statement or proposal, as concerning terms or conditions.
ultramundane adj. Pertaining to supernatural things or to another life.
ultramontane adj. Beyond the mountains, especially beyond the Alps (that is, on their Italian side).
umbrage n. A sense of injury.
unaccountable adj. Inexplicable.
unavoidable adj. Inevitable.
unbecoming adj. Unsuited to the wearer, place, or surroundings.
unbiased adj. Impartial, as judgment.
unbridled adj. Being without restraint.
unctuous adj. Oily.
underling n. A subordinate.
undermine v. To subvert in an underhand way.
underrate v. To undervalue.
understate v. To fail to put strongly enough, as a case.
undulate v. To move like a wave or in waves.
undulous adj. Resembling waves.
ungainly adj. Clumsy.
unguent n. Any ointment or lubricant for local application.
unicellular adj. Consisting of a single cell.
univalence n. Monovalency.
unison n. A condition of perfect agreement and accord.
unisonant adj. Being in a condition of perfect agreement and accord.
unsettle v. To put into confusion.
untoward adj. Causing annoyance or hindrance.
unwieldy adj. Moved or managed with difficulty, as from great size or awkward shape.
unyoke v. To separate.
upbraid v. To reproach as deserving blame.
upheaval n. Overthrow or violent disturbance of established order or condition.
upheave v. To raise or lift with effort.
uppermost adj. First in order of precedence.
uproarious adj. Noisy.
uproot v. To eradicate.
upturn v. To throw into confusion.
urchin n. A roguish, mischievous boy.
usurious adj. Taking unlawful or exorbitant interest on money loaned.
usurp v. To take possession of by force.
usury n. The demanding for the use of money as a loan, a rate of interest beyond what is allowed by law.
utilitarianism n. The ethical doctrine that actions are right because they are useful or of beneficial tendency.
utmost n. The greatest possible extent.
ulterior adj. Not so pertinent as something else to the matter spoken of.
ultimatum n. A final statement or proposal, as concerning terms or conditions.
ultramundane adj. Pertaining to supernatural things or to another life.
ultramontane adj. Beyond the mountains, especially beyond the Alps (that is, on their Italian side).
umbrage n. A sense of injury.
unaccountable adj. Inexplicable.
unavoidable adj. Inevitable.
unbecoming adj. Unsuited to the wearer, place, or surroundings.
unbiased adj. Impartial, as judgment.
unbridled adj. Being without restraint.
unctuous adj. Oily.
underling n. A subordinate.
undermine v. To subvert in an underhand way.
underrate v. To undervalue.
understate v. To fail to put strongly enough, as a case.
undulate v. To move like a wave or in waves.
undulous adj. Resembling waves.
ungainly adj. Clumsy.
unguent n. Any ointment or lubricant for local application.
unicellular adj. Consisting of a single cell.
univalence n. Monovalency.
unison n. A condition of perfect agreement and accord.
unisonant adj. Being in a condition of perfect agreement and accord.
unsettle v. To put into confusion.
untoward adj. Causing annoyance or hindrance.
unwieldy adj. Moved or managed with difficulty, as from great size or awkward shape.
unyoke v. To separate.
upbraid v. To reproach as deserving blame.
upheaval n. Overthrow or violent disturbance of established order or condition.
upheave v. To raise or lift with effort.
uppermost adj. First in order of precedence.
uproarious adj. Noisy.
uproot v. To eradicate.
upturn v. To throw into confusion.
urchin n. A roguish, mischievous boy.
usurious adj. Taking unlawful or exorbitant interest on money loaned.
usurp v. To take possession of by force.
usury n. The demanding for the use of money as a loan, a rate of interest beyond what is allowed by law.
utilitarianism n. The ethical doctrine that actions are right because they are useful or of beneficial tendency.
utmost n. The greatest possible extent.
T
tacit adj. Understood.
taciturn adj. Disinclined to conversation.
tannery n. A place where leather is tanned.
tantamount adj. Having equal or equivalent value, effect, or import.
taut adj. Stretched tight.
teem v. To be full to overflowing.
temerity n. Recklessness.
tempter n. An allurer or enticer to evil.
tenant n. An occupant.
tenet n. Any opinion, principle, dogma, or doctrine that a person believes or maintains as true.
tenor n. A settled course or manner of progress.
tentative adj. Done as an experiment.
tenure n. The term during which a thing is held.
termagant adj. Violently abusive and quarrelsome.
terminal adj. Pertaining to or creative of a boundary, limit.
terminus n. The final point or goal.
terse adj. Pithy.
thoroughfare n. A public street or road.
thrall n. One controlled by an appetite or a passion.
tilth n. Cultivation.
timbre n. The quality of a tone, as distinguished from intensity and pitch.
timorous adj. Lacking courage.
tincture n. A solution, usually alcoholic, of some principle used in medicine.
tirade n. Harangue.
topography n. The art of representing on a map the physical features of any locality or region with accuracy.
torpor n. Apathy.
torrid adj. Excessively hot.
tortious adj. Wrongful.
tractable adj. Easily led or controlled.
trajectory n. The path described by a projectile moving under given forces.
trammel n. An impediment.
transalpine adj. Situated on the other side of the Alps.
transact v. To do business.
transatlantic adj. Situated beyond or on the other side of the Atlantic.
transcend v. To surpass.
transcendent adj. Surpassing.
transcontinental adj. Extending or passing across a continent.
transience n. Something that is of short duration.
transient n. One who or that which is only of temporary existence.
transitory adj. Existing for a short time only.
translucence n. The property or state of allowing the passage of light.
transmute v. To change in nature, substance, or form.
transparent adj. Easy to see through or understand.
travail n. Hard or agonizing labor.
travesty n. A grotesque imitation.
treatise n. An elaborate literary composition presenting a subject in all its parts.
trebly adv. Triply.
trenchant adj. Cutting deeply and quickly.
trepidation n. Nervous uncertainty of feeling.
trestle n. An open braced framework for supporting the horizontal stringers of a railway-bridge.
tribune n. Any champion of the rights and liberties of the people: often used as the name for a newspaper.
triennial adj. Taking place every third year.
trinity n. A threefold personality existing in the one divine being or substance.
trite adj. Made commonplace by frequent repetition.
triumvir n. One of three men united coordinately in public office or authority.
turgid adj. Swollen.
turpitude n. Depravity.
tutelage n. The act of training or the state of being under instruction.
tutelar adj. Protective.
twinge n. A darting momentary local pain.
tyrannical adj. Despotic.
tyro n. One slightly skilled in or acquainted with any trade or profession.
taciturn adj. Disinclined to conversation.
tannery n. A place where leather is tanned.
tantamount adj. Having equal or equivalent value, effect, or import.
taut adj. Stretched tight.
teem v. To be full to overflowing.
temerity n. Recklessness.
tempter n. An allurer or enticer to evil.
tenant n. An occupant.
tenet n. Any opinion, principle, dogma, or doctrine that a person believes or maintains as true.
tenor n. A settled course or manner of progress.
tentative adj. Done as an experiment.
tenure n. The term during which a thing is held.
termagant adj. Violently abusive and quarrelsome.
terminal adj. Pertaining to or creative of a boundary, limit.
terminus n. The final point or goal.
terse adj. Pithy.
thoroughfare n. A public street or road.
thrall n. One controlled by an appetite or a passion.
tilth n. Cultivation.
timbre n. The quality of a tone, as distinguished from intensity and pitch.
timorous adj. Lacking courage.
tincture n. A solution, usually alcoholic, of some principle used in medicine.
tirade n. Harangue.
topography n. The art of representing on a map the physical features of any locality or region with accuracy.
torpor n. Apathy.
torrid adj. Excessively hot.
tortious adj. Wrongful.
tractable adj. Easily led or controlled.
trajectory n. The path described by a projectile moving under given forces.
trammel n. An impediment.
transalpine adj. Situated on the other side of the Alps.
transact v. To do business.
transatlantic adj. Situated beyond or on the other side of the Atlantic.
transcend v. To surpass.
transcendent adj. Surpassing.
transcontinental adj. Extending or passing across a continent.
transience n. Something that is of short duration.
transient n. One who or that which is only of temporary existence.
transitory adj. Existing for a short time only.
translucence n. The property or state of allowing the passage of light.
transmute v. To change in nature, substance, or form.
transparent adj. Easy to see through or understand.
travail n. Hard or agonizing labor.
travesty n. A grotesque imitation.
treatise n. An elaborate literary composition presenting a subject in all its parts.
trebly adv. Triply.
trenchant adj. Cutting deeply and quickly.
trepidation n. Nervous uncertainty of feeling.
trestle n. An open braced framework for supporting the horizontal stringers of a railway-bridge.
tribune n. Any champion of the rights and liberties of the people: often used as the name for a newspaper.
triennial adj. Taking place every third year.
trinity n. A threefold personality existing in the one divine being or substance.
trite adj. Made commonplace by frequent repetition.
triumvir n. One of three men united coordinately in public office or authority.
turgid adj. Swollen.
turpitude n. Depravity.
tutelage n. The act of training or the state of being under instruction.
tutelar adj. Protective.
twinge n. A darting momentary local pain.
tyrannical adj. Despotic.
tyro n. One slightly skilled in or acquainted with any trade or profession.
S
sacrificial adj. Offering or offered as an atonement for sin.
sacrilege n. The act of violating or profaning anything sacred.
sacrilegious adj. Impious.
sagacious adj. Able to discern and distinguish with wise perception.
salacious adj. Having strong sexual desires.
salience n. The condition of standing out distinctly.
salient adj. Standing out prominently.
salutary adj. Beneficial.
salutatory n. The opening oration at the commencement in American colleges.
salvage n. Any act of saving property.
salvo n. A salute given by firing all the guns, as at the funeral of an officer.
sanctimonious adj. Making an ostentatious display or hypocritical pretense of holiness or piety.
sanction v. To approve authoritatively.
sanctity n. Holiness.
sanguinary adj. Bloody.
sanguine adj. Having the color of blood.
sanguineous adj. Consisting of blood.
sapid adj. Affecting the sense of taste.
sapience n. Deep wisdom or knowledge.
sapient adj. Possessing wisdom.
sapiential adj. Possessing wisdom.
saponaceous adj. Having the nature or quality of soap.
sardonic adj. Scornfully or bitterly sarcastic.
satiate v. To satisfy fully the appetite or desire of.
satire n. The employment of sarcasm, irony, or keenness of wit in ridiculing vices.
satiric adj. Resembling poetry, in which vice, incapacity ,or corruption is held up to ridicule.
satirize v. To treat with sarcasm or derisive wit.
satyr n. A very lascivious person.
scabbard n. The sheath of a sword or similar bladed weapon.
scintilla n. The faintest ray.
scintillate v. To emit or send forth sparks or little flashes of light.
scribe n. One who writes or is skilled in writing.
scruple n. Doubt or uncertainty regarding a question of moral right or duty.
scrupulous adj. Cautious in action for fear of doing wrong.
scurrilous adj. Grossly indecent or vulgar.
scuttle v. To sink (a ship) by making holes in the bottom.
seance n. A meeting of spirituals for consulting spirits.
sear v. To burn on the surface.
sebaceous adj. Pertaining to or appearing like fat.
secant adj. Cutting, especially into two parts.
secede v. To withdraw from union or association, especially from a political or religious body.
secession n. Voluntary withdrawal from fellowship, especially from political or religious bodies.
sedate adj. Even-tempered.
sedentary adj. Involving or requiring much sitting.
sediment n. Matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid.
sedition n. Conduct directed against public order and the tranquillity of the state.
seditious adj. Promotive of conduct directed against public order and the tranquillity of the state.
sedulous adj. Persevering in effort or endeavor.
seer n. A prophet.
seethe v. To be violently excited or agitated.
seignior n. A title of honor or respectful address, equivalent to sir.
semblance n. Outward appearance.
semiconscious adj. Partially conscious.
seminar n. Any assemblage of pupils for real research in some specific study under a teacher.
seminary n. A special school, as of theology or pedagogics.
sensorium n. The sensory apparatus.
sentinel n. Any guard or watch stationed for protection.
separable adj. Capable of being disjoined or divided.
separatist n. A seceder.
septennial adj. Recurring every seven years.
sepulcher n. A burial-place.
sequacious adj. Ready to be led.
sequester v. To cause to withdraw or retire, as from society or public life.
sequestrate v. To confiscate.
servitude n. Slavery.
shiftless adj. Wanting in resource, energy, or executive ability.
shrinkage n. A contraction of any material into less bulk or dimension.
shrivel v. To draw or be drawn into wrinkles.
sibilant adj. Made with a hissing sound.
sibilate v. To give a hissing sound to, as in pronouncing the letter s.
sidelong adj. Inclining or tending to one side.
sidereal adj. Pertaining to stars or constellations.
siege n. A beleaguerment.
similitude n. Similarity.
simultaneous adj. Occurring, done, or existing at the same time.
sinecure n. Any position having emoluments with few or no duties.
sinuosity n. The quality of curving in and out.
sinuous adj. Curving in and out.
siren n. A sea-nymph, described by Homer as dwelling between the island of Circe and Scylla.
sirocco n. hot winds from Africa.
skeptic n. One who doubts any statements.
skiff n. Usually, a small light boat propelled by oars.
skirmish n. Desultory fighting between advanced detachments of two armies.
sleight n. A trick or feat so deftly done that the manner of performance escapes observation.
sluggard n. A person habitually lazy or idle.
solace n. Comfort in grief, trouble, or calamity.
solder n. A fusible alloy used for joining metallic surfaces or margins.
solecism n. Any violation of established rules or customs.
solicitor n. One who represents a client in court of justice; an attorney.
solicitude n. Uneasiness of mind occasioned by desire, anxiety, or fear.
solvent adj. Having sufficient funds to pay all debts.
somber adj. Gloomy.
somniferous adj. Tending to produce sleep.
somnolence n. Oppressive drowsiness.
somnolent adj. Sleepy.
sonata n. An instrumental composition.
sonnet n. A poem of fourteen decasyllabic or octosyllabiclines expressing two successive phrases.
sonorous adj. Resonant.
soothsayer n. One who claims to have supernatural insight or foresight.
sophism n. A false argument understood to be such by the reasoner himself and intentionally used to deceive
sophistical adj. Fallacious.
sophistry n. Reasoning sound in appearance only, especially when designedly deceptive.
sordid adj. Of degraded character or nature.
sparse adj. Thinly diffused.
spasmodic adj. Convulsive.
specie n. A coin or coins of gold, silver, copper, or other metal.
specious adj. Plausible.
spectator n. One who beholds or looks on.
specter n. Apparition.
spectrum n. An image formed by rays of light or other radiant energy.
speculate v. To pursue inquiries and form conjectures.
speculator n. One who makes an investment that involves a risk of loss, but also a chance of profit.
spinster n. A woman who has never been married.
spontaneous adj. Arising from inherent qualities or tendencies without external efficient cause.
sprightly adj. Vivacious.
spurious adj. Not genuine.
squabble v. To quarrel.
squalid adj. Having a dirty, mean, poverty-stricken appearance.
squatter n. One who settles on land without permission or right.
stagnant adj. Not flowing: said of water, as in a pool.
stagnate v. To become dull or inert.
stagnation n. The condition of not flowing or not changing.
stagy adj. Having a theatrical manner.
staid adj. Of a steady and sober character.
stanchion n. A vertical bar, or a pair of bars, used to confine cattle in a stall.
statecraft n. The art of conducting state affairs.
statistician n. One who is skilled in collecting and tabulating numerical facts.
statuesque adj. Having the grace, pose, or quietude of a statue.
statuette n. A figurine.
statute n. Any authoritatively declared rule, ordinance, decree, or law.
steppe n. One of the extensive plains in Russia and Siberia.
sterling adj. Genuine.
stigma n. A mark of infamy or token of disgrace attaching to a person as the result of evil-doing.
stiletto n. A small dagger.
stimulus n. Incentive.
stingy adj. Cheap, unwilling to spend money.
stipend n. A definite amount paid at stated periods in compensation for services or as an allowance.
Stoicism n. The principles or the practice of the Stoics-being very even tempered in success and failure.
stolid adj. Expressing no power of feeling or perceiving.
stratagem n. Any clever trick or device for obtaining an advantage.
stratum n. A natural or artificial layer, bed, or thickness of any substance or material.
streamlet n. Rivulet.
stringency n. Strictness.
stringent adj. Rigid.
stripling n. A mere youth.
stultify v. To give an appearance of foolishness to.
stupendous adj. Of prodigious size, bulk, or degree.
stupor n. Profound lethargy.
suasion n. The act of persuading.
subacid adj. Somewhat sharp or biting.
subconscious adj. Being or occurring in the mind, but without attendant consciousness or conscious perception.
subjection n. The act of bringing into a state of submission.
subjugate v. To conquer.
subliminal adj. Being beneath the threshold of consciousness.
sublingual adj. Situated beneath the tongue.
submittal n. The act of submitting.
subordinate adj. Belonging to an inferior order in a classification.
subsequent adj. Following in time.
subservience n. The quality, character, or condition of being servilely following another's behests.
subservient adj. Servilely following another's behests.
subsist v. To be maintained or sustained.
subsistence n. Sustenance.
subtend v. To extend opposite to.
subterfuge n. Evasion.
subterranean adj. Situated or occurring below the surface of the earth.
subtle adj. Discriminating.
subtrahend n. That which is to be subtracted.
subversion n. An overthrow, as from the foundation.
subvert v. To bring to ruin.
succinct adj. Concise.
succumb v. To cease to resist.
sufferance n. Toleration.
suffuse v. To cover or fill the surface of.
sumptuous adj. Rich and costly.
superabundance n. An excessive amount.
superadd v. To add in addition to what has been added.
superannuate v. To become deteriorated or incapacitated by long service.
supercilious adj. Exhibiting haughty and careless contempt.
superfluity n. That part of anything that is in excess of what is needed.
superfluous adj. Being more than is needed.
superintendence n. Direction and management.
superintendent n. One who has the charge and direction of, especially of some work or movement.
supernumerary adj. Superfluous.
supersede v. To displace.
supine adj. Lying on the back.
supplant v. To take the place of.
supplementary adj. Being an addition to.
supplicant n. One who asks humbly and earnestly.
supplicate v. To beg.
supposition n. Conjecture.
suppress v. To prevent from being disclosed or punished.
suppressible adj. Capable of being suppressed.
suppression n. A forcible putting or keeping down.
supramundane adj. Supernatural.
surcharge n. An additional amount charged.
surety n. Security for payment or performance.
surfeit v. To feed to fullness or to satiety.
surmount v. To overcome by force of will.
surreptitious adj. Clandestine.
surrogate n. One who or that which is substituted for or appointed to act in place of another.
surveyor n. A land-measurer.
sustenance n. Food.
swarthy adj. Having a dark hue, especially a dark or sunburned complexion.
Sybarite n. A luxurious person.
sycophant n. A servile flatterer, especially of those in authority or influence.
sylph n. A slender, graceful young woman or girl.
symphonic adj. Characterized by a harmonious or agreeable mingling of sounds.
symphonious adj. Marked by a harmonious or agreeable mingling of sounds.
synchronism n. Simultaneousness.
syndicate n. An association of individuals united for the prosecution of some enterprise.
syneresis n. The coalescence of two vowels or syllables, as e'er for ever.
synod n. An ecclesiastical council.
sacrilege n. The act of violating or profaning anything sacred.
sacrilegious adj. Impious.
sagacious adj. Able to discern and distinguish with wise perception.
salacious adj. Having strong sexual desires.
salience n. The condition of standing out distinctly.
salient adj. Standing out prominently.
salutary adj. Beneficial.
salutatory n. The opening oration at the commencement in American colleges.
salvage n. Any act of saving property.
salvo n. A salute given by firing all the guns, as at the funeral of an officer.
sanctimonious adj. Making an ostentatious display or hypocritical pretense of holiness or piety.
sanction v. To approve authoritatively.
sanctity n. Holiness.
sanguinary adj. Bloody.
sanguine adj. Having the color of blood.
sanguineous adj. Consisting of blood.
sapid adj. Affecting the sense of taste.
sapience n. Deep wisdom or knowledge.
sapient adj. Possessing wisdom.
sapiential adj. Possessing wisdom.
saponaceous adj. Having the nature or quality of soap.
sardonic adj. Scornfully or bitterly sarcastic.
satiate v. To satisfy fully the appetite or desire of.
satire n. The employment of sarcasm, irony, or keenness of wit in ridiculing vices.
satiric adj. Resembling poetry, in which vice, incapacity ,or corruption is held up to ridicule.
satirize v. To treat with sarcasm or derisive wit.
satyr n. A very lascivious person.
scabbard n. The sheath of a sword or similar bladed weapon.
scintilla n. The faintest ray.
scintillate v. To emit or send forth sparks or little flashes of light.
scribe n. One who writes or is skilled in writing.
scruple n. Doubt or uncertainty regarding a question of moral right or duty.
scrupulous adj. Cautious in action for fear of doing wrong.
scurrilous adj. Grossly indecent or vulgar.
scuttle v. To sink (a ship) by making holes in the bottom.
seance n. A meeting of spirituals for consulting spirits.
sear v. To burn on the surface.
sebaceous adj. Pertaining to or appearing like fat.
secant adj. Cutting, especially into two parts.
secede v. To withdraw from union or association, especially from a political or religious body.
secession n. Voluntary withdrawal from fellowship, especially from political or religious bodies.
sedate adj. Even-tempered.
sedentary adj. Involving or requiring much sitting.
sediment n. Matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid.
sedition n. Conduct directed against public order and the tranquillity of the state.
seditious adj. Promotive of conduct directed against public order and the tranquillity of the state.
sedulous adj. Persevering in effort or endeavor.
seer n. A prophet.
seethe v. To be violently excited or agitated.
seignior n. A title of honor or respectful address, equivalent to sir.
semblance n. Outward appearance.
semiconscious adj. Partially conscious.
seminar n. Any assemblage of pupils for real research in some specific study under a teacher.
seminary n. A special school, as of theology or pedagogics.
sensorium n. The sensory apparatus.
sentinel n. Any guard or watch stationed for protection.
separable adj. Capable of being disjoined or divided.
separatist n. A seceder.
septennial adj. Recurring every seven years.
sepulcher n. A burial-place.
sequacious adj. Ready to be led.
sequester v. To cause to withdraw or retire, as from society or public life.
sequestrate v. To confiscate.
servitude n. Slavery.
shiftless adj. Wanting in resource, energy, or executive ability.
shrinkage n. A contraction of any material into less bulk or dimension.
shrivel v. To draw or be drawn into wrinkles.
sibilant adj. Made with a hissing sound.
sibilate v. To give a hissing sound to, as in pronouncing the letter s.
sidelong adj. Inclining or tending to one side.
sidereal adj. Pertaining to stars or constellations.
siege n. A beleaguerment.
similitude n. Similarity.
simultaneous adj. Occurring, done, or existing at the same time.
sinecure n. Any position having emoluments with few or no duties.
sinuosity n. The quality of curving in and out.
sinuous adj. Curving in and out.
siren n. A sea-nymph, described by Homer as dwelling between the island of Circe and Scylla.
sirocco n. hot winds from Africa.
skeptic n. One who doubts any statements.
skiff n. Usually, a small light boat propelled by oars.
skirmish n. Desultory fighting between advanced detachments of two armies.
sleight n. A trick or feat so deftly done that the manner of performance escapes observation.
sluggard n. A person habitually lazy or idle.
solace n. Comfort in grief, trouble, or calamity.
solder n. A fusible alloy used for joining metallic surfaces or margins.
solecism n. Any violation of established rules or customs.
solicitor n. One who represents a client in court of justice; an attorney.
solicitude n. Uneasiness of mind occasioned by desire, anxiety, or fear.
solvent adj. Having sufficient funds to pay all debts.
somber adj. Gloomy.
somniferous adj. Tending to produce sleep.
somnolence n. Oppressive drowsiness.
somnolent adj. Sleepy.
sonata n. An instrumental composition.
sonnet n. A poem of fourteen decasyllabic or octosyllabiclines expressing two successive phrases.
sonorous adj. Resonant.
soothsayer n. One who claims to have supernatural insight or foresight.
sophism n. A false argument understood to be such by the reasoner himself and intentionally used to deceive
sophistical adj. Fallacious.
sophistry n. Reasoning sound in appearance only, especially when designedly deceptive.
sordid adj. Of degraded character or nature.
sparse adj. Thinly diffused.
spasmodic adj. Convulsive.
specie n. A coin or coins of gold, silver, copper, or other metal.
specious adj. Plausible.
spectator n. One who beholds or looks on.
specter n. Apparition.
spectrum n. An image formed by rays of light or other radiant energy.
speculate v. To pursue inquiries and form conjectures.
speculator n. One who makes an investment that involves a risk of loss, but also a chance of profit.
spinster n. A woman who has never been married.
spontaneous adj. Arising from inherent qualities or tendencies without external efficient cause.
sprightly adj. Vivacious.
spurious adj. Not genuine.
squabble v. To quarrel.
squalid adj. Having a dirty, mean, poverty-stricken appearance.
squatter n. One who settles on land without permission or right.
stagnant adj. Not flowing: said of water, as in a pool.
stagnate v. To become dull or inert.
stagnation n. The condition of not flowing or not changing.
stagy adj. Having a theatrical manner.
staid adj. Of a steady and sober character.
stanchion n. A vertical bar, or a pair of bars, used to confine cattle in a stall.
statecraft n. The art of conducting state affairs.
statistician n. One who is skilled in collecting and tabulating numerical facts.
statuesque adj. Having the grace, pose, or quietude of a statue.
statuette n. A figurine.
statute n. Any authoritatively declared rule, ordinance, decree, or law.
steppe n. One of the extensive plains in Russia and Siberia.
sterling adj. Genuine.
stigma n. A mark of infamy or token of disgrace attaching to a person as the result of evil-doing.
stiletto n. A small dagger.
stimulus n. Incentive.
stingy adj. Cheap, unwilling to spend money.
stipend n. A definite amount paid at stated periods in compensation for services or as an allowance.
Stoicism n. The principles or the practice of the Stoics-being very even tempered in success and failure.
stolid adj. Expressing no power of feeling or perceiving.
stratagem n. Any clever trick or device for obtaining an advantage.
stratum n. A natural or artificial layer, bed, or thickness of any substance or material.
streamlet n. Rivulet.
stringency n. Strictness.
stringent adj. Rigid.
stripling n. A mere youth.
stultify v. To give an appearance of foolishness to.
stupendous adj. Of prodigious size, bulk, or degree.
stupor n. Profound lethargy.
suasion n. The act of persuading.
subacid adj. Somewhat sharp or biting.
subconscious adj. Being or occurring in the mind, but without attendant consciousness or conscious perception.
subjection n. The act of bringing into a state of submission.
subjugate v. To conquer.
subliminal adj. Being beneath the threshold of consciousness.
sublingual adj. Situated beneath the tongue.
submittal n. The act of submitting.
subordinate adj. Belonging to an inferior order in a classification.
subsequent adj. Following in time.
subservience n. The quality, character, or condition of being servilely following another's behests.
subservient adj. Servilely following another's behests.
subsist v. To be maintained or sustained.
subsistence n. Sustenance.
subtend v. To extend opposite to.
subterfuge n. Evasion.
subterranean adj. Situated or occurring below the surface of the earth.
subtle adj. Discriminating.
subtrahend n. That which is to be subtracted.
subversion n. An overthrow, as from the foundation.
subvert v. To bring to ruin.
succinct adj. Concise.
succumb v. To cease to resist.
sufferance n. Toleration.
suffuse v. To cover or fill the surface of.
sumptuous adj. Rich and costly.
superabundance n. An excessive amount.
superadd v. To add in addition to what has been added.
superannuate v. To become deteriorated or incapacitated by long service.
supercilious adj. Exhibiting haughty and careless contempt.
superfluity n. That part of anything that is in excess of what is needed.
superfluous adj. Being more than is needed.
superintendence n. Direction and management.
superintendent n. One who has the charge and direction of, especially of some work or movement.
supernumerary adj. Superfluous.
supersede v. To displace.
supine adj. Lying on the back.
supplant v. To take the place of.
supplementary adj. Being an addition to.
supplicant n. One who asks humbly and earnestly.
supplicate v. To beg.
supposition n. Conjecture.
suppress v. To prevent from being disclosed or punished.
suppressible adj. Capable of being suppressed.
suppression n. A forcible putting or keeping down.
supramundane adj. Supernatural.
surcharge n. An additional amount charged.
surety n. Security for payment or performance.
surfeit v. To feed to fullness or to satiety.
surmount v. To overcome by force of will.
surreptitious adj. Clandestine.
surrogate n. One who or that which is substituted for or appointed to act in place of another.
surveyor n. A land-measurer.
sustenance n. Food.
swarthy adj. Having a dark hue, especially a dark or sunburned complexion.
Sybarite n. A luxurious person.
sycophant n. A servile flatterer, especially of those in authority or influence.
sylph n. A slender, graceful young woman or girl.
symphonic adj. Characterized by a harmonious or agreeable mingling of sounds.
symphonious adj. Marked by a harmonious or agreeable mingling of sounds.
synchronism n. Simultaneousness.
syndicate n. An association of individuals united for the prosecution of some enterprise.
syneresis n. The coalescence of two vowels or syllables, as e'er for ever.
synod n. An ecclesiastical council.
R
radix n. That from or on which something is developed.
raillery n. Good-humored satire.
ramify v. To divide or subdivide into branches or subdivisions.
ramose adj. Branch-like.
rampant adj. Growing, climbing, or running without check or restraint.
rampart n. A bulwark or construction to oppose assault or hostile entry.
rancor n. Malice.
rankle v. To produce irritation or festering.
rapacious adj. Disposed to seize by violence or by unlawful or greedy methods.
rapine n. The act of seizing and carrying off property by superior force, as in war.
rapt adj. Enraptured.
raptorial adj. Seizing and devouring living prey.
ration v. To provide with a fixed allowance or portion, especially of food.
rationalism n. The formation of opinions by relying upon reason alone, independently of authority.
raucous adj. Harsh.
ravine n. A deep gorge or hollow, especially one worn by a stream or flow of water.
rebuff n. A peremptory or unexpected rejection of advances or approaches.
rebut v. To oppose by argument or a sufficient answer.
recant v. To withdraw formally one's belief (in something previously believed or maintained).
recapitulate v. To repeat again the principal points of.
recede v. To move back or away.
receptive adj. Having the capacity, quality, or ability of receiving, as truths or impressions.
recessive adj. Having a tendency to go back.
recidivist n. A confirmed criminal.
reciprocal adj. Mutually interchangeable or convertible.
reciprocate v. To give and take mutually.
reciprocity n. Equal mutual rights and benefits granted and enjoyed.
recitation n. The act of reciting or repeating, especially in public and from memory.
reck v. To have a care or thought for.
recluse n. One who lives in retirement or seclusion.
reclusory n. A hermitage.
recognizance n. An acknowledgment entered into before a court with condition to do some particular act.
recoil v. To start back as in dismay, loathing, or dread.
reconcilable adj. Capable of being adjusted or harmonized.
reconnoiter v. To make a preliminary examination of for military, surveying, or geological purposes.
recourse n. Resort to or application for help in exigency or trouble.
recreant n. A cowardly or faithless person.
recrudescence n. The state of becoming raw or sore again.
recrudescent adj. Becoming raw or sore again.
rectify v. To correct.
rectitude n. The quality of being upright in principles and conduct.
recur v. To happen again or repeatedly, especially at regular intervals.
redemption n. The recovery of what is mortgaged or pledged, by paying the debt.
redolent adj. Smelling sweet and agreeable.
redolence n. Smelling sweet and agreeable.
redoubtable adj. Formidable.
redound n. Rebound.
reducible adj. That may be reduced.
redundance n. Excess.
redundant adj. Constituting an excess.
reestablish v. To restore.
refinery n. A place where some crude material, as sugar or petroleum, is purified.
refract v. To bend or turn from a direct course.
refractory adj. Not amenable to control.
refragable adj. Capable of being refuted.
refringency n. Power to refract.
refringent adj. Having the power to refract.
refute v. To prove to be wrong.
regale v. To give unusual pleasure.
regalia n. pl. The emblems of royalty.
regent n. One who is lawfully deputized to administer the government for the time being in the name of the ruler.
regicide n. The killing of a king or sovereign.
regime n. Particular conduct or administration of affairs.
regimen n. A systematized order or course of living with reference to food, clothing and personal habits.
regiment n. A body of soldiers.
regnant adj. Exercising royal authority in one's own right.
regress v. To return to a former place or condition.
reimburse v. To pay back as an equivalent of what has been expended.
reinstate v. To restore to a former state, station, or authority.
reiterate v. To say or do again and again.
relegate v. To send off or consign, as to an obscure position or remote destination.
relent v. To yield.
relinquish v. To give up using or having.
reliquary n. A casket, coffer, or repository in which relics are kept.
reluctant adj. Unwilling.
remiss adj. Negligent.
remission n. Temporary diminution of a disease.
remunerate v. To pay or pay for.
remuneration n. Compensation.
rendezvous n. A prearranged place of meeting.
rendition n. Interpretation.
renovate v. To restore after deterioration, as a building.
repartee n. A ready, witty, or apt reply.
repertory n. A place where things are stored or gathered together.
repine v. To indulge in fretfulness and faultfinding.
replete adj. Full to the uttermost.
repository n. A place in which goods are stored.
reprehend v. To find fault with.
reprehensible adj. Censurable.
reprehension n. Expression of blame.
repress v. To keep under restraint or control.
reprieve v. To grant a respite from punishment to.
reprimand v. To chide or rebuke for a fault.
reprisal n. Any infliction or act by way of retaliation on an enemy.
reprobate n. One abandoned to depravity and sin.
repugnance n. Thorough dislike.
repugnant adj. Offensive to taste and feeling.
repute v. To hold in general opinion.
requiem n. A solemn mass sung for the repose of the souls of the dead.
requisite adj. Necessary.
requital n. Adequate return for good or ill.
requite v. To repay either good or evil to, as to a person.
rescind v. To make void, as an act, by the enacting authority or a superior authority.
reseat v. To place in position of office again.
reservoir n. A receptacle where a quantity of some material, especially of a liquid or gas, may be kept.
residue n. A remainder or surplus after a part has been separated or otherwise treated.
resilience n. The power of springing back to a former position
resilient adj. Having the quality of springing back to a former position.
resistive adj. Having or exercising the power of resistance.
resistless powerless
resonance adj. Able to reinforce sound by sympathetic vibrations.
resonate v. To have or produce resonance.
respite n. Interval of rest.
resplendent adj. Very bright.
restitution n. Restoration of anything to the one to whom it properly belongs.
resumption n. The act of taking back, or taking again.
resurgent adj. Surging back or again.
resuscitate v. To restore from apparent death.
retaliate v. To repay evil with a similar evil.
retch v. To make an effort to vomit.
retention n. The keeping of a thing within one's power or possession.
reticence n. The quality of habitually keeping silent or being reserved in utterance.
reticent adj. Habitually keeping silent or being reserved in utterance.
retinue n. The body of persons who attend a person of importance in travel or public appearance.
retrench v. To cut down or reduce in extent or quantity.
retrograde v. To cause to deteriorate or to move backward.
retrogression n. A going or moving backward or in a reverse direction.
retrospect n. A view or contemplation of something past.
retrospective adj. Looking back on the past.
revelation n. A disclosing, discovering, or making known of what was before secret, private, or unknown.
revere v. To regard with worshipful veneration.
reverent adj. Humble.
reversion n. A return to or toward some former state or condition.
revile v. To heap approach or abuse upon.
revocation n. Repeal.
revoke v. To rescind.
rhapsody n. Rapt or rapturous utterance.
rhetoric n. The art of discourse.
rhetorician n. A showy writer or speaker.
ribald adj. Indulging in or manifesting coarse indecency or obscenity.
rife adj. Abundant.
righteousness n. Rectitude.
rigmarole n. Nonsense.
rigor n. Inflexibility.
rigorous adj. Uncompromising.
risible adj. capable of exciting laughter.
rivulet n. A small stream or brook.
rondo n. A musical composition during which the first part or subject is repeated several times.
rookery n. A place where crows congregate to breed.
rotary adj. Turning around its axis, like a wheel, or so constructed as to turn thus.
rote n. Repetition of words or sounds as a means of learning them, with slight attention.
rotund adj. Round from fullness or plumpness.
rudimentary adj. Being in an initial, early, or incomplete stage of development.
rue v. To regret extremely.
ruffian adj. A lawless or recklessly brutal fellow.
ruminant adj. Chewing the cud.
ruminate v. To chew over again, as food previously swallowed and regurgitated.
rupture v. To separate the parts of by violence.
rustic adj. Characteristic of dwelling in the country.
ruth n. Sorrow for another's misery.
raillery n. Good-humored satire.
ramify v. To divide or subdivide into branches or subdivisions.
ramose adj. Branch-like.
rampant adj. Growing, climbing, or running without check or restraint.
rampart n. A bulwark or construction to oppose assault or hostile entry.
rancor n. Malice.
rankle v. To produce irritation or festering.
rapacious adj. Disposed to seize by violence or by unlawful or greedy methods.
rapine n. The act of seizing and carrying off property by superior force, as in war.
rapt adj. Enraptured.
raptorial adj. Seizing and devouring living prey.
ration v. To provide with a fixed allowance or portion, especially of food.
rationalism n. The formation of opinions by relying upon reason alone, independently of authority.
raucous adj. Harsh.
ravine n. A deep gorge or hollow, especially one worn by a stream or flow of water.
rebuff n. A peremptory or unexpected rejection of advances or approaches.
rebut v. To oppose by argument or a sufficient answer.
recant v. To withdraw formally one's belief (in something previously believed or maintained).
recapitulate v. To repeat again the principal points of.
recede v. To move back or away.
receptive adj. Having the capacity, quality, or ability of receiving, as truths or impressions.
recessive adj. Having a tendency to go back.
recidivist n. A confirmed criminal.
reciprocal adj. Mutually interchangeable or convertible.
reciprocate v. To give and take mutually.
reciprocity n. Equal mutual rights and benefits granted and enjoyed.
recitation n. The act of reciting or repeating, especially in public and from memory.
reck v. To have a care or thought for.
recluse n. One who lives in retirement or seclusion.
reclusory n. A hermitage.
recognizance n. An acknowledgment entered into before a court with condition to do some particular act.
recoil v. To start back as in dismay, loathing, or dread.
reconcilable adj. Capable of being adjusted or harmonized.
reconnoiter v. To make a preliminary examination of for military, surveying, or geological purposes.
recourse n. Resort to or application for help in exigency or trouble.
recreant n. A cowardly or faithless person.
recrudescence n. The state of becoming raw or sore again.
recrudescent adj. Becoming raw or sore again.
rectify v. To correct.
rectitude n. The quality of being upright in principles and conduct.
recur v. To happen again or repeatedly, especially at regular intervals.
redemption n. The recovery of what is mortgaged or pledged, by paying the debt.
redolent adj. Smelling sweet and agreeable.
redolence n. Smelling sweet and agreeable.
redoubtable adj. Formidable.
redound n. Rebound.
reducible adj. That may be reduced.
redundance n. Excess.
redundant adj. Constituting an excess.
reestablish v. To restore.
refinery n. A place where some crude material, as sugar or petroleum, is purified.
refract v. To bend or turn from a direct course.
refractory adj. Not amenable to control.
refragable adj. Capable of being refuted.
refringency n. Power to refract.
refringent adj. Having the power to refract.
refute v. To prove to be wrong.
regale v. To give unusual pleasure.
regalia n. pl. The emblems of royalty.
regent n. One who is lawfully deputized to administer the government for the time being in the name of the ruler.
regicide n. The killing of a king or sovereign.
regime n. Particular conduct or administration of affairs.
regimen n. A systematized order or course of living with reference to food, clothing and personal habits.
regiment n. A body of soldiers.
regnant adj. Exercising royal authority in one's own right.
regress v. To return to a former place or condition.
reimburse v. To pay back as an equivalent of what has been expended.
reinstate v. To restore to a former state, station, or authority.
reiterate v. To say or do again and again.
relegate v. To send off or consign, as to an obscure position or remote destination.
relent v. To yield.
relinquish v. To give up using or having.
reliquary n. A casket, coffer, or repository in which relics are kept.
reluctant adj. Unwilling.
remiss adj. Negligent.
remission n. Temporary diminution of a disease.
remunerate v. To pay or pay for.
remuneration n. Compensation.
rendezvous n. A prearranged place of meeting.
rendition n. Interpretation.
renovate v. To restore after deterioration, as a building.
repartee n. A ready, witty, or apt reply.
repertory n. A place where things are stored or gathered together.
repine v. To indulge in fretfulness and faultfinding.
replete adj. Full to the uttermost.
repository n. A place in which goods are stored.
reprehend v. To find fault with.
reprehensible adj. Censurable.
reprehension n. Expression of blame.
repress v. To keep under restraint or control.
reprieve v. To grant a respite from punishment to.
reprimand v. To chide or rebuke for a fault.
reprisal n. Any infliction or act by way of retaliation on an enemy.
reprobate n. One abandoned to depravity and sin.
repugnance n. Thorough dislike.
repugnant adj. Offensive to taste and feeling.
repute v. To hold in general opinion.
requiem n. A solemn mass sung for the repose of the souls of the dead.
requisite adj. Necessary.
requital n. Adequate return for good or ill.
requite v. To repay either good or evil to, as to a person.
rescind v. To make void, as an act, by the enacting authority or a superior authority.
reseat v. To place in position of office again.
reservoir n. A receptacle where a quantity of some material, especially of a liquid or gas, may be kept.
residue n. A remainder or surplus after a part has been separated or otherwise treated.
resilience n. The power of springing back to a former position
resilient adj. Having the quality of springing back to a former position.
resistive adj. Having or exercising the power of resistance.
resistless powerless
resonance adj. Able to reinforce sound by sympathetic vibrations.
resonate v. To have or produce resonance.
respite n. Interval of rest.
resplendent adj. Very bright.
restitution n. Restoration of anything to the one to whom it properly belongs.
resumption n. The act of taking back, or taking again.
resurgent adj. Surging back or again.
resuscitate v. To restore from apparent death.
retaliate v. To repay evil with a similar evil.
retch v. To make an effort to vomit.
retention n. The keeping of a thing within one's power or possession.
reticence n. The quality of habitually keeping silent or being reserved in utterance.
reticent adj. Habitually keeping silent or being reserved in utterance.
retinue n. The body of persons who attend a person of importance in travel or public appearance.
retrench v. To cut down or reduce in extent or quantity.
retrograde v. To cause to deteriorate or to move backward.
retrogression n. A going or moving backward or in a reverse direction.
retrospect n. A view or contemplation of something past.
retrospective adj. Looking back on the past.
revelation n. A disclosing, discovering, or making known of what was before secret, private, or unknown.
revere v. To regard with worshipful veneration.
reverent adj. Humble.
reversion n. A return to or toward some former state or condition.
revile v. To heap approach or abuse upon.
revocation n. Repeal.
revoke v. To rescind.
rhapsody n. Rapt or rapturous utterance.
rhetoric n. The art of discourse.
rhetorician n. A showy writer or speaker.
ribald adj. Indulging in or manifesting coarse indecency or obscenity.
rife adj. Abundant.
righteousness n. Rectitude.
rigmarole n. Nonsense.
rigor n. Inflexibility.
rigorous adj. Uncompromising.
risible adj. capable of exciting laughter.
rivulet n. A small stream or brook.
rondo n. A musical composition during which the first part or subject is repeated several times.
rookery n. A place where crows congregate to breed.
rotary adj. Turning around its axis, like a wheel, or so constructed as to turn thus.
rote n. Repetition of words or sounds as a means of learning them, with slight attention.
rotund adj. Round from fullness or plumpness.
rudimentary adj. Being in an initial, early, or incomplete stage of development.
rue v. To regret extremely.
ruffian adj. A lawless or recklessly brutal fellow.
ruminant adj. Chewing the cud.
ruminate v. To chew over again, as food previously swallowed and regurgitated.
rupture v. To separate the parts of by violence.
rustic adj. Characteristic of dwelling in the country.
ruth n. Sorrow for another's misery.
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