ALLICIENT
ESCHEW:
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-LISH-uhnt)
MEANING: adjective: Having the power to attract;
appealing.
USAGE: “And yet Fiben’s heart beat faster as he watched
her allicient movements.”
DESECRATE:
PRONUNCIATION: /'dɛsɪkreɪt/ v.
MEANING: violate with violence, especially to sacred
place
USAGE: Shattering the altar and trampling the holy
objects underfoot, the invaders desecrate the sanctuary.
DISSEMBLE:
PRONUNCIATION: /dɪ'sɛmb(ə)l/ v. Syn. disguise;
pretend
MEANING: disguise or conceal behind a false
appearance; make a false show of
USAGE: Even though John tried to dissemble his motive
for taking modern dance, we all knew he was there not to
dance but to meet girls.
EFFRONTERY:
PRONUNCIATION: /ɛ'frʌntərɪ/ n.
MEANING: shameless or brazen boldness; insolent and
shameless audacity
USAGE: She had the effrontery to insult the guest.
ENERVATE:
PRONUNCIATION: /'ɛnəveɪt/ v. Syn. weaken
MEANING: weaken or destroy strength or vitality of;
remove a nerve or part of a nerve
USAGE: She was slow to recover from her illness; even a
short walk to the window would enervate her.
PRONUNCIATION: /ɪs'tʃu:/ v. Syn. avoid; escape
MEANING: avoid; refuse to use or participate in; stand
aloof from
USAGE: Hoping to present himself to his girlfriend as a
totally reformed character, he tried to eschew all the vices.
EVINCE:
PRONUNCIATION: /ɪ'vɪns/ v. Syn. manifest
MEANING: show or demonstrate clearly; overcome;
conquer
USAGE: When he tried to answer the questions, I heard
he evince his ignorance of the subject matter.
PLUTOCRACY
PRONUNCIATION: n. /plu:'tɒkrəsɪ/
MEANING: society or government ruled by wealthy class
USAGE: From the way the government caters to the rich,
you might think our society is a plutocracy rather than
a democracy.
ABASE
PRONUNCIATION: v. /ə'beɪs/
MEANING: humiliate; lower or depress in rank or esteem
USAGE: Defeated, Queen Zenobia was forced to abase
herself before the conquering Romans, who made her march
in chains before the emperor in the procession celebrating
his triumph.
ABROGATE
PRONUNCIATION: a. /'æbroʊgeɪt/
MEANING: abolish, do away with, or annul, especially by
authority
USAGE: He intended to abrogate the decree issued by his
predecessor.
PLUTOCRACY
PRONUNCIATION: n. /plu:'tɒkrəsɪ/
ABDICATE
PRONUNCIATION: v. /'æbdɪkeɪt/
MEANING: give up, renounce, abandon, lay down,
or withdraw from, as a right or claim
USAGE: When King Edward did abdicate the British
throne to marry the woman he loved, he surprised the entire world.
ACCENTUATE
PRONUNCIATION: v. /æk'sɛntjʊeɪt/
MEANING: emphasize; stress; pronounce with a stress
or accent; mark with an accent
USAGE: John said the overwhelming demand for
transportation fuels will again accentuate the need
for increased drilling, but that might take months.
ACOUSTICS
PRONUNCIATION: n. /ə'ku:stɪks/
MEANING: science of sound; quality that makes a room
easy or hard to hear in
USAGE: Carnegie Hall is liked by music lovers because
of its fine acoustics.
ACCRUE
PRONUNCIATION: v. /ə'kru:/
MEANING: increase, accumulate, or come about as a
result of growth; accumulate over time
USAGE: The Premier League awards three points for a
win and one for a draw, so in a 38-game season the
maximum a team can accrue is 114 points.
ABRIDGE
PRONUNCIATION: v. /ə'brɪdʒ/
MEANING: condense; shorten; reduce length of written text
USAGE: Because the publishers felt the public wanted
a shorter version of War and Peace, they proceeded to
PLUTOCRACY
PRONUNCIATION: n. /plu:'tɒkrəsɪ/
abridge the novel.
BEREAVEMENT
PRONUNCIATION: n. /bɪ'ri:vmɛnt/
MEANING: grievous loss; particularly, the loss of a relative or
friend by death
USAGE: His friends gathered to console him upon his sudden
bereavement.
BEDRAGGLE
PRONUNCIATION: v. /bɪ'dræg(ə)l/
MEANING: wet thoroughly; stain with mud; soil or wet by
dragging in dirt, mud, moist places
USAGE: The severe storms bedraggle so heavily that we have
to change into dry clothing.
BEFUDDLE
PRONUNCIATION: v. /bɪ'fʌd(ə)l/
MEANING: confuse thoroughly; becloud and confuse
USAGE: His attempts to clarify the situation only befuddle her
further.
BEQUEATH
PRONUNCIATION: v. /bɪ'kwi:ð/
MEANING: leave to someone by a will; hand down
USAGE: Though Max had intended to bequeath the family
home to her nephew, she died before changing her will.
BESTIAL
PRONUNCIATION: a. /'bɛstɪəl/;/'bɛstʃəl/
MEANING: beastlike; brutal; lacking in intelligence or reason
USAGE: According to legend, the werewolf was able to
PLUTOCRACY
CONTIGUOUS
PRONUNCIATION: n. /plu:'tɒkrəsɪ/ neighbouring
abandon its human shape and take on a bestial form.
USAGE: The two houses had contiguous yards so the
families shared the landscaping expenses.
BEATIFIC

PRONUNCIATION: a. /bi:ə'tɪfɪk/ CONTEMPTUOUS

MEANING: completely happy and contented; showing or
producing exalted joy
USAGE: The beatific smile on the child's face made PRONUNCIATION: a. /kən'tɛmptjʊəs/
us very happy.
MEANING: scornful; expressing contempt; showing a lack
CHURLISH of respect

USAGE: The diners were intimidated by contemptuous

PRONUNCIATION: a. /'tʃɜrlɪʃ/
manner of the waiter.
MEANING: difficult to work with; rude; unyielding;
unmanageable CONFLUENCE

USAGE: Dismayed by his churlish behaviours at the party, PRONUNCIATION: n. /'kɒnflʊəns/

the girls vowed never to invite him again.
MEANING: act of two things flowing together; junction or
CIRCUMVENT meeting place where two things meet

USAGE: At the political meeting, while planning a

PRONUNCIATION: v. /sɜrkəm'vɛnt/
demonstration, there was a moving confluence of ideas
between members.
MEANING: surround; enclose or entrap outwit; beat
through cleverness and wit
CONVIVIAL
USAGE: In order to circumvent the enemy, we will make
two preliminary attacks in other sections before starting PRONUNCIATION: a. /kən'vɪvɪəl/
our major campaign.
MEANING: festive; occupied with or fond of the pleasures
of good company
CIRCUMSPECT
USAGE: The convivial celebrators of the victory sang their
college songs.
PRONUNCIATION: a. /'sɜrkəmspɛkt/
DEBONAIR
MEANING: carefully aware of all circumstances; cautious
PRONUNCIATION: a. /dɛbə'nɛə(r)/
USAGE: Investigating before acting, she tried always to
be circumspect. MEANING: friendly; of good appearance and manners;
graceful
CONTIGUOUS USAGE: The debonair youth was liked by all who met
him, because of his cheerful and obliging manner.
PRONUNCIATION: a. /kən'tɪgjʊəs/
DEMURE
MEANING: sharing an edge or boundary; touching;
PRONUNCIATION: a. /dɪ'mjʊə(r)/

MEANING: modest and reserved in manner or behavior

USAGE: She was demure and reserved, a nice modest

girl whom any young man would be proud to take home to
his mother.

DEDUCIBLE

PRONUNCIATION: a. /dɪ'dju:sɪbl/

MEANING: capable of being derived by reasoning from

known principles or facts

USAGE: If we accept your premise, your conclusions are

easily deducible.