Coalesce:to grow together to form a single whole"The sun and planets eventually coalesced out of a vast cloud of gas and dust." |
Circumspect:cautious, aware of potential consequences"She was very circumspect in her language and behavior when first introduced to her fiancee's parents." |
Candid:impartial and honest in speech"The observations of a child can be charming since they are candid and unpretentious." |
Audacious:fearless and daring"The audacious peasant dared to insult the king's mother." |
Apocryphal:of questionable authority or authenticity."There is no hard or authoritative evidence to support the apocryphal tales that link the Rosewell, New Mexico, incident to a downed U.F.O." |
Chauvinist:someone prejudiced in favor of a groupthat he or she belongs to "The attitude that men must be obeyed since they are inherently superior to women is commong among male chauvinists." |
Caustic:biting in wit"Dorothy Parker gained her caustic reputation from her cutting, yet witty, insults." |
Burgeon:to grow and flourish"Faulkner neither confirmed nor denied stories about himself, allowing rumor to burgeon where it would." |
Antipathy:extreme dislike"The antipathy between the French and the English regularly erupted into open welfare." |
Veracity:filled with truth and accuracy"She had a reputation for veracity, so everyone trusted her description of events." |
Sublime:lofty or grand"The music was so sublime that it transformed the rude surroundings into a special place." |
Prodigal:lavish, wasteful"The Prodigal Son quickly wasted all of his inheritance on a lavish lifestyle devoted to pleasure." |
Tirade:long, harsh speech or verbal attack"Observers were shocked at the manager's tirade over such a minor mistake." |
Propriety:acting in a proper manner, obeying rules and customs"The aristocracy mainatined a high level of propriety, adhering to even the most minor social rules. |
Esoteric:known or understood only by a few"Only a handful of experts are knowledgeable about the esoteric world of particle physics." |
Exculpate:to clear from blame, prove innocent"The legal system is intended to convict those who are guilty and exculpate thsoe who are innocent." (intended?) |
Convoluted:intricate and complicated"Although many people bought A Brief History of Time few people could follow its convoluted ideas and theories." |
Plethora:excess"Assuming that more was better, the defendant offered the judge a plethora of excuses." |
Latent:potential that is not readily apparent"Latent trait testing seeks to identify skills that the test-taker may have that they are not aware of." |
Chicanerydeception by means of craft of guile"Dishonest used-car salesmen often use chicanery to sell their beat-up old cars." |
Cogent:convincing and well-reasoned"Swayed by the cogent argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant." |
Impervious:impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected"A good raincoat will be impervious to moisture." |
Foment:to arouse or incite"The rebels tried to foment revolution through their attacks on the government." |
ICONOCLASTone who opposes establishedbeliefs, customs and institutions "His lack of regard for traditional beliefs soon established him as an iconoclast." |
Zeal:passion, excitement"She brought her typical zeal to the project, sparking enthusiasm in the other team members." |
Waver:to fluctuate between choices"If you waver too long before making a decision about which testing site to register for, you may not get your first choice. |
Exigent:urgent; requiring immediate action"The patient was losing blood so rapidly that it was exigent to stop the source of the bleeding ." |
Alacrity:"The restaurant won a reputation for fine service since thewait staff responded to their clients' requests with alacrity. |
Crescendo:steadily increasing in volume or force""The crescendo of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel prepared to jump his motorcycle over the school buses." |
Innocuous:harmless "Some snakes aare poisonous, but most species are innocuous and pose no danger to humans." |
Malleable:capable of being shaped"Gold is the most malleable of precious metals; it can easily be formed into almost any shape." |
Laud:to give praise, to glorify"Parades and fireworks were staged to laud the success of the rebels." |
Eclectic:selecting from or made up from a variety of sources"Budapest's architecture is an eclectic mix of eastern and western styles." |
Aberrant:deviating from what is normal or expected"Since he had been a steady, cheerful worker for many years, his fellow postal workers did not expect his aberrant burst of rage." |