| 1 |
"podium" - a platform raised above the surrounding level. Leyva beamed as he stood atop the podium, nodding as the American flag was raised and "The Star-Spangled Banner" played in his honor. "dearth" - an insufficient quantity or number. A continuing dearth of snow in many U.S. spots usually buried by this time of year has turned life upside down. |
| 2 |
"granary" - a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed. Here is where he does his husking, and the "clear corn" produced is stored away in some underground granary till It is needed. "whet" - make keen or more acute. While he described the fishing as "pretty good," the silver salmon running in the creek only whetted his appetite to return to Alaska. |
| 3 |
"imposture" - pretending to be another person. He got somebody to prosecute him for false pretences and imposture, on the ground that Madame was a man. "diadem" - an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty. I dethrone monarchs and the people rejoicing crown me instead, showering diadems upon my head. |
| 4 |
"fallow" - undeveloped but potentially useful. Several new prostate cancer drugs have been approved in the last couple of years, after a long fallow period, and others are in advanced development. "hubbub" - loud confused noise from many sources. There was some good-humoured pushing and thrusting, the drum beating and the church bells jangling bravely above the hubbub. |
| 5 |
"dispassionate" - unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice. The commission sitting by, judicial, dispassionate, presided with cold dignity over the sacrifice, and pronounced it good. "harrowing" - extremely painful. Belgium found itself in turmoil as hundreds of people came forward to offer harrowing accounts of abuse over several decades. |
| 6 |
"askance" - with suspicion or disapproval. A secret marriage in these days would be looked upon askance by most people. "lancet" - a surgical knife with a pointed double-edged blade. His left arm was held by the second physician, while the chief surgeon bent over it, lancet in hand. |
| 7 |
"rankle" - gnaw into; make resentful or angry. He was feeling more like himself now, though the memory of the bully's sneering words rankled. "ramify" - have or develop complicating consequences. Cometary science has ramified in unexpected ways during the last hundred years. |
| 8 |
"gainsay" - take exception to. That Whitman entertained a genuine affection for men and women is, of course, too obvious to be gainsaid. "polity" - a governmentally organized unit. China needs a polity that can address its increasingly sophisticated society, and to achieve that there must be political reform, Mr. Sun said. |
| 9 |
"credence" - the mental attitude that something is believable. "Well-known brand names that promote new products receive more credence than newcomers that people don't know about." "indemnify" - make amends for; pay compensation for. She put her affairs in order and left instructions that those whom she had unwittingly wronged should be indemnified out of her private fortune. |
| 10 |
"ingratiate" - gain favor with somebody by deliberate efforts. He became kindly and coaxing, leaning across the table with an ingratiating smile. "declivity" - a downward slope or bend. In this frightful condition, the hunter grappled with the raging beast, and, struggling for life, they rolled together down a steep declivity. |
| 11 |
"importunate" - expressing earnest entreaty. The young man was then passionately importunate in the protestations of his love. "passe" - out of fashion. My friend is very keen on the new crowd; everything else he declares is " passe." |
| 12 |
"whittle" - cut small bits or pare shavings from. Tad followed, whittling on a stick with his knife and kicking at the shavings as they fell. "repine" - express discontent. Those poor fellows above, accustomed to the wild freshness and freedom of the sea, how they must mourn and repine! |
| 13 |
"flay" - strip the skin off. Once at the moose and hastily flaying the hide from the steaming meat my attention became centered on the task. "larder" - a small storeroom for storing foods or wines. Mr. Goncalves's larder holds staples like beefsteak, salt cod, sardines, olives, artichokes, hot and sweet peppers and plenty of garlic. |
| 14 |
"threadbare" - thin and tattered with age. They were all poor folk, wrapped in threadbare cloaks or tattered leather. "grisly" - shockingly repellent; inspiring horror. Television video showed a heavily damaged building and a grisly scene inside, with clothing and prayer mats scattered across a blood-splattered floor. |
| 15 |
"untoward" - not in keeping with accepted standards of what is proper. Responding to criticism that cash payments are a classic means of tax evasion, he said he had done nothing untoward. "idiosyncrasy" - a behavioral attribute peculiar to an individual. One of his well-known idiosyncrasies was that he would never allow himself to be photographed. |
| 16 |
"quip" - make jokes. "I could have joined the FBI in a shorter period of time and with less documentation than it took to get that mortgage," she quipped. "blatant" - without any attempt at concealment; completely obvious. There was no blatant display of wealth, and every article of furniture bore signs of long though careful use. |
| 17 |
"stanch" - stop the flow of a liquid. She did not attempt to stanch her tears, but sat looking at him with a smiling mouth, while the heavy drops fell down her cheeks. "incongruity" - the quality of disagreeing. Hanging out wet clothes and an American flag at the North Pole seemed an amusing incongruity. |
| 18 |
"perfidious" - tending to betray. The perfidious Italian at length confessed that it was his intention to murder his master, and then rob the house. "platitude" - a trite or obvious remark. But details are fuzzy and rebel leaders often resort to platitudes when dismissing suggestions of discord, saying simply that "Libya is one tribe." |
| 19 |
"revelry" - unrestrained merrymaking. But all this revelry — dancing, drinks, exuberant youth — can be hard to manage. "delve" - turn up, loosen, or remove earth. So she did what any reporter would do: she delved into the scientific literature and talked to investigators. |
| 20 |
"extenuate" - lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of. Prosecutors often spend time weighing mitigating and extenuating circumstances before deciding to seek the death penalty. "polemic" - a controversy, especially over a belief or dogma. Would it be a polemic that denounced Western imperialism for using cinema to undermine emerging nations like Kazakhstan? |
| 21 |
"enrapture" - hold spellbound. I was delighted, enraptured, beside myself--the world had disappeared in an instant. "virtuoso" - someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field. Each of the seven instrumentalists was a virtuoso in his own right and had ample opportunity to prove it, often in long, soulful solos. |
| 22 |
"glower" - look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval. A moment later he would collapse, sit glowering in his chair, looking angrily at the carpet. "mundane" - found in the ordinary course of events. Now, it would seem, that the Chinese are getting back to their everyday concerns, paying attention to events more mundane and less cataclysmic. |
| 23 |
"fatuous" - devoid of intelligence. They're too stupid, for one thing; they go on burning houses and breaking windows in their old fatuous way. "incorrigible" - impervious to correction by punishment. She scolded and lectured her sister in vain; Cynthia was incorrigible. |
| 24 |
"postulate" - maintain or assert. In fact, when Einstein formulated his cosmological vision, based on his theory of gravitation, he postulated that the universe was finite. "gist" - the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work. The syntax was a little off, even comical at times, but I got the gist of what was going on. |
| 25 |
"vociferous" - conspicuously and offensively loud. The complaints grew so loud and vociferous that even President Obama was forced to address the backlash from Lisbon on Saturday. "purvey" - supply with provisions. And we will agree also to purvey food for these horses and people during nine months. |
| 26 |
"baleful" - deadly or sinister. "But he is dead," put in Fanning, wondering at the baleful expression of hatred that had come into the man's face. "gibe" - laugh at with contempt and derision. So much did their taunts prey upon him that he ran away from school to escape their gibes. |
| 27 |
"dyspeptic" - irritable as if suffering from indigestion. One may begin with heroic renunciations and end in undignified envy and dyspeptic comments outside the door one has slammed on one's self. "prude" - a person excessively concerned about propriety and decorum. Criticising high-profile programmes about teenage sex education often means risking being written off as a prude. |
| 28 |
"luminary" - a celebrity who is an inspiration to others. Founded in 1947, the group's members have included such luminaries as Walt Disney, Spencer Tracy and another American president, Ronald Reagan. "amenable" - disposed or willing to comply. He, Jean Boulot, being so amenable to sensible argument, would at once fall in with his views. |
| 29 |
"willful" - habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition. I crossed my arms like a willful child. "overbearing" - having or showing arrogant superiority to. "True; but——" "Just so," interrupted Mr. Fauntleroy, in his decisive and rather overbearing manner. |
| 30 |
"dais" - a platform raised above the surrounding level. The throne was elevated on a dais of silver steps. "automate" - make independent of external control. And because leap seconds are needed irregularly their insertion cannot be automated, which means that fallible humans must insert them by hand. |
| 31 |
"enervate" - weaken mentally or morally. The reviewers have enervated men's minds, and made them indolent; few think for themselves. "wheedle" - influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering. On one level, I expected incessant flattery in attempts to wheedle equipment or even money from American forces. |
| 32 |
"gusto" - vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment. The audience, surprisingly large given the inclement weather, responded with gusto, applauding each song, including those within the Shostakovich cycle. "bouillon" - a clear seasoned broth. The meat soups are called broths, bouillon, or consomme, according to their richness. |
| 33 |
"omniscient" - infinitely wise. Robbe-Grillet responds that his work is in fact far less objective than the godlike, omniscient narrator who presides over so many traditional novels. "apostate" - not faithful to religion or party or cause. They are atheist conservatives — Mr. Khan an apostate to his family's Islamic faith, Ms. Mac Donald to her left-wing education. |
| 34 |
"carrion" - the dead and rotting body of an animal; unfit for human food. Habitually his diet is not carnivorous, but he will eat at times either carrion or living flesh. "emolument" - compensation received by virtue of holding an office. As the TUC has pointed out, those incomes – except for senior executives, whose emoluments seem to know few bounds – are rising more slowly than prices. |
| 35 |
"ungainly" - lacking grace in movement or posture. Thomas looked up furtively and saw that an ungainly human figure with crooked legs was being led into the church. "impiety" - unrighteousness by virtue of lacking respect for a god. That, however, is unbelief, extreme impiety, and a denial of the most high God. |
| 36 |
"decadence" - the state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities. But there are people who really do not want to import what they regard as Western decadence, especially public drunkenness. "homily" - a sermon on a moral or religious topic. In his New Year's homily, the pope said "words were not enough" to bring about peace, particularly in the Middle East. |
| 37 |
"avocation" - an auxiliary activity. Unlike many retired doctors, whom he says often have no life outside their profession, he always knew sailing would become his avocation. "circumvent" - avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing. Mr. Bloomberg said he would take several steps to circumvent obstacles to his proposals posed by city labor unions. |
| 38 |
"syllogism" - reasoning in which a conclusion is derived from two premises. The conclusions arrived at by means of syllogisms are irresistible, provided the form be correct and the premises be true. "collation" - assembling in proper numerical or logical sequence. In the case of early printed books or manuscripts, which are often not paged, special knowledge is needed for their collation. |
| 39 |
"haggle" - wrangle, as over a price or terms of an agreement. Obama said while officials can haggle over the makeup of spending cuts, the policy issues have no place in the measure. "waylay" - wait in hiding to attack. Sir Samuel Clithering was not, of course, a member of it; but he lurked about outside and waylaid us as we went in. |
| 40 |
"savant" - someone who has been admitted to membership in a field. Frank had studied something of almost everything and imagined himself a savant. "cohort" - a group of people having approximately the same age. The current cohort of college students is, as many have pointed out, the first truly digital generation. |
| 41 |
"unction" - excessive but superficial compliments with affected charm. "You couldn't ask too much of me," he returned, with no unction of flattery, but the cheerfully frank expression of an ingenuous heart. "adjure" - command solemnly. "I adjure thee," she said, "swear to me that you will never go near those Christians again or read their books." |
| 42 |
"acrimony" - a rough and bitter manner. Relations with India have been slowly improving, although talks ended in acrimony last July with the two sides indulging in a public spat over Kashmir. "clarion" - loud and clear. "He has been the single, clarion voice for commuter rail in central Florida for 20 years," said Mayor Ken Bradley of Winter Park. |
| 43 |
"turbid" - clouded as with sediment. The thick turbid sea rolled in, casting up mire and dirt from its depths. "cupidity" - extreme greed for material wealth. Well educated, but very corrupt at heart, he found in his insatiable cupidity many ways of gaining money. |
| 44 |
"disaffected" - discontented as toward authority. The financial crisis, largely caused by banker incompetence, has created legions of disaffected customers. "preternatural" - surpassing the ordinary or normal. In fact, they regarded the Spaniards as superior beings endowed with preternatural gifts. |
| 45 |
"eschew" - avoid and stay away from deliberately. Morrissey is among those seniors who are eschewing nursing homes in favor of independent living. "expatiate" - add details, as to an account or idea. He then expatiated on his own miseries, which he detailed at full length. |
| 46 |
"didactic" - instructive, especially excessively. Let us have a book so full of good illustrations that didactic instruction shall not be needed. "sinuous" - curved or curving in and out. In origami parlance, Mr. Joisel was a wet-folder, dampening his paper so that he could coax it into sinuous curves. |
| 47 |
"rancor" - a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will. The current session of Parliament has so far produced only rancor, as opposition parties have shut down proceedings with angry, theatrical protests against corruption. "puissant" - powerful. The ship was not fighting now, but yielding—a complacent leviathan held captive by a most puissant and ruthless enemy. |
| 48 |
"homespun" - characteristic of country life. His rural, homespun demeanor ordinarily might elicit snickers from India's urban elite. "embroil" - force into some kind of situation or course of action. But Mr. Marbury, often embroiled in controversy during his N.B.A. days, seems to have found some measure of peace in China. |
| 49 |
"pathological" - caused by or evidencing a mentally disturbed condition. "Fixated individuals" — mentally ill people with a pathological focus on someone, often a stranger — make up the first group. "resonant" - characterized by a loud deep sound. His eyes were piercing but sad, his voice grand and resonant, suiting well the wrathful, impassioned Calvinism of his sermons. |
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