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1. Aberration
- a state or condition markedly different from the norm
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
While Tampa Bay has taken a huge nosedive a year after going 10-6, maybe that 2010
success was an aberration.

2. Abhor
- find repugnant
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
There are sane readers who abhor gratuitous violence but love Reachers menacing
wisecracks.

3. Bane
- something causing misery or death
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Knee pain is the bane of many runners, sometimes causing them to give up altogether.

4. Banish
- expel, as if by official decree
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He, however, was destined never to return but was proscribed and banished.

5. Catharsis
- (psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

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Not enough people use evenings out as an opportunity for catharsis.
6. Caustic
- of a substance, especially a strong acid; capable of
destroying or eating away by chemical action
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Though the mud only came up to ankle height, its caustic ingredients continue to eat
away the foundations.

7. Deleterious
- harmful to living things
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
A number of the species are edible, while others have been recorded as deleterious,
poisonous, etc.

8. Demeanor
- (behavioral attributes) the way a person behaves toward
other people
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Hollande projects a unifying, jovial persona and leadership method that clashes with
Sarkozys dominating, impetuous, controversial, and at times grating demeanor.

9. Egregious
- conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
His comments were so egregious, naturally advertisers will have doubts about being
associated with Limbaughs brand of hate, Mr. Boehlert said in an e-mail message.


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10. Eloquent
- expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
But, so far as the best selection of words, the clearest style, the most coherent and
convincing argument can constitute eloquence, Mill's speeches are eloquent.

11. Fallible
- wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the
attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
We regard them as extraordinary but fallible and imperfect men, whom it would be very
unsafe to follow in every view and line of conduct.

12. Fallow
- left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
But before that the fields, which had lain fallow through the winter, must be ploughed
and harrowed.

13. Guise
- an artful or simulated semblance
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
But more broadly, 30 years of near total rule by one man under the guise of democracy
has stunted the country's political development.


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14. Gullible
- naive and easily deceived or tricked
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The people were gullible; they might be made to believe that the senators of Rome
were their best friends.

15. Hireling
- a person who works only for money
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Hireling troops, soldiers serving for pay: they were not Ultonians and did not belong to
the Red Branch.

16. Histrionic
- characteristic of acting or a stage performance; often
affected
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Present-day Graham dancers are often taken to task for overacting, or histrionics or
otherwise obscuring the integrity of their material.

17. Imbroglio
- an intricate and confusing interpersonal or political
situation
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

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And indeed his world is one huge imbroglio of Potentialities and Diplomatic Intricacies,
agitating to behold.



18. Impaired
- diminished in strength, quality, or utility
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Thinking could be slowed, attention dulled, judgement impaired, memory muddled.
19. Jargon
- specialized technical terminology characteristic of a
particular subject
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He has complained that officials' speeches and writings were clogged with
Party jargon and demanded more plain speaking.

20. Jaunty
- having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Yet his mood was jaunty and he cheerfully claimed to have achieved his ambition, thus
far, of getting through February without touching alcohol.

21. Knell
- the sound of a bell rung slowly to announce a death or a
funeral or the end of something
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

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"If she dies," he had said, and the words rang in my ears like a funeral knell.




22. Knotty
- highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
I am, at this present writing, perplexed and plagued with two knotty problems in
politics.

23. Lassitude
- weakness characterized by a lack of vitality or energy
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He told by her very attitude that now there was lassitude, even weariness in her.

24. Latter
- referring to the second of two things or persons
mentioned (or the last one or ones of several)
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
More missiles were fired carefullynot to do damage, but to discourage the intruders;
the latter were held at bay for another twelve hours.

25. Machination

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- a crafty and involved plot to achieve your (usually
sinister) ends
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
With life experiences like those behind her, the extreme plot machinations of
Hollywood melodrama must have possessed an everyday familiarity for Stanwyck.



26. Maelstrom
- a powerful circular current of water (usually the result
of conflicting tides)
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The entire bowl was now a maelstrom of swirling bodies, legs and arms.

27. Nautical
- relating to or involving ships or shipping or navigation
or seamen
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
For this expedition Henry Hudsonalready known as an experienced and intrepid
seaman, and well-skilled in nautical sciencewas chosen commander.

28. Navigate
- act as the navigator in a car, plane, or vessel and plan,
direct, plot the path and position of the conveyance
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Washed out roads grounded trucks in the muck, and precarious mountain passes were
in some cases too risky to navigate.


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29. Oblique
- indirect in departing from the accepted or proper way;
misleading




30. Obloquy
- state of disgrace resulting from public abuse
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Thus public men are content to leave their reputation to posterity; great reactions take
place in opinion; nay, sometimes men outlive opposition and obloquy.

31. Parody
- a composition that imitates or misrepresents
somebody's style, usually in a humorous way
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Granted, all are outrageously exaggerated, but a discerning eye can detect the truth
that lurks behind any satire, parody, or lampoon.

32. Patriarchal
- characteristic of a form of social organization in which
the male is the family head and title is traced through the male
line
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

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The old patriarchal system is gone; the father is no longer an autocratic ruler in his small
world.

33. Quagmire
- a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The heavy rain had reduced this low-lying ground to a veritable quagmire, making
progress very difficult even for one as unburdened as he was.


34. Qualified
- meeting the proper standards and requirements and
training for an office or position or task
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
All schools need administrators who are highly qualified, dedicated to the profession
and not hired due to political connections.


35. Rapport
- a relationship of mutual understanding or trust and
agreement between people
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Ms. Tindall, 48, did not work for Mr. Stevens, but several people said they had a strong
mutual respect and a warm rapport.

36. Rationalization

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- (psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your true
motivation is concealed by explaining your actions and feelings
in a way that is not threatening
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The people, she said in an e-mail message, are tired of the same
old rationalizations and excuses.






37. Sully
- make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used
metaphorically
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Burning coal sullies the atmosphere and leaves toxic ash mountains.

38. Sumptuous
- rich and superior in quality
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The city is rich in antiquities, in historic buildings associated with illustrious names, in
works of art and in sumptuous palaces.



39. Tenet

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- a religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without
proof
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Mr. Malik, who does not drink, decided that trading so-called pub securities would
violate tenets of his faith.

40. Tenuous
- lacking substance or significance
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Watching Belasco's short play in London in 1900, Puccini reportedly was deeply moved
despite his tenuous grasp of the English language.

41. Ultimatum
- a final peremptory demand
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Have issued ultimatum to my own country that, if she does not find fresh countries for
me to fight before midnight, war will ensue.

42. Umbrage
- a feeling of anger caused by being offended
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Such men are easily offended, take umbrage at trifles, and are unforgiving in their
resentments.

43. Varying
- marked by diversity or difference
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

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National central banks do make disclosures, but in varying formats and with differing
frequencies and delays.

44. Vassal
- a person holding a fief; a person who owes allegiance
and service to a feudal lord
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Second, the vassals, who rendered service to those from whom they held their lands.



45. Warble
- sing or play with trills, alternating with the half note
above or below
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Any singer who could warble away at runs and trills was a great artist.

46. Xenophobia
- a fear of foreigners or strangers
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Some fear a return of the xenophobia that led to violent attacks on foreigners two years
ago.

47. Yeoman
- in former times was free and cultivated his own land

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EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
On one extreme was the well-to-do yeoman farmer farming his own land.

48. Yokel
- a person who is not very intelligent or interested in
culture
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Now, poor people, yokels, clods, cannot love what is incomprehensible to them.





49. Zealot
- a fervent and even militant proponent of something
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Finally having conquered his irritable bowel syndrome, he worked out like a zealot all
winter, adding about 17 pounds of solid muscle.

50. Zenith
- the point above the observer that is directly opposite
the nadir on the imaginary sphere against which celestial bodies
appear to be projected
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Zenith, the point in the celestial sphere directly overhead.