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Easy to reach or to approach

Accessible (adj)

The introduction to the complex novel was, thankfully, written in clear

accessible language.
Synonyms: approachable, attainable
To give consideration to

Accommodate
(verb)

The hospitable couple was happy to accommodate the needs of their finicky
guest.
Synonyms: oblige, abet
Giving an advantage

Advantageous (adj) The house's location in the best school district was advantageous to the seller.
Synonyms: favorable, beneficial
One who opposes or resists
Adversary (noun)

Franklin hoped to defeat his adversary in the afternoon's tennis match.

Synonyms: opponent, enemy
To forgive; to free from guilt

Absolve (verb)

Marta felt greatly relieved after her mother absolved her for breaking the vase.
Synonyms: exculpate, pardon
To emphasize

Accentuate (verb)

Carla used red ribbons to accentuate the coppery tones in her hair.
Synonyms: highlight, stress
To supply with air

Aerate (verb)

Every spring, Soloman used his tiller to aerate the compact soil.
Synonyms: oxygenate, carbonate
Person having or affecting sensitivity to beauty

Aesthete (noun)

Anthology (noun)

Consuela's friends called her an aesthete when she claimed that Monet's
paintings made her cry.
Synonyms: connoisseur, epicure
A collection of selected literary pieces

The writer was thrilled when his story was included in an anthology of
American masterpieces.
Synonym: collection, compilation
Something that relieves or counteracts
Antidote (noun)

Veronique found that listening to French music was an antidote for her
homesickness.
Synonyms: cure, remedy
Showing little or no emotion

Apathetic (adj)

Carmine was concerned about his usually cheerful brother's apathetic attitude.
Synonyms: impassive, indifferent.
Inspiring dismay or disgust

Appalling (adj)

Hector found his roommate's habit of leaving his dirty socks on the floor
appalling.
Synonyms: dreadful, awful
To evaluate the worth of

Appraise (verb)

Simone, an expert in African sculpture, was asked to appraise the ambassador's

collection of masks.
Synonyms: assess, review
Characteristic of an earlier time

Archaic (adj)

In the world of high fashion, two-year-old shoes are considered positively

archaic.
Synonyms: antiquated, ancient
Characteristic of the original model or perfect example

Archetypal (adj)

Shakespeare's sonnets are considered archetypal love poems

Synonyms: classic, consummate
To make greater

Augment (verb)

Wanda read the dictionary every night to augment her vocabulary.

Authoritarian (adj)

Synonyms: enhance, amplify

Favoring absolute obedience to authority
Marco's authoritarian mother never allowed him to watch more than one hour
of television a day.

Synonyms: strict, despotic

Relating to birds
Avian (adj)

The old man affectionately referred to pigeons as his "avian friends."

Synonyms: bird-like
Emotion combining dread and wonder

Awe (noun)

Charlie was in awe of his uncle, a professional football player and chess
champion.
Synonyms: veneration, amazement
Past the normal or proper time

Belated (adj)

Even though I forgot his birthday, I hoe my father accepts my belated card.
Synonyms: tardy, overdue
One who offers financial help

Benefactor (noun)

Michael's aunt and benefactor paid his college tuition.

Synonym: patron
Helpful

Beneficial (adj)

there is no doub that eating vegetables is beneficial to one's health.

Synonyms: advantageous, salutary
Kind, helpful

Benevolent (adj)

Sherman revealed his benevolent side when he offered to help Carter with his
homework.
Synonyms: altruistic, generous
To shake or wave menacingly

Brandish (verb)

The baseball player was fined for brandishing his bat at the opposing pitcher.
Synonyms: flourish, swing
Protective barrier

Buffer (noun)

The dense trees acted as a buffer against the heavy rain.

Buffoonery (noun)

Synonyms: cushion, mediator

Foolish behavior
Clarence, an irrepressible comic, was held after cass for his buffoonery.

Synonyms: jocularity, clowning

Spirit of friendship
Camaraderie (noun)

The manager hoped the retreat would increase the camaraderie among the
feuding workers.
Synonyms: sociability, espirit de corps
Relating to extreme misfortune

Catastrophic (adj)

The effects of the massive hurricane were catastrophic.

Synonyms: devastating, disastrous
Widely known, respected

Celebrated (adj)

The fans waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the celebrated actress.
Synonyms: admired, famous
To find fault with

Censure (verb)

The critical teacher was quick to censure her students for even small mistakes.
Synonyms: blame, criticize
Politeness

Civility (noun)

The usually unruly Thomas acted with great civility when his favorite uncle
visited.
Synonyms: courtesy, consideration
Ability to see things beyond ordinary perception

Clairvoyance (noun) Rosa used her clairvoyance to help Alexander find his lost keys.
Synonyms: divination, foretelling
Clearness
Clairty (noun)

The refreshing water in the mountain stream was remarkable for its clarity.
Synonyms: lucidity, limpidity
Immense, enormous

Colossal (adj)

Combative (adj)

After pushing with all his might, Frank realized he could never move the
colossal boulder.
Synonyms: gigantic, tremendous
Eager to fight

The teacher suggested the combative student channel his aggression into
boxing.
Synonyms: aggressive belligerent
Act of burning
Combustion (noun)

Campers must use fire with great caution to prevent combustion of the parched
brush.
Synonyms: igniting, kindling
To mark by a ceremony

Commemorate
(verb)

Each year, the Franklins commemorate their anniversary by visiting the site of
their first date.
Synonyms: observe, remember
Similar, equivalent

Comparable (adj)

Helen will only accept something of comparable value for her ticket to the
concert.
Synonyms: akin, analogous
Calm

Composed (adj)

Although her stomach was in knots, the actress appeared perfectly composed
when she took the stage.
Synonyms: serene, unperturbed
Understandable

Comprehensible
(adj)

Shannon spoke slowly so her directions would be comprehensible to her foreign

visitor.
Synonyms: intelligle, coherent
An irresistible impulse

Compulsion (noun)

Tamar, a shoe fanatic, could not resist the compulsion to buy the shiny red
boots.
Synonyms: urge, obligation
To treat as acceptable

Condone (verb)

Conduit (noun)

Crystal condoned her friend's late arrival because she found it hard to be on
time herself.
Synonyms: excuse, sanction
Means for transmitting or distributing

Jason, a notorious gossip, was a conduit for information about his friends.
Synonyms: channel, pipeline
Intended to correct
Corrective (adj)

The school decided to take corrective measures to prevent truancy.

Synonyms: remedial, curative
To support with evidence

Corroborate (verb)

"Unless you can corroborate your story, it will not be admissible in court," the
attorney told his client.
Synonyms: verify, prove
Bitingly sarcastic

Corrosive (adj)

The cruel Estella's corrosive comments made Pip cry.

Synonyms: caustic, sardonic
Showing clever insight

Cunning (adj)

The general devised a cunning strategy to outfox the enemy.

Synonyms: crafty, ingenious
To make less

Curtail (verb)

Doreen decided to curtail her spending after she bounced a check.

Synonyms: shorten, reduce
The act of delaying

Deferment (noun)

Sybil was frustrated by the deferment of her much anticipated vacation.

Synonyms: postponement, reprieve
Showing bold resistance

Defiant (adj)

The defiant toddler refused to leave the park.

Synonyms: impudent, disobedient
To lower status

Demean (verb)

The embarrassing photograph demeaned the candidate in the eyes of the voters.

Demeanor (noun)

Synonyms: humble, degrade

Behavior towards others

Carlos was well liked because of his charming demeanor.

Synonyms: disposition, comportment
Abandoned
Derelict (adj)

The derelict house was condemned as a public hazard.

Synonyms: destitute, forsaken
Lacking originality

Derivative (adj)

Critics panned the movie as a derivative version of last year's Best Picture.
Synonyms: banal, cliche
Lacking self-confidence

Diffident (adj)

The diffident student never raised her hand in class, even when she knew the
answer.
Synonyms: timid, bashful
To recognize as separate as distinct

discern (verb)

The pastry connoisseur was able to discern Swiss from Belgian chocolate.
Synonyms: detect, discriminate
To throw into confusion

Disconcert (verb)

Jennifer's outspoken criticism of the meal disoncerted the waiter.

Synonyms: unnerve, bewilder
Feeling of contempt

Disdain (noun)

The arrogant writer did not hide his disdain for his uneducated dinner
companion.
Synonyms: scorn, discersion
The act of twisting out of shape

Distortion (noun)

The story about the actress in the gossip column was a distortion of the truth.
Synonyms: contortion, mutilation
Dull, monotonous

Drab (adj)

The drab winter scene made Keisha long for the vibrant colors of spring.

Drub (verb)

Synonyms: dreary, colorless

To defeat decisively

The powerful young boxer drubbed the longtime champion.

Synonyms: beat, thrash
Questionable
Dubious (adj)

Karl found Kevin's claim that he was sick dubious, as he had just seen him
playing football.
Synonyms: suspect, doubtful
Deceptive thought, speech, or action

Duplicity (noun)

The life of an undercover detective is filed with necessary duplicity.

Synonyms: deceit, dishonesty
Overwhelmingly emotional

Ecstatic (adj)

They were ecstatic when their team won the championship game in the last
second.
Synonyms: overjoyed, rapturous
Self-important person

Egotist (noun)

Darren dreaded carpooling with the egotist Shelly, who talked about herself
nonstop.
Synonyms: blowhard, braggart
To fill with joy

Elate (verb)

It elated Margaret to be awarded first place in the science fair.

Synonyms: delight, thrill
Fluent, expressive

Eloquent (adj)

Kim, an eloquent speaker, was the best choice to make the presentation for the
group.
Synonyms: articulate, persuasive
Hard to grasp

Elusive (adj)

The words to the song are elusive, as the singer tends to mumble.
Synonyms: evasive, obscure
To decorate

Embellish (verb)

Sari embellished the plain curtains with satin ribbons and tassels.
Synonyms: adorn, garnish

To involve in trouble
Entangle (verb)

Jonah regretted entangling Parker in his legal difficulties.

Synonyms: embroil, implicate