| 1 |
Dilatory |
Causing or characterized bydelay; tardy; slow.
The reporter was so dilatory in completing his assignment that he missed the deadline. |
| 2 |
Diminution |
n. Lessening; reduction insize.
The blockaders hoped to achieve victory as soon as the diminution of the enemy's supplies became serious. |
| 3 |
Discerning |
adj. Mentally quick and observant; having insight.
Because he was considered the most discerning member of the firm, he was assigned the most difficult cases. |
| 4 |
Discordant |
adj. Inharmonious; conflicting.
She tried to unite the discordant factions. |
| 5 |
Discursive |
Passing from one subject to another.
The old man's conversation was so discursive that we could not follow it. |
| 6 |
Disdain |
v. Treat with scorn or contempt.
You make an enemy of anyone you disdain . |
| 7 |
Disinclination |
n . Unwillingness.
Some mornings I feel a great disinclination to get out of bed. |
| 8 |
Disparage |
v. Belittle.
Do not disparage anyone's contribution; these little gifts add up to large sums. |
| 9 |
Disparity |
n. Difference; condition of inequality.
The disparity in their ages made no differenceat all. |
| 10 |
Disperse |
v. Scatter; break up.
The police fired tear gas into the crowd to disperse the protesters. |
| 11 |
Disseminate |
v. Scatter (like seeds) or news.
The invention of the radio has helped propagandists to disseminate their favorite doctrines very easily. |
| 12 |
Dissonance |
n. Discord; disagreement.
Some contemporary musicians deliberately use dissonance to achieve certain effects. |
| 13 |
Dissuade |
To persuade not to do something.
It was hard to dissuade him from doing what we planned. |
| 14 |
Divergent |
adj . Differing; deviating.
The two witnesses presented the jury with remarkable divergent accounts of the same episode. |
| 15 |
Duplicity |
n . Double dealing;guile.
People were shocked and dismayed when they learned of his duplicity in this affair, as he had always seemed honest and straightforward. |
| 16 |
Ebullient |
Happilyexcited; exuberant; bubbling or boiling up.
Her ebullient spirits told us that she had won. |
| 17 |
Eclectic |
adj. Representing a wide variety of types or styles.
The reviewers praised the new restaurant's eclectic selection of dishes, which ranged from Oriental stir fries to French ragouts and stews. |
| 18 |
Ecstatic |
Overwhelmingly happy; intenselydelighted; rapturous.
She was ecstatic at the idea of being acceptedto Princeton. |
| 19 |
Effervescent |
adj. Exuberant; bubbly and excited.
Nothing depressed her for long; she was so naturally effervescent that she was soon as high spirited as ever. |
| 20 |
Eloquence |
n . Expressiveness; persuasive speech.
The crowds were stirred by Martin Luther King's eloquence . |
| 21 |
Emaciated |
adj. Thin and wasted from lack of nourishment.
His long period of starvation had left him emaciated . |
| 22 |
Embellish |
v. Adorn; exaggerate
His handwriting was embellished with flourishes. |
| 23 |
Emulate |
v. Rival; imitate.
As long as our political leaders emulate the virtues of the great leaders of this country, we shall flourish. |
| 24 |
Enervate |
v. Weaken.
She was slow to recover from her illness; even a short walk to the window left her enervated.
Engender |
| 25 |
Enigma |
n. Puzzle.
Despite all attempts to decipher the code, it remainedan enigma . |
| 26 |
Ephemeral |
adj. Short |
| 27 |
Equivocal |
Having a double meaning; ambiguous; uncertain.
He gave an equivocal reply to the question toavoid answering directly. |
| 28 |
Eradicate |
To completely erase; to wipeout.
The mistake was easily eradicated on the word processor. |
| 29 |
Esoteric |
adj. Known only to the chosen few.
The breadth of his knowledge impressed those students who had access to his esoteric discussions. |
| 30 |
Eulogy |
n. Praise.
All the eulogies of his friends could not remove the sting of the calumny heaped upon him by his enemies. |
| 31 |
Euphemism |
n. Mild expression in place of an unpleasant one.
The expression "he passed away" is a euphemism for "he died". |
| 32 |
Evanescent |
Tending to fade like vapor;vaporous ephemeral.
The carefree spirit of the youth is evanescent and seldom persists into adulthood. |
| 33 |
Exemplary |
adj. Serving as a model.
Her exemplary behavior was praised at Commencement. |
| 34 |
Exonerate |
v. Acquit; free fromguilt or responsibility.
I am sure this letter naming the actual culprit will exonerate you. |
| 35 |
Exorbitant |
Beyond reasonable limits; excessive.
That is an exorbitant price to ask for that job. |
| 36 |
Expedient |
adj . Suitable;practical; politic.
A pragmatic politician, he was guided by what was expedient rather than by what was ethical. |
| 37 |
Explicit |
adj. Definite; open.
Your remarks are explicit ; no one can misinterpret them. |
| 38 |
Extol |
v . Praise; glorify.
The astronauts were extolled as the pioneers of the Space Age. |
| 39 |
Extricate |
v. Free; disentangle.
He found that he could not extricate himself from the trap. |
| 40 |
Fallacious |
adj . Misleading; false.
Your reasoning must be fallacious because itleads to a ridiculous answer. |
| 41 |
Fanaticism |
n. Excessive emotionfor an issue or cause.
The leader of the group was held responsible even though he could not control the fanaticism of his followers. |
| 42 |
Fastidious |
adj. Difficult to please;squeamish.
The waitress disliked serving him dinner because of hisvery fastidious taste. |
| 43 |
Fervor |
n. Glowing ardor.
Their kiss was full of the fervor of first love. |
| 44 |
Fiasco |
Complete or ridiculous failure.
The meeting turned out to be a fiasco; no onecould agree on anything. |
| 45 |
Flagrant |
adj . Conspicuously wicked; obvious.
We cannot condone such flagrant violations of the rules. |
| 46 |
Fortuitous |
Happening by chance;accidental.
He didn't plan on getting rich; it was a fortuitous occurrence. |
| 47 |
Frivolity |
n . Lack of seriousness.
We were distressed by his frivolity during therecent grave crisis. |
| 48 |
Futile |
Without effect; ineffectual;useless.
No matter how hard he tried, his efforts were futile.
Garbled |
| 49 |
Gnarled |
Rough and weather worn; knotted;twisted.
One or Rembrandt's paintings feature the gnarled hands of an old man. |
| 50 |
Gravity |
n. Seriousness.
We would tell we were in serious trouble from the gravity of her expression. |
