Forsake – to leave someone forever, especially when they need you.
Synonyms:
abandon, leave.
Reprimand – to express to someone your strong official disapproval of them:
She was reprimanded by her teacher for biting another girl.
Synonyms: berate, castigate, rebuke
Equivocal – not clear and seeming to have two opposing meaning, or confusing
and able to be understood in two different ways:
His words to the press were deliberately equivocal – he did not deny the reports
but neither did he confirm them.
Synonyms: ambiguous, ambivalent
Parsimonious – not willing to spend money or to give or use a lot of something:
She is too parsimonious to heat the house properly.
Katie is so parsimonious that she only buys a pair of socks if all of her other socks
have holes in them
Synonyms: frugal, miserly
Assert – to state a fact or belief confidently and forcefully
The company asserts that the cuts will not affect development
Synonyms: declare, maintain, contend
Amorphous – shapeless
His study plan for the GRE was at best amorphous; he would do questions from
random pages in any one of seven test prep books.
Synonyms: argyle
Prodigal – spending or using large amounts of money, time, energy et cetera,
especially in a way that is not very wise
The prodigal landlord spends money as fast as he receives it.
Synonyms: extravagant, profligate
Decadent – A decadent person or group has low moral standards:
Successful professional athletes who do not fall prey to prodigality seem to be the
exception – most live decadent lives.
Synonyms: abhorrent, amoral
Harangue – to speak to someone or a group of people, often for a long time, in a
forceful and sometimes angry way, especially to persuade them. A long pompous
speech; a tirade.
A drunk in the station was haranguing passers-by.
Tired of his parents haranguing him about his laziness and lack of initiative, Tyler
finally moved out of home at the age of thirty five.
Undermine – to weaken, to make someone less confident, less powerful, or less
likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually:
Criticism just undermines their confidence.
The incompetence and arrogance of the city’s administration have undermined
public confidence in government.
Demur – to object or show reluctance, to express disagreement or refuse to do
something:
Wallace disliked the cold, so he demurred when his friends suggested they go
skiing in the Alps.
Synonyms: object, protest, dissent
Upbraid – to forcefully or angrily tell someone they should not have done a
particular thing and criticize them for having done it
In newspaper articles she consistently upbraided those in authority who
overstepped their limits.
Synonyms: reprimand, reproach, scold
Amenable – easily persuaded
Even though she did not like the outdoors, Shirley was generally amenable and so
her brother was able to persuade her to go camping.
Synonyms: compliant, acquiescent, accommodating
Iconoclast – a person who strongly opposes generally accepted beliefs and
traditions; somebody who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions:
Lady Gaga, in a challenging what it means to be clothed, is an iconoclast for
wearing a “meat dress” to a prominent awards show.
Inauspicious – showing signs that something will not be successful or positive:
After an inauspicious start, Scotland went on to win the match
Synonyms: adverse, disadvantageous, unfavorable
Auspicious – suggesting a positive and successful future
They won their first match of the season 5-1 which was an auspicious start.
Synonyms: propitious, favorable
Innocuous – completely harmless and does not produce any ill effects
Some mushrooms look innocuous but are in fact poisonous.
Commensurate – to be in proportion or corresponding in degree or amount
The convicted felon’s life sentence was commensurate with the heinousness of
his crime.
A salary that is commensurate with skills and experience.
Vindicate – to clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting
arguments or proof
Even seven Tour de France wins cannot vindicate Lance Armstrong in the eyes of
the public – that the athlete used performance enhancing drugs invalidates all
those wins.
Profligate – spending resources recklessly or wastefully
The composer Wagner, while living on a limited salary, was so profligate, as to
line all the walls of his apartment with pure silk.
Synonyms: extravagant, spendthrift
Exhaustive – complete and including everything
The guide outlines every bus route in exhaustive detail
Synonyms: thorough, comprehensive
Obfuscate – to make something less clear and hard to understand, especially
intentionally
She was criticized for using arguments that obfuscated the main issue
Synonyms: obscure, confuse
Opulent – expensive and luxurious
An opulent lifestyle, an opulent hotel
Synonyms: deluxe, grand, luxurious
Redeem – to make something or someone look less bad
A poor game was redeemed in the second half by a superb performance from
Anthony Edwards.
He was an hour late, but he redeemed himself in her eyes by giving her a huge
bunch of flowers.
Redemption stems from redeem.
Boon – something that is very helpful and improves the quality of life
Guide dogs are a great boon to the partially sighted.
Synonyms: blessing
Omission – the act of not including something or someone that should have been
included, or something or someone that has not been included that should have
been.
Measures to control child employment are a glaring omission from new legislation
to protect children.
The fans believed that the omission of Heacock from the team was a serious
mistake.
Omit – the fail to include or do something
She was omitted from the list of contributors to the report.
She omitted to mention that she would be away next week.
Synonyms: leave out, exclude
Debacle – a complete failure, especially because of bad planning and organization
The collapse of the company was described as the greatest financial debacle in US
history.
Synonyms: fiasco
Hidebound – having fixed opinions and ways of doing things and not willing to
change or be influenced, especially by new or modern ideas
They are working to change hidebound corporate cultures.
Synonyms: narrow-minded, conservative, conventional, orthodox
Sullen – angry and unwilling to smile or be pleasant to people
His daughters stared back at him with an expression of sullen resentment.
Synonyms: morose, sulky, resentful
Woo – to try to persuade someone to support you
The party has been trying to woo the voters with promises of electoral reform.
Synonyms: court (in meaning of “try to gain love of someone”), try to win
Scintillating – funny, exciting, clever
A scintillating personality/conversation/speech
Luminary – a person who is famous and important in a particular area of activity
Luminaries of stage and screen (=famous actors) assembled for last night’s awards
ceremony.
Veracious – honest and not telling or containing any lies
A veracious and trustworthy historian
Clangorous – related to the continuous loud noise of something, especially
something made of metal, being hit, or rung
The clangorous sound filled the air and conversation was impossible.
Solicit – to ask someone for money, information, or help
to solicit donations for charity
It is illegal for public officials to solicit gifts or money in exchange for favors.
Tepid – not very warm; not very good or strong
I got a tepid response to my suggestion.
Feckless – weak in character and lacking determination
He was portrayed as a feckless drunk.
Impair – weaken or damage
A noisy job could permanently impair their hearing.
Sway – 1) to move slowly from side to side
The trees were swaying in the wind.
2) To cause something move or change.
Recent developments have swayed the balance of power in the region.
Kindred – similar or related
They sell dried fruit and nuts and other kindred products.
Synonyms: affiliated
Meager – very small or not enough
The prisoners existed on a meager diet.
A meager salary.
Acute – 1) if a bad situation is acute, it causes severe problems or damage
She felt acute embarrassment at his behaviour.
The problem of poverty is particularly acute in rural areas.
Synonyms: severe, critical, drastic
2) Having or showing a perceptive understanding or insight
Synonyms: shrewd, clever, sharp, astute.
Prolix – using too many words and therefore boring or difficult to read or listen to
The author’s prolix style has done nothing to encourage sales of the book.
Gratify – to please someone, or to satisfy a wish or need
We were gratified by the response to our appeal.
Appeal – a request to the public for money, information, or help.
Appealing – attractive or interesting
Calumny – a statement about someone that is not true and is intended to
damage the reputation of that person
He was subjected to the most vicious calumny, but he never complained and
never sued.
Synonyms: slander (iftira atmaq), defame, besmirch
Abate – to become less strong; to make something less intense
The storm/wind/rain has started to abate.
Synonyms: subside
Cerebral – intelligent and serious, and enjoying serious thought rather than
emotion:
His advisors tried to persuade him to take a more emotional, less cerebral
approach.
The film is a comedy, but it is far from slapstick; it was made by cerebral writer-
director David O. Russell.
Synonyms: analytical, intelligent, intellectual, brainy, deep, erudite, recondite,
scholarly, smart.
Enamor – to cause someone to like or love something or someone:
Persephone was the Greek goddess who enamored Hades, the king of
underworld.
Disinterested – having no personal involvement or receiving no personal
advantage, and therefore free to act fairly.
A disinterested judgment/observer.
Synonyms: impartial, fair, balanced, objective.
Ruffled – upset; disarranged
Synonyms: anxious, nervous
Composed – free from agitation
They tried to remain composed throughout the ordeal.
Synonyms: calm, collected, cool, coolheaded, unruffled, tranquil
Hail – to publicly praise or show approval for a person or an achievement
Heppner has been hailed as one of the finest tenors in the operatic world today.
Synonyms: praise, acclaim, applaud
Stringent – demanding strict attention to rules and procedures
Most of the students disliked the teacher because of his stringent homework
policy, but many students would later thank him for demanding so much from
them.
Synonyms: strict, rigid, tight, constricted
Humdrum – having no excitement, interest or new and different events; lacking
excitement and interest, ordinary.
We lead such a humdrum life/existence.
Synonyms: ordinary, unglamorous, dull, monotonous
Vaunted – highly or widely praised or boasted about
For years, they had head of New York City’s vaunted skyline, and when they finally
saw it, the spectacular cityscape did not disappoint them in the least.
Synonyms: acclaimed
Capricious – changing mood or behavior suddenly and unexpectedly
A capricious child
Synonyms: impulsive, unpredictable, mercurial, changeable
Proclivity – the fact that someone like something or likes to do something,
especially something considered morally wrong; an inclination or predisposition
toward something
the sexual proclivities of celebrities, his proclivity for shapely blondes
Synonyms: affection, affinity, aptitude, disposition, inclination, leaning, partiality,
tendency
Pithy – concise and full of meaning
I enjoy reading the Daodejing for its pithy and insightful prose; it always gives me
something to think about.
Synonyms: brief, compact, concise, aphoristic, succinct
Unprecedented – having never been done or known before; novel
When America first created its national parks, the idea of setting aside the most
beautiful land in a country was unprecedented in the history of mankind.
Synonyms: fresh, new, novel, original, unknown, unaccustomed
Nettlesome – causing irritation or annoyance
Maria found her coworker’s cell phone nettlesome, because every few minutes it
would buzz to life with another text message
Synonyms: abrasive, aggravating, annoying, bothersome, disturbing, irksome,
irritating, maddening
Diffident – hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence
As a young girl she was diffident and reserved, but now as an adult, she is
confident and assertive.
Synonyms: introverted, modest, withdrawn, bashful, timid
Askance (adverb) – with a look of suspicion or disapproval
The old couple looked askance on the teenagers seated next to them, whispering
to each other, “They have got rings through their noses and purple hair.”
Synonyms: distrustfully, doubtfully, doubtingly, dubiously, scornfully, skeptically,
suspiciously
Humble (verb) – to cause someone to feel less important or proud
He was humbled by his many ordeals
Synonyms: humiliate, abase, demean, belittle, degrade
Hiatus – a pause or break in continuity in a sequence or activity
There was a brief hiatus in the war with France
Synonyms: pause, break, suspension, interruption, abeyance
Solipsism – the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist (the
quality of being self-centered or selfish)
Munificent – generous
Ersatz – not real or genuine
Gamut – the complete range or scope of something (synonym: range, spectrum,
span)
Despot – a ruler or other person who holds absolute power (synonym: tyrant,
dictator, totalitarian, authoritarian)
Mendacious – not telling the truth; lying (synonym: untruthful, dishonest,
deceitful, insincere)
Arresting – striking; eye-catching
Undue – unwarranted or inappropriate because excessive or disproportionate
(synonym: excessive, extreme, immoderate)
Ape – imitate, copy, mimic
Shabby – old and worn-out
Hoi polloi – masses, common people, public
Recapitulate – summarize and state again the main points of (Synonyms:
summarize, sum up, restate, repeat, reiterate)
He began to recapitulate his argument with care
Confound – cause surprise or confusion in (someone), especially by not according
with their expectations
The inflation figure confounded economic analysts
Synonyms: amaze, astonish, dumbfound, stagger, surprise
Facetious – treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; flippant
(alaycı, esprili)
Patent (adjective) – easily recognizable, obvious
She was smiling with patent insincerity.
Synonyms: obvious, clear, plain, evident, apparent
Improbable – not likely to be true or to happen
This account of events was seen by the jury as most improbable.
Synonyms: unlikely, doubtful, dubious, debatable
Opaque – not able to be seen through, not transparent
Synonyms: non-transparent, cloudy, filmy, blurred, hazy, misty
Arcane – understood by few, mysterious or secret
Synonyms: mysterious, secret, hidden, concealed, covert
Laudable – deserving praise and commendation
Synonyms: praiseworthy, commendable, admirable, meritorious
Painstaking – done with or employing great care and thoroughness
Synonyms: careful, meticulous, thorough, assiduous, attentive
Vanquish – defeat, conquer, beat, trounce
Construe – interpret (a word or action) in a particular way
His words could hardly be construed as an apology
Synonyms: interpret, understand, read
Anoint – smear or rub with oil, typically as part of a religious ceremony
Kuna Indians anoint the tips of their arrows with poison.
Collude – cooperate in a secret or unlawful way in order to deceive or gain an
advantage over others
He accused his opponents of colluding with one another.
Forgery – the action of forging a copy or imitation of a document, signature,
banknote or work of art.
He was found guilty of forgery
Synonyms: counterfeiting, faking
Peddle – try to sell something by going from place to place
Synonyms: sell, vend, hawk, tout
Craft – skill used in deceiving others
Her cousing was not her equal in guile and evasive craft
Synonyms: cunning, guile, trickery
Ebullient – cheerful and full of energy
Synonyms: exuberant, buoyant, cheerful, joyful, cherry
Glum – looking or feeling dejected, morose
Synonyms: gloomy, downcast, downhearted, dispirited, disconsolate
Garrulous – excessively talkative, especially on trivial matters
Synonyms: talkative, loquacious, voluble
Laconic – (of a person, speech or style of writing) using very few words
His laconic reply suggested a lack of interest in the topic
Synonyms: brief, concise, terse, succincy
Taciturn – reserved or uncommunicative in speech, saying little
After such gatherings she would be taciturn and morose
Synonyms: untalkative, uncommunicative, reticent, quiet
Solicitous – characterized by or showing interest or concern
Synonyms: concerned, caring, attentive, mindful, considerate
Irresolute – showing or feeling hesitancy, uncertain
Synonyms: indecisive, hesitant, tentative, nervous, weak
Fastidious – very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail
Synonyms: painstaking, meticulous, scrupulous, punctilious
Mendacity – untruthfulness, dishonesty, lying, deceit, deception
Avarice – extreme greed for wealth or material gain, greed, acquisitiveness,
cupidity (aç gözlü, para hırsı)
Baseness – lack of moral principles, bad character, meanness, evil, wickedness,
iniquity
Prevarication – deviation from truth, equivocate
Insular – interested only in your own country or group and not willing to accept
different or foreign ideas
Imperturbable – unable to be upset or excited; calm
Synonyms: self-possesed, composed, collected, calm, cool
Imminent – about to happen
They were in imminent danger of being swept away
Synonyms: impending, at hand, close, near, approaching
Adorn – to make more beautiful or attractive
Synonyms: embellish, decorate, furnish, ornament
Exigent – needing urgent attention or demanding too much from other people
Defiant- someone who would disregard the rules
Impediment – hindrance or obstruction in doing something
Synonyms: hindrance, obstacle, obsturction, barrier
