adhere 1.(n.)to stick to something
(We adhered the poster to the wall with tape.)
2.(n.)to follow devoutly
(He adhered to the dictates of his religion without question.)
admonish(v.)to caution, criticize, reprove
(Joe’s mother admonished him not to ruin
his appetite by eating cookies before dinner.)
balk (v.) to stop, block abruptly (Edna’s boss balked at her request for another raise.)
ballad (n.) a love song (Greta’s boyfriend played her a ballad on the guitar during their
walk through the dark woods.)
cacophony (n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious sound (The elementary school
orchestra created a cacophony at the recital.)
cadence (n.) a rhythm, progression of sound (The pianist used the foot pedal to
emphasize the cadence of the sonata.)
daunting (adj.) intimidating, causing one to lose courage (He kept delaying the
daunting act of asking for a promotion.)
dearth (n.) a lack, scarcity (An eager reader, she was dismayed by the dearth of classic
books at the library.)
debacle (n.) a disastrous failure, disruption (The elaborately designed fireworks show
turned into a debacle when the fireworks started firing in random directions.)
debase (v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave
himself debased his motives for running the charity.)
ebullient (adj.) extremely lively, enthusiastic (She became ebullient upon receiving an
acceptance letter from her first-choice college.)
eclectic (adj.) consisting of a diverse variety of elements (That bar attracts an eclectic
crowd: lawyers, artists, circus clowns, and investment bankers.)
fabricate (v.) to make up, invent (When I arrived an hour late to class, I fabricated some
excuse about my car breaking down on the way to school.)
façade 1. (n.) the wall of a building (Meet me in front of the museum’s main façade.) 2.
(n.) a deceptive appearance or attitude (Despite my smiling façade, I am feeling
melancholy.)
garish (adj.) gaudy, in bad taste (Mrs. Watson has poor taste and covers every object in
her house with a garish gold lamé.)
garrulous (adj.) talkative, wordy (Some talk show hosts are so garrulous that their
guests can’t get a word in edgewise.)
genial (adj.) friendly, affable (Although he’s been known to behave like a real jerk, I
would say that my brother is an overall genial guy.)
hallowed (adj.) revered, consecrated (In the hallowed corridors of the cathedral, the
disturbed professor felt himself to be at peace.)
hapless (adj.) unlucky (My poor, hapless family never seems to pick a sunny week to go
on vacation.)
iconoclast (n.) one who attacks common beliefs or institutions (Jane goes to one protest
after another, but she seems to be an iconoclast rather than an activist with a
progressive agenda.)
idiosyncratic (adj.) peculiar to one person; highly individualized (I know you had
trouble with the last test, but because your mistakes were highly idiosyncratic, I’m
going to deny your request that the class be given a new test.)
laceration (n.) a cut, tear (Because he fell off his bike into a rosebush, the paperboy’s skin
was covered with lacerations.)
laconic (adj.) terse in speech or writing (The author’s laconic style has won him many
followers who dislike wordiness.)
maelstrom (n.) a destructive whirlpool which rapidly sucks in objects (Little did the
explorers know that as they turned the next bend of the calm river a vicious
maelstrom would catch their boat.)
magnanimous (adj.) noble, generous (Although I had already broken most of her
dishes, Jacqueline was magnanimous enough to continue letting me use them.)