(agj.) Moderate, Sparing, as in eating and drinking); characterized by abstinence and self-

discipline.

When food supplies are short, we need to be abstemious to ensure our survival.

Frugal Sparing Austere Restrained Moderate

Gluttonous Greedy Hungry Wasteful

(v.) To emphasize, place stress on.

People with different accents than ours, often accentuate different letters in their speech.

Accent Feature Highlight Stress Emphasize

Mask Divert attention from Dull Hide Minimize

(agj.) Deserving of blame or correction.

The criminals actions labeled him as a censurable man.

Blamable Culpable Guilty Reprehensible Wrong

Innocent Guiltless Clean handed

(adj.) Likely but not certain to happen, possible; dependent on uncertain events or conditions; happening

by chance.(n.) A representative group forming part of a larger body.

The squadron of marines was only a contingent of the large group they represent.

Likely Possible Chance Casual Subject to

Impossible Certain Definite Real Unconditional

(v.) To confirm, make more certain.

The suspects wife corroborated his alibi.

Verify Justify Attest Authenticate Validate

Verify Justify Attest Authenticate Validate

(n.) An inhabitant, resident; one who frequents a place.

The homeless man was a denizen of the subway trains.

Citizen Dweller Inhabitant Native Resident

Alien Foreigner Immigrant Non-Resident

(adj.) Passing aimlessly from one place or subject to another, rambling, roving, nomadic.

The mentally ill patients speech was very discursive, and hard to follow.

Rambling Roving Verbose Deviating Erratic

Direct To the point

(v.) To scatter widely

Rubber bullets and tear gas are often used to disseminate riots.

Diffuse Disperse Distribute Radiate Scatter

Concentrate Bring together Collect Gather

(adj.) Poorly dressed, shabby, lacking smartness and good taste.

The poor orphan girl wore very dowdy clothes during her time at the shelter.

Archaic Messy Out-Of-Date Old Dingy

Chic Classy Fashionable Modern Neat Clean

(adj.) Highly colored, reddish; excessively ornate, over decorated, showy.

The millionaires house was excessively florid, filled with many expensive artifacts and decorations from all over the world.

Rosy Glowing Flush Flamboyant Blooming

Inelaborate Natural Plain Undecorated Unornate

(v.) To impose by fraud; to pass off as worthy or genuine, to bring in by stealth, dishonesty, or

coercion.

Oftentimes shady salesmen make their sales by employing techniques of foist.

Cheat Deceive Dupe Infiltrate Edge

Treat Fairly Truth Unbias

(adj.) awkward, lacking in social graces, tactless, clumsy

The woman’s gauche remarks caused people to often give her strange looks.

Clumsy Awkward Tactless Crude Brash Indelicate Graceless

Elegant Graceful Polished Refined Sophisticated Tasteful Tactful

(n.) an opinion different from accepted belief, the denial of an idea that is generally held

sacred

The group of students exiled a classmate for heresy when she did not agree with their plans.

Blasphemy Disbelief Nonconformist Infidelity Divergence Dissidence Fallacy

Orthodoxy Compliance Conformity Consent

(v.) to impress on the mind by repetition, teach persistently and earnestly

The mother had inculcated good manners in her children all their lives.

Brainwash Educate Impress Instill Drill Teach Plant

Erase Take Apart Dislodge Uproot

(adj.) capable of being touched or felt; easily seen, heard, or recognized

Seeing a ghost is not a palpable idea to many people.

Apparent Believable Credible Straightforward Certain Visible Tangible Observable

Hidden Vague Obscure Unclear Disguised Invisible Masked Out of View

(adj.) having sympathetic insight or understanding, capable of keen

appreciation

The little girl was very perceptive and could easily tell her father was upset.

Aware Conscious Keen Insightful Observant Intuitive Sharp Savvy

Dense Unaware Insensitive Oblivious Daydreaming Unknowing Blind

(adj.) extremely harmful; deadly, fatal

Drinking harmful chemicals is a pernicious thing to do.

Baleful Damaging Dangerous Hazardous Harmful Destructive Poisonous Malignant

Helpful Good Kind Innocuous Safe Innocent Sheltered

(v.) to shrink back in fear, lose heart in a difficult of dangerous situation

The soldiers had been in battle for months and began to quail when their leader was captured.

Cringe Falter Flinch Recoil Wince Have Cold Feet Quake Shudder

Face Meet Endure Take On Withstand Challenge Confront Stand

(adj.) leaping, jumping, or springing forth; prominent, standing out, conspicuous

(n.) a projection or bulge, a land form that projects upward or outward

The boy stood on the salient cliff and looked out at the acres on land below.

The salient at the end of the road was so high that no one had ever been to the top.

Extend Hang Out Prolong Jut Stick Out Protrude

Cave In Collapse Crumble Deflate Flat

(v.) to satisfy completely, to fill to excess(adj.) full, satisfied

After eating at the buffet, Toby was satiated so much that he felt sick.

Fill Gorge Indulge Stuff Saturate Cloy Glut

Deprive Dissatisfy Leave Wanting Hold Back Bereave

(v.) to make or become dry and withered, to char or scorch the surface of; to harden or

make unfeeling

The marshmallow was seared after being held over the campfire.

Scorch Cook Wilt Shrivel Wither Brown Dehydrate

Freeze Chill Cool Hydrate

(adj.) deceptive, apparently good or valid but lacking real merit

The specious man only did his good deeds for the money he would get in return and not out of the kindness of his heart

Vain Untrue Deceptive Empty Delusive False Seeming

Honest True Valid Real Kind-Hearted Credible Bona Fide

Choosing the right word

Her (perceptive, florid) writing style, abounding in adjectives and fancy metaphors, is far from suitable for factual newspaper stories.

In a series of (searing, contingent) attacks now known as the Philippics Cicero launched his entire battery of political invective against the hapless Mark Antony.

We are most likely to fall victim to (discursive, specious) reasoning when we have an emotional desire to believe what we are being told.

Some English queens were strikingly elegant and imposing figures; others were somewhat (florid, dowdy) and unprepossessing.

Let’s not allow them to (foist, accentuate) on us ideas and programs that have been proved failures in other countries!

The idea that we can solve our problems by borrowing money to meet the payments on our debts is (palpably, perceptively) absurd.

Perhaps he did not originate that vicious rumor, but he certainly shares the responsibility for having (seared, disseminated) it.

Children are often remarkably (discursive, perceptive) in understanding how adults feel about them.

Out of all the endless flow of dull verbiage in that long lecture, we could recognize only two or three (gauche, salient) points.

The leaden sky of that bleak November day only served to (accentuate, inculcate) the gloom I felt at the sudden death of my best friend.

I (quailed, seared) so much at the prospect of undergoing major surgery that my hands literally trembled as I entered the hospital.

The most tragic aspect of a forest fire is its destructive effects on the innumerable plant and animal (denizens, heresies) of that environment.

Although the essays are highly (discursive, dowdy), covering a wide range of topics, they are written In such clarity and grace that they are easy to follow.

No doubt his efforts to advance his own interests were (censurable, florid), but let’s try to keep a sense of proportion and not condemn him too much.

She was so (palpable, abstemious) that she extended her self-control even to her beloved music, and listened to records no more than an hour each day.

All the available evidence (corroborates, foists) my theory that the theft was planned by someone familiar with the layout of the house.

As the Scottish poet Robert Burns aptly suggests, even the best laid plans are often easily (palpable, contingent) on events over which we have no earthly control.

The study of history teaches us that many ideas regarded as (heresies, disseminations) by one generation are accepted as sound and orthodox by the next.

Before we start out to (inculcate, foist) certain principles in our young people, let’s be very sure that these principles are truly desirable for them and their society.

He thought he was being witty and charming, but I regarded his conduct at the part as altogether (abstemious, gauche).

The more we studied the drug problem, the more we became aware of its (florid, pernicious) influence on American people today.

I rather like the better TV game shows, but I find that after a certain point, I’m (satiated, foisted) and ready for more substantial fare.

Modern nutritionists emphasize that there is a(n) (palpable, abstemious) difference between “eating to live” and “living to eat”.

Although the Declaration of Independence was framed only to justify a revolution in the British colonies in North America, its ideas and ideals have been (disseminated, accentuated) throughout the world.

Her (florid, pernicious) personality was in sharp contrast to the quiet, restrained demeanor of her younger sister.

The silence in their home when we made the condolence call was so (perceptive, palpable) that we could almost reach out and touch it.