I am fascinated by those "second string" words that enable one to express very fine shades of meaning.
I will endeavor to build this area up with new words every now and then.  Anyone reading this page is most
welcome to help.  I think that it's helpful to give a lot of examples for each word.  The example sentences
given here are only occasionally original to me.  Some I found on the Web, others in dictionaries.  Some of
the ones that I didn't make up are reproduced here exactly as I found them, and others are modified slightly.



abut		- verb - (1) To be adjacent; touch or join at the edge or border (often fol. by on, upon,
		             or against): This piece of land abuts on a street.
		         (2) To be adjacent to; border on; end at.
		         (3) To support as an abutment.
		Examples: (1) Allice Millern, 76, a lifelong resident whose property abuts the proposed
		              site applauded the governor's decision.
		          (2) Hidden on a small residential street in the Old City, this quaint four-story
		              hotel abuts the Chao Phraya river and offers views of Wat Arun, the 19th-century
		              Temple of the Dawn, from its open lobby.
		          (3) The New Orleans central business district includes Canal Street, the Louisiana
		              Superdome, an Amtrak station and nearly all of the city's skyscrapers. One of
		              its borders abuts the French Quarter.
abutment	- noun - The part of a structure that bears the weight or pressure of an arch. b. A structure
		         that supports the end of a bridge. c. A structure that anchors the cables of a
		         suspension bridge.
acumen		- noun - Quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight, especially in practical
		         matters; shrewdness.
		Examples:  (1) He had remarkable acumen in business matters.
		           (2) One of the charity's wealthiest supporters, John urged his own sales department to
		               lend their business acumen.
		           (3) Although he believes the terrorists have lost key sanctuaries, logistical
		               capabilities and the leadership acumen it once had, the network still maintains
		               the ability to launch "vicious attacks."
adduce		- verb (1) to offer offer reason, or proof why you think something is true
		Examples   (1) While the assumption is common, surprisingly little empirical evidence has been adduced to support it.
alight		- verb - (past: alighted or alit)
		         (1) To come down and settle, as after flight: a sparrow alighting on a branch.
		         (2) To dismount from a horse, descend from a vehicle, etc.: The queen alighted
		             from the carriage.
		         (3) To come by chance, encounter or notice something accidentally: alight on a
		             happy solution.
		         (4) Burning; lighted: The discarded match was still alight.
		Examples:  (1) Both turkeys then alighted onto their personal three-vehicle motorcade, complete
		               with blaring sirens and police motorcycles, en route to Dulles airport.
		           (2) Services are not expected to be disrupted, but passengers alighting in
		               Paris will be unable to make connections.
		           (3) The governer rolled up in front of the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan in a black
		               luxury SUV and alighted for a "photo op" down a media-lined red carpet.
		           (4) Cars, trucks and buses were being hijacked and set alight so regularly
		               that roads were closed and motorists urged to stay at home.
allay		- verb - (1). To reduce the intensity of; relieve: allay back pains.
		         2. To calm or pacify; set to rest: allayed the fears of the worried citizens.
		Examples:  (1) British Prime Minister Theresa May is visiting Belfast on a trip designed to
			               allay Northern Irish concerns about Britain's vote to leave the European Union.
			           (2) I relaxed, thinking to allay his doubts with the plans I had discussed
			               in secret with Nicholas.
ancillary	- adj - (1) subordinate; subsidiary.
		        (2) Auxiliary; helping:
		Examples: (1) "We do think there are going to be some ancillary benefits from having the
		              Walmart in town," the council president said.
		          (2) Until there is a widespread demand by consumers for fuel efficiency, automakers
		              and their ancillary support industries will keep producing powerful gas
                              guzzlers.
                  (3) Overall airlines racked up $4.6 billion in ancillary fees, which include
                      items like reservation fees.
apotheosis	- n - (1) The perfect form or example of something :
				  (2) Elevation to divine status : deification the apotheosis of Roman emperors
		Example:  (1)  Meanwhile, conservatives saw the Katrina response as the apotheosis of corrupt urban politics
		  		  (2)  On Sunday his act reached its apotheosis
assiduous	- adj -  marked by careful, unremitting attention or persistent
		         application; dilligent (an assiduous stamp collector)
		Examples: (1) He has been assiduous at all the work of an archdeacon,
		              sitting through all the committees, inspecting all the churches,
		              making sure parish assessments are paid, seeing the clergy for
		              their annual reviews.
		          (2) To uncover how taxpayers' money was spent, the reporter was
	                      methodical in his examination of public records and assiduous
		              in his cultivation of inside sources.
		          (3) the new law has primarily hampered the work of regional newsmen,
		              since the regional authorities are particularly assiduous in
		              enforcing it.
assuage  	- verb - (1) To make (something burdensome or painful) less intense or severe: assuage her grief.
		         (2) To satisfy or appease; relieve (hunger or thirst, for example).
		         (3) To soothe or calm: assuage their chronic insecurity.
		Examples: (1) He hopes that his clarification will assuage the worries of the voters.
 		          (2) The governor's statement did little to assuage concerns of some people that his
		              administration was hiding information.
		          (3) The Malaysian government will intensify efforts to assuage any doubt that investors
		              may have on the political situation in the country lately.
austere		- adj - 1. Severe or stern in manner or appearance; somber and grave: the austere figure
		           of a Puritan minister.
		        2. Strict or severe in discipline; ascetic: a desert nomad's austere life.
		        3. Without excess, luxury, or ease; simple; limited; severe: an austere life.
		        4. Having no adornment or ornamentation; severely simple; bare: an austere style.
		        5. Lacking softness; hard: an austere bed of straw.
		Examples: (1) Not three miles away, on one of New Canaan’s most estate-studded thoroughfares,
		              lies the austere glass-and-concrete house that Johnson called his “little jewel
		              box,” built in 1953 for Alice Ball, a single woman with apparent passions for
		              pink stucco and ruthless spatial efficiency.
		          (2) Visitors may explore the impressive church, delicate cloisters and refectory
		              (where the monks ate in austere silence), and then climb down into the dark,
		              damp Romanesque foundations.
		          (3) He is said to be highly intelligent, though somewhat mechanical in personality.
		              BBC News Sydney correspondent Rick Nye described him as "austere, cerebral and
		              self-disciplined, who is easy to respect but harder to like."
		          (4) The priest performed quiet prayers under pelting rain before an austere stone
		              memorial honoring the 65 victims.
		          (5) The area was more akin to the austere prairies of Nebraska and Kansas than the
		              majestic Rockies to the West .
		          (6) House leaders will unveil a "cautious and austere" state budget plan.
benighted	- adj - (1) overtaken by darkness or night.
		        (2) existing in a state of intellectual, social, or moral darkness;
		            unenlightened; ignorant; backward
		Examples: (1) Insensitive politicians, however, should regard the bully-pulpit
		              as a venue for considerate, well-informed thought rather than an
		              open-microphone for all -- including the severely benighted -- to
		              make use of.
		          (2) I was appalled by the benighted editorial submitted by John Smith
		              in the April 19th edition of The Times.
		          (3) intellectuals are benighted by prejudices and politicians are
		              blinded by partisan frenzy
		          (3) Church had replaced empire," and then ruled for a thousand
		              benighted years, "until the monarchies of France and England had
		              restored the primacy of civil society."


bumptious	- adj -	(1) Self-assertive or proud to an irritating degree.
		Examples:  (1)  Our European allies may bristle at our presumption. Some still think of us as a
		                bumptious colony.
		           (2)  Trump has mocked this political platitude, repeatedly. If anything, one of the
		                bumptious billionaire’s most reliable applause lines is his frequent declaration
		                that the media are "terrible," "among the most dishonest groups of people" he’s
		                ever met.

byzantine	- n - (1) Of, relating to, or characterized by a devious and usually surreptitious manner of operation.
			      (2) Intricately involved : labyrinthine
		Examples: (1) A byzantine power struggle

canard		- noun - (1) An unfounded or false, deliberately misleading story; especially a fabricated
		             report. b. a groundless rumor or belief.
		         (2) a. A short winglike control surface projecting from the fuselage of an aircraft, such
		             as a space shuttle, mounted forward of the main wing and serving as a horizontal
		             stabilizer. b. An aircraft whose horizontal stabilizing surfaces are forward of
		             the main wing.
		Examples: (1) We cite this overlooked bit of hard-knocks progress not just to puncture the canard
		              that government is always the problem, not the solution.
		          (2) It is ridiculous to say he doesn't believe in the United Nations. This is a canard
		              spread by journalists who haven't bothered to read his stuff and by crafty politicians
		              who aren't willing to say what the debate is really about.
canonical	- adj - (1) Of, relating to, or required by canon law.
		        (2) Of or appearing in the biblical canon.
		        (3) Conforming to a general rule or acceptable procedure.
		        (4) Of or belonging to a cathedral chapter.
		        (5) Music. Having the form of a canon.
		        (6) Authorized; recognized; accepted
		Examples:  (1) ...there is a constant rush of people into the discipline,
		               making for themselves the three canonical discoveries of the
                               field: It's terribly important; it's easy and lots of fun to
		               do badly; and finally, it's very hard indeed to do well.
		           (2) This online summary of the paper summarizes the study's
		               findings, but the printed edition remains canonical.
		           (3) While the texts of canonical authors like Longfellow are
		               constantly available, scholars are laboring at a disadvantage
		               in the case of artists who illustrated ephemeral publications.
		           (4) ...such as employees of a particular company (to choose a
		               droll canonical example)
		           (5) In my own Catholic tradition, all those volumes of Canonical
		               Law, Encyclicals, Papal Bulls and theological debate....
circumspect	- adj - (1) Heedful of circumstances and potential consequences; cautious; prudent: circumspect
		            behavior.
		        (2) well-considered: circumspect ambition.
		Examples: (1) Even if the film is more circumspect than Lonnigan's reckless book, it still
		              ends up implicating Merril on purely circumstantial evidence.
		          (2) The state of the investigation is rather difficult to quantify, because he was
		              very circumspect in naming names and giving precise details.
		          (3) The President said that he hoped to get the relationship off to a good start,
		              but he was circumspect. "Like everything else, the devil is always in the details,
		              So I want to talk to the ambassador about it and see what he has in mind."
		          (4) Well I dont think concern about crime is a mind over matter issue. It is bad out
		              there right now and you are right to be circumspect.
		          (5) The two presidents were circumspect but optimistic.
cogent		- adj - a. Appealing forcibly to the intellect or powers of reasoning; convincing:
		           a cogent argument.
		           b. pertinent, relevant: a cogent analysis.
		Examples: (1) In addition to showing that the executive’s statements were misleading,
		              the court wrote in the case that a shareholder’s claim that the
		              executive had wrongful intent had to be “more than merely plausible or
		              reasonable — it must be cogent and at least as compelling as any opposing
		              inference of nonfraudulent intent.”
		          (2) Last week, I spent most of an afternoon trying to get a cogent explanation
		              of a confusing news release issued late on the Friday before by an agency
		              called the United States Department of Transportation Pipeline and
		              Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
concomitant	- adj - Accompanying, especially in a subordinate or incidental
		        way.   Existing or occurring concurrently.
		Example: (1) Warning:  This medicine causes a decrease in the
		             coagulation time of blood with concomitant increases in
		             the red blood cell count.
		         (2) Given the current lack of congressional turnover and
		             the concomitant increase in the length of time legislators
		             are in office, there are few new ideas being introduced.
		         (3) This administration has failed to address the presence
		             of widespread poverty and the concomitant prevalence of
		             crime.
conjoin		- verb - To join or become joined together; unite; combine for a common purpose.
		Examples: (1) It's a distinctly cross-cultural experience as virtuoso musicians
		              from Greece, Wales and the Middle East conjoin to see where such
		              exploration takes them.
		          (2) Additionally, you can conjoin individual MailMergeFilterCriterion
		              objects to create a single, complex filter criterion.
		          (3) There are two people in a marriage. They have two separate agendas
		              that should conjoin as one. If they don't, they should both
		              graciously take the responsibility for what went wrong.
		          (4) We tested fish in the same task and found that they were able to
		              conjoin geometric and non-geometric (landmark) information to
		              reorient themselves.
contravene	- verb - (1) To act or be counter to; violate: contravene a direct order.
		         	 (2) To oppose in argument; contradict: contravened the proposal.
		Examples: (1) Iran's actions contravene its own stated policy, and are dangerous
		              for the region because they can produce widespread instability.
		          (2) His government has halted all live broadcasts in the country as part of an
		              effort to bring tensions down. The opposition called the order a "direct
		              curtailment of freedom of expression rights that contravenes provisions of
		              our constitution."
		          (3) North Korea's further act of defiance shows its disregard for the concerns of
		              its neighbors and the wider international community, and contravenes DPRK's
		              commitments under the Non Proliferation Treaty and UN Security Council
		              Resolution 1695
		          (4) The London Metropolitan Police could face a fine if found to have contravened
		              the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
		          (5) I told the prime minister not to undertake any activity that contravenes our
		              mutual policy, or prejudices negotiations, said Mr. Bush.
		          (6) Bashir admitted guilt to five charges of contravening the Nuclear Energy Act.
controvert	- verb - To raise arguments against; dispute; voice opposition to: controvert a
		          point in a discussion.
		Examples: (1) The defense also has the opportunity to counter this evidence if it
		              wishes. However, the defendant may already have conceded some of the
		              facts in his guilty plea or facts may be impossible to controvert
		              given the jury's trial verdict.
		          (2) Moving forward with the plan would controvert a legal understanding
		              dating from the Kennedy Administration that even the smallest steps
		              would be considered to constitute a breach of the treaty.
		          (3) They pointed to the significant amount of direct evidence in the
		              record that controverts the claims made in the article, most notably
		              the consistent statements by Miss Wingate that no one ever asked,
		              suggested, or encouraged her to lie.
		          (4) It is practically impossible for a person to be absolutely and
		              completely convinced of any controverted fact which by its nature
		              cannot be proved to a mathematical certainty.
		          (5) It would have been a full vindication of the much-controverted
		              article he had written so long ago.
defenestration - n - (1) a throwing of a person or thing out of a window
				     (2) a usually swift dismissal or expulsion (as from a political party or office)
dell		- n. -  A small, usually wooded, secluded valley.
		Examples: (1) Thus chatting pleasantly the band turned back into the woodland
		              and sought their secluded dell, where the trees were the
		              thickest, the moss was the softest, and a secret path led to a
		              cave, at once a retreat and a stronghold.
		          (2) At the bottom of the field, cross the road to enter into the
		              ferned glade, and follow the clear grass path down the dell until
		              you reach a more solid path
demure		- adj - (1) Modest and reserved in manner or behavior.
		        	(2) Affectedly or coyly shy, modest, or reserved.
		Examples: (1) In an unexpected twist, however, his new girlfriend turned out to be
		              not another in the mold of the demure, publicity-shy former partner,
		              but a loud, heavily made up rock chick.
		          (2) Her stage personality is demure verging on prim.
		          (3) Mr. Heinz and the academy opened their concert on Monday night at Mellon
		              Hall with an understated and somewhat demure rendition of Stravinsky's
		              "Pulcinella" Suite.
		          (4) After her last song, she bestowed demure pecks on the cheek to the
		              musicians as she left the stage.
deportment	- noun -  (1) The manner in which one conducts oneself; behavior.
		          (2) The conduct or obedience of a child in school, as graded by a teacher.
		Examples: (1) Johnson's deportment while holding that position also created a favorable
		              opinion, managers say.
		          (2) Leaving air marshals wide discretion, under the law, as to their conduct and
		              deportment only aggravates the problems: Not only do they have little training,
		              they also have little legal guidance as to when a suspicion can become an arrest.
		          (3) He was of sterling character, dignified and modest in deportment, an able
		              officer and a gallant soldier.
		          (4) All along the route the reporters were met with the kindest treatment, and the
		              deportment of the troops toward them was always of the most courteous character.
devolve		- vt -	To pass on or delegate to another: The senator devolved the duties of office upon
		        a group of aides.

		- vi -	(1) To be passed on or transferred to another: The burden of proof devolved upon
		            the defendant. The estate devolved to an unlikely heir.
		        (2) To degenerate or deteriorate gradually: After several hours the discussion had
		            devolved into a shouting match.
		Examples: (1) A long-awaited government proposal to devolve power to the Tamil-majority
		              north and east has met with widespread criticism, even from onetime Tamil
		              backers of the administration.
		          (2) The Republican Party has championed a series of reforms designed to devolve
		              power to the individual, through tax cuts, private pensions and medical
		              accounts.
		          (3) Emergency funds have been devolved to the states to deal with the problem.
		          (4) The U.N. retains overall control and responsibility for key areas such as
		              security but substantial powers are devolved to Kosovo's new institutions.
didactic	- adj - (1) Intended to instruct.
		        (2) Teaching or intending to teach a moral lesson.
		        (3) Inclined to teach, lecture others, or moralize too much: a boring, didactic speaker.
		Examples: (1) His whole point, he says, was making the story of gunpowder into an entertaining
		              tale, instead of a scientific or didactic analysis.
		          (2) It's very important right now to have a message or meaning in your music. I don't
		              really believe in being didactic or standing on a soapbox, but I do believe in
		              using one's cultural power and seeing music as a populist medium and one that
		              inherently reaches a lot of people.
		          (3) The play was always a bit didactic, providing definitions for poison pills, white
		              knights, greenmail and other tactics that New England Wire and Cable, an
		              old-fashioned concern, might use to fend off the advances of Larry, formally known
		              as Lawrence Garfinkle.
		          (4) The mind of a child is made for learning, and even movies that have no explicit
		              didactic intention can teach a lot.
		          (5) The book is often didactic, with author Wilkens using the character of Peter Stark,
		              a millionaire historian, as a mouthpiece for his views.
diffident	- adj -	(1) Hesitant or shy in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence
					(2) Reserved, unassertive
		Examples: (1)  Will Sarah remain the timid and diffident country girl, or will her newfound success give her courage?
				  (2)  She called him a "diffident and unassertive" man who appeared to be reluctantly carrying out the
				       political legacy left to him by his mother
dilatory	- adj - (1) tending or intended to cause delay 
		        (2) characterized by procrastination
		Examples: (1) When ministers use bureaucrats for political purposes, it is not
		              surprising that the latter become dilatory and defiant.
		          (2) When decisive and speedy action was necessary he was not the
		              least averse or dilatory in taking it.
		          (3) ..are spared the expense and the hassle of retaining lawyers and
		              other dilatory procedures normally associated with legal battles.
		          (4) The U.S. has been dilatory and dithering when it comes to doing
		              something about airport security.
disclaim	- verb -  (1) Refuse to acknowledge; deny
					  (2) To say you are not responsible for or do not know anything about something
dispositive - adj	 Resulting in disposition (disposing of or settling a matter).


dissemble	- verb - to disguise the real meaning of; to put on a false appearance:
		         conceal facts, intentions, or feelings under some pretense; feign.
		Example: (1) Not unless he continues to dissemble and withhold the truth, in
		             which case I believe the House Democrats should begin an ethics
		             investigation.
		         (2) Wordplay is part of the armory of any successful politician.
		             Politicians use words to their convenience, sometimes to cover
		             their tracks, sometimes to dissemble and sometimes to suggest
		             something which is the opposite of their real beliefs and
		             feelings.
		         (3) Roger was too authentic to be suited to political life, and
		             in an ABC Television Corporation which made the scheming of the
		             Medicis seem innocent, he never did learn to dissemble. He lived
		             as if he had nothing to hide, so if you crossed or disappointed
		             him, you certainly knew it.
doctrinaire	- adj - (1) stubbornly or excessively devoted to a doctrine or theory without regard to practical considerations;
					meterly theoretical; impractical
					(2) dogmatic about others' acceptance of one's ideas; fanatical:
dogged		- adj - marked by stubborn determination; tenacious.
		Examples: (1) De Graaf defines affluenza as "a painful, contagious, socially
		              transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste
		              resulting from the dogged pursuit of more."
		          (2) Through it all two qualities have appeared, over and over again,
		              in Mr. Faubus -- monumental patience and a dogged slogging manner.
		          (3) I once called him America's most dogged street detective of
		              political corruption, and no one disputed that label.
		          (4) The authors recount the inspired scientific research of Soto and
		              Sonnenschein, whose dogged efforts uncovered the fact that endocrine
		              disrupting compounds leach from plastic test-tubes made by the Paxon
		              Products Corporation.
doleful		- adj - (1) Full of or expressing grief; mournful.
		        (2) Causing grief: a doleful loss.
		        (3) Expressing grief; sad: a doleful melody.
		Examples: (1) It is worth noting how Tevye's life becomes increasingly doleful from
		              story to story.
		          (2) Prices were generally lower, the bears improving their opportunity to set
		              afloat a choice collection of disquieting rumors. They talked of called loans
		              and took a generally doleful view of conditions.
		          (3) An owl, puffed up with pride and vanity, sings his doleful song at
		              midnight from the hollow of an old oak.
dour		- adj - (1) stern, harsh
			        (2) obstinate, unyeilding
			        (3) gloomy, sullen.
ebullient	- adj - 1. Zestfully enthusiastic; exuberant.
		        2. Boiling or seeming to boil; bubbling.
		Examples: (1) Jones sounds like an ebullient teen-ager: "Got my guitar/Got my
		              girl/I Got everything!"
		          (2) He still has the ebullient, ingratiating manner, the apparently
		              intense interest in other people, that made him a charismatic
		              figure.
		          (3) Researchers cautioned that they still don't know whether the new
		              medication will cure the disease, or simply hold it in check,
		              but the results have left scientists ebullient.
		          (4) There was an ebullient reaction in the oil and gas sector to
		              Devon Energy's $4.6 billion friendly takeover offer for Canada's
		              Anderson Exploration.
encomium	- noun - 1. Warm, glowing praise. 2. A formal expression of praise; a tribute.
		Examples: (1) His praise of an American future under the the new president was unstinting, if
		              a shade uninspired compared to the encomium he had spent 25-odd minutes lavishing
		              on America's recent past.
		          (2) What was worded as an encomium contained subtle elements of rebuke.
		          (3) The book concludes with an encomium to the leader of New York City’s new
		              academy for principals.
		          (4) The only thing louder than his own fans’ encomium were the whistles from the
		              opposition.
endemic		- adj - (1) Natural to or characteristic of a specific people or place; native;
		            indigenous.
		        (2) Belonging exclusively or confined to a particular place.
		Examples:     (1) Borneo is particularly important for biodiversity because the island has
		              a high number of endemic species - creatures which only occur in that one
		              place.
		              (2) The virus starts to appear at this time of the year, not just in this
		                  region where it's endemic, but in other parts of southern Africa as well.
enervate	- verb - 1. to deprive of force or strength; destroy the strength or vigor of; weaken.
		Examples: (1) He argued that devoting scarce public money to the charter school alternative
		              will further enervate our public schools, which are already seriously
		              underfinanced.
		          (2) Had this been a ploy by the wily Harrison to enervate the opponent?
		          (3) it turns out that he harbors high ideals for art in general and fiction in
		              particular, despite the fear of ridicule that enervates the work of many of
		              his contemporaries.
epithet		- n. - an adjective added to a person's name or a phrase used instead of
		       it, usually to criticize or praise him.
		Examples: (1) These days, any candidate who dares to change position on an issue
		              during a two-year campaign risks being labeled a "flip-flopper."
		          (2) Everyone interested in the Greek goddess Athena would benefit greatly
		              by the knowledge of these epithets. In many ways, they reveal the nature
		              of the goddess as it was perceived by the ancient Hellenes. Indeed these
		              epithets demonstrate that Athena was a much more complex being than the
		              "Goddess of Wisdom" that she is often labeled with.
		          (3) François-Joachim-Pierre de Bernis spent the last three years of his life
		              in Rome in comparative poverty, devoting himself to the French exiles
		              and fully justifying the epithet, "Protector of the Church of France,"
		              bestowed upon him by Pope Pius VI.
equanimity	- n. - Evenness of mind especially under stress;  balance; being
		       not easily disturbed.
		Examples: (1) I know that was stressful.  I'll give you a few minutes
		          to regain your equanimity.
		          (2) If on one occasion it is permissible to make a suggestion to
		              the enemy, we would urge the leaders of the imperial power to
		              be calm, act with equanimity, and not be dragged by moments of
		              anger or hatred into wanting to hunt people, tossing bombs all
		              over the place.
erstwhile	- adj - former, previous.
		Example:  His erstwhile students kept calling him with algebra questions.
eschew		- vt - to avoid or shun habitually, particularly on  moral or
		       practical grounds.
		Example:  Mr Rogge has said he will eschew the trappings of luxury normally
		          associated with the IOC presidency and live among the athletes at
		          next year's Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
evansecent	- adj - Vanishing or likely to vanish like vapor. Having limited duration.
		Example: (1) ...wonderful to look at, and signifying something as evanescent as the smile
		             of the Cheshire cat.
		         (2) Despite the evanescent world of advertising to which he devoted his life,
		             one of Stanton's proudest achievements was being named senior associate at
		             his company.
excoriate	-verb - (1) to wear off the skin of; abrade
		        (2) to censure scathingly; denounce
		Examples: (1) Almost three decades later, some environmentalists continue to
		              treat the annual event as a time to excoriate others for shameful
		              neglect or destructive greed.
		          (2) He used the occasion to excoriate the broadcast community for its
	                      abject failure in this area.
exigent		- adj - (1) Requiring immediate action or remedy; pressing.
		        (2) Requiring much effort or expense, or more than is reasonable; demanding.
		Examples: (1) The suggested changes would require the Secretary to obtain a search warrant
		              in exigent cases where documents might be hidden or destroyed.
		          (2) Familiarity with such codes might well serve as a guide to engineers even in
		              exigent situations.
		          (3) Chairman Nare authorized exigent approval of the contract under the
		              provisions of the Procurement Law.
		          (4) While there we debate the most exigent issues of our time.
expiate   verb -  To atone for; make amends or reparation for: expiate one's sins by acts of penance.
                Examples: (1) By burying the innocent victims we want to expiate the sins of our ancestors.
                          (2) And with every dollar the grandfather gives her to expiate his guilt, she
		              becomes more deeply in his debt.
                          (3) VH-1 is selling this series as a form of community service, almost as if to
		              expiate past excesses.
                          (4) So it comes as no surprise to find him taken off the investigation into the
		              murder of an Edinburgh art dealer and dispatched to he Scottish Police
		              College, for an attitude overhaul. There he becomes one of six officers
		              enrolled in a remedial course to expiate their sin of insubordination.
expostulate	- verb - to reason with earnestly in an effort to dissuade or correct;
		         remonstrate
		Examples: (1) Ever since your Editorial by Thomas Mitchell stating that
		              editorials did not have to be factual, since they were just
		              expressions of a Proprietary Right to raise heck and generally
		              expostulate, I have found it difficult to get seriously
		              exercised over the RJ's editorials -- since they may or may
		              not be related to facts, by your own published admissions.
		          (2) Rather than to hijack your message thread in order to expostulate
		              my own complex views, I should instead take this opportunity to
		              address several questions to the experts here assembled, which have
		              been plaguing me for quite some time.
		          (3) Those who have dared to expostulate on this matter have usually been
		              very effectively silenced in short order.
		          (4) I noted, in your editorial, the suggestion to, and I quote,
		              "promote streetcar, bike and taxi-only zones." This inspires
		              me to expostulate with increased vehemence, "Huh?!"
faithless - adj - (1) Not true to duty or obligation; disloyal.
		          (2) Having no religious faith.
		          (3) Unworthy of faith or trust; unreliable.
		Examples: (1) Eventually Diego pours his heart out in a weepy, drunken tirade about his
		              faithless wife.
		          (2) The film is also a snapshot of a modern South Korea bordering on social anarchy, one
		              in which a fatalistically obedient old-timer and his three preternaturally immature
		              adult children face down a rampaging beast along with clueless doctors, Keystone
		              Kops, faithless friends and even hordes of paparazzi.
		          (3) The sad thing is that, from an objective point of view, King John was really no worse
		              than his contemporaries. His father Henry II had a reputation for untrustworthiness,
		              matched only by the utter faithlessness of the French kings Louis and Philip Augustus.
		          (4) He has essentially pitted the faithful against the faithless while attempting to merge
		              Mormonism in mainstream Christianity.
fatuous		- adj - (1) Foolish or inane, esp. in an unconscious, smug, complacent manner; silly.
		        (2) Delusive; unreal: fatuous hopes.
		Examples: (1) He produced the most fatuous allegations, plucked straight out of the air.
		          (2) Now, from my hours spent battered and half brain dead listening to the
		              fatuous, self-important commentators of our nation, I learn that I've been
		              wrong all along.
		          (3) Assorted Europeans, celebrities and the New York Council worked themselves
		              into a fatuous lather over the arrogance of American power.
		          (4) It would be fatuous if I said we had solved the problem and that every
		              officer in the agency was inspired to put the interests of the agency above
		              the interests of his or her office.
		          (5) I hope that this desperate and fairly dangerous summit does not try to
		              patch together anything fatuous, on Jerusalem or any of the other problems
		             (refugees, water rights, and the rest).
febrile- adj - (1) Having or showing the symptoms of a fever: a febrile illness
			   (2) Having or showing a great deal of nervous excitement or energy: a febrile imagination
feckless	- adj - 1. innefectual, weak  2. worthless, irresponsible
		Example: 1. What the Administration calls a policy of containment has become
		            an embarrassment as our friends and allies in the region and
		            elsewhere ignore our feckless imprecations and reposition themselves
		            for Saddam's triumph over the United States.
		         2. They cared for the sick, helped and instructed the feckless newcomer,
		            and rescued the stranded.
		         3. Like most of the small time criminals I had met, he was young,
		            reckless, and feckless, and was in his criminal profession due to
		            equal parts of stupidity and desperation.
		         4. The Second Circuit applied the Maryland factors and concluded
		            that the sheer breadth of the evidence made the precautions taken
		            by the trial court feckless in preventing jury confusion.
fervid		- adj - (1) Marked by great fervor, passion or zeal: a fervid crusader.
		        (2) Extremely hot; burning.
		Examples: (1) If astronomical sales of her debut album and the fervid adulation of her teen
		              audience are any indication, she's well on her way.
		          (2) Brown says stores with passionate customers and loyal customer bases, such as
		              high-end department stores and discounters Target and Wal-Mart, tend to do well.
		              The midlevel stores, such as J.C. Penney's and Kohl's, don't tend to have the
		              same kind of fervid followers, he says.
frenetic	- adj - frantic; frenzied.
		Examples: (1) All the major film festivals are conducted at a frenetic pace.
		          (2) Lawson, a slight, frenetic woman, arrives in her office at 7 AM
		              every morning.
		          (3) Citing the frenetic pace of the Chinese capital and the anticipated
		              crowds that will flock to the Summer Games, British authorities have
		              decided to house its team in Macau.
fulsome		- adj - (1) Exceeding the bounds of good taste; overdone: the fulsome chromium glitter of
		            the escalators dominating the central hall
		        (2) Excessively complimentary or flattering; effusive: an admiration whose extent
		            I did not express, lest I be thought fulsome.
		        (3) a. Characterized by abundance; copious: describes in fulsome detail
		            b. Generous in amount, extent, or spirit: the passengers were fulsome in
		               praise of the plane's crew.
		        (4) Aesthetically, morally, or generally offensive: fulsome lies and nauseous
		            flattery

		Usage: Sense 4, which was a generalized term of disparagement in the late 17th century, is
		       the least common of these. Fulsome became a point of dispute when sense 3, thought
		       to be obsolete in the 19th century, began to be revived in the 20th. The dispute was
 		       exacerbated by the fact that the large dictionaries of the first half of the century
		       missed the beginnings of the revival. Sense 3 has not only been revived but has spread
		       in its application and continues to do so. The chief danger for the user of fulsome is
		       ambiguity. Unless the context is made very clear, the reader or hearer cannot be sure
		       whether such an expression as “fulsome praise” is meant in sense 3b or in sense 2.

		Examples: (1) He escorts readers through the fast and fulsome world of high-stakes wine
		              collecting, where $1,000 bottles of grand cru Burgundy are guzzled like lemonade
		              and conversations revolve around trophy wines in home cellars that can be the
		              size of a high school gymnasium.
		          (2) Is it really necessary to introduce each dance with fulsome prose, not to speak
		              of endless encomiums to the company's own history and board, however generous?
		          (3) It probably that explains why the speeches accompanying the bill were less a
		              debate than a fulsome whitewash.
harridan	- n - (1) A shrew,  An ill-tempered scolding woman.
heterodox	- adj - (1) Not in agreement with established or accepted beliefs, especially in
		           church doctrine or dogma.
		        (2) Holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines.
		Examples: (1) At least with respect to certain topics, a prevailing orthodoxy exerts
		              undue pressure, stigmatizing dissident positions to such an extent
		              that people holding heterodox ideas either silence themselves or speak
		              out knowing that they will pay a frightful price with their
		              reputations.
		          (2) And what happens when art responds quickly and critically to that
		              disaster? You get the paintings in “Manet and the Execution of
		              Maximilian,” a small, taut historical show that puts the Museum of
		              Modern Art back on the experimental, heterodox track that it began to
		              explore six years ago in its “MoMA2000” project, and then all but
		              abandoned.
		          (3) The official powers in that era were profoundly intolerant of
		               heterodoxy in any form.
illimitable	- adj	(1) Without limits or an end.  Incapable of being limited or bounded.
imbroglio	- noun - (1) a. A difficult or intricate situation; an entanglement; an embroilment;
		             a scandal.  b. A confused, complicated, or embarassing disagreement.
		         (2) A confused heap; a tangle.
		Examples: (1) Mr. Emerson's woes are not limited to his imbroglio with the city.
		          (2) President Sarkozy was conveniently on a trip to French Guiana on Monday,
		              and when asked about the political imbroglio, replied: ''No, no, no comment
		              for the moment. Take advantage of Guiana!''
		          (3) Jenkins is now at the center of a spy mystery and diplomatic imbroglio
		              involving Argentina.
impassive	- adj - not showing or not feeling emotion; not subject to
		        suffering.
		Example:  Despite the flood of bad news he was hearing, Bertram
		          remained impassive, showing no hint of the emotions he must be
		          feeling.
implacable	- adj - not capable of being appeased or dissuaded.  Having or
		        showing uncompromising determination.
 		Example:  an implacable enemy.
imprecate	- vt - to invoke evil on, - vi - to utter curses
imprecation	- noun - curse; a prayer or invocation for harm to befall someone.
		Example:  (1) What the Administration calls a policy of containment has
		              become an embarrassment as our friends and allies in the
		              region and elsewhere ignore our feckless imprecations and
		              reposition themselves for Saddam's triumph over the United
		              States.
 		          (2) The savages had by this time discovered that I was alone and
		              I was pursued with imprecations, arrows, and rifle balls.  The
		              fact that it is difficult to aim anything but imprecations
		              accurately by moonlight, that they were upset by the sudden
		              and unexpected manner of my advent, and that I was a rather
		              rapidly moving target saved me from the various deadly
		              projectiles of the enemy and permitted me to reach the shadows
		              before an orderly pursuit could be organized.
impugn		- verb - (1) To assail by words or arguments : oppose or attack as false or lacking integrity
		Examples:	 (1) I do not wish to impugn the many good and decent men in the other party.
impute		- verb - (1) To relate to a particular cause or source; to attribute the responsibility
		             or blame for something, often falsely or unjustly: imputed the rocket failure to
		             a faulty gasket; kindly imputed my clumsiness to inexperience.
		         (2) To assign as a characteristic; credit: the gracefulness so often imputed to cats.
		Examples:  (1) They knew him as Peaches, a nickname some impute to a rough similarity
		               with his name, and others to the youth’s lack of facial hair.
		           (2) I always advise patients to try ice cream or, if the patient is worried
		               about gaining weight, sherbet. Now, before anyone begins to impute bias,
		               let me announce that I have nothing to do with the ice cream industry.
		           (3) It seems to me that the Senator, like many people, is prone to impute wrong
		               motives to those who in any way take different views of this vital question.
inchoate	- adj - (1) In an initial or early stage; incipient; immature.
		        (2) Imperfectly formed or developed .
		Examples: (1) ...misty, inchoate suspicions that all is not well with the
		              nation.
		          (2) As CEO, Dawkins gave us a corporate entity. Before then, we were
		              an inchoate mass held together only by a vague sense of our
		              mission.
		          (3) So it's a somewhat unformed, inchoate kind of situation now, but
		              I think that events will soon set us on one course or the other.
		          (4) Yet this sentiment remains largely inchoate.
		          (5) If we wish to win this election, our task will be to clarify the
		              people's deeply-held yet inchoate feelings on this topic.
		          (6)  Gandhi gave voice and provided organization to what might have
		               otherwise been just an inchoate sense of dissatisfaction.
indemnify	- verb - (1) To make compensation to for damage, loss, or injury suffered,
		             expense incurred, etc.
		         (2) to guard or secure against anticipated loss; give security against
		             (future damage or liability).
		Example: (1) You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless this company, its
		             parent and affiliated companies, its and their licensees, successors
		             and assigns.
		         (2) Davis Novelty Stores spent $23.1 million to merge with rival Ace
		             Novelties in 2007, knowing that one of its former subsidiaries,
		             Party Favors Inc., was the target of manifold legal claims from
		             customers. Halliburton officials believed that Ace was indemnified.
		             But when Party Favors Inc. filed for Chapter 11, tort lawyers came
		             after Davis.
indemnity	- noun - (1) Security against damage, loss, or injury.
		         (2) A legal exemption, as by insurance, from liability for damages.
		         (3) Compensation for damage, loss, or injury suffered.
		Examples: If signed by President Clinton, the bill aims to provide companies
		          with indemnity from lawsuits based on statements concerning the
		          Y2K readiness of their products.
indolent	- adj - (1) Disinclined to exert oneself; habitually lazy; slothful: an indolent
		            person.
		        (2) Pathology - Causing little or no pain; inactive or relatively benign:
		            an indolent ulcer that is not painful and is slow to heal.
		Examples: (1) She sat brushing her hair in indolent strokes.
		          (2) I sat watching coddled, indolent, overly indulged children complain
		              and issue demands.
		          (3) The program was designed to outsmart human nature and its marked
		              tendency toward indolence.
		          (4) The evening he generally dedicated to a serene, though rather indolent
		              sort of enjoyment by the parlour fireside.
ineffable	- adj - 1.a.  incapable of being expressed in words; indescribable
		              < ineffable joy >  b. unspeakable < ineffable disgust >
		        2.  not to be uttered. taboo 
		Example:  He located his new computer company in California's Silicon
		          Valley, for reasons as practical as proximity to customers and
		          as ineffable as the quality of life.
ineluctable	- adj - not to be avoided, changed, or resisted; inevitable
		Examples: (1) Thus, the ineluctable conclusion must be that the whole
		              concept is flawed.
		          (2) It is an ineluctable fact that where we go is profoundly
		              influenced by where we have already been.
		          (3) Truth is whatever we have the will, power and willpower to
		              make it (except for those two majestic and ineluctable
		              mysteries, Love and Death).
		          (4) This is the ineluctable result of two premises...
		          (5) The battle today is against a foreign power that is a palpable
		              and ineluctable presence alongside us, and no single, drastic
		              act will eliminate their hostility.
inimical	- adj - (1) tending to produce an adverse effect; harmful; damaging; injurious  (2)hostile
		Example: (1) The plaintiff's company has produced conditions inimical
		             to public health and safety.
		         (2) His cruel and inimical gaze
inimitable	- adj    not capable of being imitated
insipid		- adj - (1) Without distinctive, interesting, or stimulating qualities;
		            dull: an insipid personality.
		        (2) Without sufficient taste to be pleasing, as food or drink;
		            bland: a rather insipid soup.
inure		- verb - (1) To become accustomed to something undesirable (hardship,
		             difficulty, pain, etc.), especially by prolonged subjection.
		         (2) To become of advantage: policies that inure to the benefit of
		             employees.
		Examples: (1)Their activities shocked even a country as inured to crime as this
		             one.
		          (2) Corporation are exempt from taxes if they are organized and
		              operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, or
		              educational purposes, and no part of their net income inures to
		              the benefit of any private stockholder or individual.
inveigh		- verb -  To give vent to angry disapproval; protest bitterly or vehemently.
		Examples: (1) Repelled by that sort of poisonous atmosphere, I used to inveigh
		              against writing workshops -- right up until the day I started teaching
		              one.
		          (2) The press will inveigh against the nefarious role of money in politics
		              (without explaining how candidates are supposed to communicate,
		              cost-free, with millions of voters).
		          (3) I will not inveigh here again about headline-writing, but the copy desk
		              may have been thinned out too much.
		          (4) He goes on to inveigh the dearth of songs about substance abuse.
invective	- noun - Vehement denunciation or abusive language; vituperation.

		- adj - Of, relating to, or characterized by vehemently denunciatory or abusive
		        language.

		Examples: (1) Just as Mr. Jin opened the three-month show, North Korea ended an
		              eight-year suspension of cross-border invective, launching a salvo at
		              the newly inaugurated President Lee, who had promised to take a
		              tougher stance against North Korea.
		          (2) Every day, more cars venture onto Baghdad’s dust-choked streets,
		              adding to epic traffic jams and sending blood-pressure levels through
		              the roof, as drivers spew invective, gesticulate wildly and steadfastly
		              ignore any and all driving laws.
			  	  (3) In one string of purple invective last week, North Korea's state media
		              threatened to turn Seoul into a "sea of fire," called Americans
		              "infinitely greedy and beastly to the bone" and said the country's
		              "unshakable revolutionary stand" called for answering "a hard line
		              with the toughest line and a bullet with a shell."
inveterate	- adj - (1)Having a particular habit, activity, or interest that is firmly
				       established by long persistence and unlikely to change.
					(2)(of a feeling or habit) Long-established and unlikely to change.

		Examples: (1) An inveterate liar


invidious	- adj - tending to cause discontent, animosity, or envy; of a kind to
		        cause harm or resentment.
		Example: (1) subtle and invidious criticism
		         (2) The defendant maintains that he acted purely in self-defense, and
		             not out of invidious jealousies or animosity as the plaintiff's
		             lawyer suggests.
irreducible	- adj - (1) a. Impossible to transform into or restore to a desired or simpler
		            condition; b. Impossible to separate into component parts.
		        (2) specifically :  incapable of being factored into polynomials
		            of lower degree with coefficients in some given field (as the
		            rational numbers) or integral domain (as the integers)
		Examples: (1) But there is an irreducible military element to Colombia's
		              plight; the country needs to restore governmental control over
		              all its territory, and it needs the capability to put enough
		              heat on the FARC--and its sources of drug money--so that the
	                      guerrillas have no choice but to bargain in good faith.
		          (2) ...despite the convergences, there remain irreducible
		              cultural differences everywhere...
		          (3) ...thus signifying the image of an irreducible unity and an
		              indispensable solidarity amongst all the inhabitants of our
		              planet.
		          (4) the conviction that he understood the irreducible logic of
		              history.
jeremiad		- noun - (1) a prolonged lamentation, complaint or harangue
		                 (2) a righteous, or angry prophecy of doom
		Examples: (1) Dr. Heger has been pointing to the problem for years, long
		              before tragic events brough the issue into the public
		              spotlight.  Dismiss Heger's jeremiad at your own risk.
		          (2) A lot of big-shot journalists didn't like this book, a
		              systematic jeremiad about the current sad state of American
		              political journalism.
		          (3) It was Patrick Buchanan who drafted Nixon's famous outburst
		              against the Senate for rejecting his 1970 nomination of the
		              conservative Florida Judge G. Harrold Carswell to the
		              Supreme Court, a jeremiad in which Nixon blasted the
		              Senate's "discrimination" against the South.
		          (4) I'm not trying to stir the political Jeremiad, but it was
		              pointed out to me that the former Bush appointee...
		          (5) In Tallahassee, Chief Justice Wells's dissenting jeremiad
		              warned of "havoc" if the count goes on.
knoll		- noun - A little round hill or mound; a small elevation of earth; the top or
		         crown of a hill.
		Examples: (1) Ten years ago, from the top of a 63-foot knoll at Etowah Indian
		              Mounds of Atlanta, Georgia, you could see rolling pastures, cotton
		              and soybean fields, the tree-lined foothills of the Appalachian
		              Mountains and the Etowah River to the south.
		          (2) We sat on a knoll as a powerful storm roared through the mountains to
		              the west.
laconic		- adj - sparing of words; terse; brief and concise
		Examples: (1) "Just the facts, Ma'am, just the facts!" This is the famous
		              laconic sentence repeated by "Sgt.Friday" of Dragnet. Dragnet was
		              a television series some years ago.
		          (2) The list can be endless though I prefer to note only a few
		              laconic and pithy ones.
		          (3) The Times perhaps consciously echoed the promise of its book
		              review a lifetime earlier, describing Hemmingway's "lean and sinewy
		              prose," and his "laconic, understated dialogue."
		          (4) Hemingway's style is characterized by crispness, laconic dialogue,
		              and emotional understatement.
		          (5) We asked the senator why there were so many congressmen being jailed
		              for corruption, and his reply was laconic: "Well, I think it's part
		              of a general trend, don't you?"
languid		- adj - (1) Lacking energy or vitality; sluggish; dull; listless: a languid
		            wave of the hand.
		        (2) Showing little or no spirit or animation; listless: .
		        (3) Lacking vigor or force; slow: languid breezes.
		Examples: (1) Bertram was troubled by the revelation, even if his distress was
		              not obvious through the languid haze of barbecue smoke.
		          (2) Although he is happy in the United states, he has never been
		              able to recapture the languid pace of Amazon life.
		          (3) The admiration of Jensen's elegant, languid power has long been
		              matched by deep-rooted suspicions of his lack of footwork which,
		              critics say, makes him vulnerable to younger, faster players.
		          (4) Up the coast lay Exeter Academy's bitter rival school, snobby
		              Le Rosey, filled with the scions of Europe's royalty, teenage
		              Arab oil sheiks, sultans-in-waiting, and languid Iranian princes.
lugubrious	- adj -  Mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous
		         degree, or in an in an affected manner.
		Examples: (1) The director thought Harrison was the best actor in the film, he
		              felt Layton's performance suffered because he tried too hard, and
		              he loved Wallace because he looked so lugubrious most of the time.
		          (2) Even the snow could not hide a lugubrious mood as the vacation
		              neared an end.
lurid		- adj - 1. Causing shock, horror, or revulsion; gruesome.
		        2. Melodramatic; marked by sensationalism: a lurid account of the crime.
		        3. Glowing or shining with the glare of fire through a haze: lurid flames.
		        4. Sallow or pallid in color; wan and ghastly pale in appearance.
		Examples: (1) Prosecutor Mark Ellison said they had demanded £50,000 ($99,000)
		              from a member of the royal family, identified only as "Witness A,"
		              for tapes in which one of his employees made lurid claims about him.
		          (2) The allegations bearing down on New York's governor didn't start
		              this year -- despite recent, lurid details in a federal affidavit.
		          (3) The report said the panel could find no evidence that Carter sent
		              explicit messages to assistants, only that he initiated contact
		              while they were assistants and that the exchanges turned lurid
		              after they had left the company.
		          (4) The couple blamed media intrusion for the marriage breakdown, but
		              Paley now finds herself the target of a barrage of criticism and
		              lurid allegations in Britain's tabloid newspapers.



mawkish		- adj -

megalomaniac	- noun - (1) A psychopathic mental disorder characterized by delusional fantasies of
		            personal wealth, power, or omnipotence.
		         (2) An obsession with grandiose or extravagant things or actions.
		Examples: (1) The new spy movie's villain is a a banker looking for profit, not a
		              megalomaniac thirsting for world domination.
		          (2) These radio megalomaniacs preach to their own narrow-minded choirs in
		              their own cathedrals.
		          (3) Whenever I'm in an airport these days, I resent the uniformed megalomaniacs
		              suffering from delusions of grandeur and paranoia, posing as security. Most
		              of their actions make no sense at all to anyone with half a brain. All this
		              causes is resentment.
		          (4) There's no question in my mind that the number one problem with mankind is
		              the spread of nuclear knowledge.  Thousands of years ago we had psychotics
		              and we had religious fanatics and we had megalomaniacs. But about the most
		              they could do was throw a stone at somebody if they wished evil on them.
mendacious	- adj - given to deception, or falsehood, or deviation from absolute
		truth.
		Example:  mendacious tales of his adventures
meretricious	- adj - (1) Attracting attention in a vulgar manner; tawdrily and falsely
		            attractive: meretricious ornamentation.
		        (2) Plausible but false or insincere; based on pretense; specious: a
		            meretricious argument.
		        (3) Pertaining to or characteristic of a prostitute; having the nature
		            of prostitution: meretricious relationships.
		        (4) superficially significant; pretentious: scholarly names to provide
		            fig-leaves of respectability for meretricious but stylish books
		Examples: (1) I'm not one of those snob dissenters who say, "Well, I don't actually
		              watch the show, but..." Not me: I want to be able to know exactly how
		              meretricious "American Idol" is by watching every silly second of it.
		          (2) There's the temptation to search for the meaning of America in its
		              popular culture (God help us) -- in its movies, for example. I
		              mentioned "American Beauty," and wondered aloud whether that
		              meretricious piece of work said anything useful about America, or
		              whether it simply represented a stab at profundity by slightly stupid
		              movie makers living over privileged lives in places like Santa Monica
		              and Brentwood.
		          (3) Even in superficially respectable areas of Hong Kong, meretricious
		              glamour and horrific poverty, filth and squalor intertwine
		              symbiotically.
		          (4) He was polling at the bottom of the presidential candidates now.  One
		              good scandal -- say, a $500,000 ad-buy with enough completely
		              meretricious controversy to it to draw the attention of the national
		              media -- and Winstead's presidential aspirations would have been down
		              for the count.
metier		- noun - (1) A profession, a trade, or a vocation.
		         (2) Work or activity in which one excels or for which one is
		             particularly suited; one's specialty.
		Etymology: French, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin misterium, alteration of
		           Latin ministerium work, ministry
		Examples: (1) In the early years of the Labor governments he was shunted
		              through a series of portfolios without making much mark in any,
		              but in 1988 he was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs,
		              found his metier and became possibly the greatest Foreign
		              Minister in Australian history.
		          (2) Kumortuli, a place preeminently famous for its marvelous clay
		              pottery, is in a state of embracing winds of change, as the
		              younger generation of potters is showing less interest in its
		              hereditary metier and opting for different taste of life.
		          (3) Any time he spoke Harry was in his element, and when he was in
		              his element, everyone knows after eight years, he shines. These
		              were his people, this was his metier, this was his night.
misanthrope	- noun -  One who hates or mistrusts humankind.
misanthropic	- adj - (1) Of, relating to, or characteristic of a misanthrope.
		        (2) Characterized by a hatred or mistrustful scorn for humankind.
		Examples: (1) Many IT workers today sometimes feel browbeaten by their employers.  Most
		              of the time, however, they merely become cynics who infect co-workers with
		              their misanthropic view and undertake career-long, one-person work slowdowns.
		          (2) The dive bars, pawnshops and flophouses for the misanthropic, misbegotten
		              and mostly down-and-out have disappeared.
		          (3) Looking at the list of rules and regulations in the code of conduct on New
		              York subways, it seems that every form of misanthropic and annoying behavior
		              has been imagined and banned: spitting, drinking or carrying open containers
		              of liquid onboard, taking more than one seat and riding while inebriated.
morass		- noun - (1) An area of low-lying, soggy ground.
		         (2) Something that hinders, traps, oroverwhelms: a morass of
		             detail.
		Examples: (1) Today's record unemployment is creating a social injustice
		              and an internal rift that is becoming a morass.
		          (2) Out of the morass of historical details, he finds larger
		              themes that can be traced throughout five centuries.
		          (3) We hope that this is not some token attempt at tackling
		              corruption aimed at cosmetic public relations advantage,
		              but that it is a solid start in exposing the larger
		              morass of corruption that lies beneath the glittering
		              veneer of public and political office.
		          (4) And it most certainly should give Levy second thoughts
		              about offering a beneficial English-only curriculum to just
		              some students while consigning others to the bilingual
		              morass.
		          (5) This month, we're going to look at the rhythm section,
		              the backbone of jazz that transforms a seeming morass of
		              frenetic noodling into a seeming morass of frenetic
		              noodling with a beat.
nascent		- adj -  Coming or having recently come into existence; emerging; beginning to
		         exist or develop: the nascent republic.
		Examples: (1) The U.S. has provided small planes to the nascent Freedonian air force,
		              which has about 1,500 personnel and 50 aircraft — mostly small propeller
		              planes and helicopters.
		          (2) The European Commission said it had to order EU nations to favor Digital
		              Video Broadcasting to create economies of scale and get the nascent
		              technology off the ground.
		          (3) It is my impression that the management has made a decision to try to
		              take, upfront, the potential losses that it believes may be nascent.
nescience	- n - absence of knowledge or awareness; ignorance.
		Example:  (1) Being a true scientist, pretense of all kinds was hateful to
		              him. He wished to know the reality of  our nescience as well
		              as of our science.
		          (2) Appalled at the nescience of his suggestion, I asked Mr.
		              Wilson if he would put me in touch with a superior or
		              someone who handles customer complaints.
		          (3) One result is derived from the culture of knowledge, and a
		              different result is obtained from the culture of nescience.
obdurate		- adj - (1) a. Stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing b. hardened in feelings
		        (2) Resistant to persuasion or softening influences
		Examples:  (1) The book exposes the maddeningly irrational and obdurate
		               thinking of the airlines when it comes to taking security
		               measures that cost money.
		           (2) ...obdurate conscience of the old sinner
		           (3) The same old obdurate hard-liner was back
		           (4) If they have not been sufficiently discouraged by their idol
		               finding himself in dire straits, they should be so by one more
		               obdurate fact - he lied about it.
		           (5) ...like a creek, to the obdurate outcrop over which it flows,
		               falling and gathering in pools, and flowing on again...
obviate		- verb - (1) To remove a problem or the need for something.
					 (2) To anticipate and prevent (something, such as a situation); To do away with.

		Examples:	 (1)
officious	- adj - (1) Marked by excessive eagerness in offering unwanted or unneeded
			    services or advice to others: an officious host; officious
		            attention.
		    (2) Assertive of authority in an annoyingly domineering way, esp. with regard
		    	to petty or trivial matters. Intrusively enthusiastic in offering help or
		    	advice; interfering
			(3) Informal; unofficial.
		Example: I have a special name for third-party know-it-alls who interfere in the
		         best-laid estate plans.I  refer to people who act like they have legal
		         standing but don't as "officious intermeddlers."
onerous		- adj - (1) involving, imposing, or constituting a burden : TROUBLESOME (an
		            onerous task)
		        (2) Law: entailing obligations that exceed advantages  (onerous
		            contract)
		Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French onereus, from Latin onerosus,
		           from oner-, onus burden; akin to Sanskrit anas cart
		Example: (1) On September 23 Canada's governing party announced that in a few
		             years time, it would begin freeing the citizens of its country
		             from an onerous debt.
		         (2) But while Queensland Labor figures fall victim to strict party
		             rules requiring local branch members to live locally, the Liberals
		             are not encumbered by such an onerous standard.
		         (3) To have the local governments bear the costs of expanding public
		             transit, let alone just maintaining the status quo is onerous.
		         (4) Before becoming adept at using a computer and a word processing
		             program, writing was an onerous task, because editing and rewriting
		             meant, more or less, having to "type the whole thing over."
palliate		-verb - (1) to moderate the intensity of (trying to palliate the boredom)
		                (2) To make (an offense or crime) seem less serious; extenuate.
		                (3) to cover by excuses and apologies
		                (4) to relieve the symptoms of a disease or disorder.
		Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin palliatus, past participle of palliare
		           to cloak, conceal, from Latin pallium cloak
		Examples: (1) ...tried unsuccessfully to palliate the widespread discontent...
		          (2) He killed 23 individuals and he did so with no provocation to
		              palliate the atrocious crime.
		          (3) ...and give each one some sweet-sounding words to palliate
		              their feelings
		         (4) Patients with stage IIIb disease with poor performance status are
		             candidates for chest irradiation to palliate pulmonary symptoms.
		         (5) Extraditing Pinochet would palliate the aging left's strongest
		             remaining passion, which is for nostalgic vengeance.
		         (6) To pardon really means to create new attitudes, to provoke
		             change inside people and between people, not just to palliate the
		             violence and the hurt that remains.
palliative	- adj - (1) Tending or serving to palliate.
		        (2) Relieving or soothing the symptoms of a disease or disorder
		            without effecting a cure.
		- noun - One that palliates, especially a palliative drug or medicine
	         Examples: (1) It was one of the palliative measures for fighting the
	                       misery of the popular masses.
	                   (2) The union must now be persuaded that the latest set of
	                       negotiations has produced a total turnaround, rather than
	                       just another set of palliative measures.
	                   (3) It is plain that, however drastic the decree laws may be,
	                       they are after all only palliative measures; there is
	                       nothing in them that can fundamentally solve the
		               contradictions of the crisis
pedant		- noun - (1) One who pays undue attention to book learning and formal rules.
		         (2) One who exhibits one's learning or scholarship ostentatiously.
pedantic	- adj -  (1) Caring too much about unimportant rules or details and not enough about understanding or appreciating a subject
					 (2) Showing off book learning or trivia, especially in a tiresome way.
		         	 (3) Unimaginative, pedestrian.
		Examples: (1) The debate was polite and uninteresting.  After a brief, failed attempt to force
		              his opponent to concede that he would not intervene abroad, even to prevent genocide,
		              Watson essentially gave up trying to draw sharp distinctions between them,
		              apparently reasoning that deploying his immensely superior knowledge of the world might
		              make him seem pedantic rather than seasoned.
		          (2) The irritatingly pedantic security guards' constant clearing of the aisles certainly
		              didn't help matters.
		          (3) For a new evening of work, the choreographer, Jennifer Wood, struck out on her own to
		              produce a pair of dances vastly different in tone but similar in their adherence to
		              binding structure and exacting details. The approach is less pedantic than it sounds.
		          (4) The translation, by Kathleen Ross, is splendid - inventive, idiomatic and precise
		              without being pedantic.
		          (5) Her guidebook is a perfect walking-tour accompaniment to help New Yorkers and visitors
		              find, identify and better appreciate statues famous and obscure (honoring, among
		              others, the general who had an unremarkable military and business career but composed
		              taps, the bugle call). While the tone is sometimes preachy and pedantic (the book
		              concludes with a tutorial on how to read a sculpture), Ms. Durante winsomely places 54
		              monuments in historical and artistic perspective.
peremptory	- adj - (1) Putting an end to all debate or action: a peremptory decree.
	                (2) Leaving no chance for denial or refusal; imperative: The officer issued peremptory
		            commands.
		        (3) Having the nature of or expressing a command; urgent: The teacher spoke in a
		            peremptory tone.
		        (4) Offensively self-assured; dictatorial: a swaggering, peremptory manner.
		Examples: (1) Bill resolved that on his first few days as manager in a new department, he would
		              carefully avoid being too decisive and peremptory, and to be cautious until he
		              understood the situation.
		          (2) At the first sound of her peremptory voice and clickety stiletto heels,
		              people dart behind doors and douse the lights.
		          (3) Peremptory challenges - which permit a lawyer to eliminate a prospective juror
		              without having to state a reason - have been a feature of the American jury
		              system for nearly 200 years.
 		          (4) MacPherson, who did not know who Jim was, asked him rather peremptorily when
 		              they met if he knew any of the facts of the case.
perfidy		- noun - (1) Deliberate breach of faith; calculated violation of trust;
		             treachery: (the fink, whose perfidy was equaled only by his
		             gall)
		         (2) The act or an instance of treachery.
		Examples: (1) There was a time,when a Daily Tribune broadside against a
		              leading conservative congressman would have activists scurrying
		              to his or her defense. Conservatives would regale one another
		              with tales of Tribune perfidy, going back to the Davison Affair
		              which so unhinged the Republican Party 14 years ago.
		          (2) Hoping for more support in fighting what they see as their own
		              government's perfidy in reneging on promised no-fee, lifetime
		              medical benefits for military retirees, local veterans unveiled
		              a new billboard Saturday that's likely to turn heads.
		          (3) One of the stock excuses rolled out by Marxists for acts of
		              timidity or perfidy was that "the conditions were not right"
		              for this particular policy to be implemented or that specific
		              approach to be adopted.
		          (4) The election was widely regarded as having been fixed by the
		              party machine.  I'm surprised that Congressman Bailey didn't
		              order the ballots burned, so that evidence of his perfidy was
		              destroyed.
		          (5) General Ramos has tarnished himself and the presidency itself
		              with his lies, his cover-ups, his spurious invocations of
		              "national security" to cover his perfidy, and perhaps crimes.
perforce	-adv- By necessity.  By force of circumstance.  Without regard to desire or
		      inclination: helplessly, involuntarily, willy-nilly.
		Example:  (1)The weariest nights, the longest days, sooner or later must
		             perforce come to an end.
		          (2)Twelve days the wind continued at north, which kept the fleet
		             perforce within the bay.
pernicious	- adj - (1) Tending to cause death or serious injury; deadly: a pernicious disease.
		        (2) Causing great harm; destructive: pernicious rumors; a pernicious lie.
		Example: (1) I had a common but pernicious belief that success is all about
		             money -- the more, the better.
		         (2) This pernicious habit must end and disappear for good.
pithy		- adj - 1. Forceful, meaningful, and brief in expression; having substance and
		           point: a pithy comment.
		        2. Consisting of or resembling pith.
		Examples: (1) Grayson had made a name for himself defending celebrities in trouble
		              and offering pithy legal analyses of the case of the moment on shows
		              like "Larry King Live."
		          (2) For the irrational and long-winded whining fits sometimes used by her
		              4-year-old son, she simply declares, "I'm ready to listen when you're
		              ready to talk," and then leaves the room.
		          (3) Chief Justice Rehnquist's opinion for a 7-2 majority of the Court was
		              characteristically brief and pithy -- and, also characteristically, it
		              simultaneously decided a number of important issues.
		          (4) Here's the standard drill: read hundreds of lines of information from
		              various sources. Decide what's most important. Sum it all up in five or
		              six pithy sentences.
		          (5) What is modern particle physics--or, for that matter, Sheldon Glashow -- all
		              about? Glashow gives a pithy, if somewhat superficial account in the
		              introduction to his Oct. 1, 1975 article in Scientific American, "Quarks
		              with Color and Flavor."
		          (6) Minow's "Vast Wasteland" speech is more than just a stinging censure of
		              television programming — it carried the promise of change. The big stick
		              Minow planned to wield to effect that change was bulleted in the pithy
		              phrase: "The people own the air."
plenary		- adj -
polemics	- noun -  (1) a. An aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of
		                 another.
		              b. The practice of disputing or controverting religious, philosophical, or
		                 political matters.
		              A polemic text on a topic is often written specifically to dispute or refute
		              a position or theory that is widely viewed to be beyond reproach.
		          (2) The practice of theological controversy to refute errors of doctrine.
		Examples: (1) Eighty-nine Republicans are co-sponsoring the bill introduced in response to
		              the television mini-series "The Reagans," which one bill sponsor described as
		              "a wildly sophomoric polemic aimed at tarnishing the reputation of our 40th
		              president and his devoted wife."
		          (2) "All of this is ridiculous. Politics is not a permanent settlement of scores.
		              Faced with such human tragedies, the time is for solidarity, not for sterile
		              polemic," he said.
		          (3) "We cannot allow the painful polemics that shook the European Parliament
		               debate to weigh on any future work," said Bruni.
precept		- noun - (1) A rule or principle prescribing a particular course of action or
		             conduct, and intended as a general rule.
		         (2) Law An authorized direction or order; a writ or warrant.
		Example: Clinging to demonstrably false economic precepts is understandable
		         when you benefit from them, but at some point reality does intervene.
preternatural	- adj - Surpassing the normal or usual; extraordinary; Differing from the natural.
		        Transcending the natural or material order; supernatural.
		Example:  Below his preternatural affability there is some acid and steel.
prevaricate	- verb -  (1) To avoid giving a direct or truthful answer.
		          (2) To equivocate, to be intentionally misleading by making up a false account.
		          (3) To lie cagily or elaborately.
		Examples: (1) "Is Iran going to suspend uranium enrichment activity? Is Iran going to return
		              to the negotiations?" Arliss said. "Or is Iran going to continue, as we think
		              they have, to stall, prevaricate and extend things in a meaningless way in order
		              to avoid censure?"
		          (2) "Knowing Ted, I'm sure that he examined every bit of evidence and came out with
		              what he saw as the  truth," said one colonel, referring to Captain Daniels.
		              "Having worked with the him so long, I know he would not purposely mislead or
		              prevaricate on something like this."
		          (3) As disturbing as Mr. Carter's convenient memory lapses and apparent prevarications
		              was his unwillingness to engage the moral seriousness of this scandal.
prolix		- adj - 1. Tediously prolonged or drawn out; wordy: editing a prolix manuscript.
		        2. Marked by or using an excess of words .
		Examples: (1) His detractors have long bewailed his prolix descriptions of the weapons of war,
		              combat systems and all manner of related hardware.
		          (2) Many novelists are producing these gigantic, prolix books that seem to say,
		              "Little reader, I'm smarter than you, so sit down and be dazzled by me."
		          (3) Where Anderson's music was urgent and prolix, Heller's is cool and concise.
		          (4) Troy West is absolutely lovable in the play as the feckless, pompously prolix Micawber.
		          (5) The language is unnecessarily prolix, but the points are reasonably valid.
promontory		- n. - (1) A high point of land or rock jutting out into the sea or other
			           water beyond the line of coast; a headland.
			       (2) A prominent mass of land or plateau, overlooking a lowland.
propitious	- adj -(1) Presenting favorable circumstances; auspicious: propitious weather.
		       (2) Favorably inclined; disposed to bestow favors or forgive.
		Example: (1) It might be intrepreted as a propitious sign that the elderly Indian
		             leader and the younger Pakistani general could hold such a long meeting
	                     and are scheduled to meet again.
		         (2) Poverty, unemployment, and crime create an all too propitious
         	             environment for drug trafficking.
proscribe	- verb - (1) To condemn or forbid as harmful or unlawful; prohibit  .
		         (2) a. To banish or outlaw (a person). b. To publish the name of (a person) as
		             outlawed.
		         "You recommend something when you prescribe it, but you forbid it when you
		         proscribe it."
		Examples: (1) The mountain camp was run by Harakat ul-Mujahideen, a militant Pakistani
		              Islamic group proscribed in the UK as a terrorist organization.
		          (2) He invokes religion frequently, but does not live by any of the tenets
		              proscribed by the church he professes to admire.
		          (3) It appears no proscribed weapons or potential weapons have got through
		              security inappropriately.
		          (4) for a time, it appeared as if the Council of Trent's reforming principles might
		              proscribe anything but the simplest musical styles.
		          (5) But the isolationist Tokugawa shoguns eventually proscribed Christianity and
		              expelled all missionaries
		          (6) He said there is no need for fund holders to panic, because the proscribed
		              practices presumably have been stopped.
		          (7) If a legislature wishes to proscribe a particular behavior not already
		              covered by statute or regulation or precedent in common law, it must pass
		              legislation in order to outlaw that behavior.
protean		- adj - (1) of or resembling Proteus in having a varied nature or ability to
		            assume different forms
		        (2) displaying great diversity or variety; having many aspects, uses,
		            or abilities; multifaceted; versatile
		Etymology: In Greek mythology, Proteus was an aged God of the sea who tended
		           the seals of Poseidon. He was looked on as possessed of prophetic
		           power and the secrets of witchcraft. Proteus would not be persuaded
		           to exercise this power except by deceit or under threat of violence.
		           He made every effort to evade his questioners, changing himself
		           into a great variety of shapes and guises, but if he were nevertheless
		           seized and held, he would foretell the future. The word protean is
		           derived from his name.
		Examples: (1) He loved to show off his protean talents
		          (2) This album, taken from the conductor's years with the New York
		              Philharmonic, goes a long way toward recapturing at several
		              aspects of his protean musical career.
		          (3) The protean dynamics of HIV management can make guidelines
		              quickly outdated.
		          (4) Johnson believes that the annual change in guest editors is part
		              of what makes the collection work. The essay is in such a protean
		              state that a single editorial viewpoint could not possibly
		              consistently represent the whole of so rich an outpouring of
		              creative energy.
		          (5) The journal encourages submissions from everyone who reads its
		              pages: the intention is to create a lively and intellectually
		              challenging journal which in some degree reflects the protean
		              spirit of the man to whom it is dedicated.
pungent		- adj -   (1) Having an intense or acrid flavor or odor.
		          (2) a. Penetrating, biting, or caustic: pungent satire. b. To the point;
		              sharp: "pungent talks during which the major issues were confronted."
		          (3) Botany, ending in a sharp point: "a pungent leaf."
		Examples: (1) If you're up early, head to the docks where the quayside is filled
		              with fisherwomen collecting the day's -- usually pungent -- catch.
		          (2) Yet the movie has a catchy, pungent spirit, with an invention that
		              seldom lets up.
putative	- adj - supposed or apparent.  The emphasis is on the fact that it is
		        apparent, not proven.
		Example:  (1)  The newspaper, despite its well earned reputation as scandal
		          sheet, was forced, as a putative seeker of truth, to give the
		          appearance of impartiality.
		          (2)  Although several people witnessed the robbery, none was able
		          to identify the putative culprit.
quail		- verb -  (1) a. - Chiefly dialect: wither, decline  b. - to give way, falter.
		          (2) To recoil in dread or terror : cower
		Example:  His courage never quailed
querulous	- adj	1.  Complaining in a petulant or whining manner.

					2. Full of complaints; complaining.
					3. Characterized by or uttered in complaint; peevish:
					Example:At a key moment in the movie, someone’s cellphone rings. A voice in the dark goes,
					"You were supposed to turn that off," followed by a querulous, "My dog is dying!"
quixotic	- adj - (1) Caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals;
		            idealistic without regard to practicality; marked by rash lofty romantic ideas
		            or extravagantly chivalrous action
		        (2) Capricious; impulsive: "At worst his scruples must have been quixotic, not
		            malicious"
		Examples: (1) The tourists range from bored young drifters to anxiety-stricken
		              middle-agers, motivated by the quixotic hope that cutting loose will
		              stimulate the mind and heal the soul.
		          (2) The museum's new presentation testifies to the wide-ranging intellectual
		              curiosity of Fuller, who inspired several generations of architects with
		              his quixotic vision, and belief in the liberating power of technology.
		          (3) Jameson, who wrote songs in her spare time and had never had a play produced,
		              began a quixotic project to adapt the "Gone With the Wind" to the stage
recondite	- adj - (1) Difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or
rapacious	- adj -
		            knowledge to comprehend; abstruse.
			(2) Concerned with or treating something abstruse or obscure:
		            recondite scholarship.
		        (3) Concealed; hidden.
		Examples: (1) Thus those book publishers too are giving in to market pressure,
		              dumping recondite monographs in favor of trendier academic fare
		              or, better yet, whatever sells at Borders -- which, presumably,
		              means few footnotes.
		          (2) The answer is at once obvious and recondite, trivial and
		              profound.
		          (3) Although Jameson was fairly recondite as to methodology, his
		              purpose was plain enough.
		          (4) I came to respect him for his opinions in the recondite area
		              of the interpretation of quantum mechanics.
		          (5) These teachings may seem recondite when first heard, and so
		              indeed they are. But, like all our theosophical teachings, there
		              is one aspect of them which is very simple and contains the
		              principal idea of each thought.


redoubtable - adj -

redound - v -

remit		- verb - (1) To transmit (money) in payment.
		         (2) a. To refrain from exacting (a tax or penalty, for example);
		                cancel.
		             b. To pardon; forgive: remitted their sins.
		         (3) To restore to a former condition or position.
		         (4) Law a. To refer (a case) to another court for further consideration
		             or action.
		             b. To refer (a matter) to a committee or authority for decision.
		         (5) To allow to slacken: The storm remitted its fury.
		         (6) To desist from; give up.
		         (7) To put off; postpone.
		intransitive verb: (1) To transmit money.
		         (2) To diminish; abate.
		noun:    (1) The act of remitting, especially the referral of a case to another
		             court.
		         (2) A matter remitted for further consideration.
		Examples: (1)...then remit the proper amount of property tax required.
		          (2) The Philippines' sagging economy still hopes to get a boost from
		              overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who are expected to remit some
		              $600 million by December, raising the total OFW remittance to
		              about $8 billion this year.
		          (3) we've got every reason to presume that the prosecutor intends to
		              put Grigory Pasko away for life and for this purpose is ready to
		              solicit judges to remit the case for further inquiry.
		          (4) Thousands of Sri Lankan expatriates in West Asia are perturbed
		              over the long delay in cashing bank drafts they send to their
		              family members in Sri Lanka due to the "go slow" campaign of
		              state banks.  Those affected include dependants of housemaids
		              who eagerly await their monthly remittances and dependants of
		              workers who had received drafts to celebrate Avurudda and Vesak
		              in a fitting manner.
		          (5) Voters who disagree with the tax cut can both register the
		              sincerity of their opposition and solve the state revenue
		              shortage by simply endorsing their 2001 federal rebate check over
		              to the state of Washington General Fund and remitting future
		              annual tax-reduction amounts directly to the state.  Those who
		              do not remit their rebate to the state can be assumed to agree
		              with the Bush tax policy.
		          (6) Peasants were duty bound to remit a certain amount of produce
		              each year to the landowner.
		          (7) We believe that writers should be paid for their work. We will
		              attempt to remit a small gratuity (usually in the $5-10 range)
		              for each accepted submission when funds are available, but as we
		              are a non-profit magazine and dependent upon the persistent
		              vagaries of existence, there is no guarantee of payment.
		          (8) In August 1999 Napier University established our research centre
		              in partnership with BT Scotland. Its remit is to research and
		              apply advanced information and communication technologies to
		              enhance and support the democratic decision-making process.
remonstrate	- adj - To reason or plead in protest; present and urge reasons in opposition;
		        present an objection.
		Examples: (1) When a member of the audience threw a tomato at the podium,
		              narrowly missing the speaker, he looked at the culprit and
		              remonstrated: "Don't throw your dinner at me -- I've already eaten."
		          (2) This interference with his plans annoyed Harrison exceedingly, and
		              he ventured to remonstrate with the judge.
		          (3) "What's the use of making a fool of yourself, Bill?" remonstrated
		              Carter, as Bill sat down behind his desk. "You're acting  like a
		              child. If Ted wants to play the fool, why should you help him out?"
		          (4) The jury heard that Mr. Harrison, 24, had gone to remonstrate with
		              Barnes, who had thrown his friend Stuart Warren out of a hotel in
		              East London.
reproof		- noun - An expression of censure or rebuke; criticism for a fault.
		Examples: The reproof was contained in a message from the Attorney General advising him
		          that his offense could have been prosecuted and admonishing him to be more careful
		          in the future.
reprove		- verb - (1) to scold or correct usually gently or with kindly intent: to reprove a pupil for making a mistake.
		         (2) to express disapproval of; rebuke; censure
		Examples: (1) A good manager should criticize or reprove employees in private.  This may seem
		              obvious, but managers forget to do it every day in hundreds of organizations.
		          (2) If he makes a mistake, don’t reprove, but. encourage him.
		          (3) To reprove him for lack of technical data or "proofs" is therefore akin to
		              reprimanding Shakespeare for historical inaccuracies in Julius Caesar.
restive		- adj - (1) Uneasily impatient under restriction, delay, coercion, or opposition;
		            resisting control; difficult to control.
		        (2) Unwilling to go on; obstinate in refusing to move forward; stubborn.
		        (3) Refusing to move. Used of a horse or other animal.

			Restive is properly applied to a feeling of impatience or uneasiness induced by
		        external coercion or restriction, and is not a general synonym for restless: The
			government has done nothing to ease export restrictions, and domestic manufacturers
		        are growing restive (not restless). The atmosphere in the office was congenial, but
		        after five years I began to grow restless (not restive).
		Examples: (1) A Chinese citizen who sold carpets in Thailand's restive deep south was killed
		              on Tuesday, when his car strayed into a battle between insurgents and government
		              troops.
		          (2) Grange predicted that the sheik's killing - most likely by al Qaeda in
		              Iraq - will backfire and will mobilize more citizens to come out against the
		              insurgent group.  Such attacks could actually be a measure of the success the
		              United States is having in the restive province, Grange said.
		          (3) An Air France flight from Paris to Chicago was diverted to Milwaukee,
		              Wisconsin, where passengers became restive while being forced to wait on the
		              plane for seven hours, CNN affiliate WISN reported.
		          (4) China has cracked down on Tibet and neighboring provinces. It sent more troops
		              into restive regions and made scores of arrests in Lhasa.
riposte		- verb - (1) A fencer's quick return thrust following a parry
					 (2) A quick, clever reply to an insult or criticism.
rubric		- noun - (1) a. A class or category. b. A title; a name.
		         (2) A part of a manuscript or book, such as a title, a heading, or an
		             initial letter, that appears in decorative red lettering or is
                             otherwise distinguished from the rest of the text.
		         (3) A title or heading of a statute or chapter in a code of law.
		         (4) Ecclesiastical. A direction in a missal, hymnal, or other
		             liturgical book.
		         (5) An authoritative rule or direction.
		         (6) A short commentary or explanation covering a broad subject.
		         (7) Red ocher.

		- adj -  (1) Color. Red or reddish.
		         (2) Written in red.
		Example: (1) In addition, because these arrangements come under the rubric
		             of "professional service" contracts, many are exempt from laws on
		             competitive bidding.
		         (2) You can evaluate your students’ writing by using the following
		             three-point rubric:
		         (3) Many people believed the National Security Agency's primary
		             rubric, export controls, wouldn't stand up to a constitutional
		             challenge, but it was never tested.
		         (4) Judges customarily employ a statutory construction device
		             that teaches courts to avoid reaching constitutional issues
		             when they need not. The rubric is dubiously applied here,
		             however since it is designed primarily to respect the
		             presumption of constitutionality, not becloud it.
sallow		- adj -  (1) Of a sickly grayish greenish yellow color or complexion.
		         (2) Any of several broad-leaved European willow (as Salix caprea)
		             including important sources of charcoal and tanbark
			Example: (1) He looked as though his end was near - his complexion was
			             sallow; his speech was slow, and his left arm immobile.
sardonic	- adj - Scornfully, disdainfully, bitterly, or cynically mocking: a sardonic
		        comment. Sneering: a sardonic grin.
		Examples: (1) The author cleverly directs the reader away from himself and his
		              feelings and toward a sardonic vision of humanity more or less
		              trapped in recurring cycles of cruelty and stupidity.
		          (2) They were married inside a florist’s leaky old greenhouse, where
		              the resident parrot seemed to mock their vows with what sounded like
		              sardonic laughter.
		          (3) The new editor, tall and distinguished-looking and known for a
		              sardonic wit, hired a fresh generation of young, anti-establishment
		              reporters and sent them to cover stories around the world.
		          (4) "Oh, yes?" she said and gave him a sardonic look. "And you're going
		              to avenge his death, are you?"
stalwart	- adj - marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit; firm
		        and resolute: 
		Examples: (1)Inserts, like the Trade Fair flyer, were an important source of
		             revenue for the newspaper. On Fridays, a group of stalwart helpers
		             gathered to do the stuffing and then have lunch together.
		          (2) Stalwart consumer advocate Ted Cantor's Fair Sales Practices
		              Foundation maintains a most useful and informative Web site
		              dedicated to protecting your right's as a consumer.
		          (3) ...statement made by the same political stalwart...
		          (4) SIA (Society for Industrial Archaeology) stalwart Victor Darnell
		              leads off with his study of
		          (5) To many across the country, New York State sounds like the perfect
		              locale for Hillary Clinton to launch a race for the U.S. Senate.
		              The Empire State is, after all, the home of cosmopolitan liberals
		              who have been the most stalwart supporters of her husband.
stolid		- adj - Having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; unemotional; impassive:
		        “the incredibly massive and stolid bureaucracy of the Soviet system.”
		Examples: (1) President Sarkozy's fizzing theatricality and headline grabbing does not
		              sit easily with the stolid step-by-step incrementalism of Chancellor
		              Angela Merkel.
		          (2) He had abandoned himself to his love, and she, stolid, matronly, received
		              this adoration with simple grandeur, like a socialist-realist statue of a
		              woman taking up sheaves of wheat.
		          (3) His face and stolid stare into the camera became his trademark.
		          (4) My grandmother, stolid in temper and solid in bulk, kept up a long and
		              subdued grumble, while she stirred the stock-pot methodically over the
		              fire.
stygian		-adj - (1) a. Gloomy and dark; forbidding.
		           b. Infernal; hellish.
		       (2) Of or relating to the river Styx
		Etymology:  In Greek mythology, the river Styx was the "hateful" river that
		            circled the realm of the dead.  The ferryman Charon transported human
		            souls to Hades. The gods swore their most dread and unbreakable oaths
		            by invoking the name of the river Styx. Stygian describes something
		            to be linked with the infernal regions of hell - something gloomy, or
		            inviolable.
		Examples: (1) Since then he had received serious complaints regarding the
		              non lighting of the streets. Workers and others found it very
		              difficult to get to their places of employment.Mr Keyes said
		              that it was a shame to have the city cast into Stygian gloom.
		          (2) L.A. Times series on kids living in stygian apartments with
		              crack-head parents in Long Beach.
		          (3) After this chat I will return to the stygian depths of Hell whence
		              I came.
		          (4) Again and again, observers resorted to the imagery of darkness
		              and light to characterize the transformation from the Stygian
		              gloom of Hoover's final winter to the bright springtime of FDR's
		              First Hundred Days.
		          (5)  The only chink of light in the stygian gloom of the report was
		               an observation by Mr Justice Hamilton that his Supreme Court
		               colleague had been motivated by "a spirit of humanitarian
		               interest".
sub rosa	- adj - (1) in confidence; privately or confidentially; secretly
		Etymology: New Latin, literally, under the rose; from the ancient association
		           of the rose with secrecy.
		Examples: (1) He was 80 years old and still editing the magazine sub rosa,
		              sending copy back and forth to the writers by secret courier.
		          (2) It is called "soft" money and in no matter what amount, soft
		              money is pliable enough to be slipped, sub rosa - under the
		              counter - to a particular candidate.
		          (3)  The investigators said that a major purpose of the sub rosa
		               activities was to create so much confusion, suspicion and
		               dissension that the Labor Party would be incapable of uniting
		               after choosing a presidential nominee.
		          (4)  The year since then has seen (actually "seen" is the wrong word,
		               since most of the conflict resolution has been done sub rosa)
		               the development of a final agreement, with the help of an
		               ad hoc committee that included Democratic state Sen....
sultry		- adj - (1)a. Very humid and hot: sultry July weather. b. Extremely hot; torrid:
		           the sultry sands of the desert.
		        (2)a. hot with passion or anger.  b. Expressing or arousing desire:
		           a sultry look; a sultry dance.
		Examples: (1) I emerged into the thick, sultry air of a Southern summer day.
		          (2) Her pieces have featured prominently in Gucci's new advertisements, a
		              solitary shoe or leather purse replacing the sultry models who used to
		              sulk on billboards.
sundry		- adj - Various; miscellaneous: diverse, not of the same kind.
		         (1) Making roads, minor irrigation projects and sundry other civil
		             works is all very well, but major construction will have to be
		             specifically allocated in next year's budget.
		Example: (2) ...a purse containing keys, wallet, and sundry items.
		         (3) In addition to its beautiful fauna, flora and scenery it offers
		             activities that will suit all and sundry from soul inspiring walks to
		             board sailing, diving and much more.
superannuated	- adj - (1) retired or ineffective because of age or infirmity.
		        (2) too old for use, work, service, or a position.
		        (3) antiquated, outmoded, or obsolete: superannuated ideas.
		Examples: (1) How could Hitchcock help but feel a bit superannuated when the "joltier"
		              "Clouzot" and "Les Diaboliques" won the prestigious Delluc Prize in
		              France for highest achievement in originality?
		          (2) I'm being polite. What my mother actually said was that Tom Robbins
		               panders to superannuated hippies.
supercilious	- adj - cooly and patronizingly haughty;
 		Example:  He somehow managed to be arrogant and supercilious, without
		          revealing any symptoms of intelligence.
surreptitious	- adj - (1) Obtained, done, or made by clandestine or stealthy means; clandestine: a
		           surreptitious glance.
		        (2) Acting with or marked by stealth.
		Examples: (1) Officials said the surreptitious copying is believed to have occurred when a
		              laptop belonging to someone in the U.S. trade delegation was left unattended.
		          (2) He surreptitiously transferreed funds to the terrorist group.
tacit		- adj - Not explicitly stated.
taciturn	- adj - Habitually untalkative; temperamentally disinclined to talk.
		Examples: (1) Mr. Mundruczo’s deft use of sound and music in the film suggests emotions
		              that his characters are too taciturn to articulate.
		          (2) You will find there many tributes to a young soldier who was so taciturn
		              while going about his business that his fellows called him "the Robot."
tenacious	-adj - (1) Holding or tending to hold persistently to something, such as a point
		           of view.
		       (2) Holding together firmly; cohesive: 
		       (3) Clinging to another object or surface; adhesive: 
		       (4) Tending to retain; retentive: 
		Examples: (1) a most tenacious and threatening problem
		          (2) By the way, although Acetone is pretty good at removing lubricants,
		              Dalembeck’s lubricant is pretty tenacious and may require extra
		              elbow grease or even a buffing job to remove…that’s one reason it
		              so popular and effective.
tendentious	- adj - strongly favoring a particular point of view in a way that may cause argument:
					expressing a strong opinion.  Marked by or favoring a particular point of view; partisan: a tendentious account of the recent elections.
tenet		- noun - An opinion, doctrine, especially one held as true by members of a profession,
		         group, or movement.
		Examples: (1) These reforms are also built on the most fundamental of medical tenets: do
		              no harm.
		          (2) Supply-side economics, as it was called — first with derision but then as a
		              label embraced by its supporters — has become a central tenet of Republican
		              political and economic thinking.
torpid		- adj - (1) Having lost the power of motion or feeling; sluggish.
		        (2) Dormant; hibernating.
		        (3) Lethargic; apathetic.
			Examples: (1) Because these animals are so small, it is difficult for them
			              to stay warm in very cold weather, so they stay inactive, or
			              torpid, for a few weeks at a time in winter to save energy.
			          (2) The torpid economy is making the consumer lending industry a
			              tough one to navigate.
		(noun form - torpor)
torrid		- adj - (1) Parched with the heat of the sun; intensely hot.
		        (2) Scorching; burning: the torrid noonday sun.
		        (3) Passionate; ardent: a torrid love scene.
		        (4) Hurried; rapid: set a torrid pace; torrid economic growth.
		Examples: (1) With the exception of a slight breeze which stirred the heated atmosphere
		              shortly after noon, there was no diminution in the torrid heat which poured
		              down upon us this day.
		          (2) The Lambada, a torrid new dance, Is Not for the bashful or the modest.
		          (3) The movie was a disappointing, half-hearted effort, and except for a torrid love
		              scene toward the end it contented itself with just being feeble and disjointed.
		          (4) Seldom in the history of the State camp have troops drilled under a more torrid
		              sun than that which blazed down on the Twenty-third during the early morning and
		              forenoon exercises to-day.
tortuous	- adj - (1) Full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked: a tortuous
		           road through the mountains.
		        (2) Not straightforward; circuitous; devious: a tortuous plot; tortuous reasoning.
		        (3) Highly involved; intricate; complex: tortuous legal procedures.
		Examples: (1) He absolutely despises buying from car dealerships and enduring the often
		              tortuous negotiations with a car dealer sales team.
		          (2) These past few days at Heathrow (where I work), I have witnessed mums and
		              dads with toddlers, and elderly people subjected to the most tortuous processes
		              just to get themselves onto an aircraft.
		          (3) No parent who was dragged to the cinema to see this tortuous piece of
		              overlong tedium will ever forgive their children.
touchstone	- noun -    (1) A high quality example of something that is used to test the excellence
		                or genuineness of others: “the qualities of courage and vision that are
		                the touchstones of leadership.”
		            (2) A hard black stone, such as jasper or basalt, formerly used to test the
		                purity of gold or silver by comparing the color of the streak produced
		                on it by rubbing it with either metal.
		Examples: (1) Cinema’s fascination with human locomotion during the art’s first 50 years
		              seems to have been supplanted in the last 50 by a fascination with rigor
		              mortis. The touchstone for this shift is probably Hitchcock’s masterpiece
		              “Psycho,” in which the camera is more vibrantly alive than any of the
		              characters, including that dead blonde in the shower.
		          (2) His self-produced third album, Continuum, was taut, melodic, well sung,
		              and impeccably played. The touchstones are Sting, along with latter-day
		              Eric Clapton and the '70s blue-eyed soul of the Doobie Brothers and Boz
		              Scaggs.
		          (3) Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" (1927) and Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the
		              Will" (1935), are also obviously major touchstones for Conran's sense of
		              visual style.
		          (4) Some years ago "CSI" was the touchstone, but now there are dozens of
		              process driven TV crime shows, including even other "CSI" versions.
tractable	- adj - (1) Easily managed or controlled; governable; docile; yielding.
		        (2) Easily worked, shaped, or otherwise handled; malleable.
		Examples:  (1) According to this treaty, each side would acknowledge each other's existence
 		               without resolving less tractable issues of sovereignty.
		           (2) Even so, researchers worldwide are still working toward an exact and
		               tractable formulation of the theory's equations.
		           (3) He seemed so unnaturally passive and tractable that I wondered for a moment
 		               if I might get him to agree.
		           (4) The president's announcement came as members of the slightly less tractable
		               lower house of Parliament said they might open their own investigation.
traduce		- verb - (1) To lower or disgrace the reputation of; expose to shame or blame by utterance of
		             falsehood or misrepresentation .
			 (2) Violate; betray (traduce a principle of the law)
		Etymology: Latin traducere: to lead as a spectacle, dishonor
		Examples: (1) Being a senior minister does actually require more than a cranky
		              disposition and a willingness to blackguard and traduce other people.
		          (2) I suggest that when reporting unfavorably on a play, the critic for
		              the Times devote more than three lines to his explanation, and forgo the
		              sort of cheap pun he used to traduce the memory of a great artist.
		          (3) To secure the nomination, Johnson was willing to misrepresent the honest
		              convictions of his opponent's lifetime, and to traduce the characters of
		              his opponent's dearest friends.
		          (4) Partly this can be laid at the door of the incumbent president, but mainly
		              it lies with those people who don’t bother giving reasons, don’t explain or
		              give arguments, who prefer to traduce the people with whom they disagree by
		              attacks on their characters.
truculent	- adj - (1) feeling or displaying ferocity; cruel, savage
		        (2) deadly, destructive
		        (3) scathingly harsh; vitriolic
		        (4) aggressively self-assertive; belligerent; pugnacious.
		Examples: (1) Murphy has often been a tough opponent of the Davis
		              administration, without being truculent - and that's much to be
		              admired.
		          (2) While Ministers may have been obliged to descend to the engine
		              room occasionally in order to twist the arms of truculent trade
		              unionists, this has been the most un-Labour-like of Labour
		              Governments since the party was born 100 years ago.
		          (3) He has adopted a truculent, "put up or shut up" attitude.
		          (4) He is brash, truculent, in your face and pushes his luck.
		          (5) However, Harden's writings, inspired by a blind and truculent
		              nationalism, are unacceptable here.
		          (6) Mr. Adams said that if he tried to do the same in a truculent
		              city like Los Angeles, four million people would have showed up.
untoward	- adj - (1) Not in keeping with accepted standards of what is proper.  Unexpected
					    and inappropriate or inconvenient; not appropriate, usual, or normal
					(2) Difficult to guide, manage, or work with : unruly, intractable
					(3) Marked by trouble or unhappiness
		Examples:	(1) But it is a sign of our times that when anything untoward happens, our
					    first thought is, did terrorists do it?
					(2) Now, you're not looking to do anything untoward, but some companies become incredibly paranoid after they fire someone.
					(3) Did the contestant do something untoward to win?
					(4) No one's" found that his son Hunter Biden did anything untoward in Ukraine.
					(5) Untoward side effects of psychiatric drugs
vacuous		- adj - (1) Devoid of matter; empty.
		        (2) a. Lacking intelligence or ideas; stupid.
		            b. Devoid of substance or meaning; inane: a vacuous comment.
		            c. Devoid of expression; vacant: “The narrow, swinelike eyes were
		               open, no more vacuous in death than they had been in life.”
		        (3) Lacking serious purpose or occupation; idle: a vacuous way of life.
		        Examples: (1) The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive
		                      result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate,
		                      and more filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate,
		                      pander-filled contests that preceded it.
		                  (2) His goal was to persuade the singers to adopt his ideas, and
		                      thereby rescue this repertory from its reputation as a junkyard of
		                      vacuous, formulaic clatter
vapid		- adj - (1) Lacking liveliness, animation, or interest; dull or tedious: vapid
		            conversation.
		        (2) Lacking taste, zest, or flavor; flat: vapid beer.
		Examples: (1) Often willfully vapid, the lyrics nonetheless produce an emotional
		              response.
		          (2) The author invests almost all his storytelling capital in the contrast
		              between lavishly staged scenes of vapid New York high life and a dark
		              American melodrama of loneliness that turned one man into a killer.
vitiate		- verb - (1) To reduce the value or impair the quality of.
		         (2) To corrupt morally or aesthetically; to debase.
		         (3) To make ineffective; invalidate; spoil.
		Examples: (1) Under Tunisian law, a confession obtained from a person against
		              his will may not be used as evidence against him. Any factors
		              that vitiate consent also vitiate the confession.
		          (2) The Prime Minister today defended the arrest of some reporters
		              and charged former Foreign Minister and opposition party
		              president M. Hassimi with attempting to vitiate cordial
		              relations and goodwill between his Government and the press.
		          (3) The court held that the Speaker’s findings were vitiated and
		              found that he acted in a partisan manner which affected his
		              assessment of the material presented to him.
		          (4) The Judge found evidence of irregularities during the elections
		              but these were not of such significance as to affect the
		              outcome of the elections. He, therefore, could not vitiate the
		              elections, as the Socialist Labor Party had expected, on this
		              ground.
		          (5) A sessions court Wednesday disallowed British lawyers from
		              examining the approver in the Singh murder case, as it would
		              vitiate the trial, which has yet to commence three years after
		              the banking mogul was gunned down in Bombay.
vituperate	- verb tr - To rebuke or criticize harshly or abusively; berate; revile.
		- verb in - To use harshly abusive language; rail.
		Examples: (1) Many people seem to either glorify the president, or else vituperate
		              against him."
		          (2) I recall several painfully unfunny afternoons spent sitting listening
		              to him alternately expectorate and vituperate all over our favorite
		              beach-bar.
		          (3) His supporters point out that the vituperative nature of this campaign has
		              reminded many voters what they disliked about election campaigns.
		          (4) Guess which manager we vituperate for being arbitrary and unstable?
		          (5) I don't recall any of these being vituperative at the mayor during his
		              first months in office.
voluble		- adj - (1) Characterized by a ready and continuous flow of speech; fluent; glib;
		            talkative.
		        (2) Turning easily on an axis; rotating.
		Examples: (1) Mr. Selenkov, a voluble commentator on the country's struggles, would have
		              kept the president up late talking about how corruption drains so much
		              from a country and its people.
		          (2) More cerebral and less voluble than his older brother, Jensen has kept his
		              public involvement in the imbroglio to a minimum
		          (3) Some of the most vocal and voluble participants enjoy themselves but don't
		              necessarily make the best contributions.
		          (4) Anything short of outright and voluble condemnation of terrorism
		              constitutes ambivalence.
		          (5) It is therefore, all the more surprising that even the most vociferous,
		              voluble and articulate of such widespread critics have refrained from
		              criticizing the mayor since his accident.
		          (6) The little boy chattered volubly in French too.
wrought		- verb- A past tense and a past participle of work.
		- adj - (1) Put together; created: a carefully wrought plan.
		        (2) Produced by hammering with tools. Usually said of of metals or
		            metalwork.
		        (3) Made delicately or elaborately.
		Examples: (1) The foreign minister's firsthand look at the devastation wrought by the
		              storm left him shaken Tuesday, even though the areas to which he was
		              taken were far from the worst-hit.
		          (2) He takes great pride in the changes he has wrought in the city council
		              during his tenure.