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(v.) to calm or pacify, set to rest; to lessen or relieve; reduce
-The politician made a speech in order to ------ his constituents' fears. |
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(adj.) beastlike; beastly, brutal; subjuman in intelligence and sensibility
-In beating their prisoner, the guards were guilty of a truly ------ act. |
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(adj.) festive, sociable, having fun together, genial, fun-loving, jovial, merry
-Thanksgiving dinner at Granmother's house is always a ------ family gathering. |
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(n.) a circle of acquantances; a close-knit, often exclusive, group of people with a common interest.
-Robert Browning and his ------ had ideas about poetry that seemed revolutionary in their day. |
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(v.) to object or take exception to; protest, object to
-The rank and file will ------ if they are not consulted regularly by the union leadership.
(n.) an objection
-The speech in favor of the proposal was drowned out by a chorus of ------ from the senate floor. |
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(n.) shameless boldness, impudence, chutzpah, nerve, impertinence, cheek
-After having been suspended for disrespectful behavior, the student had the ------ to talk back to his teacher again. |
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(adj.) lasting only a short time, short-lived; fleeting, transient.
-Only the greatest of writers and artists achieve anything other than ------ popularity. |
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(adj.) appropriate, apt, well chosen; marked by well-being or good fortune, happy; fortunate.
-In view of the high prices for home heating oil, the mild winter was a ------ turn of events. |
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(n.) a massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path.
-Any population that has experienced the ------ of war firsthand will not easily forget its destructive power. |
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(adj.) glaring; tastelessly showy or overdecorated in a vulgar or offensive way; flashy.
-The storefront was painted in ------ colors so that it would attract the attention of passersby. |
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(adj.) misleading, deceptive; lacking in or not based on reality; fanciful, imaginary.
-Police state tactics provide an ------ sense of security in an unjust society. |
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(adj.) needy, impoverished; penniless, poverty-stricken, destitute.
-The number of homeless and ------ persons has increased since the economy took a downturn. |
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(adj.) far too great, exceeding reasonable limits, excessive; extravagant; exceeding expectations.
-The press showered the popular actor with ------ praise for what seemed a rather ordinary performance. |
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(v.) to cast overboard, get rid of as unnecessary or burdensome; cast off, discard, dump, abandon
-The captain ordered the crew to ------ the ballast so the ship could move more quickly through the water. |
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(n.) a person who hates or despises people
-The millionaire ------ left all her money to an animal shelter and not a penny to a single human being. |
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(adj.) very persistent; holding firmly to a course of action or a set of beliefs; hard to get rid of, refusing to be put off or denied; stubborn, determined.
-The defense attorney was as ------ as a bulldog in his cross-examination of the witness. |
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(adj.) of little value or importance, paltry, measly; concerned with trifling matters, small-minded; inconsequential, piddling, trifling.
-A supervisor who fusses about every ------ fault of the workers will lower morale and productivity. |
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(n.) clothing, garments; apparel, attire.
-When the chorus in the Greek tragedy hears that the king has died, they tear their ------ in anguish. |
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(adj.) thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant.
-In Shakespeare's tragedy the audience sees clearly that lago is an ------ scoundrel, but Othello is blind to his treachery. |
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(v.) to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consisten; placate.
-Because of the weakness of our army, we had to try to ------ the enemy. |
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(v.) to make more violent, severe, bitter, or painful; aggravate, intensify, worsen.
-Shouting and name-calling are sure to ------ any quarrel. |
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(n.) one of a series of grades in an organization or field of activity; and organized military unit; a steplike formation or aarrangement; level, rank.
-Although the civil servant began in the lower ------ of government service, he rose quickly through the ranks. |
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(adj.) stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way; silly, vapid.
-In order to discredit the candidate, the columnist quoted some of his more ------, self-serving remarks. |
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(adj.) lacking spirit or interest, halfhearted; listless, indifferent, indolent.
-The team's performance in the late innings was ------ because they were so far ahead. |
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(n.) a prayer consisting of short appeals to God recited by the leader alternating with responses from the congregation; any repetitive changt; a long list.
-Whenever she talks about her childhood, she recites an interminable ------ of grievances. |
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(n.) an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth; lack.
-The senate campaign was marred by a ------ of original ideas. |
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(v.) to indidcate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of; fortell, foreshadow.
-In Shakespeare's plays, disturbances in the heavens usually ------ disaster or trouble in human affairs. |
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(v.) to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed; renounce, retract.
-On the stand, the defendant ------ the guilty admissions she had made in her confession to the police. |
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(adj.) of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood.
-Ebenezer Scrooge, the main character of Dicken's A Christmas Carol, has decidedly ------ temperament. |
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(v.) to cast off, discard; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary; to plod through as if through mud.
-At New Year's time, many people resolve to ------ off bad habits and start living better, healthier lives.
(n.) a mire; a state of depression.
-The advancing line of tanks became bogged down in a ------. |
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(n.) a shout of welcome; an overwhelming verbal vote of approval; ovation, cheering.
-It is very rare for a presidential candidate to be nominated by ------ from the convention floor. |
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| (adj.) characteristiv of the countryside |
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(v.) to slander; to accuse falsely and maliciously.
-Not only did the artist's enemy seek to discredit her while she was alive but tried to ------ her memory as well. |
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(adj. extremely caution, hesitant, or slow (to); reserved, diffident.
-Since so many funds had been spent with so few results, they were ------ about appropriating more money. |
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