1.
abortive: [adj.]
1. failing to succeed; unsuccessful.
2. born prematurely.
3. imperfectly developed; rudimentary.
4. Medicine/Medical. a. producing or intended to produce ____tion; ____tifacient. b. acting to halt progress of a disease.
5. Pathology. (of the course of a disease) short and mild without the usual, pronounced clinical symptoms.
6. Botany. (of seeds or pollen grains) imperfect; unable to germinate.
[EX:]
The product was abortive, requiring several more prototypes before it could go on the market.
2.
bruit: [v.] (used with object)
1. to voice abroad; rumor (used chiefly in the passive and often followed by about).
[n.]
2. Medicine/Medical. any generally abnormal soundor murmur heard on auscultation.
3. Archaic. rumor; report.
4. Archaic. noise; din; clamor.
[EX:]
Women are stereotypically said to bruit about others.
3.
contumelious: [n.] plural -lies
1. insulting display of contempt in words or actions; ____emptuous or humiliating treatment.
2. a humiliating insult.
[EX:]
His contumelious brought color to her cheeks and tears to her eyes.
4.
dictum: [n.] plural -ta, -tums
1. an authoritative pronouncement; judicial assertion.
2. a saying; maxim.
3. obiter ______.
[EX:]
"A penny saved is a penny earned" is an old, and still well-known, dictum.
5.
ensconce: [v.] (used with object), -sconced, -sconc·ing
1. to settle securely or snugly.
2. to cover or shelter; hide securely.
[EX:]
After the robbery, the thief ensconced the money in a casket buried in a cemetery.
6.
iconoclastic: [adj.]
1. attacking or ignoring cherished beliefs and long-held traditions, etc., as being based on error, superstition, or lack of creativity.
2. breaking or destroying images, especially those setup for religious veneration.
[EX:]
His iconclastic activities were an affront to both the chuch and the parishoners.
7.
in medias res: [Latin]
1. in the middle of things.
[EX:]
Without knowing it, Adam found himself in media res when a bank robbery occurred as he went in to cash his check.
8.
internecine: [adj.]
1. of or pertaining to conflict or struggle within a group.
2. mutually destructive.
3. characterized by great slaughter; deadly.
[EX:]
The internecine thought of nuclear war has been a possibility ever since the first atomic bomb was dropped.
9.
maladroit: [adj.]
1. lacking in adroitness; unskillful; awkward; bungling; tactless.
[EX:]
The adolescent boy was growing so quickly, his maladroit coordination did not earn him a spot on the basketball team.
10.
maudlin: [adj.]
1. tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental.
2. foolishly or mawkishly sentimental because of drunkenness.
[EX:]
Becasue of her maudlin tendancies, the break-up crushed her.
11.
modulate: [v.] (used with or without object)
1. to regulate by or adjust to a certain measure or proportion; soften; tone down.
2. to alter or adapt (the voice) according to the circumstances, one's listener, etc.
3. Music. a. to attune to a certain pitch or key. b. to vary the volume of (tone).
4. Telecommunications. to cause the amplitude, frequency, phase, or intensity of (a carrier wave)to vary in accordance with a sound wave or other signal, the frequency of the signal wave usually being very much lower than that of the carrier.
5. Telecommunications. a. to modulate a carrier wave. b. Citizens Band Radio Slang. to talk; visit.
6. Music. to pass from one key to another.
[EX:]
The attorney had modualte the tone of his closing argemunt in order to convince the jury.
12.
portentous: [adj.]
1. of the nature of a portent; momentous.
2. ominously significant or indicative.
3. marvelous; amazing; prodigious.
[EX:]
The dark, ominous clouds were a portetnous warning of the imminent torando.
13.
prescience: [n.]
1. knowledge of things before they exist or happen; foreknowledge; foresight.
[EX:]
God's prescience enabled the authors of the Bible to accurately predict future events.
14.
quid pro quo: [n.] plural quos, quids for 2
1. [Latin] one thing in return for another.
2. something that is given or taken in return for something else; substitute.
[EX:]
Adam's frineds offered to cook dinner Thursday evening as a quid pro quo for an invite the previous weeeknd.
15.
salubrious: [adj.]
1. favorable to or promoting health; healthful.
[EX:]
The salubrious fruit smoothie contained more than a full day's requriement of 8 vitamins and minerals.
16.
saturnalian: [noun] plural -li·a, -li·as
1. (sometimes used with a plural verb) the festival of Saturn, celebrated in December in ancient Rome as a time of unrestrained merrymaking.
2. (lowercase) unrestrained revelry; orgy.
[EX:]
The saturnalian re-enactment portrayed the immoral activity of the early Romans.
17.
touchstone: [n.]
1. a test or criterion for the qualities of a thing.
2. a black siliceous stone formerly used to test the purity of gold and silver by the color of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal.
[EX:]
The miner realized his excitement was premature, when the touchstone revelaed his strike to be fool's gold.
18.
traumatic: [adj.]
1. of, pertaining to, or produced by a ______ or wound.
2. adapted to the cure of wounds.
3. psychologically painful.
[EX:]
Witnessing the crash that killed her father was a traumatic experieince.
19.
vitiate: [v.] (used with object), -at·ed, -at·ing
1. to impair the quality of; make faulty; spoil.
2. to impair or weaken the effectiveness of.
3. to debase; corrupt; pervert.
4. to make legally defective or invalid; invalidate.
[EX:]
The senator's foolish and insensitive emails vitiated his ability to pass legislation.
20.
waggish: adjective
1.like a ___; roguish in merriment and good humor; jocular.
2.characteristic of or befitting a ___.
[EX:]
The best man's waggish attitude at the reception helped all present to have a great time.
