in list order from A to Z from Z to A from easy to hard from hard to

easy

1. abstemious
marked by temperance in indulgence
He is, I believe, abstemious in eating and drinking, caring only for the homeliest
fare.McCarthy, Justin

2. adjure
command solemnly
3. affectation
a deliberate pretense or exaggerated display
4. annulment
an official or legal cancellation
Humphries responded a month later asking for an annulment, claiming the
couple's nuptials were based on fraud.Seattle Times (Aug 15, 2012)
the state of being cancelled or annulled; a formal termination

5. apprise
inform somebody of something
Back at our operating room, the pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists have been
kept apprised of how things are progressing.

6. arbitration
giving authoritative judgment
Tillotson said Armstrong’s lies, as outlined in the agency’s report, had changed the
understanding that was reached through arbitration.

7. bode
indicate by signs
8. boor
a crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking refinement
9. capricious
determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
But the "desirable" foreign nationals, particularly capricious dignitaries, can be
just as much work, if not more.

10. castigation
verbal punishment
 Head teachers have warned "constant castigation" was damaging morale.

11. catharsis
purging the body to stimulate evacuation of the bowels
12. cognitive
relating to or involving the mental process of knowing
13. comity
a state or atmosphere of harmony or mutual civility
Nevertheless, there is a fundamental comity between the brown
peoples.Stoddard, Lothrop

14. commensurate
corresponding in size or degree or extent
But it is worth noting that regulators are being asked to do a lot without
a commensurate increase in resources.New York Times (Jan 20, 2011)

15. conciliation
the act of placating and overcoming distrust and animosity
Except one thing: Television should be used to educate the masses and promote
social conciliation.New York Times (Jul 11, 2012)

16. construe
make sense of; assign a meaning to
Your absence will certainly be construed as indifference — or worse.New York
Times (Jul 19, 2012)

17. contention
the act of competing as for profit or a prize
Brussels tries to manage fisheries by setting limits on how much fish member
states can catch but quotas are a regular source of contention.

18. daunt
cause to lose courage
Launching a successful site, especially one catering to a younger, tech-savvy
clientele, can be daunting and involved.

19. deference
courteous regard for people's feelings
20. deleterious
harmful to living things
Travel time needs to be as short as possible; every hour between harvest and
transplant can have deleterious effects on organ function.
21. deleterious
harmful to living things
Travel time needs to be as short as possible; every hour between harvest and
transplant can have deleterious effects on organ function.

22. delineate
represented accurately or precisely
"Clearly, further research is needed to delineate this issue."

23. deterrent
something immaterial that interferes with action or progress
The greatest deterrent was the weather, whistling winds and pounding rain that
at times pressed against the windows just behind Rushdie.Seattle Times (Sep 19,
2012)

24. diaphanous
so thin as to transmit light
25. discordant
not in agreement or harmony
"So far, I haven't heard one discordant voice," says Falomir.

26. distend
cause to expand as if by internal pressure
Swollen; inflated; distended; puffed up, as cattle when gorged with green food
which develops gas.Webster, Noah

27. effete
excessively self-indulgent, affected, or decadent
Warren comes across as an effete and slightly deranged liberal
professor.Slate (Nov 22, 2011)

28. effrontery
audacious behavior that you have no right to
The magistrate raised his eyebrows at our effrontery and then cleared his throat
again.O'Neil, Owen Rowe

29. effrontery
audacious behavior that you have no right to
He looked at her with effrontery & made a mocking bow.Gilchrist, Anne Burrows

30. endemic
native to or confined to a certain region
31. exemplify
 clarify by giving an illustration of
The company is being heralded as exemplifying new breed of business
software.Forbes (Oct 12, 2012)

32. facetious
cleverly amusing in tone
When I say things like “Grow up,” I’m being facetious.Slate (Feb 2, 2012)

33. felicitous
exhibiting an agreeably appropriate manner or style
Mr. Webster addressed the citizens in his usual felicitous manner.Casseday, Ben

34. firmament
the sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected
35. gamut
a complete extent or range
36. gouge
an impression in a surface, as made by a blow
37. harangue
a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion
38. ignominious
deserving or bringing disgrace or shame
39. indelible
not able to be forgotten, removed, or erased
If he does so successfully, an indelible mark will be etched into history.

40. injunction
a judicial remedy to prohibit a party from doing something
A lower court threw out an injunction blocking enforcement of the judgment.

41. latent
potentially existing but not presently evident or realized
About a third of the world has latent tuberculosis, experts estimate; it usually
becomes active when an infected person’s immune system is depressed.

42. loom
come into view indistinctly, often threateningly
ATT and Verizon are constantly complaining about the looming spectrum
shortage in the United States.Forbes (Oct 15, 2012)

43. meretricious
 tastelessly showy
44. narcissistic
having an inflated idea of one's own importance
45. nugatory
of no real value
46. obloquy
state of disgrace resulting from public abuse
47. obsequious
attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
48. obtrude
push to thrust outward
49. obtuse
of an angle, between 90 and 180 degrees
50. outlier
a person or thing that does not conform to a norm
"These sorts of things to me are the outliers," he said.

51. palpable
capable of being perceived
52. pariah
a person who is rejected from society or home
53. parlance
a manner of speaking natural to a language's native speakers
54. parley
a negotiation between enemies
55. parochial
relating to or supported by or located in a parish
"Almost everything they did was sectarian-related - killing priests and nuns, hand
grenades into cathedrals, attacks on parochial schools, etc.," he said.New York
Times (Jun 19, 2012)
Parish: A local church community

56. parry
impede the movement of
 It's a series of one-on-one battles in which dodging, parrying and blocking
attacks are just as important as slashing your foes.Seattle Times (Dec 29, 2011)

57. parsimonious
excessively unwilling to spend
58. pellucid
transmitting light; able to be seen through with clarity
59. perfidious
tending to betray
60. perfidious
tending to betray
61. phlegmatic
showing little emotion
62. prattle
speak about unimportant matters rapidly and incessantly
63. precipitate
bring about abruptly
Mr. Kaplan said the police did not know what precipitated the shooting.

64. prevaricate
be deliberately ambiguous or unclear
65. prodding
a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something
66. propensity
a natural inclination
This is just a small sampling of a growing body of experimental findings linking
neurological traits with criminal propensity in children.Slate (Oct 17, 2012)

67. protract
lengthen in time; cause to be or last longer
68. protract
lengthen in time; cause to be or last longer
69. purport
have the often misleading appearance of being or intending
70. quaff
 swallow hurriedly or greedily or in one draught
71. rampart
an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes
72. raven
feed greedily
Wolves kill moose, and ravens help pick the bones clean.New York Times (Feb 27,
2012)

73. realm
a domain in which something is dominant
74. recondite
difficult to understand
75. reprobate
a person without moral scruples
76. respite
a pause from doing something
77. rift
a personal or social separation
“Political rifts haven’t yet been resolved and can worsen at any time.”

78. salubrious
promoting health
79. schism
division of a group into opposing factions
80. scourge
something causing misery or death
81. sojourn
a temporary stay
82. sovereign
a nation's ruler usually by hereditary right
83. spurious
plausible but false
Wearing a spurious official-looking cap, he was trying to interest tourists in some
scam.
84. squalid
foul and run-down and repulsive
85. steadfast
marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
86. stipulate
make an express demand or provision in an agreement
87. strident
unpleasantly loud and harsh
88. subliminal
below the threshold of conscious perception
89. subsidiary
functioning in a supporting capacity
90. subsume
contain or include
91. syllogism
reasoning in which a conclusion is derived from two premises
92. syncopation
a musical rhythm accenting a normally weak beat
93. verisimilitude
the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true
Every few years, a new one comes along, each promising
unprecedented verisimilitude.Slate (Jul 26, 2012)

94. vicissitude
a variation in circumstances or fortune