| Adherent: Someone who believes and helps to spread the doctrine of another |
| The vote for educational reform pleased the adherents. |
| Adversary: Someone who offers opposition |
| His political adversaries were creating problems for him. |
| Atypical: Not representative of a group, class, or type |
| The economy of the province was atypical because it was so small. |
| Compatible: Able to exist and perform in harmonious or agreeable combination |
| His deeds were not compatible with his ideology. |
| Eradicate: Destroy completely, as if down to the roots |
| Their goal was to eradicate poverty. |
| Exploit: Use or manipulate to one's advantage |
| The landlord exploited the farmers to his own advantage. |
| Irrational: Not consistent with or using reason |
| They behaved in such a bizarre and irrational manner. |
| Obese: Excessively fat |
| Obese people tend to have higher blood pressure than lean ones. |
| Pathetic: A state of extreme sadness |
| The extremely shabby condition of the room struck her as extraordinarily pathetic. |
| Serenity: A disposition free from stress or emotion |
| She had a wonderful feeling of peace and serenity after reaching her own home. |
| Accrue: Grow by addition |
| Interest accrues on the loan taken by an individual. |
| Apathy: An absence of emotion or enthusiasm |
| His apathy towards his work was painful to see. |
| Avarice: Reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable desire for wealth |
| He paid six month’s rent in advance to satisfy his landlord’s avarice. |
| Banal: Repeated too often; over familiar through overuse |
| The text is banal. |
| Bliss: A state of extreme happiness |
| It was a beautiful scene of domestic bliss. |
| Cacophony: Loud, confusing, disagreeable sounds |
| The whole place erupted in a cacophony of sounds as soon as the winner was announced. |
| Fracas: Noisy quarrel |
| Many people were injured in the ensuing fracas. |
| Impede: Be a hindrance or obstacle to |
| Fallen rocks are impeding the work of the rescue workers. |
| Infallible: Incapable of failure or error |
| She had an infallible eye for style. |
| Nondescript: Lacking distinct or individual characteristics; dull and uninteresting |
| They lived in a nondescript building. |
| Sedate: Characterized by dignity and propriety |
| We set off again at a more sedate pace. |
| Wane: Grow smaller |
| The sliver of a waning moon was high in the sky. |
| Bedlam: A state of extreme confusion and disorder |
| He is causing bedlam at the hotel. |
| Dilettante: Showing frivolous or superficial interest; amateurish |
| The sailing elite considered him a rank amateur, a dilettante. |
| Disgruntled: In a state of sulky dissatisfaction |
| The disgruntled priest did not deliver his sermon properly. |
| Exhort: Spur on or encourage especially by cheers and shouts |
| Mahatma Gandhi exhorted his listeners to turn away from violence. |
| Garrulous: Full of trivial conversation |
| He gave a garrulous speech. |
| Glabrous: Having no hair or similar growth. |
| The doctor has a glabrous scalp. |
| Gusto: Vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment |
| The aria was sung with great gusto. |
| Inebriated: Fill with sublime emotion |
| He was inebriated with his phenomenal success. |
| Insatiable: Impossible to satisfy |
| He had an insatiable desire for adventure. |
| Lithe: Moving and bending with ease |
| She was a lithe ballet dancer and could bend herself almost 360 degrees on the dance floor. |
| Moribund: Not growing or changing; without force or vitality |
| They had a moribund way of life, always confined in the 4 walls of their house. |
| Nadir: An extreme state of adversity; the lowest point of anything |
| That period was the nadir of his presidency. |
| Panacea: Hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; once sought by the alchemists |
| Western aid will not be a panacea for all the country’s problems. |
| Pique: A sudden outburst of anger |
| In a fit of pique he threw down his bag. |
| Platitude: A trite or obvious remark |
| Politicians normally spout the same old platitudes. |
| Propinquity: Closeness, proximity. |
| The propinquity of God can be felt by pious souls. |
| Rescind: Cancel officially |
| The court took one moment to rescind the illegal lease. |
| Revere: Love unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess |
| People either revere politicians or hate them. |