SEPTEMBER VERBAL THREAD

WORDS

1.Obscure - To make dim or indistinct; cut off from sight: block; deficient in brightness; far from centers of human population; liable to more than one interpretation; not known or not widely known by name; of undistinguished or humble station or reputation

2. Pusillanimous - Lacking courage; cowardly; without spirit or bravery

3. Titillate - To stimulate by touching lightly; tickle; to excite (another) pleasurably, superficially or erotically

4. Prodigal - Rashly or wastefully extravagant; giving or given in abundance; lavish or profuse; wasteful; a recklessly extravagant consumer

5. Unwonted - Not habitual or ordinary; unusual; not accustomed; unused; rare

6. Minuet - A slow, stately pattern dance in 3/4 time for groups of couples, originating in 17th-century France; a movement in 3/4 time that is usually the third, but sometimes the second, of a four-movement symphony or string quartet

7.Sunder - To break or wrench apart; sever; a division or separation; to crack or split into two or more fragments by means of or as a result of force, a blow, or strain.

8. Remorseful - Feeling or expressing regret for one's sins or misdeeds; guilty, ashamed

9. Sate - To satisfy (an appetite) fully; to satisfy to excess; fill to satisfaction

10. Devious - Marked by treachery or deceit; not taking a direct or straight line or course; without a fixed or regular course; crooked; indirect; dishonest, crafty

11. Egregious - Conspicuously bad or offensive; outstandingly bad; outrageous

12. Malady - An unwholesome condition; a disease, a disorder, or an ailment

13. Aggrieve - To distress; afflict; to inflict an injury or injuries on; to cause suffering or painful sorrow to; feeling burdened

14. Dab - To spread with a greasy, sticky, or dirty substance; a tiny amount; a person with a high degree of knowledge or skill in a particular field

15. Irk - To be irritating, wearisome, or vexing to


ISSUE TOPICS

1. The arts (painting, music, literature, etc.) reveal the otherwise hidden ideas and impulses of a society

AUGUST VERBAL THREAD TWO

1. Inkling - A slight hint or indication; a slight understanding or vague idea or notion; a subtle quality underlying or felt to underlie a situation, action, or person
2. Gleam - A point of shining light, especially in darkness; brightness, sparkle; a sudden quick light; to shine brightly and steadily but without a flame; a brief or dim indication; a trace
3. Glare - To stare fixedly and angrily; to shine intensely and blindingly; to be conspicuous; stand out obtrusively; a focus of public attention; a sheet or surface of glassy and very slippery ice; be sharply reflected
4. Innuendo - An indirect or subtle, usually derogatory implication in expression; an insinuation; an artful, indirect, often derogatory hint; suggestion
5. Disbelief - Refusal or reluctance to believe; doubt, skepticism; to doubt the truth about something
6. Insinuation - An artful, indirect, often derogatory hint; the act of gaining acceptance or affection for yourself by persuasive and subtle blandishments; an indirect (and usually malicious) implication
7. Cruet - A small glass bottle for holding a condiment, such as vinegar or oil; a small vessel for holy water or for water or wine used in the consecration of the Eucharist
8. Misconstruction - An inaccurate explanation, interpretation, or report; a misunderstanding
9. Evasive - Intentionally vague or ambiguous; equivocal; inclined or intended to evade; deceitful, tricky; trying to avoid; skillful at eluding capture
10. Seldom - Not often; infrequently or rarely
11. Obliterate - To do away with completely so as to leave no trace; to wipe out, rub off, or erase; to remove completely (a body organ or part), as by surgery, disease, or radiation
12. Hillock - A small hill; a small natural hill; a small projection or elevation, as from an organ, tissue, or structure
13. Complement - Something that completes, makes up a whole, or brings to perfection; quantity or number needed to make up a whole; either of two parts that complete the whole or mutually complete each other; complete
14. Flicker - To move waveringly; flutter; to burn unsteadily or fitfully; to shine with intermittent gleams; a sudden quick light; glimmer; brief or slight sensation; any of various large North American woodpeckers of the genus Colaptes, especially C. auratus, the common flicker, having a brown back, spotted breast, and white rump
15. Eulogy - A laudatory speech or written tribute, especially one praising someone who has died; high praise or commendation; praise, acclamation
16. Quiescent - Being quiet, still, or at rest; inactive
17. Exuberant - Full of unrestrained enthusiasm or joy; energetic, enthusiastic; profuse; plentiful; extreme in degree, size, or extent
18. Crutch - A means or device that keeps something erect, stable, or secure; a support used under the arm by an injured person to help in walking; a staff or support used by the physically injured or disabled as an aid in walking, usually designed to fit under the armpit and often used in pairs
19. Fraternity - A group of people united in a relationship and having some interest, activity, or purpose in common; brotherhood; group united in interest
20. Catalyze - To modify, especially to increase, the rate of (a chemical reaction) by catalysis; to bring about; initiate; to produce fundamental change in; transform
21. Refute - To prove to be false or erroneous; overthrow by argument or proof; to deny the accuracy or truth of; prove false; discredit
22. Reinforcement - The act or process of reinforcing or the state of being reinforced; an event, a circumstance, or a condition that increases the likelihood that a given response will recur in a situation like that in which the reinforcing condition originally occurred; additional personnel or equipment sent to support a military action
23. Renege - To fail to carry out a promise or commitment; to fail to follow suit in cards when able and required by the rules to do so; to renounce; disown; default on
24. Sunder - To break or wrench apart; sever; a division or separation; to crack or split into two or more fragments by means of or as a result of force, a blow, or strain
25. Remorseful - Feeling or expressing regret for one’s sins or misdeeds; guilty, ashamed
26. Sate - To satisfy (an appetite) fully; to satisfy to excess; fill to satisfaction
27. Devious - Marked by treachery or deceit; not taking a direct or straight line or course; without a fixed or regular course; crooked; indirect; dishonest, crafty
28. Egregious - Conspicuously bad or offensive; outstandingly bad; outrageous
29. Malady - An unwholesome condition; a disease, a disorder, or an ailment
30. Aggrieve - To distress; afflict; to inflict an injury or injuries on; to cause suffering or painful sorrow to; feeling burdened
31. Dab - To spread with a greasy, sticky, or dirty substance; a tiny amount; a person with a high degree of knowledge or skill in a particular field
32. Irk - To be irritating, wearisome, or vexing to
33. Preclude - To make impossible, as by action taken in advance; prevent;to exclude or prevent (someone) from a given condition or activity
34. Metaphysical - Having no body, form, or substance; of, coming from, or relating to forces or beings that exist outside the natural world; not physical; without physical presence; ideal
35. Forlorn - Appearing sad or lonely because deserted or abandoned; forsaken or deprived; wretched or pitiful in appearance or condition; nearly hopeless; desperate
36. Bunion - A bunion is an abnormal enlargement of the joint; a painful, inflamed swelling of the bursa at the first joint of the big toe, characterized by enlargement of the joint and lateral displacement of the toe
37. Hospice - A shelter or lodging for travelers, pilgrims, foundlings, or the destitute; a program that provides palliative care and attends to the emotional and spiritual needs of terminally ill patients at an inpatient
facility or at the patient’s home; an institution that provides care and shelter; resort for travelers which includes lodging and entertainment
38. Tardy - Occurring, arriving, acting, or done after the scheduled, expected, or usual time; late; moving slowly; sluggish
39. Lackadaisical - Lacking spirit, liveliness, or interest; languid; lacking energy and vitality or showing such a lack; careless, indifferent
40. Jerry - A German, especially a German soldier; offensive terms for a person of German descent
41. Glean - To gather grain left behind by reapers; to collect (something) bit by bit; gather facts in small quantities
42. Inane - One that lacks sense or substance
43. Canvas - A piece of such fabric on which a painting, especially an oil painting, is executed
44. Hamstring - To restrict the activity or free movement of; handicap; to destroy or hinder the efficiency of; frustrate; any of the tendons at the rear hollow of the human knee

AUGUST VERBAL THREAD

1. Overture - An introductory section or part, as of a poem; a prelude; to present as an introduction or proposal; introduction, approach

2. Sanctimonious - Feigning piety or righteousness; of or practicing hypocrisy; self-righteous, hypocritical about one’s own holiness

3. Inanity - Something empty of meaning or sense; total lack of ideas, meaning, or substance

4. Vulgarian - A vulgar person, especially one who makes a conspicuous display of wealth; an unrefined, rude person; a vulgar person (especially someone who makes a vulgar display of wealth)

5. Miscreant - An evildoer; a villain; an infidel; a heretic; evil, immoral; a villain

6. Wretched - So objectionable as to elicit despisal or deserve condemnation; terrible, very bad; of very inferior quality; miserable

7. Epic - An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero; a literary or dramatic composition that resembles an extended narrative poem celebrating heroic feats

8. Mendacious - Lying; untruthful; false; untrue; dishonest; given to or marked by deliberate concealment or misrepresentation of the truth

9. Narrative - A narrated account; a story; the art, technique, or process of narrating; a recounting of past events

10. Appease - To bring peace, quiet, or calm to; soothe; satisfy, pacify

11. Defiant - Marked by defiance; disobedient, disregardful

12. Raucous - Rough-sounding and harsh; boisterous and disorderly; rowdy; noisy; harsh and unpleasant

13. Meager - Deficient in quantity, fullness, or extent; scanty. Deficient in richness, fertility, or vigor; feeble
14. Flirtatious - Full of playful allure; provocative, teasing; given to flirting

15. Bumptious - Crudely or loudly assertive; pushy; self-assertive offensively self-assertive

16. Assertive - Inclined to bold or confident assertion; aggressively self-assured

17. Trite - Lacking power to evoke interest through overuse or repetition; hackneyed

16. Panegyric - A formal eulogistic composition intended as a public compliment. Elaborate praise or laudation; an encomium

17. Impecunious - Lacking money; penniless

18. Armageddon - The scene of a final battle between the forces of good and evil, prophesied to occur at the end of the world; a decisive or catastrophic conflict

19. Intrigue - A secret or underhand scheme; a plot; arouse curiosity

20. Gullible - Easily deceived or duped; easily imposed on or tricked; naive, trusting

21. Daguerreotype - An early photographic process with the image made on a light-sensitive silver-coated metallic plate

22. Musket - A smoothbore shoulder gun used from the late 16th through the 18th century

22. Hieroglyphic - Of or relating to representation by drawings or pictures

23. Papyrus - The writing paper of the ancient Egyptians, and later of the Romans

24. Pastiche - A mixture of materials, forms, motifs, and/or styles; often incongruous; dramatic, literary, or musical piece openly imitating the previous works of other artists, often with satirical intent; an artistic effort that imitates or caricatures the work of another artist

25. Bust - A sculpture representing a person’s head, shoulders, and upper chest

26. Sacrilege - Desecration, profanation, misuse, or theft of something sacred; irreverence

27. Conscientious - Guided by or in accordance with the dictates of conscience; principled; thorough and assiduous; moral, upright; thorough, careful

28. Daft - Mad; crazy; foolish; stupid; scots; frolicsome

29. Reagent - A substance used in a chemical reaction to detect, measure, examine, or produce other substances

30. Temerity - Foolhardy disregard of danger; recklessness; nerve, audacity; rash or presumptuous daring

31. Menial - Work pertaining to servants; work that is demeaning or insulting to the person performing it; lowly, low-status

32. Miscreant - A wicked or evil person; a scoundrel; something said to be the cause of particular trouble or an evil; a mean, worthless character in a story or play

33. Stultify - To render useless or ineffectual; cripple; to cause to appear stupid, inconsistent, or ridiculous; to allege or prove insane and so not legally responsible

34. Lambast - Censure severely or angrily; beat with a cane

35. Pique - A state of vexation caused by a perceived slight or indignity; a feeling of wounded pride

36. Vociferous - Making, given to, or marked by noisy and vehement outcry; loud, insistent

37. Pariah - An outcast; a member of a low caste or class

38. Raft - A flat structure, typically made of planks, logs, or barrels, that floats on water and is used for transport or as a platform for swimmers; a flat buoyant structure of timber or other materials fastened together, used as a boat or floating platform

39. Buoyant - Having the ability to float; light in weight; lighthearted; gay

40. Unrealizable - Impossible to achieve

41. Renegade - common vagabond; a worthless or wicked fellow; one who deserts from a military or naval post; a deserter; one faithless to principle or party; an apostate from Christianity or from any form of religious faith

42. Ferocious - Extremely savage; fierce; marked by unrelenting intensity; extreme

43. Prolixity - Words or the use of words in excess of those needed for clarity or precision; boring verboseness

44. Mortify - To deprive of esteem, self-worth, or effectiveness; to cause (a person) to be self-consciously distressed; embarrass

45. Pusillanimous - Lacking courage; cowardly; lacking courage and resolution; marked by contemptible timidity; without spirit or bravery

46. Percipient - Having the power of perceiving, especially perceiving keenly and readily; astute; characterized by ease and quickness in perceiving

47. Anachronistic - Something that is out of place and time; erroneous in date

48. Fervor - Great warmth and intensity of emotion; intense heat; excitement, enthusiasm

49. Disinfectant - An agent, such as heat, radiation, or a chemical, that destroys, neutralizes, or inhibits the growth of disease-carrying microorganisms 180. Terseness - Brief and to the point; effectively concise; brief, short

50. Hoarse - Rough or grating in sound; having or characterized by a husky, grating voice; raspy in voice

51. Effusive - Unrestrained or excessive in emotional expression; gushy; profuse; overflowing

52. Obliterate - To destroy all traces of; to wipe out, rub off, or erase; to remove completely (a body organ or part), as by surgery, disease, or radiation

53. Index - An alphabetized list of names, places, and subjects treated in a printed work, giving the page or pages on which each item is mentioned; something that serves to guide, point out, or otherwise facilitate reference

54. Laconic - Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise; short, to the point

55. Nimble - Quick, light, or agile in movement or action; deft; dexterous, smart

56. Clumsyness - Lacking dexterity and grace in physical movement; not agile; awkward; clumsily lacking in the ability to do or perform

57. Partisan - A fervent, sometimes militant supporter or proponent of a party, cause, faction, person, or idea; one who supports and adheres to another; exhibiting bias; interested, factional

58. Recuperation - A return to normal health; gradual healing (through rest) after sickness or injury; recovery

59. Doldrums - A period of stagnation or slump; period of depression or unhappy listlessness; region of the ocean near the equator, characterized by calms, light winds, or squalls; feeling or spell of dismally low spirits; depression

60. Cow - To frighten with threats or a show of force; browbeat, intimidate;
any of various chiefly domesticated mammals of the genus Bos, including cows, steers, bulls, and oxen, often raised for meat and dairy products

61. Lop - To decrease, as in length or amount, by or as if by severing or excising; to hang limply, loosely, and carelessly; cut off from a whole

62. Fluvial - Of, relating to, or inhabiting a river or stream. Produced by the action of a river or stream

63. Jejune - Not interesting; dull; lacking maturity; childish; lacking in nutrition

64. Indespensible - Not to be dispensed with; essential; obligatory; unavoidable; necessary

65. Hubris - Overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance

66. Vigilance - Alert watchfulness; carefulness

67. Enfeeble - To deprive of strength; make feeble; make very weak

68. Ethereal - Characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; intangible; highly refined; delicate; of the celestial spheres; heavenly; spiritual; so light and insubstantial as to resemble air or a thin film

69. Laggard - One that lags; a straggler; hanging back or falling behind; dilatory; falling behind

70. Tarpaulin - Material, such as waterproofed canvas, used to cover and protect things from moisture; a waterproof cloth, esp. one used in large sheets for covering anything exposed to the weather

71. Mottled - Spotted or blotched with different shades or colors; speckled

72. Vault - A room or compartment, often built of steel, for the safekeeping of valuables; a burial place or receptacle for human remains; to move off the ground by a muscular effort of the legs and feet; act of jumping

73. Allay - To reduce the intensity of; relieve; to calm or pacify; set to rest

74. Stature - The natural height of a human or animal in an upright position; achieved level; status; importance

75. Infinitude - The state or quality of being infinite; an immeasurably large quantity, number, or extent; an infinite quantity

76. Hellion - A mischievous, troublesome, or unruly person

77. Lunge - A sudden thrust or pass, as with a sword; a sudden forward movement or plunge; pounce; dive for

78. Garish - Marked by strident color or excessive ornamentation; gaudy. loud and flashy
79. Piquant - Pleasantly pungent or tart in taste; spicy. appealingly provocative: a piquant wit. charming, interesting, or attractive

JULY VERBAL THREAD

HI FREINDS… HERE ARE SOME JULY WORDS AND JUNE LAST WEEKS WORDS

1. Odium - The state or quality of being odious. Strong dislike, contempt, or aversion. A state of disgrace resulting from hateful or detestable

2. Glut - To fill beyond capacity, especially with food; satiate

3. Nervy - Arrogantly impudent; brazen. Showing or requiring courage and fortitude; bold.

4. Pallid - Having an abnormally pale or wan complexion; lacking intensity of color or luminousness

5. Diaphanous - So light and insubstantial as to resemble air or a thin film; fine, see-through

6. Dishevelled - Being in loose disarray; unkempt, as hair or clothing; marked by disorder; untidy; wrinkled, unkempt in appearance

7. Disconsolate - Seeming beyond consolation; extremely dejected; cheerless; gloomy; depressed, unhappy

8. Batten - Grow fat,thrive upon others

9. Conch - Large seashell

10. Ingenue - An artless girl;an actress who plays such parts

11. Orison - Prayer

12. Rambunctious - Boisterous and disorderly

13. Hellion - A mischievous, troublesome, or unruly person

14. Carpophagous - Feeding on fruit; fruit-eating

15. Rancor - Bitter, long-lasting resentment; deep-seated ill will

16. Derivative - Resulting from or employing derivation; copied or adapted from others

17. Spurn - To be unwilling to accept, consider, or receive; to kick at or tread on disdainfully

18. Quatrain - A stanza or poem of four lines

19. Fustian - A coarse sturdy cloth made of cotton and flax; pretentious speech or writing; pompous language; pompous, bombastic, and ranting

20. Bombastic - Pompous, grandiloquent; boastful in speech or writing

21. Bootless - Without advantage or benefit; useless; unproductive of success

22. Futile - Having no useful result; trifling and frivolous; idle

23. Debase - To lower in character, quality, or value; degrade; adulterate

24. Compunction - A strong uneasiness caused by a sense of guilt; a feeling of regret for one’s sins or misdeeds; a feeling of uncertainty about the fitness or correctness of an action; regret, sorrow

25. Yokel - An uneducated country person; clumsy, unsophisticated persona rustic; a bumpkin

26. Bumptious - Crudely or loudly assertive; pushy; self-important, conceited; offensively self-assertive

27. Chimera - A fantastic, impracticable plan or desire; dream, fantasy (see pictionary)

28. Circumspect - Heedful of circumstances and potential consequences; prudent; trying attentively to avoid danger, risk, or error; cautious, discreet

29. Turpitude - Depravity; baseness; a base act

30. Infinitude - The state or quality of being infinite; an immeasurably large quantity, number, or extent

31. Cistern - A receptacle for holding water or other liquid, especially a tank for catching and storing rainwater ( SEE PICTIONARY)

32. Dulcet - Pleasing to the ear; melodious; having a soothing, agreeable quality; archaic; sweet to the taste

33. Phlegmatic - Without emotion or interest; having or suggesting a calm, sluggish temperament; unemotional

34. Heresy - A controversial or unorthodox opinion or doctrine, as in politics, philosophy, or science; adherence to such controversial or unorthodox opinion; unorthodoxy

35. Anarchic - Lacking order or control; without law or control

36. Current - A steady, smooth onward movement; a general tendency, movement, or course; the amount of electric charge flowing past a specified circuit point per unit time; running; flowing

37. Gall - The quality or state of feeling bitter; the state or quality of being impudent or arrogantly self-confident; to make (the skin) raw by or as if by friction; to trouble the nerves or peace of mind of, especially by repeated vexations

38. Hirsute - Having a hairy covering

39. Malady - Any physical disease or disorder; a disease, a disorder, or an ailment; an unwholesome condition

40. Fickleness - The quality of being fickle; instability; inconsonancy

41. Resonant - Echoing; full in sound; vibrant in sound; having or producing a full, deep, or rich sound

42. Glacier - A huge mass of ice slowly flowing over a land mass, formed from compacted snow in an area where snow accumulation exceeds melting and sublimation

43. Saga - A long detailed report; epic tale, long story

44. Afferent - Carrying inward to a central organ or section, as nerves that conduct impulses from the periphery of the body to the brain or spinal cord; transmitting impulses from sense organs to nerve centers

45. Castigate - To inflict severe punishment on; to criticize severely

46. Lull - To make or become calm; pause, calm; ease off; to cause to sleep or rest

47. Malevolent - Having or exhibiting ill will; wishing harm to others; malicious

48. Imminent - About to occur; impending; at hand, on the way

49. Abate - To lessen; to subside; in metalwork, to cut away or beat down so as to show a pattern or figure in low relief

50. Stultify - To allege or prove insane and so not legally responsible; cause to appear foolish; deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless; cripple

51. Demur - To express opposition, often by argument; disagree; to delay

52. Munificent - Very liberal in giving; generous; showing great generosity

53. Tractable - Easily managed or controlled; governable; willing to carry out the wishes of others; manageable

54. Obsequious - Full of or exhibiting servile compliance; fawning; excessively eager to serve or obey; submissive

55. Slothful - Disinclined to work or exertion; lazy

56. Assiduity - Persistent application or diligence; unflagging effort; great and constant diligence and attention

57. Impel - To urge to action through moral pressure; drive; to drive forward; propel; prompt, incite

58. Prescience - Knowledge of actions or events before they occur; foresight; unusual or creative discernment or perception

59. Unswerving - Constant; steady

60. Vacillate - To sway from one side to the other; oscillate

61. Cajole - To urge with gentle and repeated appeals, teasing, or flattery; wheedle; attempt to coax; flatter

62. Obdurate - Stubborn and unfeeling

63. Allay - To reduce the intensity of; relieve; to calm or pacify; set to rest

64. Pelf - Wealth or riches, especially when dishonestly acquired

65. Effuse - To cause (a liquid) to flow in a steady stream; give out or emit; to spread or flow out

66. Bootless - Without advantage or benefit; useless; unproductive of success

67. Legerdemain - The use of skillful tricks and deceptions to produce entertainingly baffling effects; manual dexterity in the execution of tricks

68. Instate - To establish in office; install; to admit formally into membership or office, as with ritual

69. Blanket - To extend over the surface of; cover; a layer that covers or encloses

70. Denude - To divest of covering; make bare; to expose (rock strata) by erosion

71. Shrivel - To become or make much less or smaller; dwindle; to become or make shrunken and wrinkled, often by drying; to lose or cause to lose vitality or intensity; dehydrate, dry up

72. Grovel - To behave in a servile or demeaning manner; cringe; abase, demean oneself

73. Referee - One to whom something is referred, especially for settlement, decision, or an opinion as to the thing’s quality

74. Caginess - Having or showing a clever awareness and resourcefulness in practical matters; secretive; wary; careful; shrewd

75. Excise - An internal tax imposed on the production, sale, or consumption of a commodity or the use of a service within a country; a licensing charge or a fee levied for certain privileges; remove, delete

76. Conciliatory - Tending to conciliate; pacific; mollifying; propitiating; placid, yielding

77. Prolixity - Words or the use of words in excess of those needed for clarity or precision; using or containing an excessive number of words; long-winded; wordy

78. Semitic - Of, relating to, or constituting a subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic language group that includes Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic; of or relating to the Semites or their languages or cultures

79. Cadge - To beg or get by begging

80. Futon - A thin mattress of tufted cotton batting or similar material, placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame; mattress consisting of a pad of cotton batting that is used for sleeping on the floor or on a raised frame

81. Toady - A person who flatters or defers to others for self-serving reasons; a sycophant; tray to gain favor by cringing or flattering

82. Rapprochement - A reestablishing of cordial relations, as between two countries; the state of reconciliation or of cordial relations; restoration of harmony

83. Obliterate - To destroy all traces of; to wipe out, rub off, or erase

84. Timorous - Full of apprehensiveness; timid; easily frightened

85. Ecumenical - Of worldwide scope or applicability; universal; non-denominational; of or relating to the worldwide Christian church; concerned with establishing or promoting unity among churches or religions

86. Bibulous - Given to or marked by the consumption of alcoholic drink; very absorbent, as paper or soil; inclined to drink; of or relating to drink or drinking

87. Fustian - Pretentious, pompous speech or writing; a coarse sturdy cloth made of cotton and flax; pompous or pretentious talking or writing

88. Impugn - To attack as false or questionable; challenge in argument; criticize, challenge

89. Pristine - Remaining in a pure state; uncorrupted by civilization. Remaining free from dirt or decay; clean

90. Vociferous - Offensively loud and insistent

91. Convoy - The act of accompanying or escorting, especially for protective purposes; an accompanying and protecting force, as of ships or troops; a group, as of ships or motor vehicles, traveling together with a protective escort or for safety or convenience; to accompany, especially for protection; escort

92. Belie - To give a false representation to; misrepresent; to show to be false; contradict; deceive

93. Nullify - To make null; invalidate; to counteract the force or effectiveness of; cancel, revoke

94. Dissembler - One who dissembles; one who conceals his opinions or dispositions under a false appearance; a hypocrite

95. Forthright - Direct and without evasion; straightforward; directly and frankly; manifesting honesty and directness, especially speech

96. Abhorrence - One that is disgusting, loathsome, or repellent; an object of extreme dislike; the act of detesting extremely; hate coupled with disgust

97. Allegory - The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form; a story, picture, or play employing such representation; a symbolic representation

98. Gossamer - So light and insubstantial as to resemble air or a thin film; gauzy, thin; soft light delicate material

99. Flag - To lose strength or power; droop

100. Thunderous - Producing thunder or a similar sound; loud and unrestrained in a way that suggests thunder; extremely ominous

101. Tempestuous - Violently disturbed or agitated, as by storms; tumultuous; stormy; wild

102. Haughty - Scornfully and condescendingly proud; arrogant

103. Chastise - To punish, as by beating; to criticize severely; rebuke; scold, discipline; to purify

104. Abhorrence - One that is disgusting, loathsome, or repellent; a feeling of repugnance or loathing; hate coupled with disgust; the act of detesting extremely

105. Irascible - Prone to outbursts of temper; easily angered. Characterized by or resulting from anger

106. Appendix - A collection of supplementary material, usually at the end of a book

107. Sumptuous - Of a size or splendor suggesting great expense; lavish; luxurious, splendid; rich and superior in quality

108. Fallow - Land left unseeded during a growing season; inactive; plowed but left unseeded during a growing season: fallow farmland

109. Plummet - To decline suddenly and steeply; to fall straight down; plunge; fall hard and fast

110. Benign - Of a kind and gentle disposition; having little or no detrimental effect; harmless

111. Immure - To confine within or as if within walls; imprison; lock up or confine, in or as in a jail

112. Voluble - Marked by a ready flow of speech; fluent; turning easily on an axis; rotating; talkative

113. Berate - To rebuke or scold angrily and at length; to reprimand loudly or harshly; criticize hatefully

114. Stolid - Having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; impassive; apathetic, stupid; without emotion or interest

115. Delineate - To draw or trace the outline of; sketch out. To represent pictorially; depict

116. Fracas - A noisy, disorderly fight or quarrel; a brawl; disturbance, fight

117. Gall - To become irritated, chafed, or sore; nerve, brashness; upset, irritate

118. Lampoon - A work, as a novel or play, that exposes folly by the use of humor or irony; ridicule, make fun of

119. Dwell - To live as a resident; reside; to fasten one’s attention; to speak or write at length; expatiate; live in

120. Vicissitudinous - Full of, or subject to, changes

121. Martinet - A rigid military disciplinarian; one who demands absolute adherence to forms and rules; one who demands strict obedience

122. Lenient - Inclined not to be harsh or strict; merciful, generous, or indulgent; not strict or severe; not harsh or strict in dealing with others

123. Anecdote - A short account of an interesting or humorous incident; an entertaining and often oral account of a real or fictitious occurrence; a short, interesting, and amusing story

124. Voluptuous - Giving, characterized by, or suggesting ample, unrestrained pleasure to the senses; well-developed, erotic; having fullness of beautiful form

ANALOGIES

1. quatrain:stanza
2. bootless:futile
3. fustian:bombastic
4. infinitude:measure
5. cistern:liquid
6. lock:secure
7. vivid:intensity
8. debase:status
9. glacier:ice
10. resonant:sound
11. judge:laws
12. unswering:vacillate
13. cajoling:reluctance
14. slothful:assiduity
15. fence: livestock
16. reliable:fail
17. frill:superfluity
18. obsequious:toady
19. allay:relieve
20. exhaust:energy
21. dissembler:forthright
22. mirror:reflectivity
23. bolster:support
24. book:appendix
25. still:movement
26. stolid:impassive
27. martinet:lenient
28. school:learn
29. overture:introduction
30. futon:bed
31. miscreant:wretched
32. epic:poem
33. saga:anecdote
34. raucous:harsh
35. orchestra:musician

ISSUE TOPIC

1. Laws should not be rigid or fixed. Instead, they should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places.

2. Success, whether academic or professional, involves an ability to survive in a new environment and, eventually, to change it.

3. The purpose of many advertisements is to make consumers want to buy a product so thatthey will 'be like' the person in the ad. This practice is effective because it not only sellsproducts but also helps people feel better about themselves.

4. Money spent on research is almost always a good investment, even when the results of that research are controversial

5.The most effective way to communicate an idea or value to large groups of people is through the use of images, not language.

6. The primary goal of technological advancement should be to increase people's efficiency so that everyone has more leisure time

7. The study of an academic discipline alters the way we perceive the world. After studying the discipline, we see the same world as before, but with different eyes

8. The most essential quality of an effective leader is the ability to remain consistently committed to particular principles and objectives. Any leader who is quickly and easily influenced by shifts in popular opinion will accomplish little

9. The surest indicator of a great nation is not the achievements of its rulers, artists, or scientists, but the general welfare of all its people

10. With the growth of global networks in such areas as economics and communication, there is no doubt that every aspect of society—including education, politics, the arts, and the sciences—will benefit greatly from international influences


ARGUMENT TOPIC

1. The following report appeared in a memo from the vice president of the Southside Transportation Authority.
"We should abandon our current five-year plan to purchase additional buses to serve the campus of Southside University, because students there are unlikely to use them. Consider the results of the recent campaign sponsored by the Environmental Club at Southside University: in a program on the campus radio station, the club asked students to call in and pledge that they would commute to school by bus instead of by automobile at least one day per week. Only ten percent of the students called in and pledged. In view of the campaign's lack of success, we can assume that the bus service we currently offer will continue to be sufficient to serve the university."

2. The following is a letter that recently appeared in the Oak City Gazette, a local newspaper.
"Membership in Oak City's Civic Club — a club whose primary objective is to discuss local issues — should continue to be restricted to people who live in Oak City. People who work in Oak City but who live elsewhere cannot truly understand the business and politics of the city. It is important to restrict membership to city residents because only residents pay city taxes and therefore only residents understand how the money could best be used to improve the city. At any rate, restricting membership in this way is unlikely to disappoint many of the nonresidents employed in Oak City, since neighboring Elm City's Civic Club has always had an open membership policy, and only twenty-five nonresidents have joined Elm City's Club in the last ten years."

3. The following appeared as an editorial in the local newspaper of Dalton.

"When the neighboring town of Williamsville adopted a curfew four months ago that made it illegal for persons under the age of 18 to loiter or idle in public places after 10 p.m., youth crime in Williamsville dropped by 27 percent during curfew hours. In Williamsville's town square, the area where its citizens were once most outraged at the high crime rate, not a single crime has been reported since the curfew was introduced. Therefore, to help reduce its own rising crime rate, the town of Dalton should adopt the same kind of curfew. A curfew that keeps young people at home late at night will surely control juvenile delinquency and protect minors from becoming victims of crime."

4. The following appeared as an editorial in the local newspaper of Dalton.

"When the neighboring town of Williamsville adopted a curfew four months ago that made it illegal for persons under the age of 18 to loiter or idle in public places after 10 p.m., youth crime in Williamsville dropped by 27 percent during curfew hours. In Williamsville's town square, the area where its citizens were once most outraged at the high crime rate, not a single crime has been reported since the curfew was introduced. Therefore, to help reduce its own rising crime rate, the town of Dalton should adopt the same kind of curfew. A curfew that keeps young people at home late at night will surely control juvenile delinquency and protect minors from becoming victims of crime."