TACIT

implied

not explicitly stated

implied by or inferred from actions or statements
SYN - silent, understood
"a tacit agreement"

"he talked about the tacit dimension - meaning a dimension of learning and action that went on underneath the conscious level in a silent understood way."

"He had felt that if he presented all of the presmises the students would see the tacit conclusion."

"This wasn't something that he could be quoted on saying, but it was tacit in almost every speech he gave on the subject!"

SALACIOUS

lustful, lascivious, bawdy

characterized by lust
SYN - lubricious, lustful, prurient
"a salacious rooster of a little man."

suggestive of or tending to moral looseness
SYN - lewd, obscene, raunchy
ANT - misery
"Salacious limericks."

"She was disgusted by his salacious proposals at first, but eventually she gave in."

"Women weren't supposed to be so openly salacious."

"He had considered his salacious behavior as just another part of what it was to be a free uninhibited human."

SAGACIOUS

having sound judgment

perceptive, wise

like a sage

/acutely insightful and wise
SYN - perspicacious, sapient
"observant and thoughtful, he was given to asking sagacious questions."

skillful in statecraft or management
ANT - foolish
"an astute and sagacious statesmen."

" She had always admired how sagacious he was, but now she was seeing that most of it was just rhetoric."

"He knew that all he had to do was say stuff that she didn't really understand or was completely ambiguous and she would think of him as sagacious."

"He held this quality of being sagacious as the most important quality he had."

"A more sagacious response would have been to show that he was above any insult or denigrating remark that she could send towards him."

RUMINATE

chew over and over

chew the cuds
"cows ruminate"

reflect deeply on a subject
SYN - chew over, contemplate, excogitate, meditate, mull, muse, ponder, reflect, speculate, think over

"He had really ruminated enough on the subject and had decided to leave it behind him and focus on the future."

"She had learned everything she could from the experience and so decided she no longer needed to ruminate about it."

"It had really bothered him that she refused to see the value or even the compulsion to ruminate about their relationship for even a split second before moving on."

RUFFIAN

bully

scoundrel

a cruel and brutal fellow
SYN -bully, hooligan, roughneck, rowdy, tough, yob, yobo

"She had run into him before and she remembered him being a no good ruffian."

"The boy had learned how cruel the world was as a child where he had to make it past several different ruffians on his way to school."

"She had been so attracted to him because he was strong and powerful - it didn't matter that he was a ruffian who disrespected everybody."

RHETORIC

the art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion

/using language effectively to please or persuade

high flown style
SYN - grandiloquence, grandiosity, magniloquence, ornateness

loud and confused and empty talk
SYN - empty, talk , empty words, hot air palaver
"mere rhetoric"

study of the technique and rules for using language effectively especially in public speaking

"All he had heard so far was a bunch of rhetoric, he wanted to know something solid, a real plan that they could quote."

"He was able to dazzle the crowd with his rhetoric, improving his image well not sacrificing his ideas."

"She was a master of rhetoric and as such was able to easily convince anyone to do anything for her."

REVERENT

marked by, feeling, or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect

feeling or showing profound respect or veneration
"maintained a reverent silence."

"He knew that he was supposed to be reverent towards the leader, but he firmly believed the noble soul only has reverence for itself."

"He had finally gotten over her when he stopped being reverent towards her - she was nothing special."

"Although she had done nothing spectacular to deserve this sort of reverent attitude from him, she got it and with it she was given the weight of his feelings."

RETICENT

quiet

reserved

reluctant to express thoughts and feelings

tempermentally disinclined to talk
SYN - untalkative

cool and formal in manner
SYN - restrained, unemotional
ANT - voluble

reluctant to draw attention to yourself
SYN - retiring, self-effacing

"After having opened himself up and been stomped all over, it was excusable that he would be so reticent."

"He really struggled to remain reticent as he was expected when he felt so strongly opposed to the proposal."

"Due to the unwelcoming atmosphere of his co-workers he was willfully reticent in conversation with them."

RESPLENDENT

dazzling

glorious

brilliant

having great beauty and splendor
SYN - glorious, splendid, splediferous

"They were taken aback by the resplendent sunset."

"She came out looking resplendent and every male eye in the place turned to gaze upon her."

"He had set up their meeting in a place with resplendent background scenery so that she would be filled with passion."

RESCIND

to invalidate

to repeal

to retract

cancel officially
SYN - annul, countermand, lift, overturn, repeal, reverse, revoke, vocate

"He quickily attempted to rescind his statement, when he realized the message he had been putting forth."

"McCain had to rescind what he had said about not attending the debate until an agreement was made since it would have made him look silly not showing up."

"How was he going to rescind his words, without looking weak?"

SQUALID

sordid

wretched and dirty as from neglect

morally degraded
SYN - seamy, sleezy, sordid
"The squalid atmosphere of intrigue and betrayal"

foul and rundown and repulsive
SYN - fly-blown, sordid
ANT - reputable
"squalid living conditions"

"He wanted nothing to do with the squalid nature of these folks."

"She had enough of the squalid atmosphere of these downtown apartment and was going to move out to the country."

"The high esteem he had of himself couldn't handle the squalid truth of his actions"

SPENDTHRIFT

one who spends money wastefully

someone who spends money prodigally
SYN - scatter-good, spend-all

recklessly wasteful SYN - extravagant, prodigal, profligate

"He could never date a spendthrift like her so he knew it was best to break it off now."

"He had to admit he got a little bit of pleasure seeing all of these spendthrifts finally pay for their recklessness."

"It was OK and could be a real good thing to give your kids money, but it is important that you raise them right so that they don't become a spendthrift since then it is just giving your money to a soulless black hole."

SPURIOUS

lacking authenticity or validity

false

counterfeit

plausible but false
SYN - specious
"spurious inferences"

born out of wedlock
SYN - bastardly
ANT - true
"The dominions of both rules passed away to their spurious or doubtful offspring."

intended to decieve
SNY - inauthentic
"a spurious work of art."

"He had grown sick of the spurious conversations he would have with these so-called friends."

"He wasn't interested in spurious people such as this, he only wanted real, raw humans."

"He knew a spurious dollar bill when he saw one, and this one - with scooby-doo instead of George Washington was surely counterfeit."

SPECIOUS

seeming true but actually being fallacious

misleadingly attractive

plausible but false
/SYN - spurious
"a specious claim"

based on pretense
SYN - gilded, meretricious
ANT - true

"He was a master at fooling these saps with specious arguments such as these."

"It was a specious proposal which they knew not to accept."

"It was a specious statement intended to strike an emotional chord with his audience, but it backfired since his rival was quick to show just how misleading and false the claim was."

SORDID

characterized by filth, grime, or squalor, foul

morally degraded
SYN - seamy, seedy, sleazy, squalid
"The sordid details of his orgies stank under his very nostrils."

unethical or dishonest
SYN - dirty
ANT - reputable
"a sordid political campaign"

foul and run-down and repulsive
SYN - fly-blown, squalid
"sordid shanty towns"

meanly avaricious and mercenary
"sordid material interests"

"I of course had to give her all the sordid detais of the rat story."

"He didn't like to show this sordid side of his personality, but he would if that's what it would take."

"He had a sordid interest in coming to this place and he wasn't going to leave until this filthy desires was satisfied."

SOPORIFIC

causing drowsiness

tending to induce sleep

/NOUN a drug that induces sleep
SYN - hypnotic

ADJ - sleep inducing
SYN - hypnogic, somniferous

Inducing mental lethargy
SYN - narcotic
ANT - stimulative

"Knowing that he would need to be on top of his game later in the day he made sure to stay away from anything soporific."

"He purposely didn't eat turkey because of its soporific qualities."

"It was rare that she understood or took in anything when she attended the teacher's soporific lectures."

SOLVENT

able to meet financial obligations, able to dissolve another substance

a liquid substance capable of dissolving other substances
SYN - dissolvent, resolvent
"The solvent doesn't change its state in forming a solution."

ANT - belly-up

"luckily he was solvent throughout the economic downturn and the family didn't have to face the same type of challenges that other families had."

"It was odd, but how solvent she was made him extremely attracted to her."

"He knew that the substances spewing for from the beaker was a solvent which would consume the other substances that he was working with."

SOLICITOUS

concerned and attentive

eager

full of anxiety and concern
"solicitous about the future"

showing hovering attentiveness
ANT - unconcerned
"made solicitous inquires about our family."

"He knew that she had been solicitous about the encounter so he was curious to find out how it went."

"He made a solicitous journey over to his professor's office to see how he had done on the test."

"She kept a solicitous watch over him to make sure he didn't make any mistakes."

SINUOUS

winding, bending, in and out, not morally honest

curved or curving in and out
SYN - sinuate, wiggly

"How could he trust someone who had shown that how sinuous they could be when it came to things like this."

"He hadn't realized it at the time, but he was a total fool for putting up with such a sinuous personality like her's."

"She had a sinuous path to the top of her career, something her critics were not shy about pointing out."

SINGULAR

exceptional, unusual, odd

unusual or striking
SYN - remarkable
"such poise is singular in one so young"

beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
SYN - curious, funny, odd, peculiar, queer, rum
ANT - ordinary
"singular behavior"

"In this respect he was rather singular - no-one else would ever have done such a thing."

"He never knew what to expect from the singular Tony."

"He had yearned for someone to bring him out of the mundane, he wanted something exceptional, a singular life."

SIDEREAL

relating to the stars

of or relating to the stars or constellations
"the sidereal system"

(of divisions of time) determined by daily motion of the stars
"sidereal time"

"She was concerned with the hear and the now, while his mind was constantly on sidereal things."

"He loved being here with her taking in the sidereal beauty above them."

"He thought she was rather weird having her philosophy of life centered mostly in some sort of sidereal order."

SENTENTIOUS

aphoristic or moralistic

epigramatic

tending to moralize excessively

abounding in or given to pompous or aphoristic moralizing
"too often the significant episode deteriorates into sententious conversation"

concise and full of meaning
SYN - pithy
ANT - unpretentious
"The peculiarly sardonic and sententious style in which Don Luis composed his epigrams."

SEDULOUS

diligent

persistent

hard-working

marked by care and persistent effort
SYN - assiduous
"sedulous pursuit of legal and moral principles"

"He was sedulous in his attempt to get into grad school, which he was hoping would show real results."

"She scoffed at the speech given praising his sedulous work towards helping the lower class."

"He only had respect for people who knew what it was to have a job that required you to be sedulous."

SCURVY

contemptible, despicable

of the most contemptible kind
SYN - object, low, miserable, scummy
"a scurvy trick"

"She had done such a scurvy thing to him, that he no longer missed her or even bothered with her."

"She was a scurvy girl and didn't even deserve the attention she would get in his thoughts."

"He could do without the scurvy portion of the population who believed that Obama shouldn't be president because his middle name is Hussein."

SATURNINE

gloomy, dark, sullen, morose

bitter or scornful
"The face was saturnine and swarthy, and the sensual lips....twisted with disdain."

showing a brooding ill-humor
SYN - dark, dour, glowering, glum, moody, morose, sour, sullen
ANT - unsarcastic
"a saturnine almost misanthropic young genius."

"He had a saturnine personality that made him rather miserable to be around, especially when there were such sanguine people like Bob around."

"Why did he have to put up with such saturnine conversation - he was in no mood for this, he wanted something light and cheerful."

"It was a saturnine castle which was going to be perfect for the night's events."

SAP

to enervate or weaken the vitality of

deplete
SYN - exhaust, playout, run down, tire

excavate the earth beneath

a fool or nitwit

a person who lacks good judgment
SYN - fool, muggins, saphead, tomfool

"Even the thought of their relationship would sap his mood so he continued to stay busy and keep the thoughts at bay."

"Whenever he started playing video games it would sap his desire for learning and self-improvement."

"She didn't want to risk the sapping effects a look at the truth would produce."

"What was he doing in this class he was nothing but a sap."

"He couldn't believe that the office of the presidency was now being occupied by this sap."

"She knew that she had to do it herself since she didn't and shouldn't trust the judgment of the sap that was in charge."

SANGUINE

cheerful, confident, optimistic

a blood red color

inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life
SYN - florid, rubicund, ruddy
ANT - pessimistic
"A fresh and sanguine complexion."

"He always enjoyed her presence when she was this sanguine."

"When she was sanguine, she could do anything, but when she would get dark, insecure, and pessimistic it was a struggle to get out of bed - this was the sinuous pattern of her life."

"She always had a sanguine outlook on life which - although willfully ignorant of the true horror and tragedy that was existence - made her great company."

SALUTARY

remedial, wholesome, causing improvement

tending to promote physical well-being
SYN - good
"The salutary influence of pure air."

"She had a most salutary influence on him - one that would carry through even after they broke up."

"He wanted a relationship that was mutually salutary."

"She didn't want to work out but knew she would be grateful of the salutary effects it would have."

SALUBRIOUS

promoting health or well-being
/SYN - good-for-you, healthy
"the salubrious mountain air and water."

favorable to health of mind or body
ANT - unwholesome
"one of the less salubrious suburbs."

"He knew that it would be a salubrious visit so although reluctant, he went."

"It wasn't the best tasting food he had had, but he was sure that that meant it was the most salubrious."

"He knew it was essential to his career and philosophical work that he be in a salubrious environment."

REPUGNANCE

loathing

intense aversion
SYN - horror, repulsion, revulsion

the relation between propositions that cannot both be true at the same time
SYN - incompatability, inconsistency, mutual exclusiveness

"He just simply couldn't stand the repugnance with which his ex-girlfriend viewed him."

"He was so strong that no matter who, even if it was everyone, found him repugnant - he could still be happy."

"He knew he had been clearly understood when folks on the christian right viewed him with repugnance."

REPUDIATE

to refuse to have anything to do with

disown

cast off
SYN - disown, renounce
"The parents repudiated their son"

refuse to acknowledge, ratify, or recognize as valid
"The woman repudiated the divorce settlement."

refuse to recognize or pay
"repudiate a debt"

reject as untrue, unfounded, or unjust
"she repudiated the accusations"

"She had hoped to repudiate their entire relationship."

"They repudiated the actions of their son and claimed it was not their fault."

"I repudiated the group i was in after I learned of their anti-semitic beliefs."

REPROOF

a reprimand, a reproach, or castigation

an act or expression of criticism and censure
SYN - rebuke, reprimand

censure severely or angrily
SYN - bawl out, berate, call-down, chew-out, chide, dress-down, have words, jaw, lambaste, lecture, rag, rebuke, remonstrate, reprimand, scold, take to task, trounce

"He had placed all of his worth and value as a person on her opinion and for self-preservation reasons he had to eschew before he was forced to endure her reproof of his personality."

"It had been so easy for her to reproof him about so many little things."

"It had been important for their relationship that he not reproof her every little mistake as he had a tendency to do with previous girlfriends."

REPROBATE

person hardened in sin, devoid of a sense of decency

a person without moral scruples
SYN - miscreant

reject (documents) as invalid

abandon to eternal damnation
"God reprobated the unrepenting sinner"

express strong disapproval of
SYN - condemn, decry, excoriate, objurgate
ANT - approbate
"These ideas were reprobated"

deviating from what is considered moral or right or proper or good
SYN - depraved, perverse
"The reprobate conduct of a gambler"

"Her christian upbringing and morals had not allowed her to see this valuable gem of a person as anything but a reprobate."

"He had become a reprobate and his only chance of salvation was the love of a women like this."

"She knew that in order to not succumb to the lure of such a reprobate creature she must remind herself of god's salvation."

"The actions were reprobate to her morality and so she left him immediately."

RENT

torn, past of rend

an opening or tear caused by such

/an opening made forcibly as by pulling apart
SYN - rip, snag, split, tear

the act of rending or ripping or splitting something

"He didn't want to rent the package and risk destroying its contents."

"Having rent his shirt right down the sleeve seem he now had to make a muscle shirt or just throw it away completely."

"She looked through the rent in the window screen and saw the dead body beneath the window sill."

RENEGE

to fail to honor a commitment

to go back on a promise

the mistake of not following suit when able to do so
SYN - revoke

fail to fulfill a promise or obligation
SYN - go back on

"After having seemed so adamant about the proposal, he now, having this great insight, reneged his stance."

"I now i said that it was OK for you to go to the dance, but because of recent events i have to renege that statement."

"She only had one more chance, if she were to renege now on her promise to meet for lunch than it would be over."

REMONSTRATE

to protest, object

argue in protest or opposition

present and urge reasons in opposition
SYN - point-out

censure severely or angrily
SYN - bawl out, berate, call-down, call on the carpet, chew out, chide, dress-down, have words, jaw, lambaste, lecture, rag, rebuke, reprimand, reproof, scold, take to task, trounce

"They thought they had an unanimous proposal until McCain stepped in to remonstrate to it."

"Their moment of glory was short-lived as their superiors stepped in to remonstrate their actions."

"He made sure to always remonstrate his son whenever he would act so lethargic."

REFULGENT

radiant

shiny

brilliant

radiating or as if radiating light
SYN - beaming, beamy, effulgent, radiant
"A refulgent sunset"

"I was a refulgent dress which complemented her beautifully sinuous body."

"The car had a refulgent look that meant he must have just gotten it waxed."

"He was refulgent after hearing the glorious news."

REFRACTORY

stubborn

unmanageable

not responding to treatment
SYN - stubborn
"a refractory case of acne"

temporarily unresponsive or not fully responsive to nervous or sexual stimuli
ANT - manipulable, tractable
"the refractory period of a muscle fiber"

stubbornly resistant to authority or control
SYN - fractious, recalcitrant
"a refractory child"

"It was a refractory obstacle which they would have to go around."

"He had such a refractory attitude towards his superiors that it was near impossible for him to get a reference."

"She had taken such a refractory stance on abortion that it was damn near impossible for her to see the other side of the problem."

REDOUBTABLE

awe-inspiring

worthy of honor

inspiring fear
SYN - formidable, unnerving
"A tougher and more redoubtable adversary than the hell-clicking, jackbooted fanatic."

worthy of respect or honor
ANT - unalarming
"Born of a redoubtable family"

"He had been working out for almost a year now which is why he had such a redoubtable stature."

"It was a redoubtable jungle, but he was never afraid of a challenge!"

"The view was redoubtable and it was only fitting that such a redoubtable man as Fred would stand at the top looking over it."

RECONDITE

hidden

concealed

difficult to understand

obscure

difficult to penetrate
SYN - abstruse, deep
"some recondite problem in historiography"

"how were they going to get the truth out of such a recondite statement."

"part of her appeal was her recondite personality."

"putting his messages in a recondite form like aphorisms didn't help the vast misrepresentation of his views."

RECOMPENSE

compensation for a service rendered or to pay for damages

payment or reward (as for service rendered)

the act of compensating for service or loss or injury
SYN - compensation

make amends for
SYN - compensate, indemnify, repair

make payment to
SYN - remunerate

"Even though he had done everything that was asked for him and finished before the deadline he was still waiting for the recompense from his boss."

"He promised to recompense for the time the task would take."

"He could afford to live like a rock star since he had the money to recompense for everything."

RECALCITRANT

obstinately defiant of authority

difficult to manage

stubbornly resistant to authority or control
SYN - fractious, refractory

marked by stubborn resistance to authority
ANT - obedient
"The university suspended the most recalcitrant demonstrators."

"He had turned into a complete yes-man, after having been so recalcitrant in his youth - it's amazing what a little money can do."

"He followed a policy of recalcitrant liberalism."

"He was recalcitrant to almost everyone since he knew the whole world was nothing but a will to power."

RAREFY

to make or become thin, less dense

to refine

lessen the density or solidity or make more subtle or refined
SYN - sublimate, subtilize

weaken the consistency of (a chemical substance)
SYN - attenuate

"The weed was way to strong so they made sure to rarefy it before toking up."

"They rarefied the vodka by adding some coke to it."

"They felt in its original form it would be undrinkably solid so they rarefied it."

RAPACIOUS

excessively grasping

plundering

living by preying on other animals especially by catching living prey
SYN - predatory, raptorial, raving, vulturive, vulturous
"the rapacious wolf"

excessively greedy and grasping
SYN - ravening, veracious
ANT - unaggressive
"a rapacious divorcee on the prowl"

devouring or craving food in great quantities
SYN - edacious, esurient, ravening, voracious, wolfish
"A rapacious appetite."

"He knew that his self-control was no contest for her rapacious desire."

"He had a rapacious desire for ice-cream and didn't let a single person or object get in his way."

"He knew that if he wasn't consciously rapacious he would become a leech."

RANCOROUS

characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment

showing deep-seated resentment

"They had a rancorous relationship which was about to boil over into an all-out brawl."

"He had a rancorous attitude towards him and knew it was best to eschew him."

"He felt rancorous towards his old college - 85,000 dollars and only a near-worthless degree to show for it."

RAIL

to complain about bitterly
/SYN - inveigh

spread negative information about
SYN - revile, villify, vituperate

criticize severely
SYN - fulminate
"She railed against the bad social policies."

"He had wondered what he had done for her to rail about him in this manner - then he chalked it up to the whirlwind which was a woman's passion."

"She did not expect him to rail her with these complaints the moment she walked in the door and so her defensive attitude could be understood."

"He knew that if he would even attempt to broach the subject she would rail against him."

QUOTIDIAN

occurring or recurring daily

commonplace

found in the ordinary course of events
SYN - everyday, mundane, routine, unremarkable
"There's nothing quite like a real....train conductor to add color to a quotidian commute."

"His schoolwork had just become a banal quotidian part of his life."

"He would always add something a little different to his morning grains to give his quotidian breakfast meal a little variety."

"Their love was full of uncontrollable passion, but if experience had taught him anything it was only become a matter of time that it would become as quotidian as his breakfast cereal."

QUIXOTIC

foolishly impractical

marked by lofty romantic ideals

not sensible about practical matters
SYN - romantic, wild-eyed
"As quixotic as a restoration of medieval knighthood."

"He was held back in life because of the quixotic goals he would set for himself."

"She would never understand what it was like to have a quixotic thought - and maybe she was better off for it."

"She listened to his quixotic hopes for their relationship and knew that neither of them would ever be able to live up to them ans so walked away right then and there."

quiescence

stillness

motionless

quality of being at rest

a state of quiet (but possibly temporary) inaction
SYN - dormancy, quiescency

quiet and inactive restfulness
SYN - sleeping

"This quiescence was a much needed break from his busy lifestyle."

"It was rare that you would see her - a busybody - in a quiescent state such as this."

"As she finished this emotional rollercoaster a desire for quiescence overtook him and he fell asleep."

QUERULOUS

prone to complaining or grumbling

peevish

habitually complaining
SYN - fretful, whiny

"He was sick of how querulous his co-workers were at these dead-end job.'

"She was a person of action and couldn't stand people who were querulous and not productive."

"She came off as puerile when she would be querulous like this."

PUERILE

childish, immature, jejune, nugatory

/of a characteristic of a child
"puerile breathing"

displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity
SYN - adolsecent, jejune, juvenile
"puerile jokes"

"He couldn't stand looking at himself and seeing how much he acts in a despicable puerile manner."

"At 23 he still was emotionally puerile and extremely vulnerable."

"He realized that he was looked at as puerile since he enjoyed this sort of light/free dancing but that was what he lived for, and sometimes it was good to be childish."

PROLIFIC

producing large volumes or amounts

productive

intellectually productive
SYN - fecund, fertile
"a prolific writer"

bearing in abundance especially offspring
SYN - fertile
ANT - unproductive
"a prolific pear tree"

"The whole floor was such a prolific environment it was bound to draw in anyone who came up there."

"He had been a prolific teacher and it wasn't too big of a stretch to say that he had directly taught over a million people and indirectly maybe a billion."

"The garden was extremely prolific this year and they rarely needed to buy food."

PROLIX

long-winded, verbose

tediously prolonged or tending to speak or write at great length
"a prolix lecturer telling you more than you wanted to know."

"He had a habit of being prolix when he corresponded in emails."

"She grew tired of the way he would prolix about every single topic, she wanted less talk, more action."

"He felt that he was a unnecessarily prolix author and in todays fast-paced modern world that was so unnecessary."

PROPENSITY

a natural inclination or tendency, penchant

/an inclination to do something
SYN - leaning, tendency

a natural inclination
SYN - proclivity

a disposition to behave in a certain way
SYN - aptness
"The propensity of disease to spread"

"He had a propensity for such craven behavior, but today he was feeling especially pluck and therefore istead of fleeing he chose to fight!"

"She had a propensity to lie, which made things really difficult but he felt that she had a good heart."

"He knew he had to counter-act his propensity to correct speech since he wanted to propitiate him and correcting him would have only been annoying."

PROPITIATE

to appease

to conciliate

(propitious means auspicious, favorable)

make peace with
SYN - appease

"It was extremely important that she propitiate Andy so that they could be friends again."

"Now, needing references for grad school, he had to intentionally and probally quite obviously, propitiate these professors."

"How was he going to propitiate Jenny so that they could once again get along."

PROPRIETY

fitness, correct conduct

correct or appropriate behavior
SYN - correctitude, properness

"This sort of propriety came natural to him so these dinner parties were a breeze."

"What did propriety even mean nowadays - it was clear it had becom an entirely relative concept."

"After having seen him acting so boorish earlier she was amazed when she saw him act with such propriety at the Opera."

PROSAIC

dull

lacking in spirit or imagination

not fanciful or imaginative
SYN - matter-of-fact
"A prosaic and unimaginative essay."

lacking with or imagination
SYN - earthbound, pedestrian, prosy

not challenging
SYN - commonplace, humdrum, unglamorous
ANT - rhetorical

"It was a rather prosaic speech which didn't help the cause."

"The company was not going to be able to move forward with prosaic proposals like this."

"They needed a new boss, who wasn't so prosaic, but rather full of wit, imagination, and the spirit of life."

PROSCRIBE

ostracize

banish

outlaw

command against
SYN - disallow, forbid, interdict, nix, prohibit, veto

"There really was no reason for them to proscribe alcohol at the campus."

"If Palin had her way she would proscribe all sorts of "immoral" things, pushing us further towards an totalitarian government."

"He knew that he would have to proscribe this new sport even though he secretely thought it was a great thing."

PUISSANCE

power, strength

/power to influence or coerce
"The puissance of the labor vote."

"She enjoyed this realization of her puissance."

"She knew she had a certain amount of puissance in regards to Tommy and she would terrorize him with it."

"It was the puissance of his speeches that had gotten him from town hall to white house, now he had to show that there was some real power and strength behind the puissant speeches."

PUNGENT

chracterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste

strong and sharp
SYN - acrid
"the pungent taste of radishes"

capable of mounding
SYN - barbed, biting, mendacious, nipping
ANT - taasteless
"pungent satire"

"The dish was rather pungent which caused her eyes to swell."

"She liked such pungent foods becuase it made her feel alive and pushed her senses to the extreme."

"He wanted to be a good guest and just eat the food, but his taste buds and olfactory bulb simply rejected the pungent dish."

PUSILLANIMOUS

cowardly, craven

lacking in courage and manly strength and resolution
SYN - poor-spirited, numenly

"She had dated him because he seem so pluck, but after watching him quail like this she realized he was just another pusillanimous suburban boy."

"He constantly was trying to overcome or make up for his pusillanimous nature."

"It was important for him not to appear pusillanimous in his speech, but also to caution and warn the country about the imminent danger that was upon them."

PUTREFY

to rot

to decay and give off a foul odor

/become putrid

"he had wondered what was causing the horrible stench in his apartment and then he saw the rat which had putrefied next to his bed."

"He knew that after the old man died he would putrefy so keeping him in the house was not an option."

"she pondered for a moment on why when alive the human body doesn't smell, but then when it dies it putrefies."

QUAFF

to drink deeply

a hearty draft

to swallow hurriedly or greedily or in one draught
SYN - gulp, swig

"He popped the pills in his mouth, grabbed the snobbish ladies glass and in one quaff had finished her drink and was out the door."

"Watching him finish his first drink in one quaff, he knew the man must have come to get drunk."

"Without smelling or even thinking about it, he took the glass with the mysterious liquid and quaffed it down."

QUAIL

to lose courage, turn frightened

/draw back, as with fear or pain
SYN - cringe, flinch, funk, recoil, shrink, squinch, wince

"He had attacked the problem with so much pluck, but had now quailed and was running back into his mother's arms."

"He should have known that every time he would quail she lost a little more respect for him."

"It was in crucial moments like this that he must remain pluck and not quail."

qualify

to limit

make more specific
SYN - restrict
"qualify these remarks"

"These are rather extravagant claims which i think you need to qualify."

"Do you mind qualifying the guest list so that it doesn't get too crowded?"

"I don't quite understand what you are saying, can you qualify it?"

PROFUSE

given or coming forth abundantly

extravagant

produced or growing in extreme abundance
SYN - exuberant, lush, luxurious

"He was amazed by the profuse garden."

"For what did they owe this great profuse of gold."

"their guests were unnecessarily profuse in their presents."

"She felt embarrased by their profuse praise."

PROFLIGATE

excessively wasteful

recklessly extravagant

/a dissolute man infashionable society
SYN - blood, rake, rip, roue

a recklessly extravagant consumer
SYN - prodigal, squanderer

ADJ
recklessly wasteful
SYN - extravagant, spendthrift

unrestrained by convention or morality
SYN - debauched, degenerate, degraded, dissipated, fast, libertine
ANT - thrift

"He didn't want to appear as though he was supporting the activities of a profligate, but at the same time this person was family."

"He despised the way she brushed off any impact her being another rich OC profligate mother would have on the environment."

"Someone who was so profligate with their possessions needed the lessons a great depression can teach."

PRODIGIOUS

abundant in size, force, or extent, extra-ordinary

so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe
SYN - colossol, stupendous
"A prodigious storm"

of momentous or ominous significance
SYN - portentous
ANT - little, small
"a prodigous vision"

far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree
SYN - exceeding, exceptional, olympian, surpassing
"The young Mozart's prodigous talent"

"It was this prodigious acheivement of strength that had shocked everyone and sent accusations of cheating flying."

"He was a prodigious man, whom no-one wanted to fight."

"This wasn't like the previous pecadillos this was a prodigious offense."

PRODIGAL

recklessly wasteful

extravagant

profuse

lavish

a recklessly extravagant consumer
SYN - profligate, squanderer

recklessly wasteful
SYN - extravagant, profligate, spendthrift
"prodigal in their expenditures"

"why had he thought he could afford to be so prodigal with his time, it now was altering his future."

"he had always lived such a prodigal lifestyle that the strictures imposed on him by his parents now that he was in his 20's were unbearably hard to deal with initially."

"she knew she had to change her ways because her prodigal shopping had cause her to accumulate an enormous credit card debt."

PROCLIVITY

a natural predisposition or inclination
SYN - leaning, propensity
"he has a proclivity for exaggeration"

"It was his proclivity for running that allowed him to develop the skill into a world-class level."

"He had a terribly destructive proclivity towards drink and so it was imperative that he make sure to stay away from it completely."

"She had a proclivity for lying, cheating, and breaking boys' hearts"

PROBITY

adherence to highest principles

complete and confirmed integrity

uprightness

/"he enjoys an exaggerated reputation for probity"

"she had always wondered why he was granted unquestionably this quality of probity."

"because of his probity, he made the perfect political candidate for their party."

"little did the people know the alleged probity with which he acted upon was actually a cover for a ruthless, anarchical plot to destroy America."

PRIZE

to pry, to press or force with a lever

/to move or force especially in an effort to get something open
SYN - jimmy, lever, pry

"He had hoped that he could somehow get his fingers under the lid so that he could prize the top off."

"the teeter-totter was the perfect thing to explain how you could use a lever to prize things."

"luckily they had a number of strong men there who together were able to prize the door open."

PRESUMPTUOUS

overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy)

taking liberties

excessively forward
SYN - assuming
"The duchess would nto put up with presumptuous servants."

"The presumptuous acts of this student carressing her foot under the table were at first appalling but then turned appealing for the unloved teacher."

"He couldn't handle her presumptuous behavior when she stayed over - no you can't poop on the floor!"

"He had been rather presumptuous in asking out his boss, but it turned out to be worth the risk."

PRESCIENCE

foreknowledge of events

knowing of events prior to their occuring

the power to forsee the future
SYN - prevision

"After numerous of presages he had pointed out came true the group now had counted on Daniel's prescience to guide them the rest of the way."

"Cartman almost even had himself convinced that he was capable of some sort of prescience."

"Even though this prophet had predicted so many events that turned out to be true, I don't think he was doing anything but guessing, since such prescience is not possible."

PRESAGE

foretell

/a foreboding about what is about to happen

a sign of something about to happen
SYN - omen, portent, prodigy, prognostic

indicate by signs
SYN - augur, auspicate, betoken, bode, forecast, foreshadow, foretell, omen, portend, predict, prefigure, prognosticate

"He knew the weatherw as just a presage to their upcoming adventure."

"They should have heeded the warning contained in this presage, but they had been to pluck to be deterred."

"She tried not to think of each of these actions by him as presages indicating a collapse in their relationship but the thought kept creeping into her head."

PREEN

to dress up

to primp

to groom oneself with elaborate care

/clean with one's bill
SYN - plume
"The birds preened"

pride or congratulate (oneself) for an acheivement
SYN - congratulate

dress or groom with elaborate care
SYN - dress, plume, primp

"He watched as she took time and care to preen until she looked perfect."

"Just because he would preen did not meant that he was a metrosexual, just that he was smart and had style."

"The result of her look tonight must have been due to hours of preening."

PREDILECTION

a disposition in favor of something

preference
SYN - orientation
"a predilection for expensive cars."

a strong liking
SYN - penchant, preference, taste

"It was hard for him to really counter the predilection she had for netflix with a good enough reason to start renting from FourStar."

"although he had accounts at both, he had a predilection for Facebook for some reason."

"Whenever the difference between them came down to predilection alone he tried to choose the item that was better for his personal and community economy."

PRISTINE

pure

uncorrupted

clean

completely free from dirt or contamination
"pristine mountain snow"

immaculately clean and unused
ANT - impure
"Handed her his pristine white handkersheif."

"It really was a pristine landscape and the thought of the way a subdivision would alloy it was enough to make them pick up a pen and fight."

"He needed a raison d'etre, something to motivate him and give him a war to fight, and stopping the corruption of pristine land was that motivating factor."

"She was amazed by the pristine white apartment, she had been expecting a messy bachelor's pad."