List of 100 Words

abhor (v.) to hate, detest (Because he always wound up when he tried to play cricket, Marcin abhors the sport).
alleviate (v): lessen, reduce pain (The doctor prescribed a drug to alleviate his pain.)
ambience(n) : environment (The ambience of the hotel was friendly and welcoming.)
amiable (adj.) friendly (An amiable fellow, Neil got along with just about everyone.)
amicable(adjective): friendly (The two neighbors came to an amicable decision about the fence).
appease (v.) to calm, satisfy (When Jerry cries, his mother gives him chocolate to appease him.)
articulate (v): speak, utter (Partly from breathlessness, partly from agitation, he couldnt articulate any single word.)
avarice (n.) excessive greed (The bankers avarice led him to amass an enormous personal fortune.)
benevolent (adj): marked by goodwill (The "Salvation Army" is known as a benevolent society for its acts of charity.)
benign (adj): harmless, mild (The doctor removed a benign tumor from my neck and I went home the same day. )
buoyant (adj): cheerful, light-hearted, bouncy, joyful, lively, high-spirited (He was buoyant, childishly happy.)
brazen (adj.) excessively bold, brash (Critics condemned the writers brazen attempt to plagiarise others work.)
brusque (adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (Simons brusque manner sometimes offends his colleagues.)
cajole (v.) to urge, coax (Magda's friends cajoled her intogoing with out her parents permission.)
callous (adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderers callous lack of remorse shocked the jury.)
capacious (adj): containing a great deal (You have a capacious library with many unusual books.)
chide (v.) to voice disapproval (Hania chided Gregory for his vulgar habits and sloppy appearance.)
clamour (noun, verb): n. noise, v. to make noise (The children clamoured for more ice cream.)
coalesce (v) : unite, join together, combine, merge, amalgamate, integrate, blend (I watched the rain drops on my
window coalesce into streams as they neared the bottom of the frame.)
coerce (v.) to make somebody do something by force or threat (The court decided that David Beckham did not have to
honour the contract because he had been coerced into signing it.)
coherent (adj.) logically consistent, intelligible (William could not figure out what Harold had seen because he was
too distraught to deliver a coherent statement.)
complacency (n.) self-satisfied ignorance of danger (Simon tried to shock his friends out of their complacency by
painting a frightening picture of what might happen to them.)
credulous (adj): too ready to believe (The credulous child believed the story about flying horses.)
cumbersome (adj): large and heavy, difficult to carry (The new television was cumbersome to get up the stairs.)
decry (v.) to criticise openly (Andrzej Lepper, the leader of the Polish Self Defence party decried the appalling state of
Polish roads.)
deferential (adj.) showing respect for anothers authority (Donata is always excessively deferential to any kind of
authority figure.)
delectable (adj) : enjoyable (Trees of God, delectable both to behold and taste)
demure (adj.) quiet, modest, reserved (Though everyone else at the party was dancing and going crazy, she remained
demure.)

deride (v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The native speaker often derided the other teachers accent.)
divulge (v): disclose, reveal, expose, uncover, let the cat out of the bag (Freddie divulged everything to his family.)
diligent (adj.) showing care in doing ones work (The diligent researcher made sure to double check her
measurements.)
elated (adj.) overjoyed, thrilled (When he found out he had won the lottery, the postman was elated.)
eloquent (adj.) expressive, articulate, moving (The best man gave such an eloquent speech that most guests were
crying.)
embellish (v): decorate, adorn (The fashion designer embellished the ladys gown.)
embezzle (v.) to steal money by falsifying records (The accountant was fired for embezzling 10,000 of the companys
funds.)
empathy (n.) sensitivity to anothers feelings as if they were ones own (I feel such empathy for my dog when shes
upset so am I!)
erudite (adj.) learned (My English teacher is such an erudite scholar that he has translated some of the most difficult
and abstruse Old English poetry.)
extol (v.) to praise, revere (Kamila extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat-loving friend.)
fabricate (v.) to make up, invent (When I arrived an hour late to class, I fabricated some excuse about my car
breaking down on the way to work.)
feral (adj.) wild, savage (That beast looks so feral that I would fear being alone with it.)
flabbergasted (adj.) astounded (Whenever I read an Agatha Christie mystery novel, I am always flabbergasted when I
learn the identity of the murderer.)
furtive (adj.) secretive, sly (Claudias placement of her drugs in her sock drawer was not as furtive as she thought, as
the sock drawer is the first place most parents look.)
garrulous (adj): talkative, chatter box, loquacious, verbose (The keeper had kept up his garrulous talk for hours.)
gluttony (n.) overindulgence in food or drink (Helens fried chicken tastes so divine, I dont know how anyone can
call gluttony a sin.)
gratuitous (adj.) uncalled for, unwarranted (Every evening the guy at the fish and chip shop gives me a gratuitous
helping of vinegar.)
haughty (adj.) disdainfully proud (The superstars haughty dismissal of her co-stars will backfire on her someday.)
hypocrisy (n.) pretending to believe what one does not (Once the politician began passing legislation that contradicted
his campaign promises, his hypocrisy became apparent.)
impeccable (adj.) exemplary, flawless (If your grades were as impeccable as your brothers, then you too would
receive a car for a graduation present.)
impertinent (adj.) rude, insolent (Most of your comments are so impertinent that I dont wish to dignify them with an
answer.)
implacable (adj.) incapable of being appeased or mitigated (Watch out: once you shun Grandmothers cooking, she is
totally implacable.)
implore (v): appeal to, beg, entreat, plead, beseech, supplicate, importune (She implored her father to stay for the
weekend but he had to leave for a business meeting.)
impudent (adj.) casually rude, insolent, impertinent (The impudent young woman looked at her friend and told him he
was insane.)

incisive (adj.) clear, sharp, direct (The discussion wasnt going anywhere until her incisive comment allowed everyone
to see what the true issues were.)
indolent (adj.) lazy (Why should my indolent children, who cant even pick themselves up off the sofa to pour their
own juice, be rewarded with a trip to Burger King?)
innate (adj.) inborn, native, inherent (His incredible athletic talent is innate, he never trains, lifts weights, or
practices.)
insatiable (adj.) incapable of being satisfied (My insatiable appetite was a real problem on my recent holiday in
Japan!)
insular (adj.) separated and narrow-minded; tight-knit, closed off (Because of the sensitive nature of their jobs, those
who work for MI5 must remain insular and generally only spend time with each other.)
intrepid (adj.) brave in the face of danger (After scaling a live volcano prior to its eruption, the explorer was praised
for his intrepid attitude.)
intricate (adj): difficult, perplexing, puzzling, enigmatic (Winston could not wait for the end of intricate speech.)
inveterate (adj.) stubbornly established by habit (Im the first to admit that Im an inveterate tea drinker.)
jeopardise (v): put in danger , imperil, threaten, make vulnerable(This behaviour could jeopardise Monty's chance of
gaining a scholarship.)
jubilant (adj.) extremely joyful, happy (The crowd was jubilant when the firefighter carried the woman from the
flaming building.)
lithe (adj.) graceful, flexible, supple (Although the dancers were all outstanding, Joannas control of her lithe body
was particularly impressive.)
longevity (n): long life (His longevity is due to his devoted family.)
lurid (adj.) ghastly, sensational (Barrys story, in which he described a character torturing his neighbour's tortoise, was
judged too lurid to be published on the English Library's website.)
maverick (n.) an independent, nonconformist person (John is a real maverick and always does things his own way.)
maxim (n.) a common saying expressing a principle of conduct (Ms. Stones etiquette maxims are both entertaining
and instructional.)
meticulous (adj.) extremely careful with details (The ornate needlework in the brides gown was a product of
meticulous handiwork.)
modicum (n.) a small amount of something (Refusing to display even a modicum of sensitivity, Magda announced her
bosss affair to the entire office.)
morose (adj.) gloomy or sullen (Davids morose nature made him very unpleasant to talk to.)
myriad (adj.) consisting of a very great number (It was difficult to decide what to do on Saturday night because the
city presented us with myriad possibilities for fun.)
novice (n.) a beginner, someone without training or experience (Because we were all novices at archery, our instructor
decided to begin with the basics
nuance (n.) a slight variation in meaning, tone, expression (The nuances of the poem were not obvious to the casual
reader, but the teacher was able to point them out.)
oblivious (adj.) lacking consciousness or awareness of something (Oblivious to the burning smell emanating from the
kitchen, my father did not notice that the rolls in the oven were burned until much too late.)
obsequious (adj.) excessively compliant or submissive (Donald acted like Susans servant, obeying her every request
in an obsequious manner.)

panacea (n.) a remedy for all ills or difficulties (Doctors wish there was a single panacea for every disease, but sadly
there is not.)
peevish (adj): bad tempered, crabby (The children were tired and peevish.)
penchant (n.) a tendency, partiality, preference (Fionas dinner parties quickly became monotonous on account of her
penchant for Indian dishes.)
perennial (adjective): enduring, persisting for several years (I would like to buy some perennial plants. )
perusal (n.) a careful examination, review (The actor agreed to accept the role after a three-month perusal of the
movie script.)
picturesque (adj) : charming, vivid, pleasing, striking (Jennifer wrote a picturesque description of the events.)
plethora (n.) an abundance, excess (The wedding banquet included a plethora of oysters piled almost three feet high.)
predilection (n.) a preference or inclination for something (James has a predilection for eating chicken in the whole
with tomato ketchup.)
proclaim (verb): to declare loudly (The president of the university proclaimed March 21 to be a holiday in honour of
the school's award winning faculty. )
quaint (adj.) charmingly old-fashioned (Mary was delighted by the quaint bonnets she saw in Romania.)
refurbish (v.) to restore, clean up (After being refurbished the old Triumph motorcycle commanded the handsome
price of $6000.)
reminisce (v): recall, remember (He was reminiscing about the early days of the job. )
repudiate (v.) to reject, refuse to accept (Tom made a strong case for an extension of his playing hours, but his mother
repudiated it with a few biting words.)
rife (adj.) abundant (Surprisingly, the authors writing was rife with spelling errors.)
sceptical (adj): doubtful, dubious, questioning, distrustful, suspicious (The doctor was sceptical about the vaccines.)
serendipity (n.) luck, finding good things without looking for them (In an amazing bit of serendipity, penniless Mark
found a $50 bill on the back seat of the bus.)
staid (adj.) sedate, serious, self-restrained (The staid butler never changed his expression no matter what happened.)
superfluous (adj.) exceeding what is necessary (Samantha had already won the campaign so her constant flattery of
others was superfluous.)
sycophant (n.) one who flatters for self-gain (Some see the people in the cabinet as the Prime Ministers closest
advisors, but others see them as sycophants.)
taciturn (adj.) not inclined to talk (Though Magda never seems to stop talking, her brother is quite taciturn.)
truculent (adj.) cruel (I have no idea what made him so truculent?)
umbrage (n.) resentment, offence (He called me a lily-livered coward, and I took umbrage at the insult.)
valiant (adj): brave, courageous, lion-hearted, gallant, intrepid, undaunted, daring, audacious, stalwart (Two-year-old
Sylvia was making valiant attempts to open the door.)
venerable (adj.) deserving of respect because of age or achievement (The venerable High Court judge had made
several key rulings in landmark cases throughout the years.)
vociferous (adj.) loud, boisterous (Im tired of his vociferous whining so Im breaking up with him.)
Best of Luck