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 school.)
façade
facile
fallacious
(adj.) incorrect, misleading (Emily offered me cigarettes on the fallacious
assumption that I smoked.)
fastidious
(adj.) meticulous, demanding, having high and often unattainable standards
(Mark is so fastidious that he is never able to finish a project because it always seems imperfect to him.)
fatuous
(adj.) silly, foolish (He considers himself a serious poet, but in truth, he only
writes fatuous limericks.)
fecund
(adj.) fruitful, fertile (The fecund tree bore enough apples to last us through the
entire season.)
felicitous
fervent
(adj.) ardent, passionate (The fervent protestors chained themselves to the
building and shouted all night long.)
fetid
(adj.) having a foul odor (I can tell from the fetid smell in your refrigerator that
your milk has spoiled.)
fetter
(v.) to chain, restrain (The dog was fettered to the parking meter.)
fickle
(adj.) shifting in character, inconstant (In Greek dramas, the fickle gods help
Achilles one day, and then harm him the next.)
fidelity
(n.) loyalty, devotion (Guard dogs are known for the great fidelity they show
toward their masters.)
flaccid
(adj.) limp, not firm or strong (If a plant is not watered enough, its leaves
become droopy and flaccid.)
florid
(adj.) flowery, ornate (The writer’s florid prose belongs on a sentimental
Hallmark card.)
flout
(v.) to disregard or disobey openly (I flouted the school’s dress code by wearing a
tie-dyed tank top and a pair of cut-off jeans.)
forbearance
(n.) patience, restraint, toleration (The doctor showed great forbearance in calming down the angry patient who shouted insults at him.)
forestall
(v.) to prevent, thwart, delay (I forestalled the cold I was getting by taking plenty of vitamin C pills and wearing a scarf.)
forlorn
(adj.) lonely, abandoned, hopeless (Even though I had the flu, my family
decided to go skiing for the weekend and leave me home alone, feeling feverish and forlorn.)
forsake
(v.) to give up, renounce (My New Year’s resolution is to forsake smoking and drinking.)
fortuitous
(adj.) happening by chance, often lucky or fortunate (After looking for
Manuel and not finding him at home, Harriet had a fortuitous encounter with him at the post office.)
forum
(n.) a medium for lecture or discussion (Some radio talk-shows provide a good
forum for political debate.)
foster
(v.) to stimulate, promote, encourage (To foster good health in the city, the mayor started a “Get out and exercise!” campaign.)
fraught
(adj.) (usually used with “with”) filled or accompanied with (Her glances in his direction were fraught with meaning, though precisely what meaning remained
unclear.)