- ADVOCATE (AD-vuh-kayt)
To support, plead for, be in favor of, defend by argument; especially, to speak or write in favor or in defense of a person or cause. Synonyms: champion, endorse, espouse.Corresponding noun: advocate, a supporter or defender of a cause, a champion, or a person who speaks for another. Related words (from the Latin vocare, to call, summon): vocation; avocation; vocational; vocal; convoke, to call together; convocation, the act of calling together, or a group that has been summoned; evoke, to call out, call forth; and evocative, calling forth a response, especially an emotional one.
- DELEGATE (DEL-uh-gayt)
To entrust with authority or power, deliver to another’s care or management, hand over to an agent or representative.
- UNPRECEDENTED (uhn-PRES-uh-den-tid)
Unheard-of, novel, new, having no precedent or parallel, having no prior example or justification.
- POIGNANT (POYN-yint)
Piercing, sharp, penetrating; specifically, piercing or penetrating to the senses, to the emotions, or to the intellect. Synonyms: biting, cutting, keen, acute.Related words (from the Latin pungere, to pierce or prick): puncture; pungent, piercing to the smell or taste; expunge, to punch out, erase, delete.
- NEBULOUS (NEB-yuu-lus)
Unclear, vague, obscure, hazy, indefinite, indistinct. Related word: nebula, a cloudy mass of dust or gas visible between stars in space (plural, nebulae).
- CLANDESTINE (klan-DES-tin)
Kept secret, done in secrecy, especially for an evil, immoral, or illegal purpose. Synonyms: private, concealed, covert, underhand, sly, stealthy, furtive, surreptitious.
- TIRADE (TY-rayd or ty-RAYD)
A long-drawn-out speech, especially a vehement and abusive one. Additional useful words: protracted, drawn out to great length (see Level 3, Word 25);vituperative, full of harsh, abusive language; censorious, tending to censor, to blame or condemn.
- RECUR (ri-KUR or nee-KUR)
To happen again, occur again, especially at intervals or after some lapse of time. N.B. This discussion explains the distinction between the verbs recur and reoccur.
- TACIT (TAS-it)
Unspoken, silent, implied or understood without words, done or made in silence, notexpressed or declared openly. Related word: taciturn (Level 3, Word 2).
- ALLEGATION (AL-uh-GAY-shin)
An assertion or declaration, especially one made without proof. In law, an allegation is an assertion. of what one intends to prove.
- GULLIBLE (GUHL-uh-buul)
Easily deceived, fooled, or cheated. Synonym: credulous. Related words: gull and dupe, which both mean to fool, cheat, deceive, take advantage of.
- BENIGN (buh-NYN, rhymes with a sign)
(1) Kindly, good-natured, gracious, mild, having or showing a gentle disposition. (2) Favorable, positive, propitious. (3) Of the weather or climate, healthful, beneficial, wholesome, salubrious. (4) In medicine: mild, not deadly, or severe.
- PERIPHERAL (puh-RIF-uh-rul)
External, outer, lying at or forming the outside or boundary of something; hence, not essential, irrelevant.
- REBUFF (ri-BUF or ree-BUF)
To refuse bluntly, reject sharply, turn down abruptly, snub, spurn. Corresponding noun: rebuff, an abrupt refusal or rejection.
- ANIMOSITY (AN-i-MAH-si-tee)
Ill will, hostility, antagonism, strong dislike or hatred. Synonyms: malice, aversion, malevolence, antipathy, rancor, enmity.
- TENUOUS (TEN-yoo-us)
Thin, slender, slight, flimsy, weak, not dense or substantial, lacking a strong basis, having little substance or strength.
- COMPLACENT (kum-PLAY-sint)
Self-satisfied, smug, overly pleased with oneself. Usage tip: Take care to distinguish between complacent and complaisant, which ispronounced kum-PLAY-zint and means inclined to please, gracious, obliging, courteous, affable, and urbane (Level l, Word 45).
- ACME (AK-mee)
The peak, highest point, especially the point of culmination, the highest possible point inthe development or progress of something. Synonyms: summit, zenith. Corresponding adjective: acmatic.
- DEFUNCT (di-FUNGKT or dee-FUNGKT)
Dead, extinct, obsolete; no longer in existence, effect, operation, or use.
- ABET (uh-BET)
To encourage, support, help, aid, promote, assist in achieving a purpose (either good or evil). Usage tip: Abet is often used to mean assist in wrongdoing, as in the legal cliche ‘to aid and abet,’ but abet may also be used favorably to mean assist in achieving a good purpose.
- HAGGARD (HAG-urd)
Worn out, tired, drawn; wild-eyed and wasted, as from exhaustion, illness, or grief. Synonyms: gaunt, emaciated.
- WAIVE (like wave)
To relinquish voluntarily, give up, forgo; also, to postpone, defer, or dispense with.
- CARNAL (KAHR-nul)
Bodily, pertaining to the flesh as opposed to the spirit. Synonyms: sensual, corporeal. Usage tip: Carnal is used of basic physical appetities.
- SANCTION (SANGK-shin, be sure to pronounce the C)
To approve, allow, permit, authorize, certify, ratify.
