Word Smart - 195 Smart Words

Word	Definition	Example Sentences
fleeting	adjective. lasting for a very short time	a fleeting remembrance. the fleeting moment. I hope to get a fleeting glimpse of a whale underwater.
loquacious	adjective. tending to talk too much	a loquacious dinner guest. He is a friend of a friend; likable but loquacious.
flippant	adjective. disrespectful, lacking of seriousness	flippant remarks. The teenager is being flippant by responding “whatever...” She’d said it in an unkind, flippant way that made me think she really meant it.
callous	adjective. emotionally hardened	a callous indifference to suffering. This callous disregard for the well-being of immigration detainees is unacceptable. with a workmen’s callous skin. calloused skin
haughty	adjective. arrogant and looking down on others	Speaking in a cocky or superior way is haughty. Never be haughty to the humble; never be humble to the haughty. The haughty face of the white woman and the privileged look of the two children.
ardent	adjective. enthusiastic, passionate, fervent	ardent supporters. ardent admirers. ardent fans. ardent love. ardent vow. Explorers like James Cook were ardent collectors, as were many American
curt	adjective. rudely brief	a curt reply. curt remarks. justices’ curt dismissal. “I’m sorry to be curt, but ...”
rue	verb. to feel sorry for, regret	You may rue the day you did this. I rue the day I had my first coffee and I become hopelessly addicted to it.
row	noun. a noisy quarrel or dispute	We couldn't hear the music for the row next door. I knew there’s be a row the next day, but I didn’t care.
coy	adjective. pretending to be shy	A coy of smile. She studied the coy girls, the ones who pretended not to get the dirty joke.
eschew	verb. to deliberately avoid, shun	eschew politics. eschew interviews. eschew masks. Sweden eschewed a mandatory national lockdown. Trump and many of his aides have eschewed practices like social distancing and mask wearing.
lackadaisical	adjective. lacking in spirit or liveliness	Trump’s lackadaisical approach to the coronavirus pandemic. with a lackadaisical attitude. a lackadaisical lifestyle
ruffle feathers	phase. to annoy, irritate, or upset someone	She's teasing you. Don't let her ruffle your feathers like that! I didn't mean to ruffle his feathers. I just wanted to remind him what he promised us.
siesta	noun. an afternoon nap	In Spain or Italy, it’s common to take siesta after lunch. Papa walked upstairs to his room for his afternoon siesta.
jot down	phase. write or mark down quickly	jot down notes. jot down snippets of conversations that made me laugh
amiss	not quite right	He spoke amiss. I think something is amiss in your calculations.
opportune	adjective. appropriate, favorable, or suitable	an opportune phrase for the occasion. an opportune time. an opportune arrival. the opportune moment. I paused and waited for an opportune time to escape.
fight tooth and nail	phase. engage in vigorous combat or make a strenuous effort	I'm going to fight tooth and nail for that promotion. The family is going to fight tooth and nail to get justice for her son.
indomitable	adjective. invincible, unconquerable	An example of indomitable is a cancer survivor who goes on to run a marathon. It’s the indomitable human spirit and the belief that magic might still happen. An inspirational figure with indomitable spirit, he designed his own prosthetics — he jokes
qualm	noun. a feeling of unease about whether what you are doing is right.	She had no qualms about asking for their help. He has no qualms about lying.
schism	noun. division	a schism between science and religion. The schism over slavery finally cracked the country wide open.
repent	to feel regret, sorry	Dr. King: We are going to be made to repent, not just for the hateful words and deeds of bad people, but for the appalling silence of good people.
repugnant	adjective. distasteful	a repugnant smell. repugnant images. His continued advocacy of conspiracy theories is repugnant.
intractable	adjective. difficult to manage or mold	an intractable problem. an intractable disposition / temperament. The country is in an intractable political stalemate.
peeved	adjective. extremely annoyed or irritated	a peeved look. peeved critics. peeved parents.pet peeve- minor annoyance. He was a bit shocked and peeved. The privacy world is peeved at Apple again.
misconstrue	verb. to interpret wrongly	The message was misconstrued. The situation was misconstrued. The media misconstrued his remarks. His peaceful demonstrations of kneeling during the national anthem were misconstrued by many as being un-American.
myopia	shortsightedness, narrow-mindedness	Yet he suffers from social myopia in that he is seemingly incapable of recognizing the broader implications of his work. Why Trump's rally and the GOP convention are evidence of his racial myopia?
pummel	verb. to repeatedly beat someone down	pummeled by the coronavirus. the basketball team was pummeled. pummeled by heavy rains from hurricane. Car dealerships were also closed in many countries, pummelling vehicle sales in March through May.
allude	hint at, indirectly	He alluded to the problem but did not mention it. Before he died, my father alluded in an e-mail to this period of their lives.
harrowing	adjective. provoking the feelings of fear or horror	harrowing ordeal. the harrowing rescue. harrowing images from past. a harrowing experience of being attacked by a shark. The US just marked a harrowing milestone with 83,000 COVID-19 infections on Friday, its highest number in one day.
impetuous	adjective. acting hastily and carelessly, impulsive.	Her impetuous, runaway marriage to Osborne in June 1951, when they were both 21. He's always been an impetuous young man, rushing into things without asking questions first.
hypocrite	noun. a person who acts in contradiction to his or her words	They did not release their slaves upon signing the Declaration, nor did they consider themselves hypocrites.
pollyanna	adjective. excessively cheerful or optimistic	some pollyanna notions about world peace. I'm no Pollyanna, but I do think some good will come out of this.
barnburner	noun. an impressively successful event	The All Stars game was a real barnburner. I call it a barnburner of a concert. It was a terrific concert.
sassy	adjective. bold and lively, saucy	I imagine you’re still witty and sassy. My campaign manager was tall and sassy, in her early forties.
taciturn	adjective. inclined to silence, reserved in speech	He is a taciturn man.
despondent	adjective. in low spirits from loss of hope or courage	grew despondent. became despondent. He was despondent over the loss of his job.
panacea	a cure-all solution	It’s not a panacea. They are no panacea. For him it was a universal panacea. We can't simply rely on rolling lockdowns or the panacea of a vaccine; a better balance needs to be found.
folly	noun. a lack of good sense, foolishness	The folly of performing without a rehearsal. It is by our own folly that the Enemy will defeat us.
copious	adjective. abundant, plentiful	Take copious notes. Copious amount of wine.
decrepit	adjective. old and feeble, worn out	a decrepit theater. a decrepit old man who can hardly walk.
invalid	noun. a person who is very sick, disabled, or injured	An invalid husband. Her grandma was an invalid the last ten years of her life.
melodramatic	adjective. overly exaggerated, emotional, or sentimental	Quit being so melodramatic! melodramatic soap operas. his melodramatic, self-destructive alcoholic mother
plight	noun. a difficult situation that is hard to get out	the plight of refugees. the plight of sea birds after an oil spill. the plight of the working poor
indignant	feeling angry for unjust and unfair situation	She had an indignant expression on her face. Hundreds of reports, analyses, and indignant stories have appeared after the unjust incident.
flimsy	adjective. weak, fragile	A flimsy sheet of tissue paper. A flimsy argument. Lettuce is weak and flimsy.
antsy	adjective. agitated, impatient, or restless	felt antsy. nervous and antsy. getting antsy about something. As antsy Americans show growing signs of quarantine fatigue and officials face pressure to ease coronavirus restrictions...
pernicious	adjective. extremely harmful, in a gradual and subtle way	the pernicious influence of the internet. the pernicious effect of watching too much TV. a pernicious disease. a pernicious lie. And even during a pandemic, racism is as pernicious as ever.
ornery	adjective. grumpy, bad-tempered	an ornery person. the ornery crowd. One ornery turkey even tried to get in his house.
reticent	adjective. reserved, inclined to be silent	His reticent public persona. She was extremely reticent about her personal affairs. A reluctant person is unwilling, but a reticent one is silent.
apoplectic	U.K. Press was apoplectic after Oprah Winfrey's Interview With Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.	None
clandestine	secret or covert	Clandestine intelligence operations. She used a clandestine server to handle all of her electronic communications as secretary of state, including the transfer and dissemination othousands of classified and top-secret documents
amicable	adjective. friendly (situation); peaceable	an amicable agreement. an amicable relation. an amicable divorce
bonkers	adjective. mad, crazy	Boring, lifeless stocks suddenly go bonkers. It was driving him bonkers not to be able to ride any longer.
sycophant	noun. ass-kisser	I would rather a thousand times be a free soul in jail than a sycophant and coward in the streets. The president is surrounded by sycophants.
cliche	noun. an overused, unoriginal saying or expression	It is simply a cliche, it is the absolute truth. It may sound a little cliche, but ...
uncork	verb. release, unveil, unleash	uncork one’s emotion. uncork his anger. The governor uncork bad news for New Year Eve’s partying - bars and restaurants will be closed.
whirlwind	noun. energetic or tumultuous	Hillary was a whirlwind in that first year, hopping from continent to continent. Chapter 1 provides a whirlwind tour of human evolution and history.
coddle	verb. indulge, pamper	Coddling our kids. Higher education should challenge students, not coddle them by indulging their pre-formed biases and preferences.
indulgent	adjective. overly generous, lenient	indulgent grandparents. self-indulgent- giving self a lot of treats. The bakery is renowned for its indulgent cookies.
flustered	adjective. agitated, confused, embarrassed	I was eating in front of the TV when she walked in, still wearing pajamas, flustered. She became increasingly flustered and angry when no one paid attention to her.
lip service	phase. express approval or support insincerely without taking any action	Most organizations are paying lip service when they acknowledge social justice issue. They pay lip service to equality but they don't want to do anything about it. Rather than just paying lip service to diversity in medicine, they must actively tear down
arcane	adjective. understood by few, mysterious	arcane knowledge. Republicans blocked the bill using the filibuster, an arcane Senate rule. The bills are long and complex, with arcane differences around industry policy.
amiable	adjective. pleasant, friendly, agreeable	amiable disposition. An amiable flight attendant. Phillips was an amiable man and was, judging by his letters, highly articulate, but he preferred not to spea
cachet	noun. prestige, a distinguishing mark or seal	The cachet of Tesla is Musk. Being Internet famous carries little cachet among my classmates.
sniffy	adjective. scornful, contemptuous	Sniffy reviews. Critics often get very sniffy about his style of writing.
apprehension	noun. fear or anxiety; capture or arrest (of a criminal); understanding	expressed apprehension of the Jet’s organization. apprehensions of unaccompanied immigrant children in November
inscrutable	adjective. difficult to understand	an inscrutable smile. the inscrutable look of Buddhas. Her mother was inscrutable.
crotchety	adjective. difficult, irritable, ornery	a crotchety old lady. my crotchety grandfather. He was a crotchety old man with racist tendencies.
heist	noun. a robbery	a diamond heist. German police made 4th arrest over a jewelry heist.
dredge up	phase. to mention something unpleasant that happened in a long time ago	dredge up terrible memories. dredge up the embarrassing story. dredge up the feelings. I want to apologize, but I’m worried it would be selfish to do so many years later and would dredge up a painful episode in her life she probably doesn’t want to dwell o
pushover	noun. a person who's easy to fool or influence	She’s no pushover. But there’s a difference between being polite and a pushover.
pariah	noun. an outcast	social pariahs. a political pariah. a pariah nation like North Korea. In total, the United States in the Age of Trump and the coronavirus pandemic is a global pariah.
instill	verb. gradually but firmly put a feeling, an idea, or a principle, into someone’s mind	Instill a belief. Instill the value. Instill confidence. She instilled in her son an appreciation for their adopted home.
hyperbole	noun. exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally	Examples of Hyperbole in everyday speech: He's running faster than the wind. This is the worst day of my life. Your skin is softer than silk.
tax	verb. to make heavy demands on	tax her resources. tax his strength. tax everyone’s patience. She knew that the ordeal to come would tax all her strength.
glib	adjective. thoughtless, superficial, or insincere	A glib talker. The glib answers. We should not let people get away with this glib excuse that this is about voter fraud.
curtail	verb. reduce, shorten; restrict	curtail crime. curtail the virus. curtail screen time. curtail drinking in school. The report notes that the US produces more single-use plastic than any other nation, and argues that governments must do more to curtail disposable plastic.
galling	adjective. annoying, frustrating, exasperating	We no longer live in an age where female thinkers, writers, philosophers, academics, artists, theorists, activists or politicians are rare. The discrimination is obvious. All you have to do is count. It's all the more galling given that women equal or outnumber men as attendees of arts festivals, concerts, readings, discussions and debates, and as arts and humanities students at university.
tipsy	adjective. slightly drunk	Everyone at the party was a little tipsy. Don’t want to get tipsy and break a hip.
abiding	adjective. lasting, enduring	an abiding faith. My abiding love for her. Law-abiding citizens.
wretched	very unfortunate; miserable; pitiable	I felt so wretched because I thought I might never see you again. The great gaping chasm separating the fortunate from the wretched may open wide enough to swallow many, many more. of us
perfunctory	adjective. doing it as a formality, not caring much, not giving much attention	a perfunctory way the perfunctory manner the perfunctory thank you The board meetings were perfunctory and bureaucratic.
arduous	adjective. requiring a lot of effort; laborious	Biden’s desire to stop the border wall could be costly and arduous. physically arduous and emotionally taxing as well
loathe	verb. dislike greatly	I loathe that guy who steals my food at work from the refrigerator but I’m loath to confront him because he is weird.
consternation	noun. a sudden, alarming amazement or dread	A sickening consternation struck through him when he recognized his mother. - The Prince and Pauper. To his consternation, when he got to the airport, he had forgotten his passport.
assuage	verb. Make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense; mitigate	assuage one’s pain. assuage one’s fear. I assuaged my concerns about the cost by reassuring myself that the outfit could be worn again and again.
predilection	noun. a preference for or bias toward something	Personal predilection. If you're a night owl, you probably have a predilection for cities, while morning people tend to prefer the country.
pungent	adjective. having a sharply strong taste or smell	a pungent blue cheese. a sweet, pungent smell. pungent urgency
buck	verb. oppose or resist; (of a horse) to jump vertically, with head verb. oppose or resist; (of a horse) to jump vertically, with head lowered, back arched, and back legs throw out behind lowered, back arched, and back legs throw out behind.	Some New Yorkers decided to buck the rules and gather in groups without masks. N.J. Republicans buck Trump on Postal Service funding.
maven	noun. an expert	social media maven; computer mavens; Warren Buffett is an investment maven.
askew	adjective. not straight; wrong	look askew. hung askew. sat askew from her. The plan went askew.
iffy	adjective. uncertain, doubtful	President Franklin D. Roosevelt invented the word “iffy”, taking the word “if”, turning it into an adjective, and using it often. The player future is iffy due to his recent injury. Please reschedule the picnic because of the iffy weather.
dub	verb. to give an official name or nickname	The king dubbed him a knight. His personal website was dubbed a communication platform. He was dubbed Fancy Bear.
infuriate	verb. to make someone extremely angry	infuriated critics. infuriated parents. It’s infuriating to watch. I am infuriated by the lack of humanity and empathy in this process.
edgy	adjective. nervous, irritable	I was sort of edgy about seeing him again. He was edgy about the meeting. His voice was edgy.
plethora	noun. abundance or excess of something	A plethora of TV shows and films. A plethora of organizations. A plethora of toys. A plethora issues. Despite of a plethora of different religions and cultures in the world, the concept of God is fairly universal.
discern	verb. to distinguish, tell apart	discern the difference. It becomes difficult to discern between the two.
coquettish	adjective. (of a woman) flirtatious	A coquettish smile. A coquettish twinkle in her eyes.
tongue in cheek	adverb. saying something without meaning it; with irony, insincerity	The whole interview was done tongue in cheek. He portrayed them tongue-in-cheek as great lawgivers
attribute ... to ...	phrase. is the cause of; is being a quality of	He attributes his success to his coach. Is it wrong to attribute complex emotions to animals?
tread	verb. to step, walk	tread a challenging path. tread in the footsteps of others. tread on grass. How do we tread the fine line between critique and rudeness?
conjure	verb. summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic	Thomas Jefferson and James Madison owned slaves, but they also conjured a vision of an amazing nation in which individuals are empowered by natural rights and free to decide their own fate. In 2018, when things were looking grim for Republicans in the u
strenuous	adjective. requiring all the effort and strength	A strenuous task. A strenuous burden. Strenuous exercise.
onus	noun. A formal way to say responsibility or duty	The onus will be on us to... Put the onus on... Place the onus on... The mayor also placed the onus on the public to help the city eliminate the virus threat.
to be reckoned with	phase. to be taken into account: shouldn’t be ignored	With the new features and partnerships, the product is proving to be a force to be reckoned with. Despite the high everage age of its star players, they are still a team to be reckoned with.
barring	preposition. except for	Barring a miracle, you’ll lose. Barring accidents, I'll be there. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, ... He is on track to recover and play on Sunday, barring a setback.
precipice	noun. the edge of a steep cliff, a situation of great peril	on the precipice of war. Now we stand on the precipice of one of the most important trials in history.
amenable	adjective. agreeable, willing to comply	amenable children. If you are amenable to the idea... His novels are amenable to adaptation, but almost always lose a lot in translation.
hitherto	adverb. until now, until the moment of speaking	hitherto unknown. hitherto unseen. Marvin, allowed to exploit his hitherto untapped comic gifts, won the Oscar for best actor. The invention of the printing press made it possible to accumulate and disseminate knowledge on a scale hitherto unseen.
capacious	adjective. containing or capable of containing a great deal	The museum's capacious rooms. A capacious bed in the hotel.
denigrate	verb. to defame, disparage	Our long history that denigrated women and African Americans. There is a tendency to denigrate the poor.
fastidious	very attentive to detail	A person is fastidious if he or she insists on perfection or pays much attention to food, clothing and cleanliness. Try to stay six feet apart and be fastidious about cleaning surfaces.
watered-down	adjective. made weaker or less effective	A watered-down version of the famous opera. A watered-down plan.
ferret out	phase. search and discover through persistent investigation	ferret out the truth. ferret out and evict the hackers. The creation of a new unit is to ferret out serious police misconduct.
erudite	adjective. having or showing great knowledge; learned; scholarly	This erudite and thought-provoking book. Though Prime Minister Boris Johnson is more articulate and erudite, he and Trump are cut from the same demagogic cloth. Ms. Warren’s relentless stream of erudite and innovation policy proposals — her latest woul
heckle	verb. to challenge or harass	heckled and mocked by fans. booed and heckled by activists. heckled or cursed. New York police were heckled by some demonstrators when some officers knelt in solidarity at a Brooklyn protest.
leery	adjective. skeptical, very cautious, distrustful	leery of something or doing something. leery of getting too close. leery of further spending. leery of this whole thing. leery of the approach. Many parents were leery of sending their children to school before they were sure it was completely safe.
countenance	Noun. the face or its expression	A great poker player had a calm countenance. He had a puzzled countenance. What a charming countenance!
tailspin	noun. a chaotic or panic situation or state	After the mill closed, the local economy was in a tailspin.
scruple	noun a moral or ethical consideration	Enough! We have no interest in your scruples. Don’t you have any scruples? Liars, thieves, criminals, and politicians have fewer scruples than the rest of us.
flabbergasted	adjective. astounded, surprised	a flabbergasted look. I was flabbergasted. The children and their parents were too flabbergasted to speak.
ambivalent	having contradictory feelings; unable to decide	Some loved her, some hated her, few were ambivalent about her. He has an ambivalent relationship towards his parents.
bespectacled	adjective. (of a person) wearing eyeglasses	A bespectacled, studious youth. He, at fourteen, was pudgy, bespectacled, and totally unsentimental.
mayhem	noun. violent or damaging disorder; chaos	months of protest and mayhem in the city. outraged by the lawlessness and mayhem. Four people died in the mayhem.
fraying	adjective. worn off	A good waiter certainly can’t wander around the dining room with fraying collars and cuffs. I frayed the edges of my jeans since that was the fashion in those days.
litmus test	phase. a test that relies on a single indicator or factor	When buying packaged food, the real litmus test is the ingredient list.
helm	noun. a position of control; head. verb. to steer; direct.	A new dean is at the helm of the medical school. Democrats can helm Biden’s big bill to passage.
evince	verb. reveal, show clearly	Evince a feeling. Your smile evinces your happiness.
brazen	bold and shameless	It accused the president of engaging in a brazen effort to publicly attack and intimidate witnesses.
accentuate	verb. emphasize; put “accent” on, stress	He likes to wear clothes that accentuate his muscular build. Now is the time to count our blessings, accentuate the positive, think happy thoughts.
mollify	verb. to soften in feeling or temper, appease	mollify such concerns. mollify someone. She managed to mollify the angry customer.
intonation	noun. the rise and fall of the voice in speaking	People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it’s quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations, with each passing moment. — “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak
guise	noun. pretense, semblance	He visited in the guise of an inspector. She chatted with you under the guise of friendship.
dilly-dally	verb. to waste time by loitering or delaying	We'll never get there if you keep dilly-dallying! It is the dilly-dallying of Congress, all in the name of helping the economy. Life is short, don’t dilly-dally.
wacko	noun. a crazy person	wackos with a crazy hobby. a crazy redheaded wacko. a wacko country. By and large, the world is increasingly run by ignoramuses, wackos and psychotics.
pique	verb. arouse, stimulate, or excite	Pique your interest. Pique your curiosity. And for some reason this strikes a chord, piquing a memory.
ominous	adjective. menacing; threatening	The ominous symptoms. An ominous language. An ominous sign. A new report reveals that large and "unprecedented" numbers of migratory birds are mysteriously dying in New Mexico, with ominous implications for the environment as a whole.
virtuous circle	A chain of events that reinforce themselves through a feedback loop. A virtuous circle has favorable results.	Employing fewer humans would bring Amazon more cost savings in the long run, which it would ideally pass on to customers and re-invest in other parts of the business, leading to hiring more people in a virtuous circle.
malaise	discomfort, illness, or uneasiness	a general air of malaise. An infected person will feel a general malaise. Japan’s economic malaise ultimately spread to Europe and now threatens to engulf the $21 trillion U.S. economy.
rile up	phase. get someone excited, annoyed, or angry	He yelled at them and riled them up. Seeing that kind of injustice on the news always riles me up to no end.
seethe	verb. boil; be filled with intense anger	The customer was seething with anger. I am constantly seething over things that seem unfair at work, in my marriage, with my parents, etc.
eradicate	verb. to destroy completely; eliminate	eradicate diseases. eradicate poverty. eradicate corruption. Smallpox is the only infectious disease eradicated by a vaccine, and it took almost 200 years from the time the disease was discovered.
placate	verb. make (someone) less angry or hostile; soothe	Outraged minority groups will not be placated by promises of future improvements. A placating smile / gesture.
preposterous	adjective. absurd, completely contrary to reason	To a vegetarian, the idea of eating a 52-ounce T-bone steak would seem preposterous.
deluge	noun. an overwhelming number or amount; flood	a deluge of questions. a deluge of information. The expected deluge forced officials to issue a flash flood watch for all of the Chicago area.
congenial	adjective. agreeably suited to one's nature, tastes, or outlook; pleasant	It’s a very congenial friendship—they share several interests.
perspicacious	adjective. shrewd, wise	a perspicacious individual. perspicacious comments. She is enthusiastic, perspicacious and informed, and I look forward to working with her.
confabulate	verb. to fill in gaps in memory by fabrication . make up stories	confabulate stories, excuses, lies. We'll leave it to you to decide / argue / confirm / deny / corroborate / confabulate.
ephemeral	adjective. fleeting and short lived	the ephemeral joys of childhood. Though Snapchat messages are ephemeral by design, a student took a screenshot of it.
convoluted	adjective. complicated, twisted, hard to understand	Convoluted investment scheme. The passages were so full of confusing, convoluted words.
languishing	adjective. to become dispirited, weak; loving a state of depression, decreasing vitality	Thousands are languishing in jail. He is no longer languishing in a village unemployed.
suffuse	verb. gradually spread through or over	Let the music suffuse your entire body. The sky was suffused with a warm pink color.
capricious	impulsive, unpredictable	The local weather is capricious in Spring. Expect more capricious behaviors from President Donald Trump heading into 2020.
fright	noun. sudden and extreme fear, terror	Stage fright. You may scream in fright while watching a scary movie. Chestnutt squealed in fright, and I clenched every muscle as the tower began to lean to one side.
inflict	verb. to cause / impose something unpleasant on someone	Violence of any kind will not be tolerated in Orange County and those who choose to inflict violence on others will be prosecuted. inflict some physical pain on someone. inflict boredom on someone. inflict the violence on someone. inflict the trauma on.
hiatus	noun. a temporary break, pause, gap	The player returned after a one-game hiatus. a nine-month hiatus. The TV show is on hiatus
in shambles	phrase. the state of a great disorder; one heck of mess	With economy in shambles. With his presidential image in shambles. The tourism industry is in shambles. The world is in shambles right now, especially America.
espouse	verb. to adopt or give support to	espouse a belief. espouse the ideology. espouse the views. espouse a cause. He espoused conservative political views.
vicissitude	noun. a change or variation	The vicissitude of life. She was a wise woman, who has lived through many a cultural and social vicissitude.
garrulous	adjective. excessively chattering	Dove was garrulous, indolent, complaining, and boastful. Misjudging his tone entirely, I arrive at our interview expecting a garrulous chat.
indispensable	adjective. absolutely necessary, essential	an indispensable team member. The player is an indispensable part of the offense.
Circumvent	verb. to find a way around or bypass	Epic Games introduced direct payments in Fortnite, attempting to circumvent the 30% cut that Apple takes on App Store payments. Circumvent the law. Circumvent a travel ban. Circumvent the governor’s order.
megalomania	noun. a crazy hunger for power and wealth	And, rather than try to repress his megalomania, Trump basks in it. His pride and megalomania put him at odds with everyone, including his own son.
reprieve	noun. a temporary relief from any evil	A reprieve from punishment. A reprieve from boredom. A reprieve the dangerous condition. A reprieve from the pressures of work and life. As the fires raged, emergency crews got some reprieve over the weekend as strong winds died down and cooler, moiste
engrossing	adjective. fully occupying the mind and attention; absorbing	engrossing book. engrossing memoir. The episode is engrossing
colonnade	noun. the structure of a sequence of columns	President Obama walks along the colonnade of the White House to the Oval Office. The walk is known as the “45 seconds commute”.
gingerly	adjective. extremely cautiously	gingerly holding a newborn baby. gingerly down the staircase. walk gingerly off the court. A nurse gingerly unwrapped a bandage on her ring finger.
obliged	phase. formally ask someone politely and firmly to do something	I’d be obliged if you’d let me pass. I would be obliged if you could read it to us.
glimmering	Adjective. shining faintly with a wavering light	The moonlight glimmered on the lawn. The vaccine is the glimmering light that will be brighter over the months as the distribution rolls across the US.
fallout	noun. the adverse and unwanted side effect	The economic fallout of the pandemic. The financial fallout of the virus. The political fallout from the deaths. Thanks to the pandemic and it’s economic fallout, we are all philosophers now.
grandeur	noun. splendor and impressiveness, magnificence	the grandeur of the church on Red Square. the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains. the grandeur of his paintings
get fleeced	phase. to defraud of money or property; swindle.	Got fleeced by a real estate realtor. Don't want to get fleeced by a NFL draft trade.
sanguine	adjective. optimistic and cheerful	be sanguine about the situation. remain sanguine about the future. the sanguine spirit. a sanguine view. But others were less sanguine, concerned the company’s go-go-growth culture and its lack of discipline around product planning and expenses would re
trite	adjective. overused, not fresh	trite political points. obvious, trite, and outdated thoughts. a trite comparison. The joy is forced, the revelations trite and the characters are unmemorable.
Draconian	adjective. extremely harsh and severe	Draconian law. Draconian policies. Draconian measures. Draconian regulations. a little bit Draconian. It needed drastic measures of Draconian justice to curb a disease which threatened the whole nation.
adrenaline	noun. a homone secreted when in danger or stress	boost of adrenaline. a surge of adrenaline. an adrenaline rush. The final stretch of a presidential campaign is typically a nonstop mix of travel, caffeine and adrenaline.
appropriation	noun. the act of appropriating or taking possession of something, often without permission or consent	cultural appropriation in the fashion industry
pertinent	adjective. relevant, on-point	pertinent advices. pertinent questions. It’s pertinent to do... use online product manuals to find the pertinent information when necessary.
loath	adjective. not willing, reluctant	I loathe that guy who steals my food at work from the refrigerator but I’m loath to confront him because he is weird.
innuendo	noun. indirect hint, in a bad way	She’s making sly innuendoes. dispel some of the rumor and innuendo that are being spread. Strong claims need strong proof, not rumors and innuendo on Twitter.
murky	adjective. unclear	murky waters. murky air. murky weather. Vision is murky. Answer is murky. The history of math is murky, predating any written records.
pittance	noun. a very small or inadequate amount of money paid to someone as a allowance or wage	The back office staff gets paid a pittance. He is earning a pittance.
conundrum	noun. a difficult problem, riddle	He is faced with the conundrum of trying to find a job without having experience.
obstinate	adjective. beyond stubborn	You obstinate old mule! Get out of my way! He is obstinate and determined and will not give up.
fortitude	noun. mental and emotional strength in facing adversity	Never once did her fortitude waver during that long illness. He was a man of patience and fortitude, who spoke slowly and clearly as though every word was of equal importance.
slight	verb. pay no attention to, disrespect, treat as slight, unimportant	He was careful not to slight a guest. Kitty was ill from love for a man who had slighted her.
taut	adjective. stretched tight like a rope	taut body and tight muscles taut bed cover, not crumpled A taut chain is hard to break.
pejorative	adjective. belittling,	Hack is a pejorative term for a bad writer. A pejorative sense. A pejorative nickname.
adjudicate	verb. to determine, judge	The pandemic kept his case from being adjudicated. If they disagree, the diagnosis is adjudicated by a senior physician.
scoundrel	noun. a dishonest or unscrupulous person; a rogue	a drunken scoundrel A dark-haired, small-nosed scoundrel stole your ticket.
mildew	noun. a kind of fungus that grows in damp environment	The flat was very damp and mildewed. The breath smells stale and slightly mildewed, like air in an old cellar.
stall	verb. postpone; delay	The latest stimulus bill is stalled in the Senate. The coronavirus pandemic stalled the district’s response this year.
innocuous	adjective. harmless	innocuous remarks, comments, questions. In a pandemic, these innocuous social conventions qualify as dangerous behavior.
hypochondriac	noun. a person who constantly and excessively worries about their health	He was reputed to be a hypochondriac and a deeply paranoid, frustrated man.