Common Word I

Venerate (v): To respect deeply

(Rate/Respect someone)
Ex: Professor was venerated amongst
his colleagues.

Auspicious (adj): Favorable, opposite

of Sinister
(a+suspicious, a means negative,
suspicious means not favorable, so not
not favorable means favorable)
Ex: Despite an auspicious beginning,
Mikes road trip was good.

Restive (adj): Restless

Ex: The crowd grew restive as the
comedians opening jokes fell flat.

Wanting (adj): Lacking

Ex: She did not think her vocabulary
was wanting.
Laconic (adj): Using few words to
describe
(Lack+on+ink, when we have lack of ink,
we describe shortly)
Ex: She was laconic, but her boyfriend
was talkative.

Artful (adj): Showing artistic skills

Ex: The autistic child is very artful.

Impertinent (adj): being disrespectful;

improperly forward or bold
(Improper tenants are rude)
Ex: It is impertinent of a child to lecture
a grownup.

Qualify (v): to make less severe; to limit

(He qualified for the job, his life is now
easy)
Ex: Chris qualified his love for San
Francisco, adding he didn't like the
weather there.
Undermine (v): to weaken
(You are under my control, so you are
weak and you shall obey me!)
Ex: The student undermined the
teachers authority by questioning him

Galvanize (v): to excite/inspire

(Galvanization is done to enhance
surface property)
Ex: Being galvanized, he broke into a
gallop, finishing the last three miles in 20
minutes.

Ambivalent (adj): mixed emotions

(ambi means both in greek, valence with
both feelings is mixed)
Ex: Sam was ambivalent about studying
for the exam because doing so ate up a
lot of his time, yet he was able to improve
his analytical skills.
Veracious (adj): truthful
(ver means truth; this is very true!)
Ex: While we elect our leaders in the
hope that every word they speak will
be veracious

Extant (adj): still in existence

(Sounds like existent)
Ex: Despite many bookstores closing,
experts predict that some form of book
dealing will still be extant generations
from now.

Upbraid (v): to scold/reproach

(Elders scold me because I up my bra)
Ex: The president upbraided the general
for his irresponsible behavior.

Equivocal (adj): ambiguous/confusing

(When all vocals are equal, it is confusing
who is talking)
Ex: The findings of the study
were equivocal.
Ambiguous (adj): confusing/equivocal
(ambi means both in greek, guous
sounds like guess)
Ex: His directions were ambiguous, and
the team had no idea to which side he
was referring.

Ingenuous (adj): nave/innocent

(Innocent genius)
Ex: He gave an ingenuous solution to
the problem.

Innocuous (adj): mean no offence/harm

(Sounds like innocent)
Ex: it was an innocuous remark.

Parochial (adj): narrowly restricted

(partial, not open minded)
Ex: his tastes were simply too parochial.
Chastise (v): to reprimand harshly
(sounds like caste, he was chastised
because of his caste)
Ex: Though chastised for eating the
snacks for the party, Lawrence shrugged
off his mothers harsh words.

Anomalous (adj): not normal

(sounds like abnormal)
Ex: the extreme weather over the last five
years is simply anomalous.

Amenable (adj): easy to

manage/persuade someone
(amen means so be it)
Ex: Shirley was generally amenable and
so her brother was able to persuade her
to go camping.

Belie (v): to give false statement to;

misinterpret
Ex: The smile on her face belies the pain
she feels.
Frugal (adj): not spending much money,
but spending wisely
(sounds like fru/threw gal/girl; if no
girlfriends, no wastage of money)
Ex: Monte was no miser, but was
simply frugal, wisely spending the little
that he earned.

Enervate (v): to sap energy from

(energy evaporate)
Ex: the intense sun would always leave
him enervated.

Calumny (n): making false statement to

hurt reputation
(call you mini to hurt your reputation)
Ex: With the presidential primaries well
under way, the air is thick with calumny.

Amalgam (n): a mixture of multiple

things
Ex: The bands music was an amalgam
of hip-hop.
Prodigal (adj): very wasteful
(opposite of Frugal)
Ex: He had a prodigal life.

Maintain (v): to assert

Ex: The scientist maintained that the
extinction of dinosaurs was most likely
brought about by a drastic change in
climate.

Venality (n): susceptible to bribes or

corruption
(venomous penalty because of
corruption)
Ex: Even some of the most sacred
sporting events are not immune
to venality.

Betray (v): To express unintentionally

Ex: Her quivering lip betrayed his
intense emotions.
Disinterested (adj): neutral
Ex: The jury consists of disinterested
members.

Commensurate (adj): to be in proper

amount
(I ensure you, this is the proper
punishment)
Ex: The felons life sentence was
commensurate with the heinousness of
his crime.

Aberration (n): deviation

Ex: Aberration in climate has become a
norm.

Harangue (n): a long pompous speech

(sounds like harass)
Ex: His parents always harangue him
about his laziness.
Iconoclast (n): someone who attacks
cherished beliefs/institutions
(Icon blast, destroyer of icon)
Ex: Lady gaga is an iconoclast for
wearing meat dress to a prominent
awards show.

Intimate (v): to suggest subtly

(intimately suggest something good to
someone)
Ex: His teachers intimated to his parents
that he was ready to skip a grade.

Amorphous (adj): shapeless

Ex: His GRE plans were amorphous.

Egregious (adj): very bad and

negatively standing in a way
(egregious>egre>aggre>aggressi
Ex: The dictators abuse of human right
was very egregious.
Gregarious (adj): to be social
(aggregate>gregate>gregarious)
Ex: Leaders are generally gregarious.

Prevaricate (v): speak evasively to

mislead/ withhold info
(pre+var/truth+cate/fabricate is to
fabricate the truth, meaning to lie)
Ex: All politicians seem to prevaricate.

Involved (adj): complex

Ex: Physics lecture was very involved.

Demur (v): show reluctance

(sounds a little like Damn you are wrong!
I object!)
Ex: I demurred when friends suggested
we go skiing.

Mercurial (adj): prone to unexpected

mood change
Ex: She had a mercurial mood.
Vindicate (v): to clear accusation
Ex: You must vindicate yourself and
fight this.

Castigate (v): to reprimand harshly

(caste/racism in gate)
Ex: Sergeants castigate new recruits.

Parsimonious (adj): extreme frugal

(Purse-e-monious; not willing to spend
money from Purse)
Ex: Katie is so parsimonious that she
only buys a pair of socks if all of her other
socks have holes in them.

Acrimony (n): ill will

(a-crime-ony, so it is ugly)
Ex: The acrimony between the
president and vice-president sent a clear
signal to voters.
Censure (v): to express disapproval
(when we disapprove, we censor the
scene)
Ex: After being caught in bed with a
mistress, the mayor was
quickly censured.

Profligate (adj): spending recklessly

(spend Profusely like bill Gates)
Ex: The composer was so profligate as
to line all the walls of his apartment with
pure silk.