Intangible

Intangible - not concrete or material, something which cannot be sensed

Sample Sentence:
Intangible concepts are difficult for small children to understand since they think in concrete terms.

Castigate

Castigate - to rebuke harshly or punish severely

Sample Sentence:

Before you castigate me again for being late, you should check your watch.

Commemorate

Commemorate - to honor the memory of something or serve as a memorial of it

Sample Sentence:
There will be many services throughout the country to commemorate the heroism of those who fought back against evil incarnate on United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001.

Absolute

Absolute - 2 parts of speech
noun - perfect, complete, independent of comparisons
adjective - unadulterated, unrestrained, unlimited, unequivocal

Sample Sentence:
Do you believe the right to life is relative or absolute?

Prodigious

Prodigious - fabulous or marvelous

Sample Sentence:
Sarah Palin's prodigious debut on the world stage was a sight to behold.

Tempestuous

Tempestuous - turbulent or stormy

Sample Sentence:
Their tempestuous relationship caused frustration for all their friends.

Hypochondriac

Hypochondriac - one who constantly worries about their health; often believes they are ill.

Sample Sentence:
The hypochondriac visited his doctor monthly with a new list of symptoms.

Guile

Guile - cunning or deceitful in nature

Sample Sentence:

The therapist could not believe the guile of the patient as she recounted a childhood memory of a non-existent sibling.

Acrid

Acrid - sharp or bitter smell or taste

Sample Sentence:

The unusual delicacy left an acrid taste in her mouth that remind her of metal.

Rhetoric

Rhetoric - persuasive speech

Sample Sentence:

The campaign rhetoric reaches its zenith during the respective party conventions.

Facetiously

Facetiously - humorously or in an ironic manner

Sample Sentence:

The speaker facetiously asked if anyone was in hurry before he began his 25 minute answer.

Alexithymia

Alexithymia - not having the words to express emotion

Sample Sentence:

Because his alexithymia prevented him from declaring his love for her, he played his guitar.

Vulgar

Vulgar - common, crude or coarse, even indecent

Sample Sentence:

The man's vulgar behavior drew the attention of the crowd and the police.

Obsequious

Obsequious - submissive, flatteringly attentive

Sample Sentence:

The obsequious assistant continued to fawn all over her boss, hoping for a promotion.

Precarious

Precarious - uncertain or unstable

Sample sentence:  The young boy found himself in the precarious situation of hanging by his pant leg from the tree.

Sojourn

Sojourn - a temporary stay or visit

Sample Sentence: Her sojourn to wine country left her very relaxed.

Chastise

Chastise - to punish or rebuke 

Sample Sentence:

The police officers began to verbally chastise the teenager caught defacing the store.

Edict

Edict - a forceful command, can be a pronouncement with the force of law.

Sample Sentence:

The king issued an edict for all the people to attend the ball.

Empirical

Empirical - possessing observable proof

Sample Sentence:

The empirical evidence was not in dispute, only its interpretation.

Avarice

Avarice - greed or covetousness

Sample Sentence:

The real estate agent, who was known for his avarice, lied to the buyers of the home about its foundation.

Eschew

Eschew - to avoid or shun

Sample Sentence:

He chose to eschew the worldly lifestyle of the other students in his apartment complex.

Perspicacious

Perspicacious - Discerning, wise

Sample Sentence:

His perspicacious analysis of the political situation helped him make a proper military choice.

Oaf

Oaf - a clumsy or bumbling person.

Sample Sentence:

As the big oaf walked down the sidewalk, he stepped on the little boy's toy plane.

Cacophony

Cacophony - discordant or harsh group of sounds.

Sample Sentence:

The screaming cacophony of the room scared away the little girl.

Specious

Specious - deceptive, having pretense

His continuous tardiness and specious excuses irritated his boss enough to fire him.

Sluggard

Sluggard - a lazy person

Sample Sentence - The sluggard couldn't even put on a clean shirt for his interview.

Exacerbate

Exacerbate - to intensify or worsen the negative effects

Sample Sentence:

Sitting in the sun seemed to exacerbate the baby's rash.

Squeamish

Squeamish - easily sickened or nauseated

An autopsy is extremely hard on squeamish medical students.

Trepidation

Trepidation - agitation or quivering fear

Sample Sentence:

His trepidation continued to mount as walked home through the woods.

Garish

Garish - gaudy, showy or excessively bright

Sample Sentence:

Her garish outfit turned heads on the street.

Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist - Characteristic of a specific period in time

Sample Sentence:

The zeitgeist listing on my LibraryThing account has books that reflect the users' current interests.

Vacillate

Vacillate - to sway or fluctuate

Sample Sentence:

In order to make both parties happy, the candidate continued to vacillate between the two sides of the issue

Pontificate

Pontificate - to speak pompously or patronizingly

Sample Sentence:

The neighborhood gossip began to pontificate to the women at the luncheon about keeping confidences. 

Scathing

Scathing - harsh, extremely critical

Sample Sentence:

The Post's scathing review of the movie lowered ticket sales.

Quagmire

Quagmire - a bog or a predicament

Sample Sentence: 

When she stumbled upon the boy hanging upside down from the tree by his belt loops above the pond, she laughed at the quagmire he had created.

Salient

Salient - important, significant, notable

Sample Sentence:

His salient point about the effect of off shore drilling on gas prices was lost in the debate.

Pugnacious

Pugnacious - aggressively argumentative or combative

Sample Sentence:

The pugnacious little boy came home with a black eye almost every week.

Platitude

Platitude - a comment that is trite, obvious or cliche

Sample Sentence:

The candidate for office gave one platitude after another in his speech.

Adjudicate

Adjudicate - to settle in a judicial manner

Sample Sentence:

The two parties could not agree on a solution, so it will be necessary to adjudicate the matter.

Exegesis

Exegesis - Critical analysis or explanation, particularly of scripture

Sample Sentence:

His exegesis of the verse was flawed because he misunderstood the vocabulary.

Dowager

Dowager - an older woman of dignity

Sample Sentence:

The generous dowager donated money for a library to be built

Vagrant

Vagrant - wanderer, beggar, one without home or employment

Sample sentence:

The couple walking to dinner was surprised by a vagrant in the alley beside the restaurant.

Churlish

Churlish - rude, discourteous, boorish, difficult

Sample Sentence:

The churlish woman shrieked at the clerk for missing a sale price on an item.

Magnanimous

Magnanimous - generous, giving, noble.

Sample Sentence:

His magnanimous gesture of large donation thrilled the community center.

Bucolic

Bucolic - Rural, pastoral

Sample Sentence:
The bucolic little town was perfect for a quiet weekend getaway.

Egregious

Egregious - outrageously bad, conspicuously offensive

Sample Sentence:

His egregious behavior caused the owner to ban him from the restaurant.

Dolt

Dolt - an idiot, one lacking sense

Sample Sentence:

The dolt put his tongue on the frozen metal pole.

Ubiquitous

Ubiquitous - widespread, everywhere

Sample Sentence:

In the age of ubiquitous wifi, its ridiculous that you still get charged so much for it at hotels.

Obumbrate

Obumbrate - to shade, shadow or cover

Sample Sentence:

The dense fog will obumbrate the mountain peak.

Loquacious

Loquacious - talkative or chatty

Sample Sentence:

My loquacious daughter is often the center of attention.

Philatelist

Philatelist - a stamp collector

Sample Sentence:

Our neighbor, who is a philatelist, collects rare and commemorative stamps.

Vacuous

Vacuous - lacking purpose or intelligence; stupid

Sample Sentence:

I'm tired of listening to vacuous comments from ill-informed news anchors.

Sycophant

Sycophant - a flatterer or self-serving kiss up

Sample Sentence:

It seems she has hired another sycophant to boost her ego.

Mellifluous

Mellifluous - smooth, rich sounding, flowing

Sample Sentence:

The mellifluous sound of his voice filled the room as he read the passage.

Redundant

Redundant - Excessive or unnecessary repetition

Sample Sentence:

My first post was a bit redundant.

Inaugural

Inaugural - The beginning of a new venture.

Sample Sentence:

This inaugural post of my blog will be the word inaugural.  This leads us to my next post.....