Word: Belie

Meaning: To give a false impression; to misrepresent

Sentence: Jason tried to belie the fact he was a lousy worker by showing up early at the office.

Word: Bombast
Meaning: Self-important or pompous writing/speech
Sentence: You need less bombast and more substance in this speech on human rights.

Word: Cacophony
Meaning: Dissonance
Sentence: Her thoughts were interrupted by a cacophony of squawks and wings beating against
the chicken coop walls.

Word: Castigation
Meaning: Severe criticism or punishment
Sentence: More than likely, the United Nations will castigate the dictator for allowing his military
force to torture the people of his country.

Word: Censure (This is different from castigate as it is used in an official setting.)

Meaning: To criticize severely or to rebuke officially
Sentence: Because Jack cheated on his teacher’s exam, he will receive a censure from the state
board that will prevent him from teaching for two years.

Word: Chicanery
Meaning: The use of trickery to achieve a political, financial, or legal purpose
Sentence: Instead of being truthful on his campaign for sheriff, he resorted to chicanery.

Word: Coercive
Meaning: Compel by force or authority
Sentence: As the students argued, the teacher tried to coerce them into silence with the threat of
a detention.

Word: Condemn
Meaning: Reprimand harshly
Sentence: While the minister cheats on his wife, he has the nerve to condemn those who commit
adultery.

Word: Covert
Meaning: Hidden/Clandestine
Sentence: As an investigator, John often uses covert surveillance methods to follow his suspects
without being seen.

Word: Cower
Meaning: To crouch in fear or shame
Sentence: When he was afraid, the little puppy would crouch down and cower in fear.

Word: Craven
Meaning: Lacking in courage/cowardly
Sentence: Josh is such a craven individual that he did not bother to stand up for his wife when a
stranger attacked her.
Word: Denigrate
Meaning: Defame someone
Sentence: On the talk show, the mean host usually tries to denigrate her guests by reminding them
of their misdeeds.

Word: Derision
Meaning: Severe mocking and ridiculing of someone
Sentence: Laughed at being a virgin all her life, Mary will spend a passionate night with her
boyfriend to end the merciless derision from her friends.

Word: Diatribe
Meaning: Abusive speech or piece of writing/verbal attack
Sentence: The journalist wrote a long diatribe about the politician’s abuse of funds.

Word: Discomfit
Meaning: Make (someone) feel uneasy or embarrassed
Sentence: The manager’s mean look served to discomfit me during the interview.

Word: Disingenuous
Meaning: Insincere/Lacking in honesty or frankness
Sentence: While Catherine pretended to be trustworthy, she was in reality a disingenuous woman
who would do whatever it took to get her way.

Word: Dissemble
Meaning: To disguise or hide
Sentence: While it may be easier to dissemble your true feelings from others, it is always best to
be honest with those you love.

Word: Furtive
Meaning: Attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that
discovery would lead to trouble; secretive.
Sentence: Crissy walked outside in a furtive manner so that her parents would not see her.

Word: Garrulous
Meaning: Pointlessly overtalkative
Sentence: Desperate for peace and quiet, Amanda told the garrulous man sitting next to her to
"Shut up!"

Word: Harangue (Synonym for diatribe)

Meaning: Verbal attack/verbal onslaught
Sentence: The candidate's speech was nothing but a harangue against his opponent.

Word: Impudent
Meaning: Rude/disrespectful
Sentence: Matt is an impudent scoundrel who doesn’t seem to respect rules or people.

Word: Importunate
Meaning: Repeatedly asking for something, in a forceful and annoying way
Sentence: An importunate bill collector would not stop calling Jim at work.
Word: Irascible
Meaning: Easily angered
Sentence: Because Charles is very irascible, you have to be mindful of what you say to him.

Word: Malevolent
Meaning: Wishing harm to others; malicious
Sentence: With a malevolent look on the man's face, Leah knew she was in danger.

Word: Martial
Meaning: Associated with a military way of life
Sentence: Since my father brings his job as a colonel home, he runs our family in a martial way by
assigning everyone a rank and duties.

Word: Misanthrope
Meaning: A person who hates or distrusts humankind
Sentence: The old man was a misanthrope who surrounded his entire yard with barbed wire to
keep his neighbors at bay.

Word: Morose
Meaning: Feeling sad, in a bad mood, and not wanting to talk to anyone
Sentence: When her dog died, the little girl was morose for months.

Word: Obdurate
Meaning: Unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings/hardhearted
Sentence: Despite the defendant’s apology, the judge was obdurate and gave him a thirty-year
sentence.

Word: Obsequious
Meaning: Overtly obedient
Sentence: The princess had obsequious servants who showered her with attention.

Word: Obstinate
Meaning: Stubborn
Sentence: Although the little boy knew he was wrong, he was too obstinate to apologize to his
parents.

Word: Onerous
Meaning: Involving great effort and difficulty
Sentence: When Jack agreed to help his father cut the grass, he did not realize the chore would be
so onerous.

Word: Opprobrium
Meaning: The disgrace incurred by conduct considered outrageously shameful
Sentence: Because the athlete used steroids to increase his performance, he had to face the
opprobrium of the sports committee.

Word: Pedantic
Meaning: Giving too much importance to details and formal rules
Sentence: As a grammar teacher, it is hard for me to not review everything with a pedantic eye.

Word: Perjury
Meaning: Giving false testimony after swearing to state the truth
Sentence: John was warned by the judge to tell the truth or else be arrested for perjury.

Word: Provoke
Meaning: To trigger anger
Sentence: The pictures of the victim’s body are sure to provoke feelings of anger within the jury.

Word: Recalcitrant
Meaning: Stubborn
Sentence: Despite being offered treats by his parents, the little boy was still recalcitrant about
doing his homework.

Word: Secrete
Meaning: Enscounce/To settle
Sentence: Nil

Word: Specious
Meaning: Seems correct or true, but actually wrong or false; deceptive
Sentence: Although he could not deliver on them, the salesman made us several specious
promises.

Word: Spurious
Meaning: Not real or genuine
Sentence: After receiving a low appraisal on my diamond ring, I realized the suspicious-looking
jeweler had sold me a spurious jewel.

Word: Squander
Meaning: To waste
Sentence: Because time is one thing you can never get back again, you should always make an
effort not to squander a minute on trivial pursuits.
Word: Tirade
Meaning: A long and angry speech
Sentence: When the player got kicked out of the game, he started a tirade which lasted until
security escorted him off the court.

Word: Vexation
Meaning: Annoyance/irritation
Sentence: In vexation, I watched the neighbor’s dog poop in my yard.