201. impart
Meaning: transmit, as knowledge or a skill
Use: Long before writing and books were in common use, proverbs were the principal means of imparting instruction. Preston, Thomas
202. propriety
Meaning: correct behavior
Use: I felt a trifle doubtful about the propriety of taking a short cut across private grounds, and said as much. Sutphen, Van Tassel
203. consecrate
Meaning: render holy by means of religious rites
Use: The building was consecrated as a Protestant Episcopal church in May, 1814.Faris, John T. (John Thomson)
204. proceeds
Meaning: the income or profit arising from a transaction
Use: His own share in the proceeds was about a hundred thousand dollars.Stark, James H.
205. fathom
Meaning: come to understand
Use: But after flying for so many years, the idea of hanging up his sparkling wings is hard for him to fathom.New York Times (Mar 17, 2012)
206. objective
Meaning: the goal intended to be attained
Use: The objective was to mobilize students from 18 high schools across the city to provide community services and inspire others.New York Times (Feb 5, 2012)
207. clad
Meaning: wearing or provided with clothing
Use: A few of the villagers came behind, clad in mourning robes, and bearing lighted tapers.Various
208. partisan
Meaning: devoted to a cause or political group
Use: But given the bitter partisan divide in an election year, Democrats said they would never be able to get such legislation passed.Chicago Tribune (Mar 30, 2012)
209. faction
Meaning: a dissenting clique
Use: One faction declared it would begin an armed struggle against the government of the United States.Slate (Feb 29, 2012)
210. contrived
Meaning: artificially formal
Use: In lesser hands the story about a young man who discovers life among the dead could be impossibly cute and contrived.New York Times (Mar 25, 2012)
211. venerable
Meaning: impressive by reason of age
Use: Thus, after much more than two hundred years, the venerable building looks almost as it did when the first students entered its doors.Faris, John T. (John Thomson)
212. restrained
Meaning: not showy or obtrusive
Use: By contrast, Mr. Pei’s restrained design took time to claim my attention, particularly since it sat quietly next door to Saarinen’s concrete gull wings.New York Times (Oct 6, 2011)
213. besiege
Meaning: harass, as with questions or requests
Use: He can’t trot down the street without being besieged by paparazzi.New York Times (Mar 18, 2012)
214. manifestation
Meaning: a clear appearance
Use: Singing and dancing are manifestations of what many Syrians describe as a much broader cultural flowering.New York Times (Dec 19, 2011)
215. rebuke
Meaning: an act or expression of criticism and censure
Use: Afterward, the leaders fought court orders to release records showing what they had done, drawing an uncommonly sharp rebuke from a federal judge.Washington Post (Mar 14, 2012)
216. insurgent
Meaning: in opposition to a civil authority or government
Use: The Free Syrian Army, an insurgent group made of defecting soldiers and based in southern Turkey, claimed responsibility for both attacks.New York Times (Nov 20, 2011)
217. rhetoric
Meaning: using language effectively to please or persuade
Use: His fiery rhetoric in support of limiting cuts to projected defense spending has surprised and impressed some of Obama’s toughest Republican critics.
218. scrupulous
Meaning: having ethical or moral principles
Use: The reason is that the vast majority of businesses are scrupulous and treat their employees well.
219. ratify
Meaning: approve and express assent, responsibility, or obligation
Use: Company officials at Safeway said those replacement workers will remain on standby until the agreement is ratified by union members.Washington Post (Mar 29, 2012)
220. stump
Meaning: cause to be perplexed or confounded
Use: Though family members long suspected Evans, a local handyman who frequently hired local youths, the case stumped investigators for years.Washington Post (Aug 30, 2011)
221. discreet
Meaning: marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint
Use: Sarkozy has attempted to tone down his image, becoming more discreet about his private life.
222. imposing
Meaning: impressive in appearance
Use: These buildings were grand and stylized with intricate details and a bit of an imposing presence.Scientific American (Mar 5, 2012)
223. wistful
Meaning: showing pensive sadness
Use: She turned toward him, her face troubled, her eyes most wistful.Mason, A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley)
224. mortify
Meaning: cause to feel shame
Use: Intensely mortified at this humiliation, the king fell sick, and henceforth his health failed rapidly.Various
225. ripple
Meaning: stir up so as to form small waves
Use: That could precipitate higher interest rates that would ripple across the economy.Washington Post (Jul 27, 2011)
226. premise
Meaning: a statement that is held to be true
Use: Success, real success, comes to the jack of all trades, a major premise handed down from pioneer days.Gilbert, Clinton W. (Clinton Wallace)
227. subside
Meaning: wear off or die down
Use: Affliction is allayed, grief subsides, sorrow is soothed, distress is mitigated.Webster, Noah
228. adverse
Meaning: contrary to your interests or welfare
Use: High doses can have adverse effects and even cause death.Seattle Times (Mar 26, 2012)
229. caprice
Meaning: a sudden desire
Use: Nobody is really in charge, and decisions are made on whim and caprice.”New York Times (Apr 10, 2011)
230. muster
Meaning: summon up, call forth, or bring together
Use: Yet Fox needed all the strength that he could muster.Rosebery, Archibald Phillip Primrose
231. comprehensive
Meaning: broad in scope
Use: The United States Army developed a comprehensive plan to address problematic race relations in the 1970s, recognizing that they were hampering military effectiveness.New York Times (Feb 6, 2012)
232. accede
Meaning: yield to another’s wish or opinion
Use: Therefore he made up his mind to accede to his uncle’s desire.Streckfuss, Adolph
233. fervent
Meaning: characterized by intense emotion
Use: But, to fervent applause and scattered fist pumps from two sets of worshipers, he pledged to legally challenge the claims against him.New York Times (Sep 26, 2010)
234. cohere
Meaning: cause to form a united, orderly, and consistent whole
Use: Two antagonistic values may cohere in the same object.Anderson, Benjamin M. (Benjamin McAlester)
235. tribunal
Meaning: an assembly to conduct judicial business
Use: The military has historically been protected from civilian courts, with any crimes committed by soldiers being decided in closed military tribunals.
236. austere
Meaning: severely simple
Use: A certain austere simplicity was noticeable all over Longfellow’s house.Anonymous
237. recovering
Meaning: returning to health after illness or debility
Use: “The recovering economy is bringing more people back into the market.Washington Post (Mar 22, 2012)
238. stratum
Meaning: a group of people sharing similar wealth and status
Use: She belonged to the upper stratum of the profession, and, knowing it, could not sink.George, Walter Lionel
239. conscientious
Meaning: characterized by extreme care and great effort
Use: A conscientious hostess would be very much mortified if she served chicken out of its proper course.Reed, Myrtle
240. arbitrary
Meaning: based on or subject to individual discretion or preference
Use: Sandra Nurse, a member of Occupy’s direct action working group, said police treated demonstrators roughly and made arbitrary arrests.Time (Mar 18, 2012)
241. exasperate
Meaning: irritate
Use: Shopkeepers, exasperated at the impact of higher taxes and reduced consumer spending, are planning to close down for the day.New York Times (Feb 7, 2012)
242. conjure
Meaning: summon into action or bring into existence
Use: Vacation homes typically conjure up dreams of blue skies, pristine sand and crystalline waters.Wall Street Journal (Feb 28, 2012)
243. ominous
Meaning: threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
Use: The Count’s words were so ominous, so full of sinister meaning that for the moment he felt like crying out with fear.Hocking, Joseph
244. edifice
Meaning: a structure that has a roof and walls
Use: They are here erecting a fine stone edifice for an Episcopal Church.Clark, John A.
245. elude
Meaning: escape, either physically or mentally
Use: But despite racking up world titles, Olympic gold was eluding him.
246. pervade
Meaning: spread or diffuse through
Use: An air of intense anticipation pervaded the General’s dining room.Burnett, Carolyn Judson
247. foster
Meaning: promote the growth of
Use: Mr. Horne accused the district’s Mexican-American studies program of using an antiwhite curriculum to foster social activism.New York Times (Mar 19, 2012)
248. admonish
Meaning: scold or reprimand; take to task
Use: “Children, children, stop quarrelling, right here in public!” admonished Mrs. Dering, in a low, shocked tone.Perry, Nora
249. repeal
Meaning: cancel officially
Use: If Republicans repeal the law, Ms. Schakowsky said, they would be “taking away benefits that seniors are already getting.”New York Times (Mar 19, 2012)
250. retiring
Meaning: not arrogant or presuming
Use: Foster was an extremely modest, unworldly, retiring gentleman.Rosenbach, A. S. W.
251. incidental
Meaning: not of prime or central importance
Use: The models themselves are incidental on “Scouted,” merely empty planets around which revolve some fascinating characters and plenty more dull ones.New York Times (Nov 27, 2011)
252. acquiesce
Meaning: agree or express agreement
Use: American officials initially tried to resist President Karzai’s moves but eventually acquiesced.New York Times (Mar 9, 2012)
253. slew
Meaning: a large number or amount or extent
Use: In fact, intense focus may be one reason why so-called savants become so extraordinary at performing extensive calculations or remembering a slew of facts.Scientific American (Mar 3, 2012)
254. usurp
Meaning: seize and take control without authority
Use: More than anything, though, officials expressed concern about reigniting longstanding Mexican concerns about the United States’ usurping Mexico’s authority.New York Times (Mar 15, 2011)
255. sentinel
Meaning: a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
Use: The prisoners undressed themselves as usual, and went to bed, observed by the sentinel.Drake, Samuel Adams
256. precision
Meaning: the quality of being exact
Use: At this time, home ranges of small rodents can not be measured with great precision, therefore any such calculations are, at best, only approximations.Douglas, Charles L.
257. depose
Meaning: force to leave an office
Use: Late Wednesday, Mr. Touré, the deposed president, spoke out from hiding for the first time.New York Times (Mar 30, 2012)
258. wanton
Meaning: unprovoked or without motive or justification
Use: I am not a sentimentalist by any means, yet I abominate wanton cruelty.Stables, Gordon
259. odium
Meaning: state of disgrace resulting from detestable behavior
Use: This was one of the men who bring odium on the whole class of prisoners, and prejudice society against them.Henderson, Frank
260. precept
Meaning: a rule of personal conduct
Use: The law of nature has but one precept, “Be strong.”Williams, C. M.
261. deference
Meaning: a courteous expression of esteem or regard
Use: Other rules, as indicated in Mr. Collins’ book, concerned deportment, and demanded constant deference to superiors.Faris, John T. (John Thomson)
262. fray
Meaning: a noisy fight
Use: Armed rebels have joined the fray in recent months.
263. candid
Meaning: openly straightforward and direct without secretiveness
Use: The actor was candid about his own difficult childhood growing up with alcoholic parents.Seattle Times (Feb 17, 2012)
264. enduring
Meaning: unceasing
Use: What makes the galumphing hubby such an enduring stock character?Slate (Mar 26, 2012)
265. impertinent
Meaning: improperly forward or bold
Use: Imagine calling a famous writer by his first name—it seemed impertinent, to say the least.Watkins, Shirley
266. bland
Meaning: lacking stimulating characteristics; uninteresting
Use: Many critics were less than enamored with the kind of “easy listening” Mr. Williams embodied, deriding his approach as bland and unchallenging.New York Times (Oct 9, 2011)
267. insinuate
Meaning: suggest in an indirect or covert way; give to understand
Use: “Good heavens, do you mean to insinuate that I did anything crooked?” said Bojo loudly, yet at the bottom ill at ease.Johnson, Owen
268. nominal
Meaning: insignificantly small; a matter of form only
Use: He sought nominal damages of one dollar from each defendant.
269. suppliant
Meaning: humbly entreating
Use: The colonists asked for nothing but what was clearly right and asked in the most respectful and even suppliant manner.Judson, L. Carroll
270. languid
Meaning: lacking spirit or liveliness
Use: Many viewers, bored by the languid pace of the show, tuned out early.New York Times (Dec 30, 2011)
271. rave
Meaning: praise enthusiastically
Use: I have heard lots of women simply rave about him.Kauffman, Reginald Wright
272. monetary
Meaning: relating to or involving money
Use: A hundred years ago, monetary policy – control over interest rates and the availability of credit – was viewed as a highly contentious political issue.New York Times (Mar 29, 2012)
273. headlong
Meaning: in a hasty and foolhardy manner
Use: “They may not be wishing to rush headlong back into the same sort of risks just yet.”
274. infallible
Meaning: incapable of failure or error
Use: But conductors are no more infallible than other people, and once in a blue moon in going through a train they miss a passenger.Lynde, Francis
275. coax
Meaning: influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
Use: He used his most enticing manner and did his best to coax the little animal out again.Kay, Ross
276. explicate
Meaning: elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses
Use: He urged judges to resist the rigid guidelines and to write opinions explicating their reasons for doing so.New York Times (Jan 22, 2010)
277. gaunt
Meaning: very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold
Use: Gaunt, starved, and ragged, the men marched northwards, leaving the Touat country upon their left hand.Mason, A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley)
278. morbid
Meaning: suggesting the horror of death and decay
Use: Earlier in the day, however, his demise was watched by spectators with a morbid fascination.New York Times (Aug 16, 2010)
279. ranging
Meaning: wandering freely
Use: His detective work is fascinating and wide ranging.Seattle Times (Feb 1, 2012)
280. pacify
Meaning: ease the anger, agitation, or strong emotion of
Use: How they pacified him I don’t know, but at the end of two hours he had cooled off enough to let us go aboard.Quincy, Samuel M.
281. pastoral
Meaning: idyllically rustic
Use: He made a considerable reputation as an accomplished painter of quiet pastoral subjects and carefully elaborated landscapes with cattle.Various
282. dogged
Meaning: stubbornly unyielding
Use: Some analysts expect Mr. Falcone, who is known for his dogged determination, to just continue to limp along while slashing costs.New York Times (Feb 15, 2012)
283. ebb
Meaning: fall away or decline
Use: Although Gardner’s competitive appetite ebbed after 2004, other cravings did not.New York Times (Jan 28, 2012)
284. aide
Meaning: someone who acts as an assistant
Use: She later found work as a teacher’s aide in a Head Start program in Harlem.New York Times (Jan 12, 2012)
285. appease
Meaning: cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
Use: The king also has tried to appease public anger over corruption.New York Times (Feb 9, 2012)
286. stipulate
Meaning: make an express demand or provision in an agreement
Use: The mayor has an executive order in place stipulating that all top officials, except those granted a waiver, live in the city.New York Times (Sep 22, 2011)
287. recourse
Meaning: something or someone turned to for assistance or security
Use: Bargain hunters and holiday shoppers are bad guys’ favorite targets and have little or no recourse when shoddy or fake merchandise arrives.Forbes (Nov 22, 2011)
288. constrained
Meaning: lacking spontaneity; not natural
Use: All his goodness, however, will be of a forced, constrained, artificial, and at bottom unreal character.Hyde, William De Witt
289. bate
Meaning: moderate or restrain; lessen the force of
Use: “You called her ‘an interfering, disagreeable old woman’!” whispered Bertha with bated breath, glancing half fearfully at the door as she spoke.Vaizey, George de Horne, Mrs.
290. aversion
Meaning: a feeling of intense dislike
Use: Already my passive dislike had grown into an active aversion.Oppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)
291. conceit
Meaning: an artistic device or effect
Use: An urban panorama is viewed from a high vantage point, a conceit used in topographic art to render vast perspectives.New York Times (Sep 30, 2011)
292. loath
Meaning: strongly opposed
Use: Friends and political allies are loath to talk about her, knowing the family’s intense obsession with privacy.New York Times (Aug 14, 2011)
293. rampart
Meaning: an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes
Use: The night was gloomy, dark, and wet; the soldiers, wearied with watching at the ramparts, dozed, leaning on their weapons.Sienkiewicz, Henryk
294. extort
Meaning: obtain by coercion or intimidation
Use: The owners, in turn, have called the lawyers shakedown artists bent on ruining their good reputations to extort money.New York Times (Jan 27, 2012)
295. tarry
Meaning: leave slowly and hesitantly
Use: For two days I tarried in Paris, settling my little property.Ford, Paul Leicester
296. perpetrate
Meaning: perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
Use: Come on it’s just a cruel joke perpetrated by the airline industry.”Forbes (Dec 11, 2011)
297. decorum
Meaning: propriety in manners and conduct
Use: Wishing to observe the rules of decorum she invited him to stay for supper, though absolutely nothing had been prepared for a guest.Sudermann, Hermann
298. luxuriant
Meaning: produced or growing in extreme abundance
Use: Her luxuriant curly hair, restrained by no net, but held together simply by a flowering spray, waved over her shoulders in all its rich abundance.Elisabeth Burstenbinder (AKA E. Werner)
299. cant
Meaning: insincere talk about religion or morals
Use: It was the familiar cant of the man rich enough to affect disdain for money, and Wade was not impressed.Day, Holman
300. enjoin
Meaning: give instructions to or direct somebody to do something
Use: He turned to beckon the others forward with one hand, while laying the other over his mouth in a gesture enjoining silence.Breckenridge, Gerald