| A | B |
|---|
| GARRULOUS | adj. 1. excessively talkative in a rambling, roundabout manner, especially about trivial matters. 2. wordy or diffuse: a garrulous and boring speech. |
| FLOUNDER | v. 1. to struggle with stumbling or plunging movements (usually followed by about, along, on, through, etc.): He saw the child floundering about in the water. 2. to struggle clumsily or helplessly: He floundered helplessly on the first day of his new job. |
| ATAVISTIC | adj. of, pertaining to, or characterized by atavism; reverting to or suggesting the characteristics of a remote ancestor or primitive type. |
| FORESTALL | v. 1. to prevent, hinder, or thwart by action in advance: to forestall a riot by deploying police. 2. to act beforehand with or get ahead of; anticipate. |
| ENTREAT | v. 1. to ask (a person) earnestly; beseech; implore; beg: to entreat the judge for mercy. 2. to ask earnestly for (something): He entreated help in his work. |
| AMBIVALENCE | n. uncertainty or fluctuation, especially when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things. |
| SLOUGH | n. 1. an area of soft, muddy ground; swamp or swamplike region. 2. a hole full of mire, as in a road. 3. Also, slew, slue. Northern U.S. and Canadian. a marshy or reedy pool, pond, inlet, backwater, or the like. 4. a condition of degradation, despair, or helplessness. |
| ARBITRATE | v. 1. to decide as arbitrator or arbiter; determine. 2. to submit to arbitration; settle by arbitration: to arbitrate a dispute. |
| JIBE | v. to be in harmony or accord; agree: The report does not quite jibe with the commissioner's observations. |
| EMPIRICAL | adj. 1. derived from or guided by experience or experiment. 2. depending upon experience or observation alone, without using scientific method or theory, especially as in medicine. |
| LABYRINTH | n. an intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit. Synonyms: maze, network, web. |
| METICULOUS | adj. taking or showing extreme care about minute details; precise; thorough: a meticulous craftsman; meticulous personal appearance. |
| ABHOR | v. to regard with extreme repugnance or aversion; detest utterly; loathe; abominate. |
| PRECLUDE | v. 1. to prevent the presence, existence, or occurrence of; make impossible: The insufficiency of the evidence precludes a conviction. 2. to exclude or debar from something: His physical disability precludes an athletic career for him. |
| IMPLICATE | v. to show to be also involved, usually in an incriminating manner: to be implicated in a crime. |
| PIQUE | v. 1. to affect with sharp irritation and resentment, especially by some wound to pride: She was greatly piqued when they refused her invitation. 2. to wound (the pride, vanity, etc.). 3. to excite (interest, curiosity, etc.): Her curiosity was piqued by the gossip. 4. to arouse an emotion or provoke to action: to pique someone to answer a challenge. |
| ABSCOND | v. to depart in a sudden and secret manner, especially to avoid capture and legal prosecution: The cashier absconded with the money. |
| EFFRONTERY | n. shameless or impudent boldness; barefaced audacity: She had the effrontery to ask for two free samples. |
| APPRISE | v. to give notice to; inform; advise (often followed by of ): to be apprised of the death of an old friend. |
| VAINGLORIOUS | adj. boastful or vain; ostentatious |
