Abase and Debase
Abase: humiliate
Debase: lower value


Abrogate and Arrogate
Abrogate: abolish
Arrogate: take power w/o right


Adverse and Averse
Adverse: unfavorable
Averse: having hatred


Chary, Circumspect, Discreet, Heedful, and Leery
Chary: wary
Circumspect: thoughtful, chary
Discreet: keep secrets, circumspect
Heedful: careful, attentive
Leery: suspicious, wary


Voc/Voke/Vow
Definition: To Call
Avocation: main occupation
Vocation: hobby
Invoke: to call on a deity or authority
Convoke: to call for a convention or meeting


Affection vs. Affectation

Affection: love
Affectation: artificial behavior to impress

Allay vs. Alley
Allay: to diminish
Alley: 골목길

Contend vs. Content
Contend: to strive to achieve
Content: happy

Annal vs. Annul vs. Annual
Annals: record of historical events/figures
Annul: to make invalid
Annual: yearly

Apologia vs. Apologue
Apologia: defense
Apologue: moral fable

Sympathy vs. Empathy
Sympathy: feeling sorry for others
Empathy: feeling sorry for others, esp. because you've gone through the same turmoil/misery/agony, etc.

Ardent vs. Arduous
Ardent: enthusiastic
Arduous: demanding labor and effort

Balky vs. Bulky
Balky: opposing nature
Bulky: big, bodybuilder-ish



Ordinary Words:

1. Ingratiate: make yourself favorable by flattering
Key: suck-up to teachers

2. Insinuate: to hint. sth bad in an indirect way
Key: using money to rise social ladder

3. Havoc: destruction
Key: 911 terror

4. Covet: longing to possess
Key: Anna and her little cookie

5. Incessant: continuous
Key: flowing blood

6. Eradicable: destroy-able
Key: .....destory destroy destroy

7. Constellate: gather together
Key: people convening

8. Ameliorate (in fact, Andy uses this quite often): improve, make it better
Key: You know, I told him to ameliorate his current event speech into a more "comprehensible" one; I actually edited his script and re-defined every word that was like.... like..... you know what I mean.

9. Calumniate: to make false/defamatory statements
Key: Mrs. Thull and her teaching skills

10. Inadvertent: not attentive enough, unintentionally careless
Key: inadvertently stepping on sb's shoes

11. Remiss: negligent towards duty, showing slackness
Key: media is remiss about reporting gory situations

12. Lax: neglecting one's duty
Key: reLAX; somehow to me this word sounds laid back and lazy

13. Callow: naive (esp. of young person)
Key: young boy accepting stranger's offer of a ride to school

14. Fledgling: immature, inexperienced, undeveloped
n. young bird just developed with feathers
Key: think of small bird just learning to fly (ahh so cute)

15. Ingenious: clever, original, inventive
Key: those inventors with that lighting bulb on their heads when an idea pops up

16. Variance: difference between what is expected and what actually occurs
Key: "vary" is the key (duhh Jenny -_-)

17. Vim: energy, vigor
Key: lively, I'll think of you, Carol. You.... can.... think of .... my burning passion about neuroscience. (since when?)

18. Battery: extensive range of things
Key: a pack of something?

19. Calumny: slander!
Key: a tongue that is also a sword -_- (yeah, funny....)

20. Dearth: a lack, scarcity
Key: French Revolution and the food (bread?)

21. Supine: lying on back / inactive and lethargic
Key: I usually picture a really handsome and powerful black guy lying on his back with a gun and working on his secret mission...for... I don't know... FBI? (influence of movies...)

22. Derelict: deserted by owner/ neglectful of obligation
Key: derelict stuff in the lost and found T-T poor things... abandoned.
or captain not coming to practices.

23. Cursory: hastily done, with little attention
Key: I think of flipping pages

24. Gingerly: really carefully
Key: I can see the hand of a young girl making a birthday cake "gingerly" for her mom; cute little sweetheart.

25. Enervated: lacking energy
Key: old grandpa after a "vigorous" exercise routine

26. Fatuous: silly, foolish
Key: pointless comment; d_d can you think of anything better?

27. Gourmand: one who likes eating and drinking (too much)
Key: I think of a fat, optimistic guy

28. Neophyte: a person new to skill/subject/belief
Key: a guy new to some kinda concept; I can picture this guy; the word neophyte has a very special effect to it.

29. Uninitiated: w/o special knowledge or experience
Key: 뭔가 출발을 아직 못한, 준비단계 같은 느낌. 안그래?
I can see a train not getting ready to take off. :P

30. Initiate: introduce someone to skill/activity
Key: opposite of uninitiated

31. Facile: easily achieved
Key: Geniuses, like ... Clare? T-T

32. Harrowing: agonizing
Key: a harrowing film... hmm... what could that incorporate...

33. Uncanny: strange/mysterious
Key: Jack and superlatives!

34. Nascent: just into existence, potential for future
Key: I see a steam rising, or at least SOMETHING rising

35. Inchoate: just begun, therefore undeveloped
Key: initial plans tend to be inchoate. our wiki and vocab learning system is DEFINITELY inchoate.

36. Tyro: a beginner of novice
Key: I think of a young animation character.

37. Austere: very bare, bleak, simple, strict
Key: I think of Audrey Hepburn , don't know why.

38. Novice: a person new to job or activity
Key: novice = new (I know. THis is reallY helpful.)

39. Truculent: eager to fight, violent
Key: Tybalt = Truculent

40. Pungent: having a strong, sharp quality regarding smell
Key: Kimchi is pungent!

41. Amicable: agreeable
Key: I think of this in relation to amiable. Amiable = person, Amicable = relationship.

42. Brazen: excessively bold, brash
Key: brazen = razor = sharp = brash

43. Abdicate: give up a position
Key: history... :)

44. Aberration: something unusual, different from norm
Key: Andy and his speaking style . Andy = Aberration

45. Abhor: to hate
Key: ABsolutely HORrible (I learned this a few years ago. This is a REALLY good way of memorizing this).

46. Advert: refer to in speaking or writing

47. Dilettante: one who has great interest but little knowledge


The Remaining Words:

Here I am going to mention brief segments of our sentences so that we can remember them to link the word with : )
For instance, you could always think of a really bad elementary band when thinking of cacophony!

BALK : to stop, block abruptly "balked at"
= The boss balked at the idea of a raise in salary.
CACOPHONY : disharmonious sound, tremendous noise
= Elementary band, SO many flutes
CADENCE : rhythm, progression of sound
= reciting a poem
MISSIVE: letter, written communication
= you give this to me (as Anne does to Gilbert!)
PLETHORA: plenty; superabundance, overfullness
= plethora of stories to tell me
FATHOM: understand
= I will fathom your stories
PONTIFICATE: expressing opinion pompously, dogmatically
= Andy and his lessons with super vocab
EDIFY: instruct, improve morally / intellectually
= Andy's lesson... failure




ABATE: to reduce, lessen (ex: rain)
= rain
BANE: burden
= Ms. Reed and Jane
CAJOLE: coax, urge
= go to baseball game, please?
CALAMITY: event w/ disastrous consequences
= calamity of WW II
EBULLIENT: enthusiastic, extremely lively
= super happy
BALLAD: love song
= Romeo and Juliet
BANAL: commonplace
SANGUINE: optimistic, hopeful
= you and me
VENEER: facade
= 내숭
VERACIOUS: honest, truthful
= truthful
TERSE: short, abrupt
= terse reply to irritating boyfriend
RECALCITRANT: disobedient; having uncooperative (unmanageable, stubborn) attitude towards discipline
= children in class



DEFIANT: disobedient, resistent
= recalcitrant
FECKLESS: lacking efficiency, vitality
= weak baby sucking on mother's bosom 뭔가 가여운 느낌...
ALARMIST: causing unnecessary alarm
= hey, the test is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hard.
EMOTE: portray emotion (theatrically)
= verb form of emotion
PERFUNCTORY: action carried out w/minimum effort, usual
= professor and his perfunctory comments
DERAIL: to cause to leave track
= the small kid in the train track derailed the train
LEVITY: light humor, especially to cover seriousness
= I think of Walter....
OBFUSCATE: to render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible, bewilder sb





DRACONIAN: excessively severe and harsh
= wearing suit to school
JITTER: extreme nervousness, act nervously
= jitter before test
DEFT: skillful and quick, skill and cleverness
= deft hands of the pottery maker
NOISOME: having extremely offensive smell, disagreeable, unpleasant
= G-dragon scandals
HIATUS: pause or gap in a sequence, series, process
= intermission between plays


SAGA: heroic story
= Napoleon
BELATED: delayed
= happy belated birthday!
DECREPIT: worn out, due to age
= old
IMPERTURBABLE: tranquil, calm
= tranquil and calm reading
VACILLATE: to waver between 2 choices
= AP Bio and WH


PRUDENT: wise
= I always think of prudent with owl. Prudent Owl with giant glasses (like in Winnie the Pooh)
IMPRUDENT: not wise
= opp. of prudent owl...
SCRUPULOUS: conscientious
= 양심적인
PUNCTILIOUS: attention to detail
= 하나하나 꼼꼼히 체크하는 사람의 이미지
ABJURE: to renounce
= Historian's many hats, abjure your heretical statements
EVANESCENT: not lasting
= test worries
ERADICATE: destroy
= HULK
GUILE: sly and cunning intelligence
= making excuses,
if you've read the crucible, Abilgail has much guile...
PALL: becoming less appealing (because you've met for too long)
= couples that have been together for years