n. deceptive scheme; military maneuver designed to deceive or surprise enemy
E.g. We saw through his clever stratagem.
v. divide into classes; form, arrange, or deposit in layers
E.g. The increased economic gap between the rich and the poor would stratify Roman society increasingly.
n. layer of earth's surface; layer of society
E.g. Unless we alleviate conditions in the lowest stratum of our society, we may expect grumbling and revolt.
a. having parallel lines or grooves on surface
E.g. The glacier left many striated rocks.
n. restraint, limit, or restriction; adverse remark or criticism
E.g. Huck regularly disobeyed Miss Watson's any rule and stricture upon his behavior: he wouldn't wear shoes, no matter what she said.
a. loud and harsh; insistent; high-pitched; rough-sounding
E.g. Whenever Sue became angry, she tried not to raise her voice; she had no desire to appear strident.
a. demanding strict attention to rules and procedures; binding; rigid
E.g. I think these regulations are too stringent.
v. make senseless or dizzy; be mystery or bewildering to
E.g. Disapproving of drugs in general, Laura refused to take sleeping pills or any other medicine that might stupefy her.
v. present obstacle; stump; cause to fail or to leave hopelessly puzzled, confused, or stuck
E.g. The contradictory evidence should stymie the detective in the robbery investigation.
v. conquer; bring under control
E.g. It is not our aim to subjugate our foe; we are interested only in establishing peaceful relations.
v. sink; immerse; put under water
E.g. At 17.5 feet, waters begin to submerge Harriet Island Park across the river from downtown.
v. persuade to act unlawfully, especially to commit perjury
E.g. In The Godfather, the mobsters used bribery and threats to suborn the witnesses against Don Michael.
v. aid; assist and deliver from suffering; relieve
E.g. If you believe that con man has come here to succor you in your hour of need, you're an even bigger sucker than I thought.
n. vote given in the choice of a man for an office or trust; formal expression of an opinion; testimony; attestation; witness; approval
E.g. When was universal suffrage introduced in your country?
a. silently resentful; disposed to keep aloof from society, or to repel the friendly advances of others
E.g. "Well, be off, then!" said the Pigeon in a sulky tone, as it settled down again into its nest.
v. separate; break or wrench apart
E.g. Why did they sunder northern and southern Ireland politically and religiously?.
a. various; miscellaneous; separate; distinct; diverse
E.g. "Indeed, mama, " pronounced the haughty voice of Blanche, as she turned round on the piano-stool; where till now she had sat silent, apparently examining sundry sheets of music.
v. place over something else; place on top of
E.g. Your attempt to superimpose another agency in this field will merely increase the bureaucratic nature of our government.
v. oversee with power of direction; take care of with authority; supervise
E.g. He was appointed to superintend the toy department.
v. be placed in or take the room of; replace; make obsolete; make void or useless by superior power
E.g. The new bulk mailing postal regulation will supersede the old one. If you continue to follow the old regulation, your bulk mailing will be returned to you.
v. replace; usurp; displace and substitute for another
E.g. As the younger generation replaces the older, the new alliances supplant the existing political coalitions.
v. ask for humbly or earnestly, as by praying; make humble, earnest petition; beg
E.g. We supplicate Your Majesty to grant him amnesty.
v. eat until excessively full; be more than full; feed someone to excess
E.g. Every Thanksgiving we surfeit with an overabundance of holiday treats.
v. overcome or conquer; climb; place something above; be above or on top of
E.g. Could Helen Keller, blind and deaf since childhood, surmount her physical disabilities and lead a productive life?
a. secret; done or made by stealth, or without proper authority; made or introduced fraudulently
E.g. Hoping to discover where his mom had hidden the Christmas presents, Timmy took a surreptitious peek into the master bedroom closet.
n. interdependent relationship between groups or species, often mutually beneficial
E.g. Before I read this book I knew nothing about wild mushrooms, how they live in symbiosis with trees.
a. providing general overview; summary
E.g. The professor turned to the latest issue of Dissertation Abstracts for a synoptic account of what was new in the field.
n. hill; relatively flat highland
E.g. The touristic village “Le Campole” lies on a tableland close to the Apennine chain of Campania, at an altitude of 650 meters.
a. silent or reserved in speech; saying little; not inclined to speak or converse
E.g. The stereotypical cowboy is a taciturn soul, answering lengthy questions with a "Yep" or "Nope.".
n. claw of a bird of prey; part of lock that key presses to shoot bolt
E.g. The falconer wore a leather gauntlet to avoid being clawed by the hawk's talon.
a. peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing
E.g. Despite Clark's attempts to distract her with tangential remarks, Lois kept on coming back to her main question: why couldn't he come out to dinner with Superman and her?.
v. tease; torture with disappointment; bait someone by showing something desirable but leaving them unsatisfied
E.g. Tom loved to tantalize his younger brother with candy; he knew the boy was forbidden to have it.
v. give light as small wax candle; narrow toward the point; become small toward one end
E.g. Financial aids generally taper off after the first year of college.
n. a heavy textile with a woven design
E.g. Tapestry is a form of textile art; it is woven by hand on a vertical loom.
a. needlessly repetitious; using repetition or excessive wordiness
E.g. In the sentence "It was visible to the eye, " the phrase "to the eye" is tautological.
n. dullness owing to length or slowness; boredom
E.g. It is an excellent film that avoids the tedium of the conventional documentary.
v. be abuzz; be full of; move in large numbers
E.g. The plaza will teem with undercover policemen.
n. boldness; rashness; foolhardy disregard of danger
E.g. Do you have the temerity to argue with me?.
a. restrained; self-controlled; moderate in degree or quality
E.g. Try to be temperate in your eating this holiday season; if you control your appetite, you won't gain too much weight.
a. very stormy; turbulent; rough with wind; impassioned; violent
E.g. Racket throwing tennis star John McEnroe was famed for his displays of tempestuous temperament.