v. spend or expend wastefully; vanish by dispersion; drive away; disperse
E.g. He is a fine artist, but I fear he may dissipate his gifts if he keeps wasting his time playing games.
v. swell out or expand from or as if from internal pressure
E.g. I can tell when he is under stress by the way the veins distend on his forehead.
v. drop; fall in drops; flow in a small stream
E.g. Tears distil slowly from her eyes at such a emotional moment.
v. twist out of proper or natural relation of parts; misshape; misrepresent
E.g. It is difficult to believe the newspaper accounts of the riots because of the way some reporters distort and exaggerate the actual events.
a. differing in some characteristics; various
E.g. The professor suggested diverse ways of approaching the assignment and recommended that we choose one of them.
n. sum of money to be divided and distributed; share of a sum divided that falls to each individual; a distribute sum, share, or percentage
E.g. The company declared a large dividend at the end of the year.
n. principles presented for belief, as by religious; principle of law; act of teaching; instruction
E.g. An essential element to the doctrine is the employer's "continued willingness to employ" the employee.
a. major; important; outweighing
E.g. If the projects are successful, they will help place Russia firmly on the map as one of the world's dominant energy suppliers.
v. monopolize; command; rule; prevail; be prevalent in
E.g. People tend to have one side of their brain dominate their thought patterns.
a. sleeping; not active but capable of becoming active
E.g. Her feelings of affection are dormant but easily awakened.
ad. free from fear or suspicion; very probably, in all likelihood; doubtlessly
E.g. That last word doubtless contained an allusion to some scene that had taken place between them.
n. pouring or streaming downwards, especially a heavy or continuous shower
E.g. In the resettlement areas that dotted the mountainsides the downpour was a disaster.
v. slumber; sleep lightly; be in dull or stupefied condition, as if half asleep; be drowsy
E.g. If I doze off and stop flipping the pages, the boy goes to sleep too.
n. emptying accomplished by draining; gradual flowing off, as of a liquid
E.g. Look at the report and be prepared to be shocked by the photo of the main drainage canal.
n. disadvantage or inconvenience; shortcoming; refund or remittance, such as a discount on duties or taxes
E.g. The main drawback is that the lawn could sink as the old turf rots, so you need to build it up a little higher than you might otherwise, to allow for shrinkage.
v. wet through and through; soak; put potion down throat of; steep in moisture; wet thoroughly
E.g. The poster don't stick even though I drench it with glue.
n. dry period; aridity; long period of abnormally low rainfall
E.g. The fires have taken hold because of drought and an infestation of bark beetle, which has left millions of dead trees.
v. sleep imperfectly or unsoundly; slumber; be heavy with sleepiness; doze.
E.g. I reached out to him in the dark, still in a partial drowse in fact, thinking, Why did she wake up her mate?
n. hard monotonous routine work
E.g. Cinderella's fairy godmother rescued her from a life of drudgery.
a. expressing, or consisting of, the number two; belonging to two
E.g. I believe that book was published in dual editions for adult and teen readers; British publishers do that sort of thing a lot.
v. confer knighthood upon; honor with a new title or description; entitle; adorn
E.g. I just dub them with a cute name when I bring them out to serve.
a. questionable; filled with doubt
E.g. Abroad, Obama is ready to deploy military might in dubious causes defined by the country's hawkish defense establishment.
a. lasting; long-lasting; enduring
E.g. Most goods are durable goods to a certain degree.
v. shrink; reduce in size; become less
E.g. The food in the life boat gradually had to dwindle away to nothing; in the end, they ate the ship's cook.
n. seriousness; reality; fixed determination; eagerness; intentness
E.g. Before they got out of the cab Douglass turned to him, his expression earnest at last.
n. science of the relationships between organisms and their environments
E.g. He has actual professional qualifications in ecology and conservation.
a. thrifty; saving; using the minimum of time or resources necessary for effectiveness
E.g. Our house has installed a modern economical heating system.
v. put out or expel from a place; discharge
E.g. This beveled design also helps automatically eject wood cuttings from the teeth while working.
v. supplement with great effort; add to; augment
E.g. They have to eke out incomes by working two jobs because of low salary.
v. slip or glide away; pass away silently
E.g. If possible, let at least a week elapse between writing your original draft and attacking the second draft.
a. springing back; having the power of rebounding; able to return quickly to a former state or condition
E.g. The strong, elastic wood of this tree, used for furniture, tool handles, and sporting goods such as baseball bats.
a. overjoyed; extremely happy and excited
E.g. Grinning from ear to ear, Bonnie Blair was clearly elated by her fifth Olympic gold medal.
v. raise; give a promotion to or assign to a higher position
E.g. It is true that fabric, construction, and a designer name on a label elevate the price of clothing.
v. draw out; bring forth or to light; generate or provoke as response or answer
E.g. The detectives tried to elicit where he had hidden his loot.
a. vividly or movingly expressive; persuasive
E.g. My cousins, full of exhilaration, were so eloquent in narrative and comment, that their fluency covered him.
n. ban on commerce or other activity
E.g. As a result of the embargo, trade with the colonies was at a standstill.
v. commence; go on board a boat or airplane; begin a journey
E.g. We will embark upon a new career at this city.
v. enclose; place in something; fix firmly in surrounding mass
E.g. The legends embed actual historical figures like King Alfred in tales.
v. give a bodily form to; represent in bodily or material form; incorporate
E.g. Cheering on his rival Mark McGwire's efforts to break Roger Maris's home run record, Sammy Sosa did embody the spirit of true sportsmanship.
v. remove from one country or State to another, for the purpose of residence; migrate from home
E.g. He planned to emigrate from Britain to Australia in order to find a better job.