aristocracy: /ærɪs'tɒkrəsɪ/ n. hereditary nobility; privileged class Americans have mixed feelings about hereditary aristocracy.
ascetic: /ə'sɛtɪk/ a. Syn. austere; severe leading a life of self-discipline and self-denial; austere The wealthy, self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict, ascetic life led by members of some monastic orders.
asylum: /ə'saɪləm/ n. Syn. protection place of refuge or shelter; protection The refugees sought asylum from religious persecution in a new land.
attribute: /ə'trɪbju:t/ n. Syn. trait essential quality; reputation; honor His outstanding attribute was his kindness.
auspicious: /ɔ:'spɪʃəs/ a. Syn. propitious attended by favorable circumstances; marked by success; prosperous With favorable weather conditions, it was an auspicious moment to set sail.
autocratic: /ɔtə'krætɪk/ a. Syn. dictatorial having absolute, unchecked power; dictatorial Someone accustomed to exercising authority may become autocratic if his or her power is unchecked.
awry: /ə'raɪ/ ad. Syn. distorted; crooked ; askew; amiss in a position that is turned toward one side; away from correct course He held his head awry, giving the impression that he had caught cold in his neck during the night.
bane: /beɪn/ n. Syn. curse something causes misery or death; curse; fatal injury or ruin Lucy's little brother was the bane of her existence: his attempts to make her life miserable worked so well that she could have poisoned him.
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[Esc] /æb'sti:mɪəs/ a. Syn. temperate sparing or moderation in eating and drinking; temperate Concerned whether her vegetarian son's [___] diet provided him with sufficient protein, the worried mother pressed food on him.
[Esc] /ækə'dɛmɪk/ a. Syn. scholarly; collegiate; theoretical related to school; not practical or directly useful; relating to scholarly organization; based on formal education The dean's talk about reforming the college admissions system was only an [___] discussion.
[Esc] /əd'mɒnɪʃ/ v. Syn. warn; reprove warn; counsel someone against something to be avoided I would again [___] the reader carefully to consider the nature of our doctrine.
[Esc] /ə'leɪ/ v. Syn. calm; pacify; relieve calm; pacify; reduce the intensity of; relieve The crew tried to [___] the fears of the passengers by announcing that the fire had been controlled.
[Esc] /ə'lu:ʒ(ə)n/ n. Syn. metaphor indirect reference; symbolical reference or comparison; metaphor Without naming names, the candidate criticized the national leaders by [___].
[Esc] /æn'θɒlədʒɪ/ n. Syn. collection book of literary selections by various authors This [___] of science fiction was compiled by the late Isaac Asimov.
[Esc] /æprɪ'hɛnsɪv/ a. capable of apprehending; knowing; conscious; relating to the faculty of apprehension; sensible; feeling; perceptive Here I walked about for a long time, feeling very strange, and mortally [___] of some one coming in and kidnapping me.
[Esc] /ə'sɛtɪk/ a. Syn. austere; severe leading a life of self-discipline and self-denial; austere The wealthy, self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict, [___] life led by members of some monastic orders.
[Esc] /'bæt(ə)n/;/bə'tɒn/ n. staff or truncheon for various purposes, as one of a conductor in musical performances, one transferred by runners in a relay race What's the textbook way to handoff the [___] in the relays?
[Esc] /bɪ'laɪ/ v. Syn. contradict contradict; give a false impression His coarse, hard-bitten exterior does [___] his inner sensitivity.