List 19
Acolyte (AK-uh-lyte)
Meaning: A person who assists or follows another person or cause.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine a lightbulb following a celebrity wherever they go because it’s their “ACOLYTE-bulb.”
Sentence: The politician’s acolytes always defend him, no matter what.
Anoint (uh-NOYNT)
Meaning: Appoint or designate for a particular role or purpose.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture someone annoying you by slathering oil on your head, saying, “You’re chosen!”
Sentence: The coach anointed her as the team captain for the season.
Base (beys)
Meaning: Lacking principles; morally wrong.
Funny Mnemonic: Think of someone at a “BASE”-ment level of morals, where the rats hang out.
Sentence: His base motives became clear when he demanded money in return for help.
Coercion (koh-UR-zhuhn)
Meaning: The act of persuading or forcing someone to do something using threats or violence.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine someone threatening to “CURSE ON” you unless you do what they say.
Sentence: He signed the contract under coercion, fearing for his family’s safety.
Coin (koin)
Meaning: Invent or devise a new word or phrase.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture someone stamping coins with the words “YOLO” and “Selfie,” claiming they invented those terms!
Sentence: She is credited with coining the term “greenwashing.”
Cunning (KUHN-ing)
Meaning: Showing skill in achieving one’s ends through deceit or evasion.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture a “CUNNING bunny” sneaking carrots while no one is looking.
Sentence: The cunning thief escaped without leaving any trace of his crime.
Discomfit (dis-KUHM-fit)
Meaning: Make someone feel uneasy or embarrassed.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine tripping while trying to put on “comfy” pants, leaving you completely “DIS-COMFIT”!
Sentence: The difficult question discomfited the speaker during the debate.
Dissent (dih-SENT)
Meaning:
- Hold or express an opinion that varies from a prevailing or official position.
- Difference of opinion or disagreement.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine everyone in the class saying “yes,” but one student “DIS-SENT” it out loud with a “No!”
Sentence: There was significant dissent among the members regarding the new policy.
Distill (dih-STIL)
Meaning: Extract the most important information from something.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture someone squeezing a giant book into a tiny jar, saying, “This is the distilled essence of it!”
Sentence: The report distills the findings of years of research into a few key points.
Dubious (DOO-bee-uhs)
Meaning:
- (Of a person’s feeling) Suspicious of.
- (Of a thing or concept) Not to be relied upon.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine a detective looking at a “dubious dude” saying, “Hmm, something’s fishy here!”
Sentence: She was dubious about his claim to have climbed Everest.
Ebullient (ih-BUL-yuhnt)
Meaning: Cheerful and joyful.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine a bull at a party wearing sunglasses, dancing, and serving drinks. Everyone calls it the “ebullient bull” because it’s so full of energy and joy!
Sentence: Her ebullient personality lit up the room wherever she went.
Facetious (fuh-SEE-shuhs)
Meaning: Treating serious issues with inappropriate humor.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture a doctor cracking jokes during surgery, saying, “Oops, I think that’s your funny bone!” Everyone’s shocked by his facetious behavior.
Sentence: His facetious remarks during the emergency meeting annoyed everyone.
Fallible (FAL-uh-buhl)
Meaning: Capable of making an error.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine a robot waiter programmed to be perfect, but it falls on its face every time it serves soup—clearly, it’s fallible!
Sentence: Even the most intelligent people are fallible and make mistakes.
Florid (FLOR-id)
Meaning: Excessively complicated; including too many details.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture a wedding cake so over-decorated with flowers, sparkles, and ribbons that it’s hard to even cut a slice—florid overload!
Sentence: The professor’s florid explanation confused the students instead of helping them.
Gawky (GAW-kee)
Meaning: Awkward or clumsy.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture a giant giraffe trying to skateboard but constantly tripping and knocking things over. The crowd yells, “What a gawky giraffe!”
Sentence: His gawky movements made everyone laugh during the dance rehearsal.
Inveigle (in-VAY-guhl)
Meaning: Persuade someone to do something using flattery or deception.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine a snake in a tuxedo, slithering up to someone and saying, “You’re the most charming person I’ve ever met. Could you lend me your wallet?” That’s how it inveigles people!
Sentence: She managed to inveigle him into signing the deal with her sweet talk.
Jettison (JET-uh-suhn)
Meaning: Abandon or discard something that is no longer needed.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine someone throwing a giant jet engine off a plane because it’s too heavy. “Let’s just jettison it!” they yell as the engine falls into the ocean.
Sentence: The ship had to jettison excess cargo to stay afloat during the storm.
Mendacity (men-DAS-uh-tee)
Meaning: Dishonesty.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture a man selling “magic” daisies in the man city, claiming they can make you fly, but when people try them, nothing happens. His business is built on mendacity!
Sentence: The politician’s mendacity was exposed when his lies came to light.
Munificent (myoo-NIF-uh-suhnt)
Meaning: More generous than is usual or necessary.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine a rich uncle or muni gifting everyone golden unicorns or immortality at a family reunion and saying, “It’s no big deal!” He’s so munificent it’s almost ridiculous.
Sentence: The munificent donation helped build a new library in the town.
Naive (nah-EEV)
Meaning: Showing a lack of experience or judgment.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture a tourist named Nabin walking into a lion’s den, thinking the lions are “just big cats,” and saying, “They’ll love me!” That’s a painfully naive decision.
Sentence: His naive trust in strangers often got him into trouble.
Noble (NOH-buhl)
Meaning: Having high moral qualities or principles.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture a king riding a giant golden eagle, flying over his kingdom, distributing food and wisdom while saying, “Stay kind and just!” Everyone cheers, “What a noble king!”
Sentence: Her noble efforts to help the poor earned her widespread admiration.
Parochial (puh-ROH-kee-uhl)
Meaning: Having a limited perspective; narrow-minded.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine a villager who lives in a tiny church (parish) and thinks the whole world ends at the church gate. Someone asks about the internet, and he replies, “What’s that?” Such parochial thinking!
Sentence: His parochial views made it difficult to discuss global issues with him.
Imagine a parrot living in a cage imagining this is the world and dont want to fly when released.
Pedestrian (puh-DES-tree-uhn)
Meaning: Lacking imagination or excitement; ordinary.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture a grey road covered in boring pedestrians all walking in a straight line. Suddenly, someone rides a unicycle in a rainbow costume, but everyone stays dull—how pedestrian!
Sentence: The movie’s plot was so pedestrian that I fell asleep halfway through.
Prevaricate (pri-VAIR-uh-kayt)
Meaning: Evade or dodge the truth by being evasive.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine a talking cat being interrogated about stealing fish. The cat replies, “I didn’t exactly steal it; I just borrowed it with my teeth.” The cat is trying to prevaricate!
Sentence: He tends to prevaricate when asked difficult questions about his past.
Prime (prym)
Meaning: 1. Prepare something for use or action.
2. Of primary importance; major.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture a robot chef spraying oil on a giant frying pan and saying, “I’m priming this for my ultimate pancake masterpiece!” The pancakes become the prime attraction of the day!
Sentence: She spent hours priming the canvas for her masterpiece.
Radical (RAD-i-kuhl)
Meaning: 1. Far-reaching; major.
2. A person advocating thorough or complete social or political reform.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine a scientist who invents time travel and rides a skateboard into the future, yelling, “This is radical science, dude!” The crowd cheers at his revolutionary breakthrough.
Sentence: The new law introduced radical changes to the education system.
Recrudescent (ree-kroo-DES-uhnt)
Meaning: Breaking out again; reviving.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine an old volcano suddenly waking up and shooting fireworks instead of lava. Everyone yells, “It’s recrudescent!”
Sentence: The recrudescent violence worried the peacekeepers in the region.
Temporal (TEM-puh-ruhl)
Meaning: 1. Relating to time.
2. Relating to worldly rather than spiritual matters.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture a giant clock arguing with a monk. The monk says, “Focus on eternity!” but the clock replies, “I’m only about the temporal, man!”
Sentence: He is more interested in temporal pleasures than spiritual growth.
Transitory (TRAN-suh-tohr-ee)
Meaning: Not permanent; temporary.
Funny Mnemonic: Imagine a carnival that appears overnight and vanishes by morning, leaving behind a sign that says, “Life is transitory!”
Sentence: Their happiness was transitory, as the excitement faded quickly.
Viable (VY-uh-buhl)
Meaning: Capable of working or succeeding; feasible.
Funny Mnemonic: Picture a chicken sitting on an egg and yelling, “This is a viable egg! It’ll hatch into the next world leader!” Everyone laughs, but the egg actually hatches into a genius chick.
Sentence: The project is not financially viable without more funding.