1. A pleasant, affable receptionist gives customers a positive first impression of the business.

1. 1. A pleasant, affable receptionist gives customers a positive first impression of the business. • Affable – (adj) • Parts: af (to); fab (speak); able (capable of) • Educated Guess: • Definition: Friendly, good-natured, or easy to talk to • Synonyms: amiable, friendly, amicable, cordial • Antonyms: disagreeable, ill-tempered,morose, rude • Variant forms: affability (n); affably (adv) • Context Phrase:

2. 2. The child found it very difficult to articulate his fears to his doctor. • articulate - verb • Parts: articulare(to divide into joints; to utter); ate (make) • Educated Guess: • Definition: To express an idea or feeling fluently and coherently; To pronounce something clearly and distinctly; (adj.) - having jointed segments • Synonyms: eloquent, well-spoken, jointed, hinged • Antonyms: inarticulate, disjointed, disconnected, slur • Variant forms: articulately (adv); articulation (n) • Context Phrase:

3. 3. Some friends will tell you what they think you want to hear, but she is known for her candor. • Candor- noun • Parts: cand (white, glowing); or (that which) • Educated Guess: • Definition: The quality of being open and honest in expression • Synonyms: frankness, truthfulness, impartiality, openess • Antonyms:deception, falsehood, guile, ruse, finesse • Variant forms:candid(adj), candidly (adv) candidness (n) • Context Phrase:

4. 4. We need a trained mediator to conciliate this dispute • conciliate – verb • Parts: con(together, with); calere (call); ate (make, cause) • Educated Guess: • Definition: To stop someone from being angry or discontented; To act as a mediator; To make compatible • Synonyms: placate, pacify, reconcile, arbitrate • Antonyms: antagonize, roil, anger, aggravate • Variant forms: conciliation (n); conciliative (adj) • Context Phrase:

5. 5. To avoid a war, the king decided to countermand the arrest of the rebels. • Countermand – (v) • Parts: counter (against); mand (order) • Educated Guess: • Definition: To cancel or reverse an order or command; To recall by a contrary order; An order or command that reverses another one (n) • Synonyms: cancel, retract, rescind • Antonyms: confirm, ratify, uphold • Variant forms:na • Context Phrase:

6. 6. The President’s policy is to devolve to the states the decisions about educational issues. • devolve - verb • Parts: de (down); volv (turn) • Educated Guess: • Definition: To transfer or delegate (power) to a lower level, especially from central gov’t or local or regional administration; To degenerate or be split into • Synonyms: convey, consign, depute, delegate, empower • Antonyms: na • Variant forms: devolvement (n) • Context Phrase:

7. 7. When the egregious abuses of the elderly were reported, the facility was immediately closed. • Egregious – adj. • Parts: e (out); greg (flock, group); ious (full of) • Educated Guess: • Definition: Outstandingly bad • Synonyms: flagrant, shocking, terrible, outrageous • Antonyms: mild, restrained, minor, petty, unimportant • Variant forms: egregiously (adv); egregiousness (n) • Context Phrase:

8. 8. Putting alcohol on a fresh cut will truly exacerbate the pain. • exacerbate – v. • Parts: ex (out); acerbus (rough, harsh, sharp); ate (make) • Educated Guess: • Definition: To increase the severity of; To make something bad, worse • Synonyms: intensify, worsen, aggravate • Antonyms: relieve, soothe, allay, ease, alleviate • Variant forms: exacerbation (n) • Context Phrase:

9. 9. Context usually eliminates the confusion between heteronyms such as tear (to rip) and tear (liquid from the eye). • Heteronyms – (noun) • Parts: hetero ( different); onym (name) • Educated Guess: • Definition: Words that have the same spelling but different sounds and meanings; words that refer to the same thing in different geographical areas i.e. submarine/hoagie • Synonyms: na • Antonyms: na • Variant forms: heteronymic (adj); heteronymous (adj) • Context Phrase:

10. 10. I will incur fines because I was late filing my taxes this year. • incur – v. • Parts: in (in, into); cur (run) • Educated Guess: • Definition: To become subject to or liable for something unwelcome or unpleasant as a result of one’s own behavior or action. • Synonyms: face, undergo, attract • Antonyms: avoid, circumvent, evade, escape • Variant forms: incurrence (n.) • Context Phrase:

11. 11. I found her first novel thought provoking and suspenseful, but this one is long and insipid. • Insipid – ( adj.) • Parts:in(not); sapidus (tasty, savory, flavorful) • Educated Guess: • Definition: Lacking flavor or zest; Lacking stimulation, excitement, or interest • Synonyms: unpalatable, dull, tasteless, monotonous • Antonyms: interesting, exciting, amusing • Variant forms: insipidity (n); insipidly (adv) • Context Phrase:

12. 12. If we want to schedule a luminary such as Oprah Winfrey to speak at graduation, we must make the request early. • Luminary – (n) • Parts: lumin (light); ary (pertaining to) • Educated Guess: • Definition: A person who inspires or influences others; A natural light-giving body, especially the sun or moon; An artificial light • Synonyms: celebrity, dignitary, star • Antonyms: na • Variant forms: na • Context Phrase:

13. 13. She gazed at the multitudinous stars twinkling above the trees • multitudinous – adj. • Parts: multi (many); tude (state of); ous (full of) • Educated Guess: • Definition: Very numerous; Consisting of or containing many individuals or elements • Synonyms: countless, infinite, innumerable • Antonyms: finite, limited, few, numbered • Variant forms: multitudinously(adv)multitudinousness(n) • Context Phrase:

14. 14. My teacher thrilled me by asking to use a copy of my essay as a paragon for other students. • Paragon - n • Parts: para(beside);akine(whetstone)To separate good gold from bad on a touchstone • Educated Guess: • Definition: A person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality; A person or thing viewed as a model of excellence • Synonyms: epitome, archetype, quintessence, exemplar • Antonyms: na • Variant forms: na • Context Phrase:

15. 15. The older we become, the less pliable are our opinions and beliefs. • pliable - (adj.) • Parts: pli 9blend); able (capable of) • Educated Guess: • Definition: Easily bent or shaped; Receptive to change; Easily influenced, persuaded, or swayed • Synonyms: flexible, supple, adaptable, tractable • Antonyms: rigid,unyielding,intractable, uncompromising • Variant forms: pliability (n) • Context Phrase:

16. 16. Her proclivity to practice gymnastics at least four hours daily contributed to her winning the gold medal. • Proclivity - adj • Parts: pro (forth, forward);cliv (bend, slope) ity (state of) • Educated Guess: • Definition: A tendency to choose or do something regularly; An inclination or predisposition toward a particular thing • Synonyms: tendency, penchant, aptitude, flair • Antonyms: aversion, dislike, antipathy • Variant forms: na • Context Phrase:

17. 17. Losing patience with the recalcitrant lawyer, the judge charged her with contempt of court. • recalcitrant – (adj) • Parts: re (back); calx (heel); ant (characterized by) • Educated Guess: • Definition: Stubbornly resistant to authority, discipline, domination or guidance • Synonyms: obstinate, disobedient, unruly, rebellious • Antonyms: amenable, docile, obedient, cooperative • Variant forms: recalcitrance (n); recalcitrancy (n) • Context Phrase:

18. 18. My doctor insists that reserving time to exercise daily is important, even sacrosanct. • sacrosanct - adj. • Parts: sacro (holy, sacred rite), sanct (holy, sacred) • Educated Guess: • Definition: Regarded as too important or valuable to interfere with • Synonyms: inviolable, indispensable, imperative • Antonyms:superfluous,unnecessary, useless, dispensable • Variant forms: sacrosanctity (n.) • Context Phrase:

19. 19. Freshmen at military academies are subservient to their upper classmen. • Subservient – (adj.) • Parts: sub (under); servus (slave); ent (full of) • Educated Guess: • Definition: Prepared to obey others unquestioningly; less important • Synonyms: subordinate, servile, secondary, inferior • Antonyms: superior, dominant; greater • Variant forms: subservience (n); subserviently (adv.) • Context Phrase:

20. 20. Wearing jeans and sandals is rather unorthodox attire for a bride and groom • unorthodox - adj. • Parts: un (not); ortho (standard, straight) dox (belief) • Educated Guess: • Definition: Contrary to what is usual, traditional, or accepted • Synonyms: unconventional, atypical, unusual • Antonyms:standard, conventional, customary, orthodox • Variant forms: na • Context Phrase: