Adroit ( adj )

1. Adroit (adj) • adroit at… • My friend is adroit at quoting movies from the 90s. • Or, adroit___________ • Jeremy is an adroit basketball player.

2. Amicable (adj) • Amicable _____________(relationship, personality, etc…) • “It was an amicable divorce.” • “His amicable personality really draws people to him.”

3. Averse (adj) • Always, averse to _________. • averse to hard work • averse to eating broccoli • My brother has always been averse to eating certain types of nuts because of his allergies.

4. belligerent (adj, n) • Adj: His belligerent personality turned people off to him. • N: The two belligerents could not come to a mutual compromise.

5. benevolent (adj) • a benevolent ___________. • A benevolent person is one who makes an effort to help other people. • The benevolent efforts of the aid organization helped many unfortunate people.

6. cursory (adj) • a cursory ____________ • I only gave the person a cursory glance until I realized it was my long lost friend. • Brea only gave her notes a cursory look, so she didn’t do well on the test.

7. duplicity (n) • I’m tired of your duplicity. • This duplicity is getting troublesome. • You can’t fool me with your duplicity.

8. extol (v) • extol the ___________ of __________. • My teacher always extolled the virtues of hard work. • Doctors often extol the benefits of a healthy diet. • Parents extol the payoff of responsibility.

9. feasible (adj) • Is this a feasible plan? • This scheme is feasible because…. • It’s just not feasible to wait until the last night and expect to get your paper done.

10. grimace (v,n) • He grimaced in pain. (v) • Her grimace indicated the pain she was feeling. (n)

11. holocaust (n) • Schoolchildren in the 50s and 60s had legitimate fears about an impending nuclear holocaust.

12. impervious (adj) • Always, impervious to ___________. • These shoes are impervious to moisture. • Her tough personality made her impervious to any insults or attacks.

13. impetus (n) • Impetus to _____, or impetus for ______. • The low grade gave me the impetus to study more. • The early snowfall was the impetus for me to go out and purchase a snowblower. • That amazing Van Halen concert I saw gave me the impetus to take guitar lessons.

14. jeopardy (n) • Always, in jeopardy • Your grade is in jeopardy. • The climbers were in jeopardy. • The snowstorm put the climbers in jeopardy of catching hypothermia.

15. meticulous (adj) • a meticulous _________, or is meticulous because…. • She keeps meticulous notes. • She can go back and find her expenses from 10 years because her financial records are meticulous.

16. nostalgia (n) • Looking back at old yearbooks always fills me with a sense of nostalgia.

17. quintessence (n) • Always, quintessence of _________ • She is the quintessence of a student athlete. • That was the quintessence of an entertaining game. • An even better word: quintessential • He is the quintessential student.

18. retrogress (v) • Often, retrogress to ___________, or retrogress into _____________. • The show Revolution shows how society retrogresses into a violent state without electric power.

19. scrutinize (v) • Always, scrutinize _____________ • Accountants are paid to scrutinize financial documents in search of tax breaks for their clients. • The police officer carefully scrutinized my driver’s license.

20. tepid (adj) • The audience gave a tepid response. • The film received a tepid reaction on its opening weekend. • The tepid cup of coffee was very disappointing, especially on a very difficult Monday morning.