Vocabulary - List 11 (T-U)

 VOCAB  LIST - 11 (T-U)

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   { T }

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** tacit

(adj.) not voiced or expressed

* The National Security Agency aide argued, in effect, that he had received the president’s tacit approval for the arms-for-hostages deal. 

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** taciturn

(adj.) inclined to silence; speaking little; dour, stern

* The man was so taciturn it was forgotten that he was there.

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** tantalize

(v.) to tempt; to torment

* The desserts were tantalizing, but he was on a diet.

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** tarry

(v.) to go or move slowly; delay

* She tarried too long, and therefore missed her train.

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** taut

(adj.) stretched tightly

* They knew a fish was biting, because the line suddenly became taut.

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** tawdry

(adj.) tastelessly ornamented

* The shop was full of tawdry jewellry.

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** tedious

(adj.) wearisome, tiresome

* Cleaning the house is a tedious chore for some people. 

* With so many new safety precautions instituted, flying has become a tedious affair.

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** teem

(v.) to be stocked to overflowing; to pour out; to empty

* The new plant seemed to be teeming with insects. 

* It is healthier to teem the grease from the broth before serving it.

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** temerity

(n.) foolhardiness

* Temerity can result in tragedy if the activity is dangerous.

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** temperament

(n.) one’s customary frame of mind

* The girl’s temperament is usually very calm.

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** tenacious

(adj.) holding; persistent

* With a tenacious grip, the man was finally able to pull the nail from the wall.

* After his tenacious pleas, she finally conceded.

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** tenet

(n.) a principle accepted as authoritative

* The tenets of socialism were explained in the book.

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** tensile

(adj.) undergoing or exerting tension

* The pipeline was capable of flexing to withstand the tremendous tensile strain that might accompany an seismic movement.

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** tentative

(adj.) not confirmed; indefinite

* Not knowing if he’d be able to get the days off, Al went ahead anyway and made tentative vacation plans with his pal.

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** tenuous

(adj.) thin, slim, delicate; weak

* The hurricane force winds ripped the tenuous branches from the tree. 

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** tepid

(adj.) lacking warmth, interest, enthusiasm; lukewarm

* The tepid bath water was perfect for relaxing after a long day.

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** termagant

(n.) a constantly quarrelsome woman

* Agreement with the termagant was an impossibility.

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** terrestrial

(adj.) pertaining to the earth

* Deer are terrestrial animals; fish are aquatic.

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** terse

(adj.) concise; abrupt

* She believed in getting to the point, so she always gave terse answers.  The terse speech contained only the essential comments.

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** tether

(n.) the range or limit of one’s abilities; rope or chain used to keep a boat from drifting or an animal from wandering

* My tether of playing basketball is shooting air balls. 

* The bulldog was tethered to his doghouse.

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** thrall

(n.) a slave

* The worker was treated like a thrall, having to work many hours of overtime.

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** thrifty

(adj.) frugal, careful with money

* Being thrifty, the woman would not purchase the item without a coupon.

* The thrifty couple saved money by taking the bus to work.

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** throe

(n.) spasm or pang; agony

* A particularly violent throe knocked her off her feet.  The wounded soldier squirmed in throes of agony.

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** thwart

(v.) prevent from accomplishing a purpose; frustrate

* Their attempt to take over the country was thwarted by the palace
guard.

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** timbre

(n.) the quality of sound which distinguishes one from another

* The timbre of guitar music is different from that of piano music.

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** timorous

(adj.) lacking courage; timid

* The timorous child hid behind his parents.

* Hillary came to accept him as a timorous soul who needed succor.

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** torpid

(adj.) being dormant; slow, sluggish

* When we came upon the hibernating bear, it was in a torpid state.

* The old, torpid dog spent most of his time sleeping.

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** tortuous

(adj.) full of twists and turns; not straight forward;
possibly deceitful

* The suspect confessed after becoming confused by the tortuous questioning of the captain.

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** tractable

(adj.) easilymanaged (opposite: intractable)

* The boat was so lightweight it was tractable by one person.

* Having a tractable staff made her job a lot easier.

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** traduce

(v.) to defame or slander

* His actions traduced his reputation.

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** tranquillity

(n.) peace; stillness; harmony

* The tranquillity of the tropical island was reflected in its calm blue waters and warm sunny climate.

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** transmutation

(n.) a changed form

* Somewhere in the network’s entertainment division, the show underwent a transmutation from a half-hour sitcom into an hour-long drama.

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** transmute

(v.) to transform

* Decorators transmute ordinary homes into interesting showcases.

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** transpire

(v.) to take place; come about

* With all that’s transpired today, I’m exhausted.

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** traumatic

(adj.) causing a violent injury

* It was a traumatic accident, leaving the driver with a broken vertebra, a smashed wrist, and a concussion.

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** travail

(n.) very hard work; intense pain or agony

* The farmer was tired after the travail of plowing the fields.

* The analgesic finally ended her travail.

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** trenchant

(adj.) cutting; keen or incisive words

* Without a trenchant tool, they would have to break the branches rather than cut them.

* The trenchant words hurt the man deeply.

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** trepidation

(n.) apprehension; uneasiness

* Her long absence caused more than a little trepidation.

* With great trepidation, the boy entered the water for the first time.

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** tribunal

(n.) the seat of judge

* The tribunal heard the case of the burglary.

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** trite

(adj.) commonplace; overused

* The committee was looking for something new, not the same trite ideas.

* Eating tomato salads became trite after their excessive popularity.

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** trivial

(adj.) unimportant; small; worthless

* Although her mother felt otherwise, she considered her dish washing chore trivial.

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** troth

(n.) belief; faith; fidelity

* The couple pledged troth to each other through their vows.

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** truculent

(adj.) fierce, savage, cruel

* The truculent beast approached the crowd with wild eyes and sharpened claws.

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** truncate

(v.) to shorten by cutting

* With the football game running over, the show scheduled to follow it had to be truncated.

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** tumid

(adj.) swollen; pompous

* The tumid river washed away the homes built on the shore.

* The tumid balloon floated, but the empty one did not.

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** tumult

(n.) a noisy commotion; disturbance

* The tumult was caused by two boys wanting the same toy.

* After the tumult, I found it difficult to resume my studies.

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** turbulence

(n.) condition of being physically agitated; disturbance

* Everyone on the plane had to fasten their seat belts as the plane entered an area of turbulence.

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** turpitude

(n.) vileness

* The turpitude of the action caused a rage among the people. 

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** tutelage

(n.) the condition of being under a guardian or a tutor

* Being under the tutelage of a master musician is a great honor.

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** tyranny

(n.) absolute power; autocracy

* The people were upset because they had no voice in the government that the king ran as a tyranny.

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   {U}

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** ubiquitous

(adj.) omnipresent; present everywhere

* A ubiquitous spirit followed the man wherever he went.

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** ulterior

(adj.) buried; concealed; undisclosed

* The man’s ulterior motive was to spy on the lab,though he said he wanted a job.

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** umbrage

(n.) offense or resentment

* The candidate took umbrage at the remark of his opponent.

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** unalloyed

(adj.) pure, of high quality

* An unalloyed chain is of greater value than a piece of costume jewelry.

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** uncanny

(adj.) of a strange nature; weird

* That two people could be so alike was uncanny.

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** uncouth

(adj.) uncultured; crude

* The social club would not accept an uncouth individual.

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** undermine

(v.) to weaken; often through subtle means

* The supervisor undermined the director’s power and began controlling the staff.

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** unequivocal

(adj.) clear and unambiguous

* His response was unequivocal, which seemed unusual for a politician.

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** unfeigned

(adj.) genuine; real; sincere

* Her unfeigned reaction of surprise meant she had not expected the party.

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** ungainly

(adj.) clumsy and unattractive

* The ungainly man knocked over the plant stand.

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** uniform

(adj.) never changing, always with the same standard

* Patrons of fast-food chains say they like the idea of a uniform
menu wherever they go.

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** unique

(adj.) without equal; incomparable

* The jeweller assured him that the dubloon was unique, as it was part of the long lost treasure of the Atocha. 

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** universal

(adj.) concerning everyone; existing everywhere

* Pollution does not affect just one country or state- it’s a universal
problem. 

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** unobtrusive

(adj.) out of the way; remaining quietly in the background

* It was easy to miss the unobtrusive plaque above the fireplace.

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** unprecedented

(adj.) unheard of; exceptional

* Weeks of intense heat created unprecedented power demands, which the utilities were hard pressed to meet.

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** unpretentious

(adj.) simple; plain; modest

* He was an unpretentious farmer: An old John Deere and a beat-up Ford pick-up were all he needed to get the job
done. 

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** unruly

(adj.) not submitting to discipline; disobedient

* The unruly boys had to be removed from the concert
hall.

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** untoward

(adj.) improper; unfortunate

* All of their friends expressed sympathy about their untoward separation.

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** unwonted

(adj.) rare

* The changed migratory habits of the Canada geese, though unwonted, is unwanted because of the mess they make.

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** upshot

(n.) the final act or result

* The upshot of the debate was that the bill would be released to the floor.

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** urbane

(adj.) cultured; suave

* The gala concert and dinner dance was attended by the most urbane individuals.

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** usurpation

(n.) art of taking something foroneself; seizure

* During the war, the usurpation of the country forced an entirely new culture on the natives. 

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** usury

(n.) the lending of money with an excessively high interest rate

* An interest rate 30 points above the prime rate would be
considered usury in the United States.

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** utopia

(n.) imaginary land with perfect social and political systems

* Voltaire wrote of a utopia where the streets were paved with gold.

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