aberration
(n.) something that differs from the norm (In 1974, Poland won the World Cup, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and Poland have not won a World Cup since). abhor (v.) to hate, detest (Because he always wound up getting hit in the head when he tried to play cricket, Marcin began to abhor the sport). acquiesce (v.) to agree without protesting (Though Mr. Pospieszny wanted to stay outside and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner, he acquiesced to her demands.) alacrity (n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason, Simon loved to help his girlfriend whenever he could, so when his girlfriend asked him to set the table he did so with alacrity.) amiable (adj.) friendly (An amiable fellow, Neil got along with just about everyone.) appease (v.) to calm, satisfy (When Jerry cries, his mother gives him chocolate to appease him.) arcane (adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few (The professor is an expert in arcane Kashubian literature.) avarice (n.) excessive greed (The banker’s avarice led him to amass an enormous personal fortune.) brazen (adj.) excessively bold, brash, clear and obvious (Critics condemned the writer’s brazen attempt to plagiarise Frankow-Czerwonko’s work.) brusque (adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (Simon’s brusque manner sometimes offends his colleagues.) cajole (v.) to urge, coax (Magda's friends cajoled her into drinking too much.) callous (adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer’s callous lack of remorse shocked the jury.) candor (n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the politician’s speech because she is usually rather evasive.) chide (v.) to voice disapproval (Hania chided Gregory for his vulgar habits and sloppy appearance.) circumspect (adj.) cautious (Though I promised Marta’s father I would bring her home promptly by midnight, it would have been more circumspect not to have specified a time.) clandestine (adj.) secret (Announcing to her boyfriend that she was going to the library, Maria actually went to meet George for a clandestine liaison.) coerce (v.) to make somebody do something by force or threat (The court decided that David Beckham did not have to honor the contract because he had been coerced into signing it.) coherent (adj.) logically consistent, intelligible (William could not figure out what Harold had seen because he was too distraught to deliver a coherent statement.) complacency (n.) self-satisfied ignorance of danger (Simon tried to shock his friends out of their complacency by painting a frightening picture of what might happen to them.) confidant (n.) a person entrusted with secrets (Shortly after we met, he became my chief confidant.) connive (v.) to plot, scheme (She connived to get me to give up my plans to start up a new business.) cumulative (adj.) increasing, building upon itself (The cumulative effect of hours spent using the World English website was a vast improvement in his vocabulary and general level of English.) debase (v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave himself debased his motives for running the charity.) decry (v.) to criticize openly (Andrzej Lepper, the leader of the Polish Self Defence party decried the appaling state of Polish roads.) deferential (adj.) showing respect for another’s authority (Donata is always excessively deferential to any kind of authority figure.) demure (adj.) quiet, modest, reserved (Though everyone else at the party was dancing and going crazy, she remained demure.) deride (v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The native speaker often derided the other teacher’s accent.) despot (n.) one who has total power and rules brutally (The despot issued a death sentence for anyone who disobeyed his laws.) diligent (adj.) showing care in doing one’s work (The diligent researcher made sure to double check her measurements.) elated (adj.)