1. 1. The advent of e-mail revolutionized both business and personal communication. Parts: ad (to, toward); vent (come) Educated Guess: Definition: The arrival of a notable person, thing, or event; The first season of the church year, leading up to Christmas and including the 4 preceding Sundays Antonyms: departure, elimination Variant forms: na Context Phrase: Advent – (noun) Synonyms: arrival, invention, entrance, emergence

2. 2. An assiduous gymnast, she persevered until she scored a 10 on the balance beam. Parts: as (to, toward); sid (sit); ous (full of) (staying put) Educated Guess: Definition: Showing great care and perseverance; Constant in application or attention Antonyms: lazy, careless, indifferent, indolent Variant forms: assiduously (adv); assiduousness (n) Context Phrase: Assiduous (adj) Synonyms: persistent, conscientious, diligent

3. 3. Unlike her sister who is always kind and optimistic, she is captious and rude. Parts: capt (seize, grasp); ous (full of) Educated Guess: Definition: Tending to find fault or raise petty objections; Intended to entrap or confuse (a captious question) Antonyms: complimentary, benign Variant forms: captiously (adv); captiousness (n) Context Phrase: Captious (adj) Synonyms: irritable, faultfinding, carping

4. 4. Princess Diana, unlike most royals, did not condescend when she talked with ordinary citizens. Parts: con (together, with ); de (down); scend (climb) Educated Guess: Definition: To show feelings of superiority; To do something in a haughty way, as though it is below one’s dignity Antonyms: na Variant forms: condescension (n); condescending (adj) Context Phrase: Condescend – (verb) Synonyms: deign, patronize, stoop

5. 5. We hoped the crescendo of our cheers would disconcert our opponents. Parts: cresc (to grow) Educated Guess: Definition: A gradual increase in loudness in a piece of music; a piece of music marked to be performed by increasing loudness; A progressive increase in force Antonyms: na Variant forms:na Context Phrase: Crescendo - noun Synonyms: na

6. 6. Though the brakes malfunctioned, the derelict mechanic let the car pass inspection. Parts: de (completely down); re (back); linguere (leave) Educated Guess: Definition: Shamefully negligent in not having done what one should have done; A piece of property; abandoned in a poor condition;one without a home or job Antonyms: responsible, reliable, competent Variant forms: dereliction (n) Context Phrase: Derelict – (adjective) Synonyms: delinquent, irresponsible, vagrant

7. 7. As they danced, he enjoyed the fragrant perfume that emanated from her. Parts: e (out); manare (flow); ate (make, cause) Educated Guess: Definition: To come or send forth; as from a source; To give out or emit something abstract or perceptible (to emanate strength) Antonyms: withdraw, return Variant forms: emanative (adj); emanator (n) Context Phrase: emanated - noun Synonyms: emit, issue, flow, exude, originate, disperse

8. 8. Recognizing the exigency of the situation, the governor toured the areas devastated by the flood. Parts: ex (out); ag (drive, force, act) Educated Guess: Definition:Something that requires immediate attention or remedy; An urgent need or demand Antonyms: frivolity, insignificance, irrelevance Variant forms: exigent (adj); exigence (n) Context Phrase: Exigency - noun Synonyms: urgency, emergency, crisis, predicament

9. 9. Sports writers frequently use hyperboles and alliteration to attract readers’ attention. Parts: hyper (above, over); ballein (throw) Educated Guess: Definition: An exaggeration or extravagant statement used as a figure of speech, not meant to be taken literally. (This book weighs a ton.) Antonyms: na Variant forms: hyperbolical (adj) hyperbolism (n) Context Phrase: Hyperbole – (n) Synonyms: exaggeration, overstatement

10. 10. The United States delivered tons of food to the indigent people in the war-ravaged areas. Parts: in (in); egere (want, lack) ent (full of) Educated Guess: Definition: Lacking the means of subsistence; A needy or destitute person Antonyms: affluent, rich, opulent, wealthy Variant forms: indigence (n) Context Phrase: indigent – adj. Synonyms: (adj) poor, needy, destitute (n) pauper

11. 11. The Secretary of Defense will serve as our interlocutor at the UN discussion on disarmament. Parts: inter (between, among); locut (talk); or (one who) Educated Guess: Definition: Someone who takes part in a dialogue or conversation Antonyms: na Variant forms: interlocution (n.) Context Phrase: Interlocutor – ( n.) Synonyms: participant

12. 12. Living in malaise, people tend not to be very creative or productive. Parts: mal (bad); aise (ease) Educated Guess: Definition: a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness whose exact cause is difficult to identify Antonyms: peace, satisfaction, comfort, contentment Variant forms: na Context Phrase: malaise – n. Synonyms: discontent, vexation, uneasiness, displeasure

13. 13. The ne plus ultra in Latin dancing, he won several world championships. Parts: ne (nothing); plus (more); ultra (beyond) Educated Guess: Definition: The perfect or most extreme example of its kind; The ultimate; The extreme or utmost point, especially of excellence or achievement Antonyms: na Variant forms: na Context Phrase: Ne plus ultra - n Synonyms: culmination, acme, paragon

14. 14. This character does not appear on stage until the penultimate act of the play. Parts:pen (almost); ultimus (last) Educated Guess: Definition: Next to last in a series of things; Second to last; The next to last (n) Antonyms: na Variant forms: na Context Phrase: Penultimate – adj. Synonyms: na

15. 15. The professor’s ponderous speech and monotone lulled most of the audience to sleep. Parts: pond (heavy, weigh); ous (full of) Educated Guess: Definition: Dull, laborious, or excessively solemn; having great weight; Slow, clumsy, graceless, or unwieldy from weight, lacking fluency Antonyms: light, buoyant, airy Variant forms: ponderosity (n), ponderously (adv) Context Phrase: ponderous - adj Synonyms: massive, verbose, wordy, pompous

16. 16. Greek mythology is replete with the stories of Zeus and his progeny. Parts: pro (forth, forward); gen (birth); y (result of) Educated Guess: Definition: A descendant or the descendants of; The result of creative effort Antonyms: ancestor Variant forms: progenitor (n) Context Phrase: progeny – n. Synonyms: children, offspring, posterity, descendant

17. 17.When she filed the law suit, she certainly did not expect any recriminations. Parts: re (back, again) crimin (accuse); ation (act of) Educated Guess: Definition: An accusation in response to one from someone else Antonyms: na Variant forms: recriminate (v.); recriminatory (adj.) Context Phrase: Recrimination – n. Synonyms: counteraccusation, retaliation, reprisal

18. 18. We were shocked that the sanctimonious student had been caught cheating on the exam. Parts: sanctimonia (holy); ious (full of) Educated Guess: Definition: Making a show of being morally superior to other people; Feigning piety or righteousness Antonyms: sincere, righteous, earnest Variant forms: sanctimoniously (adv); sanctimony (n) Context Phrase: sanctimonious - adj. Synonyms: self-righteous, holier-than-thou, hypocritical

19. 19. When she did not earn the promotion by her own accomplishments, she lied and resorted to subterfuge against her colleagues. Parts: sub (under);fug (flee)-literally, (to escape secretly) Educated Guess: Definition: Deceit used in order to achieve one’s goals; A statement or action resorted to in order to deceive Antonyms: candor, honesty, sincerity, veracity Variant forms: na Context Phrase: subterfuge – (n.) Synonyms: scheme, evasion, deception, artifice, trick

20. 20. The serious students resented his vacuous comments about Shakespeare’s sonnets. Parts: vac (empty); ous (full of) Educated Guess: Definition: Having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; Devoid of substance or meaning; Lacking in serous purpose or occupation Antonyms: meaningful, significant, insightful Variant forms: vacuity (n); vacuously (adv) Context Phrase: vacuous – (adj) Synonyms: stupid, foolish, inane, mindless, asinine