ADVANCED VOCABULARY FOR IELTS

ADVANCED VOCABULARY FOR IELTS

-A-

Abate: MEANING: Reduce, diminish

SENTENCE: Her stress over spending so much money on her house abated when the real estate broker told her about the property's current market value.

Aberrant: MEANING: Abnormal, deviant

SENTENCE: Running naked down the street might be considered aberrant behaviour.

Abeyance: MEANING: Temporary cessation or suspension

SENTENCE: Her thoughts of her lover were in abeyance while she studied for her exam.

Abridge: MEANING: Condense or shorten

SENTENCE: Audio books are almost always abridged, since few people want to listen to a 200-hour story.

Abscond: MEANING: Leave secretly and hurriedly, often to escape or avoid arrest

SENTENCE: The tenants absconded owing six months’ rent.

Abstemious : MEANING: Consuming moderately in something, especially food and drink

SENTENCE: ‘We only had one course at dinner.’ ‘Very abstemious of you.’

Abstruse: MEANING: Difficult to understand

SENTENCE: The doctor’s handwriting was so abstruse that the patient had to ask him to print the letter.

Admonish : MEANING: Reprimand, warn

SENTENCE: She admonished him for pouring a third glass of wine.

Adulterate: MEANING: Debase a substance by adding another substance SENTENCE: Cocaine is adulterated and dangerous.

Aesthetic: MEANING: Concerned with beauty

SENTENCE: There are practical as well as aesthetic reasons for planting trees; not only do trees give oxygen needed for human and animal life, but they also add beauty.

Affability: MEANING: A tendency to be friendly and approachable

SENTENCE: John’s affability helped him in his interview with the Fulbright Scholarship decision panel; they selected him for the scholarship.

Affluent : MEANING: Wealthy, well off

SENTENCE: Judging by the size of the houses and the abundance of trees, this was an affluent suburb.

Aggrandize: MEANING: Increase in power, wealth, rank; or enlarge, e.g. aggrandize an estate.

SENTENCE: Some political leaders may aim to aggrandize their power without considering the wishes of their own political party.

Aggregate: MEANING: Gather into a mass or whole; accumulation of a whole

SENTENCE: The aggregate wealth of this country is staggering to the imagination.

Alacrity: MEANING: Speedy willingness

SENTENCE: He demonstrated his eagerness to cooperate by answering the email with alacrity.

Alleviate: MEANING: Lessen a problem or suffering

SENTENCE: The stimulus package has alleviated the problems of the Great Recession, but times are still tough.

Alluring: MEANING: Highly attractive, fascinating

SENTENCE: The music coming from the darkened bar was very alluring to the travellers.

Amalgam: MEANING: A mixture of multiple things

SENTENCE: The music played by the band was an amalgam of hip-hop, flamenco and jazz, blending the three styles with surprising results.

Ambiguous: MEANING: not clear or decided SENTENCE: The election result was ambiguous.

Ambivalent: MEANING: having mixed emotions about something

SENTENCE: Sam was ambivalent about studying for the exam because doing so was time-consuming, yet he was able to improve his analytical skills.

Ameliorate: MEANING: To make better

SENTENCE: Isabel’s pain of scoring less in the exam than Kate was ameliorated when she discovered she still qualified for the Fulbright Scholarship.

Anachronism: MEANING: An error in chronology; something out of date or old-fashioned

SENTENCE: it is an anachronism to see a horse and cart on the freeway.

Analogous : MEANING: Comparable, similar

SENTENCE: Living with a pet is analogous to having a young child; you have to watch what they put into their mouth.

Anarchy: MEANING: Absence of law or government

SENTENCE: Once the dictator was assassinated, the country fell into total anarchy, as none of the opposition groups were strong enough to seize power.

Anomaly: MEANING: Deviation from what is common; something which is unusual

SENTENCE: While the cosmetics division of the company has many female executives, it's an anomaly – in the rest of the company, sadly, only 4% of management positions are filled by women.

Antipathy: MEANING: A feeling of dislike or aversion

SENTENCE: There was widespread public antipathy towards inserting an identifying chip into the vaccine.

Antiquity: MEANING: Ancient times

SENTENCE: Gold antiquities were discovered in Pakistan; these belonged to some thousand years ago.

Apathy: MEANING: Lack of concern, motivation or interest in important matters

SENTENCE: As a firm believer in democratic government, she could not understand the apathy of people who never bothered to vote.

Appease: MEANING: Satisfy and relieve

SENTENCE: My mother is so angry she wasn't the first person we called when the baby was born – I'm hoping to appease her by bringing the baby to see her today!

Apprise: MEANING: Inform or tell (someone)

SENTENCE: I thought it was the right thing to apprise Chris of what had happened in his office while he was away.

Approbation: MEANING: approval or praise

SENTENCE: He wrote many approbations to works of Hebrew literature.

Appropriate: MEANING: suitable or proper in the circumstances

SENTENCE: It was entirely appropriate that she brought her boyfriend to the family Christmas party.

Arcane : MEANING: Secret, mysterious, known only to the initiated

SENTENCE: Cursive writing is becoming arcane in our world of word processing.

Arduous: MEANING: Requiring lots of hard work, very difficult

SENTENCE: Without a proper teacher, the exam is far too arduous to study for by yourself.

Articulate: MEANING: Using language in a clear, fluent way

SENTENCE: Her articulate presentation of the advertising campaign impressed her employers.

Artless: MEANING: Natural, without pretence or deception

SENTENCE: Many people believe that Imran Khan seems to be an artless politician who can eliminate corruption from Pakistan.

Ascetic: MEANING: Practising pronounced self-discipline from all forms of indulgence

SENTENCE: Religious people can live frugal and ascetic lives.

Assiduous: MEANING: Showing great care and perseverance

SENTENCE: She was assiduous in pointing out every feature of the home to the prospective buyers.

Assuage: MEANING: Provide relief from an unpleasant feeling

SENTENCE: The electricity supply finally resumed, and it assuaged the angry people; because after a few minutes they forgot their inconvenience.

Attenuate: MEANING: Reduce the force, effect, or value of

SENTENCE: Many people claim that the flu vaccine attenuates their illness.

Audacious : MEANING: Daring, bold; taking risks SENTENCE: She made an audacious decision to quit her job.

Auspicious: MEANING: Favourable, positive

SENTENCE: The opening night of the musical received an auspicious review from the theatre critic.

Austere : MEANING: Severely simple, plain

SENTENCE: The graduation speaker Delivered an austere message: the economy Is bad, and academic success alone isn't enough to succeed in the

job market.

Austerity: MEANING: Sternness, severity; reduced public spending

During the recession, the government introduced austerity measures, and many public servants were retrenched.

Autonomous : MEANING: Independent

SENTENCE: The country was comprised of a number of autonomous provinces.

Avarice: MEANING: Greed for wealth

SENTENCE: Early gold-diggers were inspired by avarice.

Avid: MEANING: Passionate or enthusiastic

SENTENCE: Hamid Is an avid reader of novels, articles and editorials; this helped his comprehension immensely.

-B -

Banal : MEANING: Lacking originality

SENTENCE: Frequent use of ordinary and uninteresting words makes an essay seem banal; this generates a low score in essays.

Belie: MEANING: Give a false impression

SENTENCE: The corrupt actions of some officials belie their claim to be representative of sound authority.

Beneficent: MEANING: (of a person) generous or doing good SENTENCE: Clarissa found a beneficent mentor in her manager at work.

Benign: MEANING: Harmless

The doctor told Stephen that the lump on his arm was benign and could be removed easily.

Bracing : MEANING: Fresh, invigorating; giving strength

SENTENCE: Heather took her dog for a bracing walk by the ocean at 6am that day.

Burgeon : MEANING: Grow rapidly, flourish

SENTENCE: In the spring, the plants that burgeon are a promise of the beauty that is to come.

Burnish: MEANING: enhance or improve

SENTENCE: The politician took advantage of any opportunity to burnish his image.

Bolster: MEANING: Support or strengthen

SENTENCE: The fall in interest rates is starting to bolster investor confidence.

Bombastic: MEANING: Pompous, showy

SENTENCE: The speech made by the new headmaster was a little bombastic.

Boorish: MEANING: rough and bad-mannered; coarse.

SENTENCE: Even though the pirate captain was brutal and boorish with his men, he was always courteous to the female captives.

Buttress: MEANING: Support, reinforce

SENTENCE: In the debating club, the students learnt how to buttress their argument with relevant facts.

- C -

Cacophony: MEANING: A harsh, discordant, or meaningless mixture of sounds.

SENTENCE: The noise of barking dogs and sirens added to the cacophony at midnight; I didn't sleep.

Candid: MEANING: Sincere or honest

SENTENCE: The candid attitude of the prime minister inspired many young individuals to see him as a role model.

Capricious: MEANING: Unpredictable

SENTENCE: Share market behaviour was capricious during the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Castigate: MEANING: Criticize harshly

SENTENCE: Drill sergeants are known to castigate new recruits so mercilessly that the latter often break down.

Chicanery: MEANING: The use of deception or subterfuge

SENTENCE: There is plenty of chicanery in the world of international espionage.

Catalyst: MEANING: Something that causes change

SENTENCE: The student’s ideas were the catalyst for the teacher’s different approach to teaching.

Caustic: MEANING: Intended to hurt, bitterly sarcastic

SENTENCE: The divorcing couple spoke to each other with caustic remarks.

Circumscribe: MEANING: Limit or restrict

SENTENCE: Unreliable access to funds circumscribed the investor’s activities.

Coagulate: MEANING: (of a fluid) change to a solid or semi-solid state SENTENCE: Blood had coagulated around the edges of the wound.

Chauvinism: MEANING: Excessive support for one’s own cause, group or sex

SENTENCE: Male chauvinists do not believe women are their equal.

Coda: MEANING: A concluding event, section or remark SENTENCE: A prayer was the coda to the priest’s session that Sunday.

Cogent: MEANING: Convincing, logical

SENTENCE: The defence presented cogent arguments to the jury; their verdict: not guilty.

Commensurate: MEANING: Equal in extent, proportional

SENTENCE: Her salary was commensurate with her experience and qualifications.

Compendium: MEANING: a collection or set of similar items.

SENTENCE: The book she borrowed was a compendium of maps and stories of the country she planned to visit.

Complaisant: MEANING: Willing to please others

SENTENCE: Flight attendants are usually very complaisant with passengers.

Condone: MEANING: Accept or overlook behaviour that is considered wrong or offensive

SENTENCE: The school did not condone smoking in the playground.

Confound: MEANING: Cause confusion with surprise; mix up

SENTENCE: The twins would deliberately confound their teachers by swapping seats in the classroom.

Connoisseur: MEANING: Expert of art; or simply, expert

SENTENCE: Miguel managed a vineyard and was something of a wine connoisseur.

Compliant: MEANING: Submissive, willing to obey someone else

SENTENCE: He was compliant when the police asked him to step out of the car.

Contentious: MEANING: Likely to cause controversy

SENTENCE: The filmmaker produced a very contentious documentary on the state of the global environment.

Conciliatory: MEANING: Soothing and satisfying

SENTENCE: She was still angry despite his conciliatory words to her after their argument.

Contrite: MEANING: Feeling or expressing remorse

SENTENCE: The teacher found a very contrite student when he visited the detention room.

Concomitant: MEANING: Accompanying, associated SENTENCE: The joys of motherhood had concomitant anxieties.

Conundrum: MEANING: A difficult problem; puzzle SENTENCE: The study of physics involved many conundrums.

Converge: MEANING: Tending to come together from different directions

SENTENCE: The crowd converged on the holy relic.

Convoluted: MEANING: Twisted, very complicated

SENTENCE: Your argument is so convoluted that I'm not able to understand it enough to start critiquing it.

Courteous: MEANING: Polite and respectful in manner SENTENCE: The lawyer sent me a very courteous letter.

Craven: MEANING: Very cowardly

SENTENCE: When he saw the enemy troops advancing, he had a craven impulse to run for his life.

Crestfallen : MEANING: Dejected, sad and disappointed

SENTENCE: Half the crowd in the stadium were crestfallen after their team lost the grand final.

Culpability : MEANING: Deserving blame

SENTENCE: The extent of the culpability of each nation in its handling of the crisis became clearer over time.

Cursory: MEANING: Brief, hasty

SENTENCE: He gave the report a cursory glance before handing it to his secretary.

- D -

Dander: MEANING: Tiny particles, from hair, skin or feathers; a feeling of anger, temper

SENTENCE: The smirk on the villain’s face raised the dander of the policeman.

Daunt: MEANING: Discourage or frighten

SENTENCE: The student daunted his classmate when the teacher was not looking.

Credulous: MEANING: Trusting too easily or without enough evidence.

SENTENCE: Few people are credulous enough to believe that the United Nations has global authority.

Debunk : MEANING: Show something to be false

SENTENCE: Investigative journalists have debunked various political myths.

Decorum: MEANING: Proper In manners and conduct

SENTENCE: Discipline requires the decorum of one’s behaviour and attitude towards rules and regulations.

Default: MEANING: Failure to fulfil an obligation, especially a financial one

SENTENCE: The company will have to restructure its debts to avoid default.

Deference: MEANING: Polite and respectful submission

SENTENCE: He responded with natural deference, giving them his full attention.

Deliberation: MEANING: Careful consideration; slow movement SENTENCE: The jury delivered its verdict after due deliberation.

Delineate: MEANING: Describe in precise detail SENTENCE: I do need the cash, but I'm not signing up for this

psychological experiment unless you delineate what's going to happen.

Demean: MEANING: Cause a loss in dignity and respect for something or someone; do something that is beneath one’s dignity

SENTENCE: She did not demean herself by calling her boyfriend after seeing him with another girl.

Denigrate: MEANING: Criticize unfairly; disparage.

SENTENCE: Don’t listen to the doom and gloom merchants who denigrate their own country.

Deride: MEANING: Express contempt for; ridicule.

SENTENCE: The decision to create a shopping mall in front of the lake was derided by environmentalists

Derivative: MEANING: Not original

SENTENCE: Many modern singers' albums are mere disappointment, derivative of several hit albums from past legends.

Desiccate: MEANING: Dehydrate, remove water from

SENTENCE: Out West, it was the time of the summer sun and dust storms, when whole desiccated farms blew away.

Desultory: MEANING: Lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm

SENTENCE: A few people were left at the party, dancing in a desultory fashion.

Deterrent: MEANING: something that discourages or is intended to discourage someone from doing something

SENTENCE: Cameras are a major deterrent to crime

Diatribe: MEANING: A forceful and bitter verbal attack against someone or something

SENTENCE: The speech was a diatribe against consumerism.

Dichotomy: MEANING: A contrast between two things that are opposed, or very different.

SENTENCE: There is a fixed dichotomy between science and religion.

Didacticism: MEANING: A philosophy of teaching in art and literature

SENTENCE: The didactic qualities of his poetry overshadow its literary qualities; the lesson he teaches is more memorable than the lines.

Diffidence: MEANING: Lack of self-confidence, shyness

SENTENCE: Her diffidence showed up in the classroom when she was asked to speak.

Diffuse: MEANING: Spread out over a large area; not concentrated SENTENCE: New technologies diffuse rapidly.

Digression: MEANING: a temporary departure from the main subject in speech or writing.

SENTENCE: “Let's return to the main topic after that brief digression.”

Disabuse: MEANING: Free somebody from an incorrect belief.

SENTENCE: I will attempt to disabuse you of your impression of my client's guilt; I know he is innocent.

Discerning: MEANING: Mentally quick and observant

SENTENCE: The ships in the harbour were not discernible in the fog.

Discordant: MEANING: Disagreeing or incongruous; lacking in harmony

SENTENCE: The operative principle of democracy is a balance of discordant qualities

Discountenance : MEANING: Refuse to approve of; disturb the composure of

SENTENCE: When capitalist development discountenances the people, it loses its soul. The soul of capitalist development at the national, regional and global level must be the people.

Discredit: MEANING: Injure The reputation of

SENTENCE: the campaign was highly negative in tone; each candidate tried to discredit the other.

Discrepancy: MEANING: Lack of consistency between facts

SENTENCE: There is a discrepancy between the accountant’s report and the client’s.

Dirge: MEANING: A mournful song, piece of music, or sound

SENTENCE: When Kim sang a dirge for her deceased father, she brought everyone to tears.

Discrete: MEANING: Individually separate

SENTENCE: Speech is produced as a continuous sound signal rather than discrete units.

Disingenuous: MEANING: Not sincere, not simple

SENTENCE: Although he was young, his remarks indicated that he was disingenuous.

Disinterested: MEANING: Unprejudiced by consideration of personal gain; uninterested.

SENTENCE: My decision to invest in your company is a disinterested one; I am acting on behalf of a client.

Disjointed: MEANING: Disconnected

SENTENCE: In politics we have seen, whenever there is a clash of interests, political parties have become disjointed.

Dismiss : MEANING: Discharge from an office or position; treat as unworthy of consideration

SENTENCE: The prime minister dismissed five members of his cabinet.

Disparage: MEANING: Belittle, regard as being of little worth SENTENCE: The feminist group tended to disparage men.

Disparate: MEANING: Essentially different, not able to be compared. SENTENCE: The two authors inhabit disparate worlds of thought.

Disquieting: MEANING: Disturbing, causing anxiety.

SENTENCE: Mr. Amir's lack of emotion at his wife's death was disquieting – so much so, in fact, that even his own family began to suspect he had something to do with it.

Dissemble: MEANING: Hide or disguise one's real feelings or beliefs SENTENCE: She smiled and looked away, dissembling her true emotions.

Disseminate: MEANING: Spread widely, especially information

SENTENCE: Health authorities should foster good practice by disseminating information

Dissolution: MEANING: the action of ceasing or dismissing an assembly, partnership, or official body

SENTENCE: The dissolution of their marriage after 20 years took place in a few minutes.

Dissonance : MEANING: lack of agreement or harmony, especially in music

SENTENCE: The meeting ended in uproar and dissonance.

Distend : MEANING: Swell or cause to swell by pressure from inside SENTENCE: The abdomen distended rapidly.

Distil : MEANING: Remove impurities from, increase the concentration of

SENTENCE: You can’t drink the water from the river, but you can distil it.

Divest: MEANING: Take something away from somebody

SENTENCE: The president was divested of his power to act and could no longer govern.

Doctrinaire: MEANING: Trying to impose doctrine without taking practical considerations into account

SENTENCE: Mr. Chief Justice is such a doctrinaire person that he will never compromise on the sentences he makes for terrorists.

Document: MEANING: Support with evidence; written piece

SENTENCE: In the analytical writing assessment, if you write an essay with well-documented examples, you should get a high score.

Dogmatic: MEANING: inclined to lay down principles as undeniably true

SENTENCE: She was not tempted to be too dogmatic about what she believed.

Dogmatism: MEANING: The tendency to be right all the time, with little consideration for others

SENTENCE: Mr. Jones shows an inflexible dogmatism when it comes to answering difficult questions.

Dormant: MEANING: Temporarily inactive

SENTENCE: The disease may remain dormant and undetected until it is transmitted to other fish.

Dupe: MEANING: Trick, deceive

SENTENCE: The manager was duped into hiring a criminal.

- E -

Ebullient: MEANING: Energetic and full of cheer

SENTENCE: Fatima sounded ebullient and happy when she got very high exam score.

Eccentric: MEANING: Odd; deviating from normal, unusual SENTENCE: Her parents were eccentric but very lovable.

Eclectic: MEANING: Selecting what seems best from various styles or ideas

SENTENCE: The government applied a set of bipartisan and eclectic policies.

Efficacy : MEANING: The quality of being able to produce the intended effect

SENTENCE: The efficacy of your preparation of the exam depends on your devotion and hard work.

Effrontery: MEANING: Rude or impertinent behaviour SENTENCE: The teacher condones no effrontery in her classroom.

Egregious: MEANING: Extremely bad to such an extent that it becomes shocking

SENTENCE: The prime minister’s abuse of power was so egregious that even his own family deserted him and asked the international courts to take action against him.

Elegy : MEANING: a mournful poem; a lament for the dead

SENTENCE: An example of an elegy is a poem written to honour a deceased man

Elicit: MEANING: Draw out a reaction, answer, or fact SENTENCE: I tried to elicit a smile from Joanna.

Eloquence : MEANING: Persuasive speech or writing SENTENCE: She spoke with such eloquence at the meeting.

Embellish: MEANING: Decorate and adorn; add details to a story that may not be accurate

SENTENCE: My mother-in-law's stories about her journey from Russia made us laugh because she embellished the bare facts of her travels with humorous anecdotes.

Empirical: MEANING: Based on experience or experimentation

SENTENCE: He distrusted hunches and intuitive flashes; he placed his reliance entirely on empirical data.

Emulate: MEANING: Imitate; match or surpass by imitation SENTENCE: Many singers wished to emulate Elvis Presley.

Endemic: MEANING:) Regularly found among particular people or in a certain area (of a disease or condition)

SENTENCE: Is surging inequality endemic to capitalism?

Enervate: MEANING: To weaken physically, mentally or morally SENTENCE: The long suffering from paralysis has enervated him.

Engender: MEANING: Give rise to, cause (a feeling, situation, or condition)

SENTENCE: The issue of race raised by the politician has engendered continuing controversy.

Enhance: MEANING: Further improve the quality, value, or extent of; intensify, increase

SENTENCE: His refusal does nothing to enhance his reputation.

Ephemeral : MEANING: Lasting only a short time

SENTENCE: The mayfly is an ephemeral creature; it only lives for a couple of hours.

Equanimity: MEANING: Calmness and composure, especially in difficult situations

SENTENCE: She accepted both the good and the bad with equanimity.

Equitable: MEANING: Impartial or fair

SENTENCE: The mediator suggested an equitable solution for both parties.

Equivocate: MEANING: To speak vaguely so as to conceal the truth

SENTENCE: After Sharon brought the car home an hour after her curfew, she equivocated when her parents pointedly asked her where she had been.

Erroneous : MEANING: Wrong, incorrect

SENTENCE: I thought my answer was correct, but it was erroneous; it's usually the case for tricky questions.

Erudite: MEANING: Well-educated, having or showing great knowledge or learning

SENTENCE: Steve turned any conversation into an erudite discussion.

Esoteric: MEANING: Understood by only a few people with specialized knowledge or interests; obscure

SENTENCE: She read a compilation of esoteric philosophical theories.

Eulogy: MEANING: Expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death.

SENTENCE: All the eulogies of his friends were read in church and the funeral was attended by many.

Euphemism: MEANING: an expression substituted for one considered to be too blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing

SENTENCE: The phrase ‘passed away’ is a euphemism for saying someone died.

Euphoria: MEANING: A feeling of extreme excitement

SENTENCE: Katie was euphoric after she got an admission at Harvard University, with full scholarship.

Exacerbate: MEANING: Make worse

SENTENCE: The cream the doctor prescribed only exacerbated the rash on Steve’s foot.

Exacting: MEANING: Extremely demanding

SENTENCE: The author’s requirements were exacting, the editor would need weeks to do the work.

Exculpate: MEANING: Show someone is free from blame

SENTENCE: I will present evidence of innocence and honesty in his 10 years of service for this country that will exculpate my client from such groundless charges.

Exigency: MEANING: Urgent requirement or need

SENTENCE: Political decisions are presented as a matter of exigency, as though there were no other choice.

Exonerate: MEANING: Officially absolve from blame; release from obligation or duty

SENTENCE: In order to work in the USA, one requires proof of exoneration from any criminal act.

Extraneous: MEANING: Irrelevant; of external origin

SENTENCE: We create bubbles of information, silos of opinion, and we tune out all that is extraneous or disagreeable.

Extrapolation: MEANING: The action of estimating by extension of current trends, or applying current methods

SENTENCE: I extrapolate that getting home will take 20 minutes as it took 20 minutes to get there.

- F -

Facetious : MEANING: Inappropriately funny, flippant

SENTENCE: Facetious remarks about a classmate are inappropriate at the serious moment when you got an excellent score in the exam, but your classmate got a very poor score.

Facile : MEANING: Superficial, simplistic; easily achieved SENTENCE: His essay contained many facile generalizations.

Facilitate: MEANING: Make an action or process easier.

SENTENCE: Businesses were located in the same area to facilitate the residents’ visiting and shopping.

Fallacious: MEANING: Based on unsound arguments SENTENCE: Don’t be misled by the fallacious advertisement.

Faltering: MEANING: Hesitating; losing strength or momentum

SENTENCE: The surprising decrease in the value of the euro as compared to other currencies is sign of a faltering economy.

Fastidious: MEANING: Giving very careful attention to detail

SENTENCE: The Professor is so fastidious that he hardly ever approves a student’s thesis on first submission, because he is so fastidious about little points like punctuation.

Fatuous: MEANING: Silly, foolish

SENTENCE: Her comments on the film festival competition were fatuous.

Fawning : MEANING: Showing exaggerated affection or flattery; obsequious

SENTENCE: The puppy was fawning on its master.

Felicitous: MEANING: Apt, suited to the circumstances; pleasing SENTENCE: The felicitous music made me happy.

Fervor : MEANING: Intense and earnest feeling

SENTENCE: The priest delivered his sermon with great fervor.

Flag : MEANING: Lose enthusiasm or energy

SENTENCE: When the opposing hockey team scored its third goal only minutes into the first period, the home team's spirits flagged.

Fledgling: MEANING: a person, creature or organization that is immature, inexperienced, or underdeveloped

SENTENCE: Pakistan is a country with a fledgling democracy

Flout: MEANING: Openly disregard, in terms of a rule, law, or convention

SENTENCE: They hugged each other, openly flouting the social distancing rules.

Foible: MEANING: Slight flaw or defect, especially of character SENTENCE: Her tendency to gossip was an all-too-human foible.

Foment: MEANING: To instigate or stir up, especially discord or trouble SENTENCE: Greenpeace fomented protests on the ocean against whaling.

Forestall: MEANING: To prevent, hinder or thwart by action in advance

SENTENCE: They will hand in their resignations to forestall a vote of no confidence.

Forlorn: MEANING: Sad And lonely

SENTENCE: After his lover left him and went with some other guy, Edward was forlorn.

Fortuitous : MEANING: Occurring by happy chance; by lucky accident

SENTENCE: There is no connection between these two events; their timing is entirely fortuitous.

Frugality : MEANING: The attitude of not spending much money

SENTENCE: Monte was no miser, but was simply frugal, wisely spending the little that he earned.

Futile: MEANING: Useless, ineffective

SENTENCE: His attempts at scaling the wall were futile, it was simply too high for him.