37.

Color (KULL-er), noun The portion of the visible light spectrum reflected by an
object; the resulting sensation of light waves on the eye.
ADJECTIVES cerulean (suh-RUE-lee-uhn). Being the blue of the sky. Boys lined
up everywhere that Janis went just to look into her CERULEAN eyes.
monochromatic (mawn-owe-kruh- MAT-ik). Of a single color. The sweep and
power of Ansel Adamss MONOCHROMATIC photography proves how much can
be accomplished with a roll of black-and-white film.
olivaceous (all-uh-VAY-shuss). Dark green, olive. The Springfield Golf Club was
known for its OLIVACEOUS fairways.
pallid (PAL-id). Pale; faint; lacking in color. Nancys PALLID complexion was the
result of poor health rather than a desire to avoid UV rays.
pavonine (PAHV-uh-nine). Resembling the colors of a peacock; rainbowlike.
Nature at its finest is demonstrated by the peacocks PAVONINE tail feathers.
pied (PYED). Having blotches of two or more colors.The poet Gerard Manley
Hopkins believed the strangeness of PIED creatures and plants was a sign of Gods
grace.
polychrome (PAWL-ee-krome). Having many colors. The office was a more
cheerful place with Marys POLYCHROME outfits.
roseate (ROH-zee-it). Rosy; rosecolored. The ROSEATE glass in the windows gave
the room a faintly bordello flavor.
sallow (SAL-low). Sickly; grayish greenish yellow. The SALLOW tone of Melanies
skin led us to wonder whether she was ill.
spadiceous (spay-DISH-uhs). Of a bright brown color. It took years for the paint
maker to develop a bright brown, but they finally released a SPADICEOUS enamel.
variegated (VAIR-ee-uh-gay-tid). Changing color or containing different hues of
the same color. A lawn covered in VARIEGATED fallen leaves is the sign that
Autumn is finally here.
verdant (VUR-duhnt). Green, especially with foliage. With its careful mix of
plants, the Whittingtons formal garden remains VERDANT year-round.
xanthic (ZAN-thik). Of yellow; yellowish. Carries pantsuit was electrified by the
addition of a XANTHIC scarf.
NOUNS bice (BYSS). Azurite blue; medium blue. Peter and Martha
simultaneously decided that BICE would be the best color for the dining room.
cyan (SY-an). Greenish blue; one of the primary colors used in printing. The entire
printing run had to be discarded because CYAN was missing.
jacinth (JAY-sinth). Reddish orange. JACINTH seemed like a good choice for the
kitchen until John finished painting one wall.
metachromatism (met-uh-KRO-muhtiz- um). A change of color, especially as the
result of a change in temperature. Spring causes a welcome METACHROMATISM
of the forest.
murrey (MURR-ee). A dark purplishred. Peters black eye actually had a
MURREY cast.
ocher (OH-kur). Dark yellow. The traffic lights in the artists colony displayed red,
OCHER, and green.

opalescence (OH-puh-LESS-enss). Characterized by a play of colors; iridescence. A

random mixture of tints gave the vase an OPALESCENCE that Nancy couldnt
reproduce despite her best efforts.
oxblood (OKS-blud). Dark, dull red. Greg bought OXBLOOD shoes because he
believed he could wear them with blue, gray, and brown suits.
perse (PURSS). Very dark blue or purple. Luckily, Betty thought better of buying a
PERSE purse. puce (PYOOCE). Dark or brownish purple. Eventually, Peters bruise
turned PUCE.
raddle (RAD-uhl). Red ocher. RADDLE was not a better choice for the dining room
walls as it turned out.
sepia (SEE-pee-uh). Brown, grayish brown, or olive brown. The SEPIA of the
photographs gave them a vintage feel.
solferino (sowl-fuh-REE-noh). Vivid, purplish pink. Janes scarf demonstrated
that a little SOLFERINO goes a long way.
vermilion (vur-MILL-yun). Scarlet red; bright red. In her trademark VERMILION
pantsuit, Carrie really stood out in a crowd.
ANTONYMS achromatic (ak-ruh-MAT-ik). Having no color. Marcia was quite
insistent in asking us to help her interpret her ACHROMATIC dreams.
neutral (NOO-truhl). Having little or no color; not vivid. Having become weary of
her homes vibrant color scheme, Anne decided to try the opposite tack and painted
all her walls with NEUTRAL shades.
18. Attractive (uh-TRAK-tihv), adjective Pleasing in appearance or manner;
alluring. ADJECTIVES aesthetic (ess-THET-ik). Of or related to a sense of what is
attractive or beautiful. 106 Covering your walls with pictures torn from the
newspaper does not testify to a genuine AESTHETIC sense, Harold.
beguiling (bee-GUY-ling). Charming; bewitching; enchanting. The BEGUILING
charm Monica learned at finishing school more than makes up for her vapid
personality.
bucolic (byoo-KALL-ik). Expressive of rural serenity and charm. We bought a
weekend place in a BUCOLIC little village.
comely (KUM-lee). Pleasing or attractive. Jane is COMELY, but her mother fears
that the men she attracts will not make her happy.
idyllic (eye-DILL-ik). Pleasing; peaceful; ideal. Our IDYLLIC honeymoon in the
tropics was interrupted by a hurricane.
meretricious (mer-i-TRISH-us). Attracting attention in an unseemly or
inappropriate fashion. His favorite brand of beer used MERETRICIOUS adsTV
commercials showing scantily clad young womento attract more attention.
pulchritudinous (pul-krih-TOOD-inus). Having or characterized by physical
beauty; comely. Many in the crowd were not particularly interested in the football
game itself, but attended the event to observe firsthand the PULCHRITUDINOUS
cheerleaders.

statuesque (statch-oo-ESK). Having a tall and well-proportioned form; like or

resembling a statue; graceful; shapely. Although he had won many gold medals,
news reporters only focused on the swimmers STATUESQUE physique.
winsome (WIN-suhm). Winning and engaging; charming. Lydia looked quite
WINSOME throughout her coming-out party.
NOUNS siren (SY-ren). A destructive but seductively beautiful, beguiling woman;
anything considered dangerously seductive. It is natural to indulge in the illusions
of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes to that SIREN until she allures us to our
death.Gertrude Stein, American author
VERBS captivate (KAP-tih-vayt). To capture the affection or attention of, as by
beauty; charm. Of all the girls at the dance, only Betty could CAPTIVATE the boys
without seeming to try.
enthrall (en-THRAWL). To charm or captivate; to put under strong influence;
enchant. Garbos performance was simply ENTHRALLING.
entice (en-TYSS). To tempt in a pleasing fashion; to attract or lure. The delicious
aroma emanating from the bakeshop often ENTICES me to stop in and pick up a
doughnut or muffin on my way to work.
inveigle (in-VAY-gull). To lure, entice; to win over by ingenuity or flattery. Craig
INVEIGLED the dean into allowing him to graduate even though he failed to meet
the foreign-language requirement of the university.
ANTONYMS repugnant (rih-PUG-nunt). Distasteful; objectionable. The very
word secrecy is REPUGNANT in a free and open society; and we are as a people
inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret
proceedings.John F. Kennedy, American president
repulsive (rih-PUHL-siv). Causing strong dislike or aversion; offensive; disgusting.
Kathy was surprised by the new art exhibit; instead of beautiful, well-formed, and
harmonious images, they were distinctly and utterly REPULSIVE.
182. Shape (SHAYP), noun 1063 The quality of a thing that defines its external
surface and physical form; something seen in outline; contour.
ADJECTIVES conoidal (kuh-NOYD-uhl). Shaped like, or nearly like, a cone. My
sons paintings of CONOIDAL objects are all the rage in his preschool
infundibular (in-fuhn-DIB-yoo-lar). Having the shape of a funnel. From years of
erosion by rapidly moving water, the valley has acquired an INFUNDIBULAR
appearance.
lunate (LOO-nayt). Crescent-shaped. 1064 Looking like a partially eaten cookie,
the LUNATE moon rose over the lake.
ovoid (OH-void). Having the shape of an egg. The OVOID droppings were left by
an unidentified but fastidious animal.
pyriform (PIR-uh-form). Having a pear shape. With their PYRIFORM outline, the
apples looked like pears from a distance
. serriform (SAIR-uh-form). Shaped like a saw-edge; having ridges reminiscent of
saw-teeth. The two SERRIFORM pieces fit together perfectly, making a solid joint.
1065

sigmoid (SIG-moid). Having a double curve like the letter S. The rather large
serpent was resting in the classic SIGMOID position.
sinuous (SIN-yoo-uhs). Bending in and out; having many curves; wavy. Flowing
slowly across the plain, the great river followed a SINUOUS path to the ocean.
spheroidal (sfi-ROID-uhl). In the shape of a sphere. Seemingly without effort, the
toddlers were able to transform the SPHEROIDAL ball into one that was distinctly
ovoid.
symmetrical (sih-MET-rih-kul). Characterized by a regularity of features and 1066
form; well-proportioned; agreeably arranged. The tree was so perfectly
SYMMETRICAL that we wondered if it was real.
tauriform (TAWR-uh-form). Having the shape of a bull or the head or horns of a
bull. Arthur was temporarily stumped when asked to draw an object with a
TAURIFORM shape.
xiphoid (ZIE-foid). Shaped like a sword. We can always spot Carlsons private
plane because it is covered with the same XIPHOID shapes that adorn his familys
crest.
ANTONYMS amorphous (ah-MORE-fis). Without definite shape, substance, or
form; lacking definition and boundaries. Of course the illusion of art is to make one
believe that great literature is very close to life, but exactly the opposite is true. Life
is AMORPHOUS, literature is formal.Franoise Sagan, French novelist and
playwright
incoherent (in-koh-HEER-uhnt). Not logically connected; disjointed; rambling.
Dreams are nothing but INCOHERENT ideas, occasioned by partial or imperfect
sleep.Benjamin Rush, American physician and political leader
213. Visage (VIZ-aj), noun Face or overall appearance.
NOUNS countenance (KOWN-teh-nanss). Appearance, particularly the
expression on ones face. Cervantess Don Quixote is sometimes referred to as the
Knight of the Doleful COUNTENANCE. face (FAYSS). The front part of the head,
including the forehead, eyes, nose, cheeks, mouth, and chin. Ones facial expression.
Your FACE reminds me of the expressions on classical statues from ancient Greece.
Your expression is timeless.
mien (MEEN). A persons look or manner. Dans country-bumpkin MIEN
effectively hides his shrewd business tactics.
physiognomy (fizz-ee-AH-no-mee). Ones face as an expression of ones character.
The features of your face that show what kind of a person you are. Youre either sexy
or youre not. Im very self-conscious about my PHYSIOGNOMY.Bobby Darin,
American singer
tte--tte (TET-ah-tet). A face-to-face meeting. Some of us had begun to believe
that our servants were pilfering from us, so we sat down with the allegedly guilty
parties and had a TTE--TTE.
VERBS envisage (en-VIZ-ij). To envision, imagine, or create a mental picture. I
dont ENVISAGE collectivism. There is no such animal, it is always
individualism. Gertrude Stein, American author

overlook (OH-ver-LUK). Dont notice, either unintentionally or, more often,

intentionally. Robert was so devoted to his two-yearold son that he tended to
OVERLOOK the boys exhibitions of spoiled brattiness.
ANTONYMS androgynous (Ann-DRAH-gen-us). Something or someone who is
sexless; of indeterminate sex; or hermaphrodite (having characteristics of both a
male and a female). The models at fashion week were so ANDROGYNOUS that
Katherine couldnt tell if the clothes were designed for men or women.
efface (ih-FAYSS). To erase, obliterate, make inconspicuous.
It is also true that one can write nothing readable unless one constantly struggles
to EFFACE ones own personality. Good prose is like a windowpane.George
Orwell, British author
165. Refulgent (rih-FULL-jent), adjective Radiant, gleaming; shining brightly.
ADJECTIVES effulgent (ih-FULL-jent). Shining brightly; glowing; radiant. The
lightning storm made the evening sky positively EFFULGENT.
luciferous (loo-SIH-fuh-ruhs). Providing insight or enlightenment; illuminating.
Blake did not find the Ivy League LUCIFEROUS, so he decided to devote his life to
world travel instead.
nitid (NIHT-id). Bright and lustrous. Brock and Jenny flew through NITID
moonbeams in Brocks new Gulfstream GIV personal jet.
resplendent (reh-SPLEN-dent). Garbed or decorated in lush fabrics and rich,
vibrant colors. The bride was RESPLENDENT in a beaded silk gown.
NOUNS lan, (a-LON). Enthusiasm, energy, flair, zest. Bryanna reacted with
LAN when she was tapped to be part of a feature for Elite Travel Magazine.
exemplar (ig-ZEM-plar). A role model, a shining example of a desired state, status,
or behavior. The systemthe American one, at leastis a vast and noble
experiment. It has been polestar and EXAMPLAR for other nations.Phyllis
McGinley, American poet
felicity (fih-LISS-ih-tee). A state of blissful happiness. Never lose sight of the fact
that all human FELICITY lies in mans imagination, and that he cannot think to
attain it unless he heeds all his caprices.Marquis de Sade, French aristocrat and
revolutionary
VERBS zonk (ZAWNK). To stun or stupefy. We were positively ZONKED by
Maries choice of couture for the very important Sanderson gala.
ANTONYMS austere (aw-STEER). Stern; grim and lacking humor or warmth;
clean and unornamented; severe or strict in manner. In the movie Dead Poets
Society, Robin Williams clashes with an AUSTERE headmaster at a private boys
school.
innocuous (ih-NAHK-yew-us). Not harmful or offensive; innocent, incidental, and
hardly noticeable. I know those little phrases that seem so INNOCUOUS and, once
you let them in, pollute the whole of speech.Samuel Beckett, Irish writer,
dramatist, and poet