Adversity (n.) Poverty; misfortune Some people believe that adversity improves the character, making one a stronger and more understanding person.

Aloof (adj.) Apart; reserved The new student was aloof for a few weeks, adjusting to her new classmates.

Braggart (n.) Boaster; one who puts himself above others The basketball player became a bit of a braggart when he scored the game-winning shot.

Colloquial (adj.) Pertaining to conversational or common speech Colloquial words and expressions should not be used in formal English.

Cryptic (adj.) Mysterious; hidden; secret The mom was suspicious of her daughter when she received a cryptic message about her daughter’s whereabouts.

Debilitate (v.) To weaken The “Ice Bucket Challenge” is to raise awareness for ALS, a disease that gradually debilitates the muscles.

Deprecate (v.) To express disapproval of; belittle Miss H. doesn’t think it’s fair to deprecate students or their work.

Exemplary (adj.) Serving as a model; outstanding Molly displayed exemplary leadership skills and impressed her new boss very much.

Facilitate (v.) Help bring about; make less difficult To help the students understand the lesson, the teacher decided to facilitate the whole thing.

Garrulous (adj.) Talkative; wordy Michael was so nervous that his two-minute speech turned into a garrulous jumble of words.