Vocabulary 11A

Allude (v.) to refer to casually or indirectly S: suggest, insinuate, hint at, intimate In his speech, the candidate alluded to his opponent’s lack of military experience.

Clairvoyant (adj.) supernaturally perceptive; (n.) one who possesses extrasensory powers, seer S: (adj.) insightful, discerning, uncanny; (n.) visionary A: (adj.) blind, unseeing, myopic, dense, imperceptive Few people are taking in by the clairvoyant pronouncements of fortune-tellers and mediums. The police sometimes use clairvoyants to help them solve difficult missing-person cases.

Conclusive (adj.) serving to settle an issue; final S: decisive, indisputable, convincing, definitive A: unsettled, provisional, indefinite When they weighed all the evidence in the case, the members of the jury found the testimony of the expert witness to be conclusive.

Disreputable (adj.) not respectable, not esteemed S: disgraceful, discreditable, shady A: honest, aboveboard, respectable, creditable Supermarket tabloids frequently publish stories about the disreputable behavior of celebrities.

Endemic (adj.) native or confined to a particular region or people; characteristic of or prevalent in a field. S: indigenous, restricted to A: alien, foreign, extraneous Scientists have yet to identify many plant and animals species endemic to the rain forests.

Exemplary (adj.) worthy of imitation, commendable; serving as a model S: praiseworthy, meritorious, sterling, illustrative A: infamous, notorious, scandalous, disreputable The Medal of Freedom is awarded to U.S. civilians for exemplary achievements in various fields.

Fathom (v.) to understand, get to the bottom of; to determine the depth of; (n.) a measure of depth in water S: (v.) grasp, comprehend, figure out, plumb It is sometimes difficult to fathom the motives behind another person’s actions. The great passenger liner Titanic still lies buried several thousand fathoms beneath the ocean’s surface.

Guile (n.) treacherous cunning, deceit S: trickery, duplicity, chicanery A: candor, artlessness, naiveté, plain dealing Folklore has it that a serpent’s most outstanding trait is guile, just as a fox’s is craftiness.

Integrity (n.) honesty, high moral standards; an unimpaired condition, completeness, soundness S: rectitude, probity A: dishonesty, corruption, turpitude Scholars debated the integrity of the text of a newly discovered poem attributed to Shakespeare.

Itinerary (n.) a route of travel; a record of travel; a guidebook S: schedule, program Tour companies regularly provide potential customers with detailed itineraries of the trips they offer.