List 7

foil v. & n.	to thwart, baffle, frustrate; a minor character or other element within a work of literature that serves by comparison or through conflict to set off and make conspicuous the features of a major character or element -- "Rats! Foiled again!" is the classic lament of vanquished cartoon villains. -- Tybalt and Mercutio are the favored sons, respectively, of the Montague and Capulet families, and dramatic foils for one another in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. -- The homely-but-endearing character of "Ugly Betty" serves as a foil to expose the garish, superficial vanities of the high fashion industry.
recoil v. & n.	to retreat, fall back, start, or stagger back -- Students recoiled from the foul smell emanating from the science lab.
repose n. & v. / repository n.	rest, placement, calm; place where items can be stored securely -- After five minutes' repose, they continued on their journey. -- The sunbathers were splayed on the beach in sundry postures of repose. -- Strangely enough, my mother uses a bait box as a repository for her jewelry.
ensue v.	to follow directly afterward, as a result [subject of 'ensued' is usually not a person, but a characterization or a state] -- When the fire alarm rang, panic ensued.
advent n.	the arrival of an important person or thing; the four-week season before Christmas -- Once they return from Christmas vacation, students begin to dread the advent of mid-year exams. -- I always look forward to receiving the kind of Advent calendars that dispense a piece of chocolate for every day leading up to Christmas.
dissuade v.	advise or urge AGAINST -- I did my best to dissuade her from wearing that ridiculous holiday sweater.
precious adj.	[secondary usage] affectedly refined in conduct, manners, language, etc.; over-fastidious -- I find my grandmother's taste to be over-precious. She eats only on fine china and her house is filled with silk flowers and furniture so fancy she doesn't let anyone sit on it.
sagacious adj. / sagacity n.	gifted with acute mental discernment; able to make good judgments, penetrating, shrewd -- I appreciate my parents' financial sagacity. Even with a modest income, they have invested wisely enough to pay for most of my college education. -- The teacher always looked to Mary for a sagacious comment that would clarify the discussion for the rest of the class.
sage n.& adj.	One venerated for experience, judgement, and wisdom; a wise person. -- Star Wars' Yoda is a sage figure, a common character type in mythic literature. -- David trusted the sage advice of his grandfather.
crony n. / cronyism n.	elderly fellow friend of an elderly person; intimate friend or associate (often with negative connotations of collusion and inappropriate preferential treatment) -- My grandpa and his cronies hold a weekly poker night. -- The Bush administration is notorious for its corrupt cronyism. Many feel, for instance, that former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez was seriously unqualified for his job.
debauchery n. / debauch v. & n.	extreme indulgence of one's appetites, esp. for sensual pleasure -- Frat parites are renowned for their debauchery.
sensationalism n. / sensationalist adj.	activity or materials causing or meaning to foment great interest or excitement among a large group of people; lurid, melodramatic, exaggerated -- The National Enquirer and other tabloids are known as sensationalist journals, selling tabloids by inventing and exaggerating scandals to thrill their readers.
disengagement n.	absence of engagement, involvement, sense of obligation -- Throughout the chick flick, her date made no attempt to hide his disengagement; she had to wake him up when the movie was over. -- Former 1960s political activists often complain of the civic disengagement of subsequent generations.
fatalism n. / fatalistic adj.	doctrine that all events are predetermined and unalterable -- A gloomy fatalism hangs over current debates about global warning. -- She rationalized her refusal to work hard in school with fatalistic pronouncements that she had no chance of getting into a good college.
proliferate v. / proliferation n.	increase greatly, multiply, become rife -- Condoms are an effective means of controlling the proliferation of STDs. -- The diplomats met to negotiate a treaty to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
consummate adj. & v. / consummation n.	completed, fully accomplished, supreme, utmost; complete a marriage by sexual intercourse; fulfill or perfect -- He is a consummate pianist, and his recitals draw thousands of spectators. -- Earning his M.D. was the consummation of his decades of hard work as a student.
insurgency n. / insurgent n.	an organized rebellion aimed at overthrowing a constituted government through the use of subversion and armed conflict. -- The insurgency arose from years of social unrest.
fabricate v. / fabrication n.	to make or construct, assemble pre-made pieces; to lie; to make up, forge -- The congressman, though caught red-handed, insisted that the wire-tapping accusation was fabricated by his political foes. -- The house we bought was pre-fabricated and took only one month to erect.
niche n. & adj.	1. an ornamental recess in a wall or the like, usually semicircular in plan and arched, as for a statue or other decorative object; 2. a place or position suitable or appropriate for a person or thing -- The young businesswoman finally found her niche in niche advertising.
pundit n./ punditry n.	a public figure who makes comments or judgments, esp. in an authoritative manner; critic or commentator about culture or politics. -- The news station's political pundits made sweeping generalizations about voting trends and were forced to apologize when reporting the election results. -- Punditry is almost the sole fare on offer during Sunday morning TV programming.
constituent n.& adj.	a person who authorizes another to act in his or her behalf, as a voter in a district represented by an elected official; component; serving to compose or make up a thing. -- The delegate disappointed his constituents by voting for an unpopular candidate in the primary election. -- We could not differentiate all of the constituent ingredients in the dish. Garlic overwhelmed all of the other flavors.
interim n.& adj.	an intervening time; interval; meantime; belonging to, serving during, or taking place during an intermediate interval of time; temporary -- The musicians were notorious for beginning concerts late and sending out disappointing opening acts in the interim. -- The United States set up an interim Iraqi government while they organized a democratic election.
siphon n.& v.	a pipe or tube fashioned or deployed in an inverted U shape and filled until atmospheric pressure is sufficient to force a liquid from a reservoir in one end of the tube over a barrier higher than the reservoir and out the other end; to convey, draw, or pass through or as if through a siphon. -- The gangsters refused to admit that their business practices included siphoning off profits into a Swiss bank account. -- Now that gas is so expensive, petty criminals are taking to siphoning gas out of parked cars. [siphon - coalesce on Freshman list -- delete after 0910]
furrow n.& v.	a narrow groove made in the ground, esp. by a plow; to make furrows -- A furrowed brow signifies anger or concern.
winnow n. & v.	to blow chaff from grain by a forced current of air; to analyze or examne carefully in order to separate various elements; sift; separate out the worthless from the essential part of something -- Organic Chemistry is a famous winnowing course: it separates serious pre-med students from those who had better re-think their major. -- Louise spent five minutes winnowing through the pile of string beans to select the ones she wanted.
coalesce v. / coalescing n.	to blend or come together; to grow together or into one body, to unite so as to form one mass, community, etc. -- The rebel units coalesced into one army to fight the invaders. -- When students from four elementary schools begin to attend a single middle school, it takes some time for their four distinct cultures to coalesce.
volatile adj. / volatility n.	evaporating rapidly; passing off readily in the form of vapor, fleeting; transient; tending to fluctuate sharply and regularly -- The stock market was extremely volatile following the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut.
ubiquitous adj. / ubiquity n.	existing or being everywhere, esp. at the same time; omnipresent -- Even the lighthouse's beacon failed to penetrate the ubiquitous fog. -- Within months of their release, ipods became ubiquitous on college campuses.
aggregate v./adj./n. / aggregation n. / disaggregate v.	to bring or gather together into a group; to amass disparate elements; composed of distinct minerals separable by mechanical means; the entire number or sum [an aggregate combines items in close proximity, but the items themselves retain their integrity] -- Once a year, I aggregate and then sort all of my socks to see how many complete pairs I have. -- Certain members of the sophomore class are not my cup of tea, but I like them in the aggregate [idiom].
amalgam n./ amalgamate v.	a mixture of different elements [an amalgam blends elements so they are no longer discrete] -- The exotic ingredients in the soup made for an odd amalgam of sweet and sour flavors.
curtail v. / curtailment n.	to cut short; cut off a part of; abridge; reduce; diminish -- The motivational speaker came to the high school in an effort to curtail bullying among the students.