faculty, n. Power or ability to do some particular thing; a special aptitude or skill. A faculty is a special ability, often innate.
Marcel`s faculty for problem solving was present at an early age.
expertise, n. the skill, knowledge, judgment, and so on of an expert. Anyone can have skills or experience; only an expert at a given endeavor can have expertise.
Johnson relied on the lawyer`s expertise in crafting the new contract.
seasoning, n. Refers to the depth and richness of practical experience gained through time or saeson. Savvy can refer to an istant understanding only through the passage of time.
Martha`s ten years in the business gave her a seasoning no new college recruit could math.
cognizant, n. aware.
F. B. I. Cognizant of Clandestine Gangland Meeting.
flout, v. to show contempt; to scoff.
Many Motorists Flout Traffic Law, Study Reveals.
effigy, n.a likeness (usually of a hated person).
Coach of Losing Team Hanged in Effigy.
stymie, v. to hinder; to impede.
Cause of Cancer Contines to Stymie Doctors.
fray, n. fight.
After the fray, the feuding families agreed to patch up their differences.
arbitray, adj. based on whim; dictatorial.
To my mind, the decision was unreasonable and arbitrary.
indigent, adj. poor; needy.
The indigent client was surprised when she was accosted by her social worker in the elegant restaurant.
monolithic, n. massively solid.
Georg Orwell`s 1984 depicts a frightening monolithic government.
harass, v. to trouble; to torment.
If anonymous phone callers harass you, the phone company will give you an unlisted number.
skirmish, n. small fight; brief encounter.
The precocious boy enjoyed an intellectual skirmish with his elders.
jurisdiction, n. power; range of authority.
Saying that it was beyond his jurisdiction, Judge Klein refused to rule on the case.
reprehensible, adj. worthy of blame.
The brash student was forced to apologize for her reprehensible conduct.
paroxsym, n. a fit; a sudden outburst.
In a paroxysm of rage, the tenant stormed out of the landlord`s office.
implacable, adj. cannot be pacified; inexorable.
The detective was implacable in his search for the murder weapon.
.dubious, adj. doubtful
When the duplicity was revealed, the jury became dubious about Ed`s innocence.
obso`lescence, adj. process of wearing out.
The obso`lescence bulid into many products could be regarded as a flagrant insult toward the duped consumer
confidant(e), n. One to whom you confide your secrets.
A teenage boy`s father should be his true confidant.
voluble, adj. talkative.
I could not doze in the chair because of the voluble barber.
quell, v. to put an end to.
TO quell the riot, the police sallied forth with tear gas.
eschew, v. to avoid.
Once he sought the limelight, but now he eschew all interviews.
masticate, v. to chew up.
To aid in digestion, you must masticate each piece of meat one dozen times.
fiasco, n. complete failure.
In an acrimonious letter, her father described the project as a fiasco.
laudable, adj. praiseworthy.
The paradox is that Javert`s inexorable pursuit of Jean Valjean was both laudable and despicable.
dis`parage, v. to discredit; to belittle.
The affluent storeowner dis`paraged the efforts of his small competitor, saying that he could always tolerate that kind of rivalry.
de`ride, v. to ridicule; to scoff at.
The Wright brothers didn`t become distraught when a skeptic would deride their work.
be about to do sth; be going to do sth immediately.
I was about to phone him when he walked into the room.