TOEFL Vocabulary #20

noisy, energetic, and rough; rambunctious:
boisterous children
a boisterous game
The audience burst into boisterous laughter.

boisterous: /ˈbɔɪ.stɚ.əs/ (adj)
boisterously (adv)

having an unpleasant mixture of sounds:
We woke up to the cacophonous sound of birds.
The restaurant is a cacophonous, high-ceilinged room.

cacophonous:  /kəˈkɑː.fə.nəs/ (adj)
cacophony (n)

an indirect way of saying something, especially something unpleasant:
"Economical with the truth" is a circumlocution for "lying."
Politicians are experts in circumlocution.

circumlocution:  /ˌsɝː.kəm.ləˈkjuː.ʃən/ (n)
circumlocutory (adj)

producing an unpleasant sound; used to describe something that is not in agreement with something else:
Discordant opinions prevail even among good judges.
The contemporary dialogue struck a slightly discordant note.

using long and difficult words, usually to make people think you know more than you do:
a bombastic preacher
a bombastic statement

not straight or direct:
a circuitous route/path
a circuitous (= long and indirect) explanation
We took a circuitous route home.
The train tracks wound circuitously through the canyons.

circuitous: /sɝːˈkjuː.ə.t̬əs/ (adj)
circuitously (adv)

to make a loud complaint or demand:
The children were all clamoring for attention.
She clamors to go home as soon as she gets to school.
After the bombing, there was a public clamor for vengeance.
the clamor of the city

clamor: /ˈklæm.ɚ/ (v/n)
clamorous (adj)

Dulcet sounds are soft and pleasant to listen to.
Conveniently, men much prefer these high-pitched dulcet tones over deeper ones.

expressing welcome, approval, or pleasure in a way that shows very strong feeling:
They gave us such an effusive welcome.
Carville delivered his message to reporters in his typical effusive, arm-waving style.

effusive: /ɪˈfjuː.sɪv/ (adj)
effusively (adv)

having the habit of talking a lot, especially about things that are not important
I had talked too much about myself and felt like a garrulous old fool.

garrulous: /ˈɡer.əl.əs/ (adj)
garrulously (adv) - garrulousness (n)