TOEFL Vocabulary #10

(adj.)—cynical, scornfully mocking, humorous in an unkind way that shows you do not respect someone or something:
a sardonic smile/look/comment

sardonic:  /sɑːrˈdɑː.nɪk/

sardonically (adv)

(adj.)—respected because of age, high position, or religion

a venerable tradition/company/family
She has worked at such venerable institutions as Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York.

(n.)—the quality of being pleasant or attractive; agreeableness

Straus established employee amenities such as restrooms, medical care, and a lunchroom.
The 200-year-old jail is lacking in basic amenities.

(adj.)—of a kind and gentle disposition; favorable

a benign old lady
His humor was benign, never cruel or hurtful.

(n.)—blessing, something to be thankful for

Guide dogs are a great boon to the partially sighted.
Spring rains are a boon to local farmers.

(adj.)—morally debased; wretched

Someone who can kill a child like that must be totally depraved.

(adj.)—habitually lazy, idle

an indolent wave of the hand
an indolent reply
I was an indolent creature who could not imagine action.

indolent: /ˈɪn.dəl.ənt/

indolently (adv) - indolence (n)

(adj.)—likely to provoke ill-will, offensive

Such a difficult choice placed her in an invidious position.
We are not going to seek for invidious comparisons between governments.

invidious:  /ɪnˈvɪd.i.əs/

invidiously (adv) - invidiousness (n)

(n.)—leader, rabble-rouser, usually appealing to emotion or prejudice. A person, esp. a political leader, who wins support by exciting people’s emotions rather than giving them reasons

(adj.)—fiendish; wicked, extremely bad, or shocking:

Conditions in the prison were diabolical.
His driving is diabolical!

diabolical: /ˌdaɪ.əˈbɑː.lɪ.kəl/ = diabolic

diabolically (adv)