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| Explanation of rhetorical (adjective) having to do with verbal communication; artificial eloquence; bombastic Sample of rhetorical In posing a rhetorical question, he hoped to get people thinking. The perception that Gary Hart was spouting rhetorical flourishes enabled fellow Democrat Walter Mondale to score debate points by asking, "Where's the beef?"
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| Explanation of ostensible (adjective) apparent; obvious; professed to be a certain way Sample of ostensible The ostensible reason for choosing the girl was for her beauty.
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| Explanation of complaisance (noun) quality of being agreeable or eager to please; acquiescence; graciousness Sample of complaisance The complaisance of the new assistant made it easy for the managers to give him a lot of work without worrying that he may complain.
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| Explanation of dowdy (adjective) shabby in appearance; untidy; sloppy Sample of dowdy The dowdy girl had no buttons on her coat and the threads were falling apart.
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| Explanation of parapet (noun) wall for protection; low wall or railing Sample of parapet The parapet protected the kingdom from the raging army. The parapet kept the child from falling into the river.
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| Explanation of gaffe (noun) blunder; mistake Sample of gaffe Calling the woman by the wrong name was a huge gaffe.
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| Explanation of deliberate (adjective) intentional; planned; premeditated Sample of deliberate The brother's deliberate attempt to get his sibling blamed for his mistake was obvious to all.
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| Explanation of menagerie (noun) place to keep or a collection of wild or strange animals; zoo Sample of menagerie Little Ryan couldn't wait to visit the zoo to see the menagerie of wild boars.
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| Explanation of paradox (noun) tenet seemingly contradictory or false, but actually true Sample of paradox The paradox seemed so unlikely though it was true. At first blush, the company's results were a paradox: Sales were down, yet profits were up.
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| Explanation of goad (noun) driving impulse; something which urges or drives Sample of goad His goad urged him to pursue the object of his affection.
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