504 difficult essential words 1

1. tact
    n. ability to say the right thing 

2. gallant
    a. brave; showing respect to women

3. dismal
    a. dark and depressing

4. peril
    n. danger

5. shriek
    v. scream

6. wager
    n. bet

7. scarce
    hard to get; rare

8. villain
    n. a very wicked person

9. enormous
    a. extremely large; huge

10. evade
    v. get away from by trickery or cleverness

11. defect
    n. fault; that which is wrong 

12. deceive
    v. make someone believe as true something that is false; mislead

13. defraud
    v. take money, right, etc., away by cheating

14. massive
    a. big and heavy; large and solid; bulky

15. denounce
    v. condemn in public; express strong disapproval of

16. torrent
    n. any violent, rushing stream; flood

17. molest
    v. interfere with and trouble; disturb

18. gloomy
    a. dark; dim; in low spirits

19. amateur
    a. person who does something for pleasure, not for money or as a profession

20. mediocre
    a. neither good nor bad; average; ordinary