foible n. (FOY bul) a minor weakness or fault. Nobody is perfect; we all have our foibles.
forlorn adj. (for LORN) hopelessly miserable.
After losing her job, she was forlorn for several weeks.
formidable adj. (FORM id uh bul) difficult to face, overcome, or measure up to; highly challenging. The champion's formidable opponent has won all of the matches he has boxed in.
forte n. (FOR tay) specialty; area of expertise. Everyone praises my roses and tomatoes, but that's no surprise; gardening is my forte.
fortitude n. (FOR tih tood) strength and courage, especially during a great challenge or difficulty. You need great fortitude to run a marathon.
fortuitous adj. (for TOO it us) occurring by chance or luck. Having an off-duty policeman just happen by as I was being mugged was fortuitous.
fraudulent adj. (FROD yoo lent) deceptive; dishonest; illegal. Most of the swindler's wealth came through fraudulent means.
frugal adj. (FROO gul) thrifty; economical. The couple was so frugal, they were able to buy their first home with cash.
fruition n. (froo ISH un) completion and fulfillment, as the bearing of fruit. I brought my dreams to fruition the day I opened my own business.
furtive adj. (FUR tiv) secretive and sneaky. In a singles bar, men and women make numerous furtive glances at one another.
futile adj. (FYOOT ul) useless; in vain; producing no result. Our attempt at becoming rock stars was futile; we didn't even know how to play our instruments.
galvanize vb. (GAL vuh niyz) to stimulate, spur, or jolt into action. That at least one polluted river in the city could actually be set on fire helped to galvanize the drive for cleaner water.
gauche adj. (GOHSH) tactless; unrefined socially. Whispering dirty jokes to the queen would probably be considered gauche.
gauntlet, run the any multidirectional punishment, criticism, or ordeal. Originating from an archaic form of punishment in which a soldier would run between two lines of men being struck with clubs, ropes, etc. Facing censure, the president will have to run the gauntlet against some formidable detractors.
gauntlet, throw down the historically, to challenge another to a fight. Today, to challenge another to a debate or contest. The two politicians will throw down the gauntlet and debate the issues next Tuesday before live TV.
genie out of the bottle a metaphor alluding to the reality that once an important action has been taken, it may be extremely difficult to reverse it, as in putting the genie back in the bottle from which it sprung. Scientists let the nuclear genie out of the bottle decades ago; ever since, many activists have worked tirelessly to try and put it back in.
genocide n. (JEN uh SIYD) the extermination or partial extermination of an ethnic group. The Nazis committed genocide against the Jews in World War II.
genre n. (ZHON ruh) a category or kind, as in an art form. Stephen King has long specialized in the horror genre.
genteel adj. (jen TEEL) refined; polite. The finishing school prided itself on churning out genteel students.
germane adj. (jur MAYN) relevant; pertinent. When we're discussing politics, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't bring up unrelated issues; try to keep your comments germane.
glasnost n. (GLASS nohst) a Russian policy advocating freedom of expression and increased openness concerning social problems. The spirit of glasnost is alive and well in Russia, where citizens now feel free to criticize their government.
glib adj. (GLIB) without much thought, as an offhand or superficial comment or piece of advice. The critic's glib remarks only served to illustrate how little he cared or knew about our art.
grandiloquent adj. (gran DIL uh kwent) using big words to make an impression; bombastic. The politician's grandiloquent speech backfired; instead of impressing us with his knowledge, he impressed us with his pomposity.
grassroots adj. (GRAS ROOTS) of the common people or citizenry. The neighborhood's housewives began a grassroots campaign to stamp out local corruption.
gratuitous adj. (gruh TOO i tus) unnecessary or uncalled for. Many movies today are filled with gratuitous violence.
gregarious adj. (gri GAIR ee us) friendly and outgoing. Most people in sales are gregarious by nature.
grist for the mill useful material to work with. The latest scandal should provide plenty of grist for the pundits' mill.
grovel vb. (GROV ul) to fawn; to cringe and kiss up to someone. The dutiful peasant is always expected to grovel at the king's feet.
guile n. (GILE) slyness and deceit. The swindler used sheer guile to separate victims from their money.
gilding the lily dressing up something that is already beautiful and cannot be improved. To people who like things natural, trimming a Christmas tree is only gilding the lily.
gullible adj. (GULL uh bul) naive; prone to believing anything. Young children are quite gullible and easy to fool.
hackneyed adj. (HAK need) overfamiliar and unoriginal and therefore dull or ineffective. Replete with cliches, the student's writing was hopelessly hackneyed.
haggard adj. (HAG urd) gaunt or wild-eyed from exhaustion. By the time they reached the summit, the climbers were out of breath and haggard.
hallmark n. (HALL mark) an identifying characteristic. One of the hallmarks of a poor economy is high unemployment.
harbinger n. (HAR binj ur) a sign of things to come. Frequent spring rain is a harbinger of May flowers.
harrowing adj. (HAIR oh wing) frightening. The
rollercoaster is the most harrowing ride at the amusement park.
haughty adj. (HAWT ee) arrogant and disdainful of others. The snob gave us a haughty look and departed.