Alluvium- Sediment deposited by flowing water, as in a riverbed, flood plain, or delta. As we rafted down the river, I noticed an accumulation of alluvium at the bend.

Annihilation- The act of reducing to nothing, ceasing to exist.
The atomic bomb resulted in the annihilation of everything within its radius.

Apathy- The lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern.
The student displayed apathy towards his homework.

Apparition- An unusual or unexpected sight.
The sight of the red Ferrari in Calgary was very much an apparition.

Ascend- Gradually moving upward, rising from a lower location.
The aircraft began to ascend from the runway as it picked up speed from the powerful jet engines.

Aura- A distinctive atmosphere surrounding a given source.
The aura of the Monk was calm and placid as he performed his meditating rituals.

Chafer- Any of the various large beetles, especially from the Scarabaeidae family.
There are many rare and exotic species of chafer in the rainforests.

Coherent- Having logical or aesthetic consistency.
The beam of the laser was composed of coherent light waves.

Compensate- The ability to neutralize, counteract, or make amends.
The money from the insurance company was not enough to compensate for the damage done to the car.

Conceivably- Capable of happening.
There were many outcomes that were conceivably possible.

Contemplate- To view or consider with continued attention.
The robot was unable to contemplate that the results of his actions would not be good.

Contended- To take part and strive in competition or difficulty.
Although the marathon runner did not win, he was proud that he contended.

Cordon- A line of troops or military posts enclosing an area to prevent passage.
A cordon formed around the downed aircraft until reinforcements were able to come.

Cranium- The part of the skull that encloses the brain.
The patient had severe fractures to his cranium.

Cuirasses- A protective covering of bony plates or scales.
The cuirasses of the crab protected it from the merciless beak of the seagull.

Dementia- Madness or insanity.
The trauma of the fierce battle threw the solider into a state of dementia.

Denizens- An animal or plant naturalized in a region.
The patch of wild flowers was composed almost purely of denizens.

Dervish- A member of any of various Muslim ascetic orders, some of which perform whirling dances and vigorous chanting as acts of ecstatic devotion.
The judges at the talent show were extremely impressed by the audition displayed by the Dervish girl.

Dispassionate- Devoid of or unaffected by passion, emotion, or bias.
The dictator of the small country was a horribly dispassionate man.

Dispersing- To drive off or scatter in different directions.
The police immediately began dispersing the rowdy crowd.

Dwindle- To steadily decrease until little or nothing remains.
The enemy forces began to dwindle as the battle raged on.

Encompassed- To form a circle or ring around.
The castle was encompassed by a twenty-foot wide moat.

Etching- The process or result of acids on or under a surface.
The acids on the surface of the metal sheet resulted in etching.

Fervidly- Marked by great passion or zeal.
The soldier fought fervidly in spite of his imminent death.

Flout- To show contempt for, to be scornful.
The lord decided to flout the lowly peasant.

Fomentations- The therapeutic application of warmth and moisture as to relieve pain.
The middle-aged businessman had regular fomentations to relieve his back pain.

Foray- To raid, pillage, or ravage.
The dictator decided that he would foray into the surrounding nations for his benefit.

Forlorn- Nearly hopeless or desperate.
The student made a forlorn attempt at completing his language arts home work the night before it was due.

Fusillades- A rapid out burst or barrage.
The cannons fired simultaneously in a rapid fusillade.

Futile- Having no useful result.
It was said that mans attempts at flight would be futile, but on the contrary we now rely on flight very heavily.

Garrison- A military post, especially one that is permanently established.
The townspeople noticed strange happenings at the local garrison.

Gauntlet- A severe trial or ordeal.
When finished the marathon runner began to exclaim about how he had completed a real gauntlet.

Gourd- The dried and hollowed out shell of an irregular shaped fruit commonly used as a drinking utensil.
The thirsty native drank greedily from the gourd filled with water.

Gruesome- Causing horror or repugnance.
The site sight and odor of the rotting cattle carcass was gruesome.

Havoc- Wide spread destruction devastation or disorder.
The greedy king brought havoc upon the neighboring countries.

Illimitable- Impossible to limit or circumscribe, limitless.
The possibilities for my future are illimitable.

Imminent- About to occur, impending.
The battle against the army of evil vegetables was imminent.

Immolated- To destroy, usually by fire.
The murderer immolated the corpse of his victim in a remote forest out of town.

Impartial- Not favoring one or the other, not biased or prejudiced.
I’m impartial when it comes to cats and dogs.

Impelled- To take action through moral pressure
I was impelled to run from the charging rhinoceros

Imperative- A rule, principal or instinct that compels a certain behavior.
The judge did not believe the defendant when he claimed his actions were due to a biological imperative.

Imprecations- To invoke evil upon, a curse.
The shaman uttered some imprecations before disappearing.

Impregnable- Difficult or impossible to attack, challenge, or refute with success.
The debate by the candidate was impregnable.

Inevitable- Impossible to avoid or prevent.
The bank thief knew that capture would be inevitable, but he found his occupation to be imperative.

Inundation- To cover with water, especially flood waters.
The low plain next to the river was covered by an inundation of floodwater.

Lacerated- Ripped, cut, or torn.
The leather boots of the construction worker became lacerated over time.

Lucid- Translucent or transparent.
The showers at the gym were encompassed by lucid glass for privacy.

Malaise- A general sense of depression or unease.
The soldiers were overwhelmed with malaise at the sight of their adversaries.

Mandibles- Any of various mouth organs of invertebrates used for seizing and biting food, especially either of a pair of such organs in insects and other arthropods.
The insects brandished their mandibles in an attempt to intimidate each other.

Momentum- An impelling force or strength.
A locomotive has so much momentum it can take several kilometers to stop it.

Myriad- Constituting a very large, indefinite number; innumerable.
It is impossible to imagine the myriad of fish in the ocean.

Immolated- to destroy, usually with fire.
The arsonist immolated the house.

Cuirasses- A protective covering of bony plates or scales.
The size of the South American beetles cuirasses was phenomenal.

Obstinacy- The state or quality of being stubborn or refractory.
The general displayed his obstinacy very clearly.

Ominous- Menacing; threatening.
The storm clouds surrounding the farmhouse were black and ominous.

Panorama- A mental vision of a series of events.
The solider knew he was going to die when he imagined a panorama of his past.

Pantomime- A traditional British Christmas entertainment for children, usually based on nursery tales and featuring stock characters in costume who sing, dance, and perform skits.
Timmy was very disappointed when he found out that the pantomime had been canceled this year.

Peons- Any of various Indian or Ceylonese workers.
The owner of the Brazilian rubber plantation hired peons to save money on labor.

Perilous- Full of or involving peril.
The journey up Mount Everest was extremely perilous.

Perseverance- Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness.
The perseverance of the smoker was what allowed him to quit.

Pirouette- The rapid whirling about of the body.
The man threw him self into a pirouette in an attempt to avoid the stings of the maddened wasps.

Placidly- Undisturbed by tumult or disorder; calm or quiet.
The surface of the pond rippled rhythmically and placidly in the evening light.

Plight- A situation, especially a bad or unfortunate one.
The mob boss knew he was in a real plight when the cops appeared at his door.

Provender- Food or provisions.
Timmy was assigned the duty of finding the emergency provender for the Boy Scout troop.

Pyre- A heap of combustibles for burning a corpse as a funeral rite.
The city was so over whelmed by the plague, that they remaining people had to prepare a mass pyre.

Quadrilateral- A four-sided polygon
Tommy didn’t know what his brother meant when he said that the table was quadrilateral.

Qualm- A sudden disturbing feeling.
The house was claimed to be haunted because those who ventured inside would experience a strange qualm.

Ravenous- Rapacious; predatory.
The dragon of the east hills was an extremely ravenous being.

Repulsed- To drive back or repel.
The undead zombies could surprisingly be repulsed by plain old water.

Sated- To satisfy full or excessively.
The young orphan was sated with food when he was adopted into the rich family.

Saurian- Any of various reptiles of the suborder Sauria, which includes the lizards and in former classifications also the crocodiles and dinosaurs.
The Australian croc hunter didn’t understand when the biologist referred to the crocodiles as saurians.

Simultaneously- Happening, existing, or done at the same time.
The guns were fired simultaneously at the enemy.

Skirmishes- A minor battle in war, as one between small forces or between large forces avoiding direct conflict.
The two Middle Eastern countries regularly became involved in skirmishes.

Trice- A very short period of time; an instant.
Timmy didn’t know what had happened, it had all happened in a trice.

Thwarted- To oppose and defeat the occurrences, efforts, plans, or ambitions of.
His own son had thwarted the plans of the evil bank thief.

Vanguard- The foremost position in an army or fleet advancing into battle.
Tragically, the hail of projectiles quickly killed off the vanguard of the army.

Vanquished- To defeat in a contest, conflict, or competition.
The knight had vanquished his enemy in the battle of his life.

Victualling- Food fit for human consumption.
The Boy Scout was unable to determine if the berries were victualling.

Voracious- Having or marked by an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; greed.
The feeble old man was voracious for anything that involved clocks.