120 Words Every 12th Grader Should Know: List 2

It's not a penalty assessed by any code or standard of fairness; it's arbitrary. Washington Post (Aug 1, 2021)

Now, however, it is so common as to be banal. The Guardian (Mar 6, 2021)

But because the gods were capricious, you could not be sure what they would do. Cosmos

I recounted the attack, sticking to the facts and avoiding conjecture. We Are the Ants

She wore her decorous dresses to morning mass, and around her neck displayed the short single strand of pearls she had received on her fifteenth birthday. Dreaming in Cuban

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Britain was embroiled in a confrontation with Iceland that became known as the “cod wars.” New York Times (May 6, 2021)

The idea for national portrait galleries stemmed from a Victorian notion of self-improvement: the paintings of the great and the good, displayed for the edification of the general populace. New York Times (Dec 17, 2011)

If these basic principles can be misinterpreted, it shouldn’t be surprising that more esoteric mathematics can be, too. Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences

Rémy takes his place outside the doors, and I close my eyes to drift in and out of a fitful sleep. The Belles

She also had ridiculous, garish makeup caked on her face, and an elaborate, upswept hairdo. The Serpent King

The plot, they wrote, was hackneyed and formulaic. New York Times (Mar 31, 2021)

Sitting across a desk from the famous and powerful, he was friendly but not fawning, interested but never obsequious. Los Angeles Times (Jan 23, 2021)

Nathan’s post is perfunctory, as if it’s been summarized from his earlier statements. Every Day

Politicians lie, pivot away from questions they don't want to answer and prevaricate. Salon (Oct 27, 2020)

For all his sagacity, for all his caution and astuteness, the old judge had gone the way of the rest. And Then There Were None

Both men prefer the sordid, disagreeable, even the vilest aspects of life. Huneker, James

He was interrupted, many times, by strident protesters. Washington Post (Jan 10, 2017)

I never shall forget the supercilious manner in which the Countess took out her eye-glass and looked me over as I passed her one day in the park. Fay, Amy

Week by week, as the cycles wore on, I found myself sinking helplessly into a torpor of inertia. The Guardian (Jun 3, 2016)

I’m no archaeologist, but these vestiges of an empire nine centuries gone were beautiful and intriguing. Washington Post (Apr 23, 2015)