laconic(la ̆·kon·ik) adj.brief, to the point; terse. A man of few words, Mor-
rison gave a ten-minute commencement address that was everything we could have
asked for: laconic, powerful, and inspirational.
lugubrious(luu·oo·bri·u ̆s) adj.excessively dismal or mournful, often exag-
geratedly or ridiculously so. Billy looks like a fool, acting so lugubrious over los-
ing a silly bet.
nadir(nay·d ̆r) n.the very bottom, the lowest point. When he felt he was at
the nadir of his life, Robert began to practice mediation to elevate his spirits.
spurious(spyoor·i·u ̆s) adj.false, counterfeit; not genuine or authentic. The
expert confirmed that the Willie Mays autograph was spurious.
timorous(tim·o ̆·ru ̆s) adj.fearful, timid, afraid. The stray dog was timorous,
and it took a great deal of coaxing to get him to come near the car.
verbose(ve ̆r·bohs) adj.using more words than necessary; wordy, long-
winded. Her verbose letter rambled so much that it didn’t seem to have a point.
veritable(ver·i·ta ̆·be ̆l) adj.real, true, genuine. Einstein was a veritable genius.
zenith(zee·nith) n.1. the highest point; top, peak. 2. the point in the sky
directly above the observer. She is at the zenith of her legal career, having won
every case this year.