ma

maelstrom (n.) a destructive whirlpool which rapidly sucks in objects (Little did the explorers know that as they turned the next bend of the calm river a vicious maelstrom would catch their boat.)

magnanimous (adj.) noble, generous (Although I had already broken most of her dishes, Jacqueline was magnanimous enough to continue letting me use them.)

malediction (n.) a curse (When I was arrested for speeding, I screamed maledictions against the policeman and the entire police department.)

malevolent (adj.) wanting harm to befall others (The malevolent old man sat in the park all day, tripping unsuspecting passersby with his cane.)

malleable (adj.) capable of being shaped or transformed (Maximillian’s political opinions were so malleable that anyone he talked to was able to change his mind instantly.)

mandate (n.) an authoritative command (In the Old Testament, God mandates that no one should steal.)

manifest 1. (adj.) easily understandable, obvious (When I wrote the wrong sum on the chalkboard, my mistake was so manifest that the entire class burst into laughter.) 2. (v.) to show plainly (His illness first manifested itself with particularly violent hiccups.)

manifold (adj.) diverse, varied (The popularity of Dante’s Inferno is partly due to the fact that the work allows for manifold interpretations.)

maudlin (adj.) weakly sentimental (Although many people enjoy romantic comedies, I usually find them maudlin and shallow.)

maverick (n.) an independent, nonconformist person (Andreas is a real maverick and always does things his own way.)

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mawkish (adj.) characterized by sick sentimentality (Although some nineteenth-century critics viewed Dickens’s writing as mawkish, contemporary readers have found great emotional depth in his works.)

maxim (n.) a common saying expressing a principle of conduct (Miss Manners’s etiquette maxims are both entertaining and instructional.)