Flounder V. struggle and thrash about, proceed clumsily or falter. Up to his knees in the bog, Floyd floundered about, trying to regain his footing. Bewildered by the new software, Flo floundered until Jan showed her how to get started.

Flourish V. grow well; prosper; make sweeping gestures. The orange trees flourished in the sun.

Flout V. reject; mock; show contempt for. The painter Julian Schnabel is known for works that flout the conventions of high art, such as paintings on velvet or linoleum. Do not confuse flout with flaunt: to flaunt something is to show it off; to flout something is to show your scorn for it. Perhaps by flouting the conventions of high art. Schnabel was flaunting his ability to get away with breaking the rules.

Fluctuate V. waver; shift. The water pressure in our shower fluctuates wildly; you start rinsing yourself off with a trickle, and two minutes later a blast of water nearly knocks you off your feet. I'll never get used to these fluctuations.

Fluency N. smoothness of speech. She spoke French with fluency and ease.

Fluke N. unlikely occurrence; stroke of fortune. When Douglas defeated Tyson for the heavyweight championship, some sportscasters dismissed his victory as a fluke.

Fluster V. confuse. The teacher's sudden question flustered him and he stammered his reply.

Fluted Adj. having vertical parallel grooves (as in a pillar). All that remained of the ancient building were the fluted columns.

Flux N. flowing; series of changes. While conditions are in such a state of flux, I do not wish to commit myself too deeply in this affair.

Fodder N. coarse food for cattle, horses, etc. One of Nancy's chores at the ranch was to put fresh supplies of fodder in the horses' stalls.

Foible N. weakness; slight fault. We can overlook the foibles of our friends; no one is perfect.

Foil N. contrast. In Star Wars, dark, evil Darth Vader is a perfect foil for fair-haired, naive Luke Skywalker.

Foil V. defeat; frustrate. In the end, Skywalker is able to foil Vader's diabolical schemes.

Foist V. insert improperly; palm off. I will not permit you to foist such ridiculous ideas upon the membership of this group.

Foliage N. masses of leaves. Every autumn before the leaves fell he promised himself he would drive through New England to admire the colorful fall foliage.

Foment V. stir up; instigate. Cher's archenemy Heather spread some nasty rumors that fomented trouble in the club. Do you think Cher's foe meant to foment such discord?

Foolhardy Adj. rash. Don't be foolhardy. Get the advice of experienced people before undertaking this venture.

Fop N. dandy; man excessively preoccupied with his clothes. People who dismissed young Mizrahi as a fop for his exaggerated garments felt chagrined when he turned into one of the top fashion designers of his day. foppish, ADJ.

Foray N. raid. The company staged a midnight foray against the enemy outpost.

Forbearance N. patience. Be patient with John. Treat him with forbearance: he is still weak from his illness.

Ford N. place where a river can be crossed on foot. Rather than risk using the shaky rope bridge. David walked a half-mile downstream until he came to the nearest ford. also V.

Forebears N. ancestors. Reverence for one's forebears (sometimes referred to as ancestor worship) plays an important part in many Oriental cultures.

Foreboding N. premonition of evil. Suspecting no conspiracies against him, Caesar gently ridiculed his wife's forebodings about the Ides of March.

Forensic Adj. suitable to debate in courts of law. In her best forensic manner, the lawyer addressed the jury.

Foreshadow V. give an indication beforehand; portend; prefigure. In retrospect, political analysts realized that Yeltsin's defiance of the attempted coup foreshadowed his emergence as the dominant figure of the new Russian republic.

Foresight N. ability to foresee future happenings; prudence. As a wise investor, she had the foresight to buy land just before the current real estate boom.

Forestall V. prevent by taking action in advance. By setting up a prenuptial agreement, the prospective bride and groom hoped to forestall any potential arguments about money in the event of a divorce.