Level F Unit 4,5,6 Vocab

Amnesty

(n.) a general pardon for an offense against a government; in general, any act of forgiveness or absolution

Synonym: Reprieve

Autonomy

(n.) self-government, political control

Synonym: home rule

Antonym: dependence, subjection

Axiomatic

(adj.) self-evident, expressing a universally accepted principal

Synonym: taken for granted

Antonym: questionable, dubious

Blazon

(v.) to adorn or embellish; to display conspicuously; to publish or proclaim widely

Synonym: broadcast, trumpet

Antonym: hide, conceal, bury

Caveat

(n.) a warning or caution to prevent misunderstanding or discourage behavior

Synonym: admonition, word to the wise

Equitable

(adj.) fair, just, embodying principals of justice

Synonym: right, reasonable, evenhanded

Antonym: unjust, unfair, one-sided, disproportionate

Extricate

(v.) to free from entanglements or difficulties; to remove with effort

Synonym: disentangle, extract

Antonym: enmesh, entangle

Filch

(v.) to steal, especially in a sneaky way and in petty amounts

Synonym: pilfer, purloin, swipe

Flout

(v.) to mock, treat with contempt

Synonym: sneer at, snicker at, scorn

Antonym: obey, honor

Fractious

(adj.) tending to be troublesome; unruly, quarrelsome, contrary, unpredictable

Synonym: refractory, recalcitrant, peevish

Antonym: docile, tractable, cooperative

Precept

(n.) a rule of conduct or action

Synonym: principle, maxim

Salutary

(adj.) beneficial, helpful; healthful, wholesome

Synonym: salubrious, curative

Antonym: detrimental, deleterious

Scathing

(adj.) bitterly severe, withering; causing great harm

Synonym: searing, harsh, savage

Antonym: bland, mild

Scourge

(v.) to whip, punish severely; (n.) a cause of affliction or suffering; a source of severe punishment or criticism

Synonym: (v.) flog, beat; (n.) bane, plague, pestilence

Antonym: (n.) godsend, boon, blessing

Sepulchral

(adj.) funeral, typical of the tomb; extremely gloomy or dismal

Synonym: lugubrious, mortuary

Soporific

(adj.) tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy; (n.) something that induces sleep

Synonym: highly conventional, overly strict, stuffy

Straitlaced

(adj.) extremely strict in regards to moral standards and conduct; prudish, puritanical

Transient

(adj.) lasting only a short time, fleeting; (n.) one who stays only a short time

Synonym: (adj.) impermanent, ephemeral, evanescent

Antonym: (adj.) permanent, imperishable, immortal

Unwieldy

(adj.) not easily carried, handled, or managed because of size or complexity

Synonym: bulky, clumsy, impractical

Antonym: manageable, easy to handle

Vapid

(adj.) dull, uninteresting, tiresome; lacking in sharpness, flavor, liveliness, or force

Synonym: lifeless, colorless

Antonym: zesty, spicy, colorful

affable

(adj.) courteous and pleasant, sociable, easy to speak to

SYNONYMS: genial, amicable, cordial

ANTONYMS: surly, cantankerous, dour, inhospitable

aggrandize

(v.) to increase in greatness, power, or wealth; to build up or intensify; to make appear greater

SYNONYMS: augment, amplify, enhance, exalt

ANTONYMS: reduce, decrease, diminish

amorphous

(adj.) shapeless, without definite form; of no particular type or character; without organization, unity, or cohesion

SYNONYMS: formless, unstructured, inchoate

archetype

(n.) an original model on which something was patterned or replicated; the ideal example of a particular type of person or thing

SYNONYMS: model, prototype, epitome

aura

(n.) that which surrounds (as an atmosphere); a distinctive air or personal quality

SYNONYMS: ambience, atmosphere

contraband

(n.) illegal traffic, smuggled goods; (adj.) illegal, prohibited

SYNONYMS: (adj.) bootleg, unlawful

ANTONYMS: (adj.) legal, lawful, licit

erudite

(adj.) scholarly, learned, bookish, pedantic

SYNONYMS: profoundly educated, well-read

ANTONYMS: ignorant, uneducated, illiterate

gossamer

(adj.) thin, light, delicate, insubstantial; (n.) a very thin, light cloth

SYNONYMS: (adj.) filmy, diaphanous, sheer, airy, feathery, gauzy

ANTONYMS: (adj.) dense, solid, massive

inscrutable

(adj.) incapable of being understood; impossible to see through physically

SYNONYMS: impenetrable, incomprehensible, enigmatic

ANTONYMS: comprehensible, intelligible, penetrable

insular

(adj.) relating to, characteristic of, or situated on an island; narrow or isolated in outlook or experience

SYNONYMS: narrow-minded, parochial, provincial

ANTONYMS: catholic, cosmopolitan, liberal

irrevocable

(adj.) incapable of being changed or called back

SYNONYMS: unrecallable, unalterable

ANTONYMS: reversible, changeable

propensity

(n.) a natural inclination or predilection toward

SYNONYMS: natural bent, proclivity, penchant

ANTONYMS: natural incapacity or inability

querulous

(adj.) peevish, complaining, fretful

SYNONYMS: petulant, irritable

ANTONYMS: uncomplaining, stoical

remonstrate

(v.) to argue or plead with someone against something, protest against, object to

SYNONYMS: reason against, expostulate

repudiate

(v.) to disown, reject, or deny the validity of

SYNONYMS: disavow, renounce

ANTONYMS: avow, affirm, aver

resilient

(adj.) able to return to an original shape or form; able to recover quickly

SYNONYMS: springy, elastic

ANTONYMS: rigid, stiff, inflexable

reverberate

(v.) to re-echo, resound; to reflect or be reflected repeatedly

SYNONYMS: rumble, thunder, boom, echo

scurrilous

(adj.) coarsely abusive, vulgar or low (especially in language), foul-mouthed

SYNONYMS: obscene, filthy, abusive, vituperative

ANTONYMS: decorous, seemly, tasteful, dignified

sedulous

(adj.) persistent, showing industry and determination

SYNONYMS: assiduous, indefatigable

ANTONYMS: indolent, listless

sleazy

(adj.) thin or flimsy in texture; cheap; shoddy or inferior in quality or character; ethically low, mean, or disreputable

SYNONYMS: inferior, cheezy

ANTONYMS: superior, first-rate

anomalous

(adj.) abnormal, irregular, departing from the usual

Syn: exceptional, unusual, aberrant

Ant: normal, regular, customary, typical, ordinary

aspersion

(n.) a damaging or derogatory statement; the act of slandering or defaming

Syn: innuendo, calumny

Ant: endorsement, praise

bizarre

(adj.) extremely strange, unusual, atypical

Syn: grotesque, fantastic, outlandish

Ant: normal, typical, ordinary, expected

brusque

(adj.) abrupt, blunt, with no formalities

Syn: tactless, ungracious

Ant: tactful, diplomatic

cajole

(v.) to coax, persuade through flattery or artifice; to deceive with soothing thoughts or false promises

Syn: wheedle, inveigle

Ant: coerce, force

castigate

(v.) to punish severely; to criticize severely

Syn: chastise, censure

Ant: honor, praise, laud

contrive

(v.) to plan with ingenuity; to bring about through a plan

Syn: think up, concoct, fabricate

demagogue

(n.) a leader who exploits popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power

Syn: think up, concoct, fabricate

disabuse

(v.) to free from deception or error, set right in ideas or thinking

Syn: undeceive, enlighten

Ant: deceive, delude, pull wool over one's eyes

ennui

(n.) weariness and dissatisfaction from lack of occupation or interest, boredom

Syn: languor, word-weariness, listlessness

Ant: enthusiasm, liveliness, excitement, intensity

fetter

(n.) a chain or shackle placed on the feet (often used in plural); anything that confines or restrains; (v.) to chain or shackle; to render helpless or impotent

Syn: (n.) bond, restraint; (v.) bind, hamper

Ant: (v.) free, liberate, emancipate

heinous

(adj.) very wicked, offensive, hateful

Syn: evil, odious, outrageous

Ant: excellent, wonderful, splendid

immutable

(adj.) not subject to change, constant

Syn: unchangeable, unalterable, fixed, invariable

Ant: changeable, inconstant, variable, fickle

insurgent

(n.) one who rebels or rises against authority; (adj.) rising in revolt, refusing to accept authority; surging or rushing in or on

Syn: (adj.) revolutionary, rebellious, mutinous

Ant: (adj.) loyalist, loyal, faithful

megalomania

(n.) a delusion marked by a feeling of power, wealth talent, etc., far in excess of reality

Syn: delusions of grandeur

Ant: modesty, self-abasement

sinecure

(n.) a position requiring little or no work; an easy job

Syn: "no-show" job, cushy job, "plum"

surreptitious

(adj.) stealthy, secret, intended to escape observation; made or accomplished by fraud

Syn: furtive, covert, clandestine, concealed

Ant: open, frank, aboveboard, overt

transgress

(v.) to go beyond a limit or boundary; to sin, violate a law

Syn: overstep, trespass

Ant: obey, toe the line

transmute

(v.) to change from one nature, substance, or form to another

Syn: transform, convert

Ant: preserve, maintain

vicarious

(adj.) performed, suffered, or otherwise experienced by one person in place of another

Syn: surrogate, secondhand

Ant: actual, firsthand