Unit 12 Vocabulary

abdicate

(v.) to resign, formally give up an office or a duty; to disown, discard

syn: relinquish, renounce

ant: retain

bestow

(v.) to give a as a gift; to provide with lodgings

syn: confer, lodge, put up

ant: receive, take, take back, take away

capacious

(adj.) able to hold much, roomy

syn: spacious, commodious

ant: cramped, confined, restricted, narrow

caustic

(adj.) able to burn or eat away by chemical action; biting, sarcastic

syn: burning, corrosive, sharp

ant: bland, mild, sugary, saccharine

crusade

(n.) a strong movement to advance a cause or idea; (v.) to campaign, work vigorously

syn: campaign, organized movement

deface

(v.) to injure or destroy the surface or appearance of; to damage the value, influence, or effect of; to face down, outshine

syn: mar, disfigure

ant: repair, restore, renovate, recondition

embargo

(n.) an order forbidding the trade in or movement of commercial goods; any restraint or hindrance; (v.) to forbid to enter or leave port; to forbid trade with

syn: (n.) stoppage, boycott

fallacy

(n.) a false notion or belief; an error in thinking

syn: misconception,

ant: sound reasoning, logic

levity

(n.) a lack of seriousness or earnestness, especially about things that should be treated with respect; buoyancy, lightness in weight

syn: giddiness, flippancy, frivolity, fickleness

mendicant

(n.) beggar: (adj.) depending on begging for a living

syn: (n.) panhandler

ant: (n.) millionaire, philanthropist

nauseate

(v.) to make sick to the stomach; to fill with disgust

syn: sicken, disgust

ant: delight, tickle pink

negate

(v.) to nullify, deny, bring to nothing

syn: invalidate, annul

ant: aver, corroborate, buttress

pivotal

(adj.) vitally important, essential

syn: crucial, critical, decisive, seminal

ant: unimportant, insignificant

recipient

(n.) one who receives; (adj.) receiving; able or willing to receive

syn: (n.) receiver, beneficiary

ant:(n.) donor, benefactor, contributor

ruse

(n.) an action designed to confuse or mislead, a trick

syn: stratagem, subterfuge, dodge

teem

(v.) to become filled to overflowing; to be present in large quantities

syn: abound, swarm, overflow

ant: lack, be wanting

tenet

(n.) an opinion, belief, or principle held to be true

syn: doctrine, precept

tractable

(adj.) easily managed, easy to deal with; easily wrought, malleable

syn: submissive, docile, yielding, amenable

ant: unruly, obstreperous, refractory

ungainly

(adj.) clumsy, awkward; unwieldy

syn: graceless

ant: nimble, agile, supple, graceful

voracious

(adj.) having a huge appetite, greedy, ravenous; excessively eager

syn: gluttonous, insatiable, avid

ant: indifferent, apathetic