Unit 1

adjunct

(n.) something added to something else as helpful or useful but not essential; an assistant or helper; a valuable quality or characteristic

(adj.) added or connected in a subordinated capacity; attached to a faculty or staff in an auxiliary capacity

S: (n.) associate, addition, accessory

bellwether

(n.) the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse; a leader, as in a desperate or violent undertaking; an indicator of trends

S: ringleader, initiator, barometer

A: follower, imitator, emulator

caterwaul

(v.) to howl or screech like a cat; to quarrel

(n.) a harsh or noisy cry; a racket

S: (v.) whine; (n.) wail, screech

chimerical

(adj.) absurd; wily fantastic; impossible

S: fanciful, visionary, quixotic, pie-in-the-sky

A: realistic, down-to-earth, practicable

effete

(adj.) lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn-out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out-of-date

S: decadent, enfeebled, outmoded

A: thriving, burgeoning, vigorous, dynamic

fait accompli

(n.) an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action

S: accomplised fact

hidebound

(adj.) narrow-minded and rigid, especially in opinions or prejudices; stubbornly and unthinking conservative

S: intolerant, inflexible

A: open-minded, tolerant, liberal, progressive

hierarchy

(n.) any system of things or people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank, wealth, class, etc.

S: chain of command, pecking order

laissez-faire

(adj.) a philosophy or practice characterized by a usually deliberate abstention from direction or interference, especially with individual freedom of choice and action.

S: non interventional, nonrestrictive, hands-off

liturgy

(n.) a religious service or rite; the form of a ritual or other act of public worship

S: observance

morass

(n.) a patch of low, soft, wet ground; a swamp; a confusing situation in which one is entrapped, as in quicksand

S: bog, quagmire

A: solid ground, bedrock, terra firma

noisome

(adj.) offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

S: fetid, noxious, vile, loathsome

A: wholesome, pleasant, sweet-smelling

oblivious

(adj.) forgetful; unaware

S: insensible

A: aware, mindful, cognizant, alert

poltroon

(n.) a base coward

S: craven, dastard, “chicken”

A: hero, stalwart, gallant

proselyte

(n.) a convert, a disciple

S: novice, neophyte

A: master, teacher, guide, guru

quasi

(adj.) resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely

S: kind of, semi-, as if

A: totally, completely, actually, in fact

raillery

(n.) good-humored ridicule; teasing

S: banter, persiflage

ribald

(adj.) irreverently mocking; coarse, vulgar, or indecent in language

S: bawdy, risque

A: seemly, proper, decorous

supine

(adj.) lying flat on one’s back; listless or lethal or passive

S: prone, prostrate; inert

A: upright, erect, perpendicular, vertical

vignette

(n.) a short description or sketch; a picture or illustration with edges that gradually shade off; a decorative design on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter

S: thumbnail sketch, anecdote

A: epic, full-length treatment