Sadlier Level F - Unit 1

approbation

(n.) the expression of approval or favorable opinion, praise; official approval

SYN: commendation, sanction

ANT: disapproval, condemnation, censure

assuage

(v.) to make easier or milder, relieve; to quiet, calm; to put an end to, appease, satisfy, quench

SYN: mitigate, alleviate, slake, allay

ANT: intensify, aggravate, exacerbate

coalition

(n.) a combination, union, or merger for some specific purpose

SYN: alliance, league, federation, combine

ANT: splinter group

decadence

(n.) decline, decay, or deterioration; a condition or period of decline or decay; excessive self-indulgence

SYN: degeneration, corruption

ANT: rise, growth, development, maturation

elicit

(v.) to draw forth, bring out from some source (such as another person)

SYN: call forth, evoke, extract, educe

ANT: repress, quash, squelch, stifle

expostulate

(v.) to attempt to dissuade someone from some course or decision by earnest reasoning

SYN: protest, remonstrate, complain

hackneyed

(adj.) used so often as to lack freshness or originality

SYN: banal, trite, commonplace, corny

ANT: new, fresh, novel, original

hiatus

(n.) a gap, opening, break (in the sense of having an element missing)

SYN: pause, lacuna

ANT: continuity, continuation

innuendo

(n.) a hint, indirect suggestion, or reference (often in a derogatory sense)

SYN: insinuation, intimation

ANT: direct statement

intercede

(v.) to plead on behalf of someone else; to serve as a third party or go-between in a disagreement

SYN: intervene, mediate

jaded

(adj.) wearied, worn-out, dulled (in the sense of being satiated by excessive indulgence)

SYN: sated, surfeited, cloyed

ANT: unspoiled, uncloyed

lurid

(adj.) causing shock, horror, or revulsion; sensational; pale or sallow in color; terrible or passionate in intensity or lack of restraint

SYN: gruesome, gory, grisly, baleful, ghastly

ANT: pleasant, attractive, appealing, wholesome

meritorious

(adj.) worthy, deserving recognition and praise

SYN: praiseworthy, laudable, commendable

ANT: blameworthy, reprehensible, discreditable

petulant

(adj.) peevish, annoyed by trifles, easily irritated and upset

SYN: irritable, testy, waspish

ANT: even-tempered, placid, serene, amiable

prerogative

(n.) a special right or privilege; a special quality showing excellence

SYN: perquisite, perk

provincial

(adj.) pertaining to an outlying area; local; narrow in mind or outlook, countrified in the sense of being limited and backward; of a simple, plain design that originated in the countryside;
(n.) a person with a narrow point of view; a person from an outlying area; a soldier from a province or colony

SYN: narrow-minded, parochial, insular, naive

ANT: cosmopolitan, catholic, broad-minded

simulate

(v.) to make a pretense of, imitate; to show the outer signs of

SYN: feign, pretend, affect

transcend

(v.) to rise above or beyond, exceed

SYN: surpass, outstrip

umbrage

(n.) shade cast by trees; foliage giving shade; an overshadowing influence or power; offense, resentment; a vague suspicion

SYN: irritation, pique, annoyance

ANT: pleasure, delight, satisfaction

unctuous

(adj.) excessively smooth or smug; trying too hard to give an impression of earnestness, sincerity, or piety; fatty, oily; pliable

SYN: mealymouthed, servile, fawning, greasy

ANT: gruff, blunt