Sadlier-Oxford Vocab: Level F: Unit 4

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

ANTONYMS:

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