Vocabulary 6- Level H

Abortive

(Adj) Failing to accomplish an intended aim or purpose; only partially or imperfectly developed \n SYN: miscarried, fruitless, premature \n ANT: successful, realized, consummated

Sentence: Jerry’s time ran out before he could escape the escape room.

Bruit

(V) To spread news, reports, or unsubstantiated rumors \n SYN: broadcast, blazon \n ANT: conceal, hush, cover

Sentence: KTLA is always quick about getting news spread across the network.

Contumelious

(Adj) insolent or rude in speech or behavior; insultingly abusive; humiliating \n SYN: abusive, scurrilous \n ANT: deferential, commendatory

Sentence: Our Science teacher gave us a contumelious speech because of the substitutes bad report yesterday because our teacher expected better.

Dictum

(N) A short saying; an authoritative statement \n SYN: maxims, aphorism, axiom, precept

ANT: Reversal, affirmation

Sentence: My mom told me a dictum to inspire me to have more confidence in myself.

Ensconce

(V) To settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place \n SYN: nestle, lodge, entrench \n ANT: unseat, displace, oust

Sentence: I hid my most prized possessions in the safe that’s located in my room.

Iconoclastic

(Adj) Attacking or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, ideas, or institutions \n SYN: image-breaking, irreverent, heretical \n ANT: orthodox, conservative, reverent

Sentence: Many problems were caused during BC because everyone wanted to iconoclastic Christianity and turn it into their own religion.

In Medias Res

(Adj) In or into the middle of a plot; into the middle of things

SYN: In the middle, in the midst of things, without preamble

ANT: In the beginning, in the end

Sentence: We were in medias res of the movie when the pizza delivery came.

Internecine

(Adj) Mutually destructive; characterized by great slaughter and bloodshed \n SYN: murderous, savage, ruinous \n ANT: peaceful, harmonious, constructive

Sentence: Pigs get internecine everyday in slaughter houses.

Maladroit

(Adj) Lacking in skill or dexterity; lacking tact, perception, or judgment \n SYN: inept, awkward, clumsy, gauche \n ANT: skillful, deft, adroit, dexterous, tactful

Sentence: When it comes to archery, Abby doesn’t have the best maladroit aiming at the target.

Maudlin

(Adj) Excessively or effusively sentimental \n SYN: mushy, mawkish

ANT: Austere, Undemonstrative

Sentence: The most recent movie we watched was so maudlin my cousin cried so much.

Modulate

(V) To change or vary the intensity or pitch; to temper or soften; to regulate, adjust \n SYN: adapt, moderate

ANT: Mitigated, incomplete

Sentence: I modulate the volume of the television because my brother turns the volume up way too loud.

Portentous

(Adj) Foreshadowing an event to come; causing wonder or awe; self-consciously weighty, pompous \n SYN: foreboding, ominous, pretentious \n ANT: auspicious, promising, encouraging

Sentence: The Podcast Serial portentous every episode leaving with off with an important piece of evidence that will be talked about next episode.

Prescience

(N) Knowledge of events or actions before they happen; foresight \n SYN: foreknowledge \n ANT: hindsight

Sentence: Readers often have prescience of what will happen to a character before the character knows.

Quid pro quo

(N) Something given in exchange or return for something else \n SYN: swap, trade

ANT: Inconsideration, thoughtless

Sentence: As Girl Scouts we quid pro quo using swaps that we made to give each other.

Salubrious

(Adj) Conducive to health or well-being; wholesome \n SYN: beneficial, healthy, invigorating \n ANT: harmful, unhealthy, noxious

Sentence: Amy was salubrious because she is a runner and has a healthy diet.

Saturnalian

(Adj) Characterized by riotous or unrestrained revelry or licentiousness \n SYN: dissipated, debauched, orgiastic \n ANT: sedate, prim, decorous, seemly

Sentence: Casey was so saturnalian she lied to the police four times to “protect herself”.

Touchstone

(N) A means of testing worth or genuineness \n SYN: criterion, yardstick, benchmark

ANT: Deviation, abberation, abnormality

Sentence: Every scientist has a thesis they want to touchstone to see if they made the next breakthrough.

Traumatic

(Adj) So shocking to the emotions as to cause lasting and substantial psychological damage \n SYN: jolting \n ANT: pleasant, soothing, comforting, agreeable

Sentence: The murder of Hae was so unexpected it cause her family to go traumatic.

Vitiate

(V) To weaken, debase, or corrupt; to impair the quality or value of \n SYN: degrade, undermine \n ANT: purify, fortify, enhance, strengthen

Sentence: My team started vitiating the enemy base in capture the flag.

Waggish

(Adj) Fond of making jokes; characteristic of a joker; playfully humorous or droll \n SYN: whimsical, jocular \n ANT: serious, grave, grim, dour, humorless

Sentence: Holly is so waggish I don’t know how she knows how to make so many people laugh with all her jokes.