Vocab Level G Unit 13-15 Mastery

Abstruse

(adj.) extremely difficult to understand

SYN: arcane, recondite, occult

ANT: simple, straightforward

Affront

(n.) an open or intentional insult; a slight; (v.) to insult to one's face in defiance, confront

SYN: (n.) offense; (v.) offend

ANT: (n., v.) compliment, praise

Canard

(n.) a false rumor, fabricated story

SYN: hoax

Captious

(adj. ) excessively ready to find fault; given to petty criticism; intended to trap, confuse, or show up

SYN: faultfinding, carping

ANT: uncritical

Cognizant

(adj.) aware, knowledgeable, informed; having jurisdiction

SYN: acquainted

ANT: unaware, unconscious, oblivious

Contrite

(adj.) regretful for some misdeed or sin; plagued by a sense of guilt; thoroughly penitent

SYN: remorseful, rueful

ANT: unapologetic, impenitent

Cynosure

(n.) the center of attraction, attention, or interest; something that serves to guide or direct

SYN: focus

Decorous

(adj.) well behaved, dignified, socially proper

SYN: seemly, becoming, tasteful

ANT: unbecoming, improper, tasteless

Deign

(v.) to think it appropriate or suitable to one's dignity to do something; to condescend

SYN: deem

Desiccated

(adj., part.) thoroughly dried out; divested of spirit or vitality; arid and uninteresting

SYN: dehydrated, shriveled

ANT: sodden, waterlogged, drenched

Efficacy

(n.) the power to produce a desired result

SYN: effectiveness, potency, reliability

ANT: impotence

Engender

(v.) to bring into existence, give rise to, produce; to come into existence, assume form

SYN: generate, cause, form

ANT: stop, deter

Ethereal

(adj.) light, airy, delicate; highly refined; suggesting what is heavenly (rather than earthbound)

SYN: heavenly, celestial, gossamer

ANT: infernal, hellish, thick, heavy

Facade

(n.) the front or face of a building; a surface appearance (as opposed to what may lie behind)

SYN: exterior, surface, mask

ANT: interior

Ghoulish

(adj.) revolting in an unnatural or morbid way; suggestive of someone who robs graves or otherwise preys on the dead

SYN: barbarous, monstrous

Incongruous

(adj.) not in keeping, unsuitable, incompatible

SYN: discordant

ANT: compatible, harmonious, consistent

Machination

(n.) a crafty, scheming, or underhanded action designed to accomplish some (usually evil) end

SYN: plot, maneuver

Mesmerize

(v.) to hypnotize, entrance; to fascinate, enthrall, bewitch

Opprobrium

(n.) disgrace arising from shameful conduct; contempt, reproach

SYN: infamy, dishonor, odium

ANT: acclaim, honor, glory, renown

Putative

(adj.) generally regarded as such; reputed; hypothesized, inferred

SYN: supposed, presumed

ANT: corroborated, confirmed

Beatific

(adj.) blissful; rendering or making blessed

SYN: rapturous, ecstatic

ANT: disconsolate, dejected, doleful

Behemoth

(n.) a creature of enormous size, power, or appearance

SYN: whale, elephant, colossus

ANT: dwarf, pygmy, midget

Blandishment

(n., often pl.) anything designed to flatter or coax; sweet talk

SYN: allurement, cajolery

ANT: intimidation

Cacophonous

(adj.) harsh-sounding, raucous, discordant, dissonant

ANT: harmonious, melodious, mellifuous

Chicanery

(n.) trickery, deceptive practices or tactics, double-dealing

ANT: fair dealing

Consign

(v.) to give over to another's care, charge, or control; to entrust, deliver; to set apart for a special use

SYN: remit, convey

Coup

(n.) a highly successful stroke, masterstroke, act, plan, or stratagem; a sudden takeover of power or leadership

ANT: blunder, faux pas, gaffe

Euphemism

(n.) a mild or inoffensive expression used in place of a harsh or unpleasant one; a substitute

Febrile

(adj.) feverish; pertaining to or marked by fever; frenetic

ANT: leisurely

Gainsay

(v.) to deny, contradict, controvert; to dispute, oppose

ANT: confirm, corroborate, support, admit

Imminent

(adj.) about to happen, threatening

SYN: looming

ANT: distant, remote, faraway

Innate

(adj.) natural, inborn, inherent; built-in

SYN: congenital

ANT: learned, acquired, extrinsic, accidental

Loath

(adj.) unwilling, reluctant, disinclined

SYN: averse, indisposed

ANT: eager, inclined

Manifest

(adj.) clear, evident to the eyes or mind; (v.) to show plainly, exhibit, evince; (n.) a list of cargo and/or passengers

SYN: (adj.) apparent; (v.) reveal, disclose

ANT: (adj.) unrevealed, hidden; (v.) hide, conceal

Minutiae

(pl. n) small or trivial details, trifling matters

SYN: trifles

ANT: essentials

Moratorium

(n.) a suspension of activity; an official waiting period; an authorized period of delay

SYN: postponement, stoppage

ANT: escalation

Nostrum

(n.) an alleged cure-all; a remedy or scheme of questionable effectiveness

SYN: elixir

Pariah

(n.) one who is rejected by a social group or organization

SYN: untouchable, persona non grata

Visionary

(adj.) not practical, lacking in realism; having the nature of a fantasy or dream; (n.) one given to far-fetched ideas; a dreamer or seer characterized by vision or foresight

SYN: (adj.) utopian, idealistic, impractical

ANT: (adj.) practical

Wizened

(adj., part) dry, shrunken, and wrinkled (often as the result of aging)

SYN: withered, shriveled

ANT: bloated, distended

Amenity

(n.) that which is pleasant or agreeable; (pl.) attractive features, customs, etc.

ANT: unpleasantness, disagreeableness

Aperture

(n.) the opening, gap, hole; orifice

ANT: closure, blockage, occlusion

Dissidence

(n.) a difference of opinion; discontent

SYN: disagreement, disaffection

ANT: harmony, concord

Epicurean

(adj.) devoted to the pursuit of pleasure; fond of good food, comfort, and ease; with discriminating tastes; (n.) a person with discriminating tastes

SYN: (adj.) sybaritic, discriminating

ANT: (adj.) ascetic, self-denying, abstemious

Improvident

(adj.) not thrifty; failing to plan ahead

SYN: prodigal, spendthrift, extravagant

ANT: frugal, economical, cautious

Iniquity

(n.) wickedness, sin; a grossly immoral act

SYN: evil, crime

ANT: probity, rectitude, uprightness

Inviolable

(adj.) sacred; of such a character that it must not be broken, injured, or profaned

SYN: unassailable, sacrosanct

ANT: vulnerable, assailable

Mutable

(adj.) open to or capable of change, fickle

SYN: changeable, variable

ANT: changeless, steadfast, constant

Nascent

(adj.) just beginning to exist or develop; having just come into existence

SYN: incipient, embryonic

ANT: dying, moribund, senescent

Obeisance

(n.) a deep bow or other body movement indicating respect or submission; deference, homage

SYN: honor

ANT: disrespect, irreverence

Panegyric

(n.) formal or elaborate praise; a tribute

SYN: tribute, encomium, testimonial

ANT: tirade, philippic

Pillory

(n.) a device for publicly punishing offenders; a means for exposing one to public contempt or ridicule; (v.) to expose to public contempt or ridicule

ANT: (v.) extol, laud, acclaim

Pittance

(n.) a woefully meager allowance, wage, or portion

SYN: trifle, modicum

ANT: fortune

Presage

(v.) to foreshadow or point to a future event, to predict; (n.) a warning or indication of the future

SYN: (v.) augur, foretell

Progeny

(n.) descendants, offspring, children, followers, disciples

SYN: issue, posterity

ANT: forebears, antecedents

Promulgate

(v.) to proclaim or issue officially; to make known far and wide

SYN: announce

ANT: withdraw, retract, abrogate, nullify

Rectitude

(n.) uprightness, righteousness; correctness

SYN: probity, integrity

ANT: iniquity, heinousness

Restive

(adj.) restless, hard to manage, balky

SYN: uneasy, recalcitrant

ANT: serene, unruffled, docile

Seraphic

(adj.) angelic, heavenly, celestial

SYN: cherubic

ANT: devilsh, impish

Subsist

(v.) to have existence; to remain alive, manage to make a living or maintain life; to persist or continue

SYN: last, sustain

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