Benjamino

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**Abhor Verb**

To regard with horror or loathing; hate deeply

SYNONYMS: detest, despise, abominate

ANTONYMS: admire, cherish, respect, relish

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*A pacifist is someone who* __*abhors*__ *violence in all its forms.*

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**Amend Verb**

To change in a formal way; to change for the better.

SYNONYMS: modify, improve, correct

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*If you are not doing well in a particular subject, you may want to* __*amend*__ *your way of studying it.*

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**Buffet Verb/Noun**

Verb - To slap or cuff; to strike repeatedly; to drive or force with blows; to force one’s way with difficulty

Noun - a slap, blow

SYNONYMS: sock, thump, pummel, toss about (V)

*Blinding snowstorms* __*buffet*__ *the barren landmass of Antarctica for months on end.*

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*Few figures in history or literature are as severely tested by fortune’s* __*buffets*__ *as Job in the Old Testament. (Noun)*

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**Chaos Noun**

Great confusion, disorder

SYNONYMS: anarchy, turmoil

ANTONYMS: order, regularity, tranquility

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*A great many people lost their fortunes and even their lives in the* __*chaos*__ *brought on by the French Revolution.*

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**Commodious Adjective**

Roomy, spacious

SYNONYMS: comfortable, ample, capacious

ANTONYMS: cramped, claustrophobic, insufficient

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*No one would expect a tiny studio apartment to have particularly* __*commodious*__ *closets.*

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**Corrosive Adjective**

Eating away gradually, acid-like; bitterly sarcastic.

SYNONYMS: caustic, acidulous, spiteful

ANTONYMS: bland, mild, benign, amiable

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*Sulfuric acid is one of the most* __*corrosive*__ *substances known to chemistry.*

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**Discern Verb**

To see clearly, recognize

SYNONYMS: perceive, detect, distinguish

ANTONYMS: overlook

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*It is a jury’s job to* __*discern*__ *the truth by carefully evaluating all the evidence presented at trial.*

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**Extant Adjective**

Still existing; not exterminated, destroyed, or lost

SYNONYMS: surviving, in existence

ANTONYMS: extinct, vanished

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*The paintings of animals and human hands in Spain’s Altamira caves are among the oldest* __*extant*__ *specimens of Stone Age art.*

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**Implicate Verb**

To involve in; to connect with or be related to

SYNONYMS: incriminate, entangle

ANTONYMS: absolve, exculpate

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*The suspects never stood trial because there was no solid evidence to* __*implicate*__ *them in the daring series of robberies.*

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**Inter Verb**

To bury, commit to the earth; to consign to oblivion

ANTONYMS: unearth, exhume

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*Jewels and other objects once* __*interred*__ *with Egypt’s pharaohs can not be seen in numerous museums all over the world.*

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**Martinet Noun**

A strict disciplinarian; a stickler for the rules

SYNONYMS: taskmaster, slave driver

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*When it came to drilling troops, the Revolutionary War general Baron Friedrich von Steuben was something of a* __*martinet*__*.*

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**Obviate Verb**

To anticipate and prevent; to remove, dispose of

SYNONYMS: preclude, forestall, ward off

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*Vaccinations can do much to* __*obviate*__ *the dangers of childhood illnesses.*

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**Renegade Noun/Adj.**

Noun - one who leaves a group; a deserter, outlaw

Adjective - traitorous; unconventional, unorthodox

SYNONYMS: turncoat, heretic

ANTONYMS: loyalist, patriot

*Many a writer has been labeled a* __*renegade*__ *for refusing to conform to society’s conventions.*

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__*Renegade*__ *senators from the President’s own party joined the opposition to defeat the bill.*

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**Reprehensible Adjective**

Deserving blame or punishment

SYNONYMS: objectionable, blameworthy, culpable, odious

ANTONYMS: commendable, blameless, meritorious

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*Stalin eliminated many potential rivals by accusing them of all sorts of* __*reprehenisble*__ *acts that they did not commit.*

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**Somber Adjective**

Dark, gloomy; depressed or melancholy in spirit

SYNONYMS: mournful, dismal

ANTONYMS: bright, sunny, light-hearted, jaunty

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*The atmosphere in the locker room of the losing team could best be described as* __*somber*__*.*

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**Squalid Adjective**

Filthy, wretched, debased

SYNONYMS: dingy, sordid, foul, vile, abject

ANTONYMS: neat, spruce, exalted, lofty

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*Many laws prohibit the types of* __*squalid*__ *working conditions found in sweatshops.*

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**Turbulent Adjective**

Disorderly, riotous, violent; stormy

SYNONYMS: tumultuous, unruly, agitated

ANTONYMS: calm, placid, tranquil, still

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*Letters and diary entries may reveal a person’s lifelong struggle to gain some control over* __*turbulent*__ *emotions.*

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**Vociferous Adjective**

Loud and noisy; compelling attention

SYNONYMS: clamorous, uproarious, blustering

ANTONYMS: quiet, soft-spoken, muted, subdued

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*Relief agencies regularly make* __*vociferous*__ *appeals for aid for victims of war, terrorism, and natural disasters.*

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**Voluminous Adjective**

Of great size; numerous; writing or speaking at great length

SYNONYMS: bulky, massive, plentiful

ANTONYMS: scant, meager, little

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*The task of summarizing the* __*voluminous*__ *reports issued by government agencies may fall to members of a legislator’s staff.*

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**Waive Verb**

To do without, give up voluntarily; to put off temporarily, defer

SYNONYMS: decline, relinquish, forgo

ANTONYMS: claim, accept

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*The senator agreed to* __*waive*__ *opposition to the proposed bill if some of its more controversial provisions were substantially modified.*