Vocabulary Workshop Level F Units 1-8

approbation

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

s: sanction

a: disapproval, condemnation, censure

assuage

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

s: mitigate, slake, allay

a: intensify, aggravate, exacerbate

coalition

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

s: alliance, league, federation, combine

a: splinter group

decadence

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

s: degenration, corruption

a: rise, growth, maturation

elicit

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

s: evoke, extract, educe

a: repress, quash, squelch, stifle

expostulate

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

s: protest, remonstrate, complain

hackeneyed

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

s: banal, trite, commonplace, corny

a: new, fresh, novel, original

hiatus

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

s: pause, lacuna

a: continuity, continuation

innuendo

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

s: insinuation, intimation

a: direct statement

intercede

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

s: intervene, mediate

jaded

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

s: sated, surfeited, cloyed

a: unspoiled, uncloyed

lurid

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

s: gruesome, gory, grisly, baleful, ghastly

a: pleasant, attractive, appealing, wholesome

meritorious

(adj.) worthy, deserving reconition and praise

s: praiseworthy, laudable, commendable

a: blameworthy, reprehensible

petulant

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

s: irritable, testy, waspish

a: amiable, placid

prerogative

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

s: prequisite, perk

provinical

(adj.) pertraining to an outlying area; local; narrow in mind or outlook, contrified in the sense of being limited and backward; of a simple, plain design that originated in the countryside

s: narrow-minded, parocial, insular, naive

a: cosmopolitan, broad-minded

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(n.) a person with a narrow point of view; a person from an outlying area; a soldier from a province or colony

simulate

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

s: pretend, affect

transcend

(v.) to rise above or beyond, exceed

s: surpass, outstrip

umbrage

(n.) shade cast by trees; foliage giving shade; an overshawoding influence of power; offense, resntment; a vague suspicion

s: irritation, pique

a: pleasure, delight, satisfaction

unctuous

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

s: mealymouthed, fawning, greasy

a: gruff, blunt

ameliorate

(v.) to improve, make better, correct a flaw or shortcoming

s: amned, better

a: worsen, aggravate, exacerbate

aplomb

(n.) poise, assurance, great self-confidence; perpendicularity

s: composure, self-possession, levelheadedness

a: confusion, embarassment, abashment

bombastic

(adj.) pompous or overblown in language; full of high-sounding words intended to conceal a lack of ideas

s: inflated, highfalutin, prentention

a: unadorned, simple, plain, austere

callow

(adj.) without experience; immature, not fully developed; lacking sophistication and poise; without feathers

s: green, raw, unfledged, inexperienced

a: mature, grown-up, polished, sophisticated

drivel

(n.) saliva or mucus flower from the mouth or nose; foolish, aimless talk or thinking; nonsense

s: balderdash, tommyrot

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(v.) to let saliva flow from the mouth; to utther nonsese or childish tawddle; t waste or fritter away foolishly

s: slaver

epitome

(n.) a summary, condensed account; an instance that represent a larger reality

s: abstract, digest, archetype

exhort

(v.) to urge strongly, advise earnestly

s: entreat, implore, adjure

a: discourage, advise against, depecrate

ex officio

(adj., adv.) by virtue of holding a certain office

infringe

(v.) to violate, tresspass, go beyond recognized bounds

s: encroach, impinge, intrude

a: stay in bounds, comply

ingratiate

(v.) to make onself agreeable and thus gain favor or acceptance by others (sometimes used in a critical or derogatory sense)

s: cozy up to, curry favor with

a: humilate oneself

interloper

(n.) one who moves in where he or she is not wanted or has no right to be, an inrtuder

s: trespasser, meddler, buttinsky

intrinsic

(adj.) beleonging to someone or something by its very nature, essential, inherent; originiating in a bodily organ or part

s: immanent, organic

a: extrinsic, external, outward

inveigh

(v.) to make a violent attack in words, express strong disapproval

s: harangue, remonstrate

a: acclaim, glorify, extol

lassitude

(n.) weariness of body or mind, lack or energy

s: fatugue, letheragy, torpor, languor

a: energy, vitality, animation, liveliness

millennium

(n.) a period of one thousand years; a period of great joy

s: chilidad, golden age

a: doomsday

occult

(adj.) secret, hidden from view; not detectable by ordianry means; mysterious, magical, uncanny

s: esoteric, abstruse, arcane

a: mundance, common, public, exoteric

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(v.) to hide, cover up; eclipse

---

(n.) matters involving the supernatural

permeate

(v.) to spread through, penetrate, soak through

precipitate

(v.) to fall as moisture; to bring about suddenly; to hurl drown from a great heightl to give distinct form to

s: provoke, produce

---

(adj.) characterize by excessive haste

s: reckless, impetuous

a: wary, circumspect

---

(n.) moisturel the product of an action or process

stringent

(adj.) strict, severe; rigourousely or urgnetly binding or compelling; sharp or bitter to the taste

s: stern, rigourous, tough, urgent

a: lenient, mild, lax, permissive

surmise

(v.) to think or believe without certain supporting evidence; to conjecture or guess

s: infer, gather

---

(n.) likely idea that lacks definite proof

s: inference, presumption

abominate

(v.) to have an intense dislike or hatred for

s: loathe, abhor, despise, detest

a: relish, savor, esteem

acculturation

(n.) the modification of the social patterns, traits, or structures of one group or society by contact with those of another; the resultant blend

s: adaptation

advetitious

(adj.) resulting from chance rather than from an inherent cause or character; accidental, not essential; (medicine) aquired, not congenital

s: extrinsic, incidental, fortutious

a: essential, intrinsic, inherent, congenital

ascribe

(v.) to assign or refer to (asa cause or source), attribute

s: impute, credit

circuitous

(adj.) roundabout, not direct

s: indirect, meandering, widning

a: striaght, direct, as the crow flies

commiserate

(v.) to sympahtize with, have pity or sorrow for, share a feeling of distress

s: feel sorry for, empathize

a: feel no symbpathy for

enjoin

(v.) to direct or order; to prescribe a course of action in an authoritative way; to prohibit

s: bid, charge, adjure

a: allow, permit

expedite

(v.) to make cause, cause to progress faster

s: accelerate, facilitate, spped up

a: hunder, hamer, impede, obstruct

expiate

(v.) to make amends, make up for; to avert

s: redeem, make amends for, make reparation

ferment

(n.) a satte of great excitement, agitation, or turbulence

s: commotion, turmoil, unrest

a: peace and quiet, tranquility, placidity

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(v.) to be in or work into a state of great excitement, agitation or turbulence; to procude something by chemical action

inadvertent

(adj.) resulting from or marked by lack of attention; unintentional, accident

s: accidental

a: deliberate, intentional

noncommittal

(adj.) not decisive or definite; unwilling to take a clear position

s: cagey, uninformative, playing it safe, playing it close to the vest

a: positive, definite, committed

nominal

existing in name only, not real; too small to be considered or taken seriously

s: titular, inconsequentional

a: actual, exorbitant

peculate

(v.) to steal something that has been given into one's trust; to take improperly for one's own use

s: defraud, misappropriate

proclivity

(n.) a natural or habitual inclination or tendence (especially of human character or behavior)

s: penchant, propensity

a: inability, incapacity

sangfroid

(n.) composure or coolness, especially in trying circumstances

s: poise, self-assureance, equanmity

a: excitablity, hysteria, flappability

seditious

(adj.) resister to lawful authority; having the purpose of overthrowing an established government

s: mutinious, rebellious, subversive

a: supportive, faithful, allegiant

tenuous

(adj.) thin, slender, nto densel lacking clarity or sharpness; of slgiht important; lacking a sound basis, poorly supported

s: flimsy, insubstantial, vague, hazy

a: strong, solid, substantial, valid

wheelde

(v.) to use coaxing or flattering to gain some desired end

s: inveilge, soft-soap, sweet-talk

a: coeerece, browbeat, intimidate, strong-arm

vitrolic

(adj.) bitter, sarcastic; highly caustic or biting (like a strong acid)

s: withering, acerbic, mordant

a: bland, saccharine, honeyed, sugary

affable

(adj.) courteous and pleasant, soicable, easy to speak to

s: genial, amicable, cordial

a: surly, cantankerous, dour, inhospitable

aggrandize

(v.) to increase in greatness, power, or wealth to build up or intensify; to make appear greater

s: augment, amplify, enhance, exalt

a: reduce, decrease, diminish

amorphous

(adj.) shapeless, without definite form; of no particular type of character; without organization, unity, or cohesion

s: formless, unsturctuctured, incohate

a: definite, well-defined, clear-cut

archetype

(n.) an original model on which something was patterned or replicated; the ideal exmaple of a particular type of person or thing

s: model, prototype, epitome

aura

(n.) that which surrounds (as an atmosphere); a distinctive air or personal quality

s: ambience, atmosphere

contrband

(n.) illegal traffic, smuggled goods

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(adj.) illegal, prohibited

s: bootleg, unlawful

a: legal, lawful, licit

erudite

(adj.) scholarly, learned, bookish, pedantic

s: profoundly educated, well-read

a: ignorant, uneducated, illiterate

gossamer

(adj.) thin, light, delicate, insubstantian

s: filmy, diapharous, sheer, airy, feathery, gauzy

a: dense, solid, massive

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(n.) a very thin, light cloth

inscrutable

(adj.) incapable of being understood; impossible to see through physically

s: impenetrable, imcomprehensibe, enigmatic

a: comprehensible, intelligble, penetrable

insular

(adj.) relaing to, charactersic of, or situated on an island; narrow or isolated in outlook or experience

s: narrow-minded, parochial, pronicial

a: catholic, cosmopolitan, liberal

irrevocable

(adj.) incapable of being changed or called back

s: unrecallable, unalterable

a: reversible, changeable

propensity

(n.) a natural inclination or predilection toward

s: natural bent, proclivity, penchant

a: natural incapacity or inability

querulous

(adj.) peevish, complaining, fretful

s: petulant, irritable

a: uncomplaining, stoical

remonstrate

(v.) to argue with someone against something, protest against

s: reason against, expostulate

repudiate

(v.) to diswon, reject, or deny the validity of

s: disavow, renounce

a: avow, affirm, aver

resilient

(adj.) able to return to an original shape of form; able to recover quickly

s: springy, elastic

a: rigid, stiff, inflexible

reverberate

(v.) to re-echo, resound; to reflect or be reflected repeatedly

s: rumble, thunder, boom, echo

scurrilous

(adj.) coarsely abusive, vulgar or low (especially in language), foul-mothed

s: obscene, filty, abusive, vituperative

a: decerous, seemly, tasteful, dignified

sedulous

(adj.) persistent, showing industry and termination

s: assiduous, indefatigable

a: indolent, listless

sleazy

(adj.) thin or filmsy in texture; cheap; shoddy or inferior in qulaity or character; ethically low, mean, or diresputable

s: inferior, cheesy

a: superior, first-rate

amnesty

(n.) a general pardon for an offense against a government; in general, any act of forgiveness or absolution

s: reprieve

autonomy

(n.) self-goverment, plitical control

s: home rule

a: depedence, subjection

axiomatic

(adj.) self-evident, expressing a universally accepted principle

s: taken for granted

a: questionable, dubious

blazon

(v.) to adorn or embellish; to display conspiciously to publish or proclaim widely

s:broadcast, trumpet

a: hide, conceal, bury

caveat

(n.) a warning or caution to prevent misunderstanding or discourage behavior

s: admonition, word to the wise

equitable

(adj.) fair, just, emobodying principles of justice

s: right, reasonable, evenhanded

a: unjust, unfair, one-soded, disproportionate

extricate

(v.) to free from entanglements or difficulties; to remove with effort

s: disentangle, extract

s: enmesh, entangle

filch

(v.) to steal, especially in a sneaky way and in petty amounts

s: pilfer, purloin, swipe

flout

(v.) to mock, trat with contempt

s: sneer at, snicker at, scorn

a: obey, honor

fractious

(adj.) tending to be troublesome; unruly, quarrelsome, contrary; unpredictable

s: refactory, recalcitrant, peevisg

a: docile, tractable, cooperative

precept

(n.) a rule of conduct or action

s: principle, maxin

salutary

(adj.) beneficial, helpful; healthful, wholesome

s: salubrious, curative

a: detrimental, deletrious

scathing

(adj.) bitterly severe, witheringl causing great harm

s: searing, harsh, savage

a: balnd, mild

scourge

(v.) to whipe, punish severely

s: flog, beat

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(n.) a cause of affliction or sufferingl a source of severe punishment or criticism

s: bane, plague, prestilence

a: godsend, boon, blessing

sepulchral

(adj.) funereal, typical of the tomb; extremely gloomy or dismal

s: lugubrious, mortuary

soporific

(adj.) tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy

a: stimulating

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(n.) something that induces sleep

s: narcotic, anesthetic

a: stimulant, stimulus

straitlaced

(adj.) extremely strict in regard to moral standards and conduct; prudish, puritanical

s: highly conventional, overly strict, stuffy

a: lax, loose, indulgent, permissive, dissolute

transient

(adj.) lasting only a short time, fleeting

s: impermanent, ephemeral, evanescent

a: permamnent, impersihable, immortal

unwieldy

(adj.) not easily carried, handled, or managed because of size or complexity

s: bulky, clumsy, impractical

a: manageable, easy to handly

vapid

(adj.) dull, uninteresting, tiresome; lacking in sharpness, flavor, liveliness, or force

s: lifeless, colorless

a: zesty, spicy, colorful