Level G Unit 1-3

acquisitive

(adj.) able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property

SYN: greedy, grasping, avaricious, retentive

ANT: altrustic, unretentive

arrogate

(v.) to claim or take without right

SYN: expropriate, usurp, commandeer

ANT: relinquish, renounce, abdicate, abandon

banal

(adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace

SYN: stale, insipid

ANT: fresh, novel, original, new

belabor

(v.) to work on excessively; to thrash soundly

SYN: overwork

carping

(adj.) tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way; (n.) petty, nagging, criticism

SYN: nit-picking, caviling

ANT: approving, uncritical

coherent

(adj.) holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful

SYN: connected, unified, consistent, cohesive

ANT: muddled, chaotic, disjointed

congeal

(v.) to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid

SYN: harden, jell, coagulate, solidify

ANT: melt liquify

emulate

(v.) to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model

SYN: copy, mimic, rival, match, measure up to

encomium

(n.) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute

SYN: panegyric, eulogy, commendation

ANT: condemnation, castigation, criticism

eschew

(v.) to avoid, shun, keep away from

SYN: abstain from, steer clear of, forgo

ANT: embrace, adopt

germane

(adj.) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

SYN: pertinent

ANT: irrelevant, extraneous, inappropriate

insatiable

(adj.) so great or demanding as not to be satisfied

SYN: unquenchable, ravenous, voracious

intransigent

(adj.) refusing to compromise, irreconcilable

SYN: uncompromising, unyielding, obdurate

ANT: lukewarm, halfhearted, yielding

invidious

(adj.) offensivee, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment

SYN: malicious, spiteful, prejudicial, pejorative

ANT: complimentary, flattering, ameliorative

largesse

(n.) generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions

SYN: liberality, munificence, bounty

ANT: stinginess, miserliness, *****rdliness

reconnaissance

(n.) a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination

SYN: scouting expedition

substantiate

(v.) to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to

SYN: verify, confirm, validate, authenticate

ANT: refute, disprove, invalidate

taciturn

(adj.) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little

SYN: tight-lipped, uncommunicative, laconic,

ANT: garrulous, loquacious, prolix, verbose

temporize

(v.) to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise

SYN: hedge, dillydally, procrastinate

tenable

(adj.) capable of being held or defended

SYN: defensible, justifiable, maintainable

ANT: indefensible, unjustifiable

accost

(v.) to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way

(syn: buttonhole, approach)

(ant: avoid, shun)

animadversion

(n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

(syn: rebuke, reproof)

(ant: praise, compliment)

avid

(adj.) desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager

(syn: keen, enthusiastic, grasping)

(ant: reluctant, indifferent, unenthusiastic)

brackish

(adj.) having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink

(syn: saline)

(ant: clear, sweet)

celerity

(n.) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

(syn: promptness, speed)

(ant: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness)

devious

(adj.) straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way

(syn: roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful)

(ant: direct, straightforward, open aboveboard)

gambit

(n.) in chess, an opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type

(syn: ploy, ruse, maneuver)

halcyon

(n.) a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher;

(adj.) of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent

(syn: tranquil, placid, palmy)

(ant: turbulent, tumultuous)

histrionic

(adj.) pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic

(syn: affected, stagy)

(ant: muted, untheatrical, subdued)

incendiary

(adj.) deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion;

(n.) one who deliberately sets fire, arsonist; one who causes strife

(syn: inflammatory, provocative; firebrand)

(ant: soothing, quieting, peacemaker)

maelstrom

(n.) a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction

(syn: chaos, turbulence, tumult)

myopic

(adj.) nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment

(syn: shortsighted)

(ant: farsighted)

overt

(adj.) open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized

(syn: clear, obvious, manifest, patent)

(ant: clandestine, covert, concealed)

pejorative

(adj.) tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling

(ant: complimentary, ameliorative)

propriety

(n.) a state of being proper, appropriateness; standards of what is proper

(syn: fitness, correctness)

(ant: unseemliness, inappropriateness)

sacrilege

(n.) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred

(syn: desecration, profanation, defilement)

summarily

(adv.) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

(syn: promptly, peremptorily)

suppliant

(adj.) asking humbly and earnestly;

(n.) one who makes a request humbly and earnestly

talisman

(n.) an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish

undulate

(v.) to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form

(syn: fluctuate, rise and fall)

cavort

v. to romp or prance around exuberantly; to make merry

syn. gambol

credence

n. belief, mental acceptance

syn. credit, trust, confidence

ant. disbelief, skepticism, incredulity

decry

v. to condemn, express strong disapproval; to officially depreciate

syn. denounce, censure, devalue

ant. tout, commend, extol, laud, praise

dissemble

v. to disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression

syn. dissimulate, mask, feign

distraught

adj. very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict

syn. distracted

ant. calm, collected

eulogy

n. a formal statement of commendation; high praise

syn. panegyric, encomium, tribute

ant. philippic, invective

evince

v. to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke

syn. exhibit, manifest, occasion

exhume

v. to remove from a grave; to bring to light

syn. disinter, unearth, uncover

ant. bury, inter

feckless

adj. lacking in spirit and strength,; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable

syn. feeble, incompetent, ineffectual

ant. competent, capable, effective

murky

adj. dark and gloomy, obscure; lacking in clarity and precision

syn. dim, cloudy

ant. clear, transparent, lucid, limpid

nefarious

adj. wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards

syn. iniquitous, reprehensible

ant. virtuous, honorable, praiseworthy, meritorious

piquant

adj. stimulating to the taste or mind; spicy, pungent; appealingly provocative

syn. zestful, tangy

ant. bland, insipid, tasteless, mild

primordial

adj. developed or created at the very beginning; going back to the most ancient times or earliest stage; fundamental, basic

syn. original, primal

propinquity

n. nearness in place or time; kinship

syn. similarity

ant. remoteness, distance

substantive

adj. real, having a solid basis; considerable in number or amount; meaningful and on topic

syn. firm, substantial, meaty

ant. imaginary, unreal, meaningless

unwonted

adj, not usual or expected; not in character

syn. unusual, uncommon, unexpected, atypical

ant. usual, customary, typical

utopian

adj. founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world, impractical

syn. idealistic

ant. realistic, pragmatice

verbiage

n. language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness; a manner of expression

syn. prolixity, diction, jargon

verdant

adj. green tint in color; immature in experience or judgement

syn. artless, naive

ant. scorched, sere, barren

viscous

adj. having a gelatinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity

syn. sticky, thick

ant. watery, aqueous