Vocab- Level D

admonish

(v.) to caution and advise against something; to scold mildly; to remind of a duty - SYNONYMS: warn, call on the carpet - ANTONYMS: praise, pat on the back

breach

(n.) an opening, gap, rupture, rift; a violation or infraction; (v.) to create a opening, break through - ANTONYMS: (v.) close, seal

brigand

(n.) a bandit, robber, outlaw, highwayman

circumspect

(adj.) careful, cautious - SYNONYMS: wary, prudent, guarded - ANTONYMS: incautious, rash, reckless, heedless

commandeer

(v.) to seize for military or official use - SYNONYMS: take over, requisition, expropriate

cumbersome

(adj.) clumsy, hard to handle; slow-moving - SYNONYMS: unwieldy, ponderous - ANTONYMS: manageable, easy to handle

deadlock

(n.) a standstill resulting from the opposition of two equal forces or factions; (v.) to bring to such a standstill - SYNONYMS: standoff, stalemate, impasse

debris

(n.) scattered fragments, wreckage - SYNONYMS: rubble, detritus, flotsam and jetsam

diffuse

(v.) to spread or scatter freely or widely; (adj.) wordy, long winded, or unfocused; scattered or widely spread - SYNONYMS: (v.) disperse; (adj.) rambling, verbose, prolix - ANTONYMS: (v.) concentrate; (adj.) brief, concise, succinct

dilemma

(n.) a difficult or perplexing situation or problem - SYNONYMS: predicament, quandary, pickle, bind - ANTONYM: cinch

efface

(v.) to wipe out; to keep oneself from being noticed - SYNONYMS: blot out, erase, obliterate, expunge

muddle

(v.) to make a mess of; muddle though: to get by; (n.) a hopeless mess - SYNONYMS: (v.) jumble, mess up; (n.) confusion, disorder - ANTONYMS: (n.) orderliness, tidiness, neatness

opinionated

(adj.) stubborn and often unreasonable in holding to ones own ideas, having a closed mind. - SYNONYMS: obstinate, pigheaded, inflexible - ANTONYMS: open-minded, reasonable

perennial

(adj.) lasting for a long time, persistent; (n.) a plant that lives for many years - SYNONYMS: (adj.) enduring, recurring - ANTONYMS: (adj.) brief, short-lived, fleeting, ephemeral

predispose

(v.) to incline to beforehand - SYNONYM: make susceptible to - ANTONYMS: immunize against, shield from

relinquish

(v.) to let go, give up - SYNONYMS: surrender, abandon - ANTONYMS: hold on to, keep, retain, cling to

salvage

(v.) to save from fire or shipwreck; (n.) property thus saved - SYNONYMS: (v.) rescue, recover, retrieve, reclaim - ANTONYMS: (v.) abandon, scrap, junk

spasmodic

(adj.) sudden and violent but brief; fitful; intermittent - SYNONYMS: (v.) irregular, occasional - ANTONYMS: steady, continuous, chronic

spurious

(adj.) not genuine, not true, not valid - SYNONYMS: false, counterfeit, fraudulent, bogus - ANTONYMS: genuine, authentic, bona fide, valid

unbridled

(adj.) uncontrolled, lacking in restraint - SYNONYMS: unrestrained, unchecked - ANTONYMS: restrained, held in check, muted

Alien

(n) a citizen of another country; (adj) foreign, strange

Comely

(adj) having a pleasing appearance

erratic

(adj) not regular or consistent; different from what is ordinarily expected; undependable

fodder

(n) food for horses or cattle; raw material for a designated purpose

fortify

(v) to strengthen, build up

jeer

(v) to make fun of rudely or unkindly; (n) a rude remark of derision

mediocre

(adj) average, ordinary, undistinguished

subjugate

(v) to conquer by force, bring under complete control

tantalize

(v) to tease, torment by teasing

Terse

(adj) brief and to the point

adjourn

(v) to stop proceedings temporarily; move to another place

compensate

(v) to make up for; to repay for services

dissolute

(adj) loose in one’s morals or behavior

expulsion

(n) the process of driving or forcing out

feint

(n) a deliberately deceptive movement; a pretense

(v) to make a deceptive movement; to make a pretense of

illegible

(adj) difficult or impossible to read

lucrative

(adj) bringing in money; profitable

proliferate

(v) to reproduce, increase, or spread rapidly

sully

(v) to soil, stain, tarnish, defile, besmirch

unflinching

(adj) firm, showing no signs of fear, not drawing back

abridge

(v) to make shorter

altercation

(n) an angry argument

dissent

(v) to disagree; (n) disagreement

eminent

(adj) famous, outstanding, distinguished; projecting

fabricate

(v) to make, manufacture; to make up, invent

irate

(adj) angry

pauper

(n) an extremely poor person

semblance

(n) a likeness; an outward appearance; an apparition

terminate

(v) to bring an end

unsurp

(v) to seize and hold a position by force or without right

adherent

(n) a follower, support

(adj) attached sticking to

cherubic

(adj) resembling an angel portrayed as a little child with a beautiful, round, or chubby face; sweet and innocent

condone

(v) to pardon or overlook

exorcise

(v) to drive out by magic; to dispose of something

gluttony

(n) engaging in extreme eating or drinking; greedy overindulgence

marauder

(n) a raider, plunder

pilfer

(v) to steal in small quantities

rift

(n) a split, break, breach

surmount

(v) to overcome, rise above

trite

(adj) commonplace; overused, stale

anarchy

(n) lack of government and law; confusion

auspicious

(adj) favorable, fortunate

daunt

(v) to overcome with fear, intimidate, to dishearten, discourage

hoodwink

(v) to mislead by a trick, swindle

inanimate

(adj) not having life, without energy or spirit

incinerate

(v) to burn to ashes

larceny

(n) theft

pliant

(adj) bending readily, easily influenced

prototype

(n) an original model on which later versions are patterned

rectify

(v) to make right, correct

abscond

(v) to run off and hide

access

(n) approach or admittance to places, person, things,: an increase; (v) to get at, obtain

arduous

(adj) hard to do, requiring much effort

disentangle

(v) to free from tangles or complications

fated

(adj) determined in advance by destiny or fortune 

intrepid

(adj) very brave, fearless, unshakable

pompous

(adj) overly self-important in speech and manner; excessively stately and ceremonious

precipice

(n) a very steep cliff; the brink or edge of disaster

reprieve

(n) a temporary relief or delay; (v) to grant a postponement

revile

(v) to attack with words, call bad names

arbitrary

(adj) unreasonable; based on one's wishes or whims without regard for reason or fairness

catalyst

(n) a substance that causes or hastens a chemical reaction; any agent that causes change

facilitate

(v) to make easier; to assist

incorrigible

(adj) not able to be corrected; beyond control

militant

(adj) given to fighting; active and aggressive in support of a cause

(n) an activist

paramount

(adj) chief in importance, above all others

rebut

(v) to offer arguments or evidence that contradicts an assertion; to refute

reprimand

(v) to scold; find fault with; a rebuke

servitude

(n) slavery, forced labor

slapdash

(adj) careless and hasty