Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Level G: Unit 1

Acquisitive

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

Synonyms: greedy, grasping, avaricious, retentive

Arrogate

(v.) to claim or take without right

Synonyms: expropriate, usurp, commandeer

Banal

(adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace

Synonyms: stale, insipid

Belabor

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

Synonyms: overwork

Carping

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

Synonyms: nit-picking, caviling

Coherent

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

Synonyms: connected, unified, consistent, cohesive

Congeal

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

Synonyms: harden, jell, coagulate, solidify

Emulate

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

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

Encomium

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

Synonyms: panegyric, eulogy, commendation

Eschew

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

Synonyms: abstain from, steer clear of, forgo

Germane

(adj.) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

Synonyms: pertinent

Insatiable

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

Synonyms: unquenchable, ravenous, voracious

Intransigent

(adj.) refusing to compromise, irreconcilable

Synonyms: uncompromising, unyielding, obdurate

Invidious

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

Synonyms: malicious, spiteful, prejudicial, pejorative

Largesse

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

Synonyms: liberality, munificence, bounty

Reconnaissance

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

Synonyms: scouting expedition

Substantiate

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

Synonyms: verify, confirm, validate, authenticate

Taciturn

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

Synonyms: tight-lipped, uncommunicative, laconic

Temporize

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

Synonyms: hedge, dillydally, procrastinate

Tenable

(adj.) capable of being held or defended

Synonyms: defensible, justifiable, maintainable