Vocab Units 1-9 Level D

auxiliary

(adj.) giving assistance or support; (n.) a helper, aid

SYNONYMS: (adj.) additional; (n.) reserve, accessory

ANTONYMS: (adj.) main, primary, principal

candid

(adj.) frank, sincere; impartial; unposed

SYNONYMS: forthright, plainspoken, unbiased

ANTONYMS: insincere, evasive, misleading, artful

cubicle

(n.) a small room or compartment

SYNONYMS: hole-in-the-wall

ANTONYMS: vast hall, auditorium

drudgery

(n.) work that is hard and tiresome

SYNONYMS: toil, labor, grind

ANTONYMS: play, frolic, amusement, recreation, fun

envoy

(n.) a representative or messenger (as of a government)

SYNONYMS: ambassador, emissary, minister

escalate

(v.) to elevate; to increase in intensity

SYNONYMS: raise, ascend, mount

ANTONYMS: decrease, lessen, descend, defuse

expedient

(n.) a means to an end; (adj.) advantageous, useful

SYNONYMS: contrivance, device, serviceable

ANTONYMS: inconvenient, untimely, disadvantageous

feign

(v.) to pretend

SYNONYMS: fake, sham, affect, simulate

flair

(n.) a natural quality, talent, or skill; a distinctive style

SYNONYMS: bent, knack, gift, style, panache

ANTONYMS: inability, incapacity

grievous

(adj.) causing sorrow or pain; serious

SYNONYMS: painful, heartrending, onerous, flagrant

ANTONYMS: joyful, uplifting, cheery, upbeat, comforting

heterogeneous

(adj.) composed of different kinds, diverse

SYNONYMS: miscellaneous, mixed, variegated

ANTONYMS: uniform, homogeneous, of a piece

horde

(n.) a vast number (as of people); a throng

SYNONYMS: crowd, mass, multitude, host, swarm

ANTONYMS: few, handful

impel

(n.) to force, drive forward

SYNONYMS: urge, push, spur, propel, incite

ANTONYMS: discourage, check, restrain, curb

incredulous

(adj.) disbelieving, skeptical

SYNONYMS: mistrustful, doubting

ANTONYMS: believing, trustful

inscribe

(v.) to write or engrave; to enter a name on a list

SYNONYMS: enroll, enlist

ANTONYMS: erase, rub out, delete, efface, obliterate

monologue

(n.) a speech by one actor; a long talk by one person

SYNONYMS: soliloquy

ANTONYMS: conversation, colloquy

prognosis

(n.) a forecast of the probable course and outcome of a disease or situation

SYNONYMS: projection

rasping

(adj.) with a harsh, grating sound; (n.) a harsh sound

SYNONYMS: scraping, abrasive, gravelly

ANTONYMS: smooth, satiny, silky

repugnant

(adj.) offensive, disagreeable, distasteful

SYNONYMS: hateful, odious, revolting, repulsive

ANTONYMS: pleasing, attractive, tempting, wholesome

scuttle

(v.) to sink a ship by cutting holes in it; to get rid of something in a decisive way; to run hastily, scurry; (n.) a pail

SYNONYMS: abandon, discard, scrap, ditch, dump

ANTONYMS: keep afloat, salvage, rescue, preserve

Atone

(v.) To make up for

Bondage

(n.) slavery; any state of being bound or held down

Credible

(adj.) believeable

Defray

(v.) To pay for

Diligent

(adj.) hardworking, industrious, not lazy

Doleful

(adj.) sad; dreary

Ghastly

(adj.) frightful, horrible; deathly pale

Hamper

(v.) to hold back

Hew

(v.) to shape or cut down with an ax; to hold to

Impoverished

(adj.) poor, in a state of poverty; depleted

Incessant

(adj.) never stopping, going all the time

Intricate

(adj.) complicated; difficult to understand

Lucid

(adj.) easy to understand, clear; rational, sane

Posthumous

(adj.) occurring or published after death

Prim

(adj.) overly neat, precise, proper, or formal; prudish

Sardonic

(adj.) grimly or scornfully mocking, bitterly scarcastic

Superfluous

(adj.) exceeding what is sufficient or required, excess

Supplant

(v.) to take the place of, supersede

Taunt

(v.) to jeer at, mock

(n.) an insulting or mocking remark

Tenacious

(adj.) holding fast; holding together firmly; persistent

Admonish

V to caution or advise against something; to scold mildly to remind of duty.

Breach

n. an opening, gap, rupture, rift; a violation or infraction; v. to create an opening, break through

brigand

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

circumspect

careful, cautious

commandeer

to seize for military or official use

cumbersome

(adj.) clumsy, hard to handle; slow-moving

deadlock

(n.) a standstill resulting from the opposition of two equal forces or factions; (v.) to bring to such a standstill

debris

scattered fragments, wreckage

diffuse

(v.) to spread or scatter freely or widely; (adj.) wordy, long-winded, or unfocused; scattered or widely spread

dilema

a difficult or perplexing situation or problem

efface

(v.) to wipe out; to keep oneself from being noticed

muddle

(v.) to make a mess of; muddle through: to get by; (n.) a hopeless mess

opinionated

stubborn and often unreasonable in holding to one's own ideas, having a closed mind

perennial

(adj.) lasting for a long time, persistent; (n.) a plant that lives for many years

predispose

to incline to beforehand

relinquish

to let go, give up

spasmodic

(adj.) sudden and violent but brief; fitful; intermittent

salvage

(v.) to save from fire or shipwreck; (n.) property thus saved

spurious

not genuine, not true, not valid

unbridled

lacking in restraint

adjourn

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

alien

a citizen of another country; foreign, strange

comely

having a pleasing appearance

compensate

to make up for; to repay for services

dissolute

loose in one's morals or behavior

erratic

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

expulsion

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

fodder

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

fortify

to strengthen, build up

illegible

difficult or impossible to read

jeer

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

lucrative

bringing in money; profitable

mediocre

average, ordinary, undistinguished

proliferate

to reproduce, increase, or spread rapidly

subjugate

to conquer by force, bring under complete control

sully

to soil, stain, tarnish, defile, besmirch

tantalize

to tease, torment by teasing

terse

brief and to the point

unflinching

firm, showing no signs of fear, not drawing back

abridge

to make shorter

adherent

(n.) a follower, supporter; (adj.) attached, sticking to

altercation

an angry argument

cherubic

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

condone

to pardon or overlook

dissent

(v.) to disagree; (n.) disagreement

eminent

(adj.) famous, outstanding, distinguished; projecting

exorcise

(v.) to drive out by magic; to dispose of something troublesome, menacing, or oppressive

fabricate

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

gluttony

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

irate

angry

marauder

a raider, plunderer

pauper

an extremely poor person

pilfer

to steal in small quantities

rift

a split, break, breach

semblance

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

surmount

to overcome, rise above

terminate

to bring to an end

trite

(adj.) commonplace; overused, stale

usurp

to seize and hold a position by force or without right