Unit 9 Vocabulary 10th grade

abate

to make less in amount, deduct, decrease

adulation

excessive praise or flattery

ANT: odium

anathema

object of intense dislike

astute

shrewd, crafty, showing practical wisdom

SYN: acute, sagacious,wily
ANT: obtuse

avarice

a greedy desire, particularly for wealth

SYN: cupidity, rapacity

culpable

deserving blame

ANT: laudable, meritorious

dilatory

tending to delay or procrastinate; slow; tardy

egregarious

standing out from the mass in bad way

SYN: glaring, flagrant

equivocate

to speak or act in a way that allows for more than one interpretation

SYN: to talk out of both sides of one's mouth

evanscent

vanishing, soon passing away, light and airy

SYN: ephemeral, transient, transitory

irresolute

(adj.) unable to make up one's mind, hesitating

SYN: vacillitating

nebulous

cloud like, resembling a cloud; cloudy in color, hazy, fuzzy

nigh

near, almost

penury

extreme poverty

SYN: destitution
ANT: affluence, opulence

recapitulate

to review a series of facts, to sum up

resuscitate

to revive, bring back to consciousness or existence

slovenly

untidy, dirty, careless

SYN: unkempt
ANT: meticulous

supposition

something assumed or taken for granted

SYN: assumption

torpid

inactive, sluggish, dull

SYN: lethargic, languid

novice

one who is just a beginner at some activity requiring skill and experience

SYN: neophyte

pretentious

done for show, striving to make a big impression

SYN: ostentatious