Sadlier Oxford's Vocabulary Workshop Level H Unit 3

ancillary

(adj). subordinate or supplementary

SYN: auxiliary, subsidiary, accessory

ANT: central, key, primary, principal, main

bowdlerize

(v). to remove material considered offensive (from a book, play, film, etc.)

SYN: censor, purge, expurgate

condescend

(v). to come down or stoop voluntarily to a lower level; to deal with people in a patronizing manner

SYN: deign

cozen

(v). to trick; to cheat or swindle

SYN: dupe, decieve, beguile, inveigle

enclave

(n). an enclosed district, region, or area inhabited by a particular group of people or having a special character

SYN: island, subgroup

forte

(n). a person's strong point; what a person does best

SYN: gift, aptitude, specialty

ANT: weakness, shortcoming, foible

gratis

(adj). free; (adv). without charge

SYN: (adj). on the house; (adv). freely

ANT: (adv). for a price

icon

(n). a representation or image of a sacred personage, often considered sacred itself; an image or picture; a symbol; a graphic symbol on a computer monitor display; an object of blind devotion

SYN: emblem, idol

interstice

(n). a small, narrow space between things or parts of things

SYN: gap, slot, crevice, interval, lacuna

macrocosm

(n). the universe considered as a whole; the entire complex structure of something

SYN: cosmos, entirety

ANT: model, miniature, microcosm

mountebank

(n). a trickster or swindler; a charlatan

SYN: impostor, quack

ANT: sucker, dupe, "mark," "pigeon"

paean

(n). a song of prase, joy, or triumph

SYN: hymn, ode, anthem

ANT: dirge, elegy, lament, threnody

persiflage

(n). lighthearted joking, talk, or writing

SYN: banter, jesting, repartee, badinage

plethora

(n). overfullness; superabundance; superfluity

SYN: surplus, surfeit, glut, excess

ANT: shortage, paucity, dearth, scarcity

pragmatic

(adj). concerned with practical considerations or values; dealing with actions and results rather than with abstract theory; stiff in one's opinions

SYN: down-to-earth, businesslike

ANT: idealistic, impractical, visionary

quizzical

(adj). puzzled; mocking; odd; equivocal

SYN: peculiar, perplexed, mystified, derisive

ANT: unequivocal, crystal-clear, unambiguous

rapacity

(n). inordinate greed; the disposition to obtain one's desires by force, extortion, or plunder

SYN: avarice, cupidity, voraciousness

ANT: liberality, generosity, altruism

schism

(n). a formal split within a religious organization; any division or separation of a group or organization into hostile factions

SYN: rift, breach

ANT: united front, reconciliation

therapeutic

(adj). having the power to heal or cure; beneficial

SYN: curative, salutary, salubrious

ANT: harmful, injurious, deleterious

virtuoso

(n). a brilliant performer; a person with masterly skill or technique; (adj). masterly or brilliant

SYN: expert, master, prodigy, maestro

ANT: amateur, beginner, novice; (adj). mediocre