Sadlier Level H Unit 3, Sadlier Level H - Unit 2, Sadlier Level H Unit 1

Ancillary

(adj.) subordinate or supplementary

Syn: auxiliary, accessory

Ant: central, key, primary, principal, main

Bowdlerize

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

Syn: purge, expurgate

Condescend

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

Syn: talk down to

Cozen

(v.) to trick; to cheat or swindle

Syn: dupe, deceive, 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, foible

Gratis

(adj.) free

(adv.) without charge

Syn: (adj.) on the house

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

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: dupe, "mark," "pigeon"

Paean

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

Syn: ode, anthem

Ant: dirge, elegy, threnody

Persiflage

(n.) lighthearted joking, talk, or writing

Syn: banter, jesting, badinage

Plethora

(n.) overfullness; superabundance; superfluity

Syn: surplus, 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

Ant: impractical, visionary

Quizzical

(adj.) puzzled; mocking; odd; equivocal

Syn: peculiar, perplexed, mystified, derisive

Ant: unequivocal, unambiguous

Rapacity

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

Syn; avarice, cupidity, voraciousness

Ant: liberality, altruism

Schism

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

Syn: rift

Ant: reconciliation

Therapeutic

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

Syn: salutary, salubrious

Ant: harmful, injurious, deleterious

Virtuoso

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

(adj.) masterly or brilliant

Syn: (n.) expert, prodigy, maestro

Ant: (n.) amateur, beginner, novice, (adj.) mediocre

aegis

(n) a shield; protection; sponsorship

syn: auspices

apprise

(v) to give notice to; to inform

syn: acquaint

ant: keep secret, withhold information

bibulous

(adj) excessively fond of drinking alcohol; absorbent

syn: inebrious

ant: abstemious, temperate

claque

(n) a group of people hired to applaud a performer or performance; enthusiastic or fawning admirers; an opera hat

syn: fan club, flatterers

ant: critics, detractors, slanderers

deracinate

(v.) to pull up by the roots; to root out, uproot, or dislocate; to eliminate all traces of

syn: extirpate, eradicate, expunge

ant: implant, nurture, foster, instill

exegesis

(n) scholarly explanation or interpretation

syn: analysis, explication

ant: mystification

indigenous

(adj) native to a particular area

syn: endemic, domestic, homegrown

ant: foreign, alien, exoteric, imported

lachrymose

(adj) suggestive of or tending to cause tears; mournful; tearful

syn: tearful, doleful, dolorous

ant: dry-eyed, merry, hilarious

lexicon

(n) a dictionary; a specialized vocabulary used in a particular field or place

syn: wordbook, glossary

melee

(n) a confused hand-to-hand fight or struggle among several people; confusion; turmoil; jumble.

syn: fracas, brawl, scuffle, donnybrook

ant: friendly chat, peace and quiet

microcosm

(n) a miniature world; something that resembles something else on a very small scale

syn: epitome, world in little

ant: macrocosm, cosmos, totality

minuscule

(adj) tiny, miniature

syn: infinitesimal, insignificant

ant: huge, massive, monumental

obfuscate

(v) deliberately make something difficult to understand

syn: obscure, bewilder, muddy the waters

ant: elucidate, explicate, clarify

paternalism

(n) a policy of treating subject people as if they were children, providing for their needs but not giving them rights

syn: benevolence, solicitude, fatherliness

polarize

(v) to break up into opposing factions or groups; to cause light to vibrate in a pattern

syn: split, alienate, estrange

ant: unite, unify, reconcile

purview

(n) range of skills or authority; capability

syn: orbit

sanguine

(adj) ruddy; cheerfully optimistic

syn: flushed, rosy

ant: bloodless, ashen, pessimistic, gloomy

solecism

(n) grammatical mistake; breach of etiquette

syn: misusage, blunder

vassal

(n.) a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he or she owes allegiance; a subordinate or dependent; a servant

(adj) subservient

syn: servile, minion

ant: overlord

verisimilitude

(n) the appearance of being true or real

syn: realism, lifelikeness, authenticity

adjunct

(n.) something added to something else as helpful or useful but not essential; an assistant or helper; a valuable quality or characteristic;

(adj.) added or connected in a subordinate capacity; attached to a faculty or staff in an auxiliary capacity

SYN: associate, addition, accessory

bellwether

(n.) the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse; a leader, as in a desperate or violent undertaking; an indicator of trends

SYN: ringleader, initiator, barometer

ANT: follower, imitator, emulator

caterwaul

(v.) to howl or screech like a cat; to quarrel;

(n.) a harsh or noisy cry; a racket

SYN: whine, screech

chimerical

(adj.) absurd; wildly fantastic; impossible

SYN: visionary; quixotic; pie-in-the-sky

ANT: realistic, down-to-earth, practicable

effete

(adj.) lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn-out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out of date

SYN: decadent, enfeebled

ANT: thriving, burgeoning, vigorous, dynamic

fait accompli

(n.) an accomplished or presumable irreversible deed, fact, or an action

SYN: accomplished fact

hidebound

(adj.) narrow minded and rigid, especially in opinions or prejudices; stubbornly and unthinkingly conservative

SYN: intolerant; inflexible

ANT: open-minded, tolerant, progressive, liberal

hierarchy

(n.) any system of things or people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank, wealth, class, etc.

SYN: chain of command

laissez-faire

(adj.) a philosophy or practice characterized by a usually deliberate abstention from direction or interference, especially with individual freedom of choice or action

SYN: nonrestrictive, noninterventional, hands-off

liturgy

(n.) a religious service or rite; The form of a ritual or other act of public worship

SYN: observance

morass

(n.) a patch of low, soft, wet ground; a swamp; a confusing situation in which one is entrapped, as in quicksand

SYN: bog

ANT: solid ground, bedrock, terra firma

noisome

(adj.) offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

SYN: noxious, vile, loathsome, fetid

ANT: wholesome, sweet-smelling

oblivious

(adj.) forgetful; unaware

SYN: insensible

ANT: aware, cognizant, mindful, alert

poltroon

(n.) a base coward

SYN: craven, "chicken", dastard

ANT: stalwart, gallant

proselyte

(n.) a convert; a disciple

SYN: novice, neophyte

ANT: master, teacher, guide, guru

quasi

(adj.) resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely

SYN: kind of, as if

ANT: totally, completely, actually, in fact

raillery

(n.) good humored ridicule; teasing SYN: persiflage

SYN: persiflage

ribald

(adj.) irreverently mocking; coarse, vulgar, or indecent in language

SYN: risqué

ANT: seemly, proper, decorous

supine

(adj.) lying flat on one's back; listless or lethargic; apathetic or passive

SYN: prostrate, prone, inert

ANT: upright, erect, perpendicular, vertical

vignette

(n.) a short description or sketch; a picture or illustration with edges that gradually shade off; a decorative design on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter

SYN: thumbnail sketch, anecdote

ANT: epic, full-length treatment