AP Lang Vocab Set 7

Allay

(v.) to calm or pacify, set to rest; to lessen or relieve
The politician made a speech in order to __________ his constituents’ fears.


SYNONYMS: reduce, alleviate, moderate

ANTONYMS: aggravate, exacerbate, intensify

Calumniate

(v.) to slander; to accuse falsely and maliciously

Not only did the artist’s enemy seek to discredit her

while she was alive but tried to __________ her memory as well.

SYNONYMS: defame, libel

ANTONYMS: flatter, whitewash, praise

Coup

(n.) a highly successful stroke, masterstroke, tour de force, act, plan, or stratagem; a sudden takeover of power or leadership

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The accountants used a legal _________ to cover up the company’s shaky financial position.

ANTONYMS: fair dealing

Dissidence

(n.) a difference of opinion; discontent

When the commanding officer announced that all leave was cancelled, there was widespread __________ in the ranks.

SYNONYMS:  disagreement, dissent, disaffection        

ANTONYMS:  agreement, harmony, concord

Dogmatic

(adj.) certain of the truth of one’s own ideas; inclined \n to state opinions as if they were indisputable facts

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People who are __________ are unlikely to have

much tolerance for views that differ from their own.

\n SYNONYMS: opinionated, authoritarian

ANTONYMS: open-minded, disinterested, dispassionate

Echelon

(n.) one of a series of grades in an organization or field \n of activity; an organized military unit; a step-like \n formation or arrangement

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Although the civil servant began in the lower __________ of government service, he rose quickly through the ranks.

SYNONYMS: level, rank

Effrontery

(n.) shameless boldness, impudence

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After having been suspended for disrespectful behavior, the student had the __________ to talk back to his teacher again.

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SYNONYMS:  gall, chutzpah, nerve, impertinence, cheek

ANTONYMS:  shyness, diffidence, timidity

Embellish

(v.) to decorate, adorn, touch up; to improve by adding details

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The best storytellers __________ their tales in ways that help readers visualize the setting.

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SYNONYMS: ornament, garnish

ANTONYMS:  strip, mar, disfigure    

Illusory

(adj.) misleading, deceptive; lacking in or not based on \n reality    

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Police state tactics provide an __________ sense of

security in an unjust society.

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SYNONYMS:  specious, spurious, fanciful, imaginary

ANTONYMS:  actual, real, factual, objective

Indigent

 (adj.) needy, impoverished 

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The number of homeless and __________ persons has increased since the economy took a downturn.

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SYNONYMS:  penniless, poverty-stricken, destitute

ANTONYMS:  wealthy, affluent, prosperous

Inordinate

(adj.) far too great, exceeding reasonable limits, excessive

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The press showered the popular actor with _______ praise for what seemed a rather ordinary performance.

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SYNONYMS: exorbitant, extravagant

ANTONYMS: moderate, reasonable, equitable

Litany

(n.) a prayer consisting of short appeals to God recited by the

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leader alternating with responses from the congregation; any repetitive chant; a long list

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Whenever she talks about her childhood, she recites an interminable __________ of grievances.

SYNONYMS: rigmarole, catalog

Mandate

(n.) an authoritative command, formal order, authorization; (v.)to issue such an order

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The peacekeepers were sent into the war-torn country under a UN __________ to protect minority populations.

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The environmental protection agency has __________ that all automobiles pass an annual emissions test.

\n SYNONYMS:  (n.) directive (v) direct

ANTONYMS:  (v.) forbid, ban, outlaw

Picayune

(adj.) of little value or importance, paltry, measly; concerned with trifling matters, small-minded

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A supervisor who fusses about every __________ fault of the workers will lower morale and productivity.

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SYNONYMS:  inconsequential, piddling, trifling

ANTONYMS:  important, significant, huge, gigantic

Paucity

(n.) an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth

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The senate campaign was marred by a _______ of original ideas.

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SYNONYMS: lack

ANTONYMS: abundance, glut, plenitude, deluge

Recant

(v.) to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has

previously been committed, renounce, retract

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On the stand, the defendant __________ the guilty admissions she had made in her confession to the police.

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SYNONYMS: repudiate, disavow

ANTONYMS: reaffirm, reassert

Refulgent

(adj.) shining, radiant, resplendent 

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The swift-flowing stream beside our house was __________ in the morning light.

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SYNONYMS:  luminous, splendid

ANTONYMS:  dim, dark, obscure, dingy, dull, murky

Sacrosanct

(adj.) very sacred or holy; inviolable; set apart or immune from questioning or attack

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Members of the clergy felt privileged to be entrusted with guarding the __________ relic..

Saturnine

(adj.) of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood

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Ebenezer Scrooge, the main character of Dickens’s *A Christmas Carol*, has a decidedly __________ temperament.

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SYNONYMS: sullen, morose

ANTONYMS: lighthearted, cheerful, vivacious

Unremitting

(adj.) not stopping, maintained steadily, never letting up, relentless

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George’s grudge against his cousin was so __________ that years later they still do not talk.

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SYNONYMS:  constant, incessant, unrelenting

ANTONYMS: desultory, intermittent