English 1111-Sadlier Vocabulary Units 7-9

austere

austere

(adj.) severe or stern in manner; without adornment or luxury, simple, plain; harsh or sour in flavor

S: forbidding, rigorous, puritanical, ascetic, unadorned

A: mild, indulgent, luxurious, flamboyant

beneficent

(adj.) performing acts of kindness or charity: conferring benefits, doing good

S: humanitarian, magnanimous, charitable

A: selfish, cruel, harmful, deleterious

cadaverous

(adj.) pale, guant, resembling a corpse

S: corpselike, wasted, haggard, emaciated, ghastly

A: robust, portly, rosy, the picture of health

concoct

(v.) to prepare by combining ingredients, make up (as a dish); to devise, invent, fabricate

S: create, fashion, rustle up

crass

(adj.) coarse, unfeeling; stupid

S: crude, tasteless, oafish, obtuse

A: refined, elegant, tasteful, polished, brilliant

debase

(v.) to lower in character, quality, or value; to degrade, adulterate; to cause to deteriorate

S: cheapen, corrupt, demean, depreciate

A: elevate, uplift, improve, enhance

desecrate

(v.) to commit sacrilege upon, treat irrelevantly; to contaminate, pollute

S: profane, defile, violate

A: revere, venerate, consecrate

disconcert

(v.) to confuse; to disturb the composure of

S: upset, rattle, ruffle, faze

A: relax, calm, put at ease

grandiose

(adj.) grand in an impressive or stately way; marked by pompous affectation or grandeur, absurdly exaggerated

S: majestic, bombastic, highfalutin

A: simple, modest, humble

inconsequential

(adj.) trifling, unimportant

S: trivial, negligible, paltry

A: important, essential, crucial

infraction

(n.) a breaking of a law or obligation

S: violation, transgression, offense

mitigate

(v.) to make milder or softer, to moderate in force or intensity

S: lessen, relive, alleviate

A: aggravate, intensify, irritate, exacerbate

pillage

(v.) to rob of goods by open force (as in war), plunder (n.) the act of looting; booty

S: (v.) savage, sack, loot; (n.) booty

prate

(v.) to talk a great deal in a foolish or aimless fashion

A: prattle, blab, palaver

A: come to the point

punctilious

(adj.) very careful and exact, attentive to fine points of etiquette

S: precise, scrupulous

A: careless, perfunctory

redoubtable

(adj.) inspiring in fear or awe; illustrious, eminent

S: formidable, august

A: laughable, risible

reprove

(v.) to find fault with, scold, rebuke

S: chastise, upbraid, reproach

A; praise, commend, laud, pat on the back

restitution

(n.) the act of restoring someone or something to the rightful owner or to a former state or position; making good on a loss or damage

S: reimbursement, redress, restoration

stalwart

(adj.) strong and sturdy; brave; resolute

(n.) a brave, strong, person;a strong supporter; one who takes an uncompromising position

S: (adj.) sturdy, stout, intrepid, valiant; (n.) mainstay

A: (adj.) weak, infirm, irresolute, vacillating

vulnerable

(adj.) open to attack; capable of being wounded or damaged; unprotected

S: defenseless, unguarded

A: invincible, protected, safe, secure

acrimonious

(adj.) stinging, bitter in temper or tone

S: biting, caustic, rancorous, hostile, peevish

A: gentle, warm, mild, friendly, cordial

bovine

(adj.) resembling a cow or ox; sluggish, unresponsive

S: stolid, dull, slow, stupid

A: alert, sharp, bright, keen, quick

consternation

(n.) dismay, confusion

S: shock, amazement, bewilderment, dismay

A: calm, composure, aplomb

corpulent

(adj.) fat; having a large, bulky, body

S: overweight, heavy, obese, stout, portly

A: slender, ean, spare, guant, emaciated

disavow

(v.) to deny responsibility for or connection with

S: disown, disclaim, retract, abjure

A: acknowledge, admit, grant, certify

dispassionate

(adj.) impartial; calm, free from emotion

S: unbiased, disinterested, cool, detached

A: committed, engaged, partial, biased

dissension

(n.) disagreement, sharp difference of opinion

S: strife, discord, contention

A: agreement, accord, harmony

dissipate

(v.) to cause to disappear; to scatter, dispel; to spend foolishly, squander; to be extravagant in pursuit of pleasure

S: disperse, strew, diffuse, waste

A: gather, collect, converse, husband

expurgate

(v.) to remove objectionable passages or words from a written text; to cleanse, purify

S: purge, censor, bowdlerize

gauntlet

(n.) an armored or protective glove; a challenge; two lines of men armed with weapons with which to beat a person forced to run between them; an ordeal

S; dare, provocation, trial, punishment

hypothetical

(adj.) based on an assumption or guess; used as a provisional or tentative idea to guide or direct investigation

S: assumed, supposed, conjectural, conditional

A: actuatl, real, tested, substantiated

ignoble

(adj.) mean, low, base

S: inferior, unworthy, dishonorable, sordid

A: admirable, praiseworthy, lofty, noble

impugn

(v.) to call into question; to attack as false

S: challenge, deny, dispute, query, question

A: confirm, prove, verify, validate

intemperate

(adj.) immoderate, lacking in self-control; inclement

S: excessive, extreme, unrestrained, inordinate

A: moderate, restrained, cool and collected

odium

(n.) hatred, contempt; disgrace or infamy resulting from hateful conduct

S: abhorrence, opprobrium, shame, ignominy

A: esteem, admiration, approbation

perfidy

(n.) faithlessness, treachery

S: betrayal, disloyalty, treason, duplicity

A: faithfulness, loyalty, steadfastness

relegate

(v.) to place in a lower position; to assign, refer, turn over; to banish

S: transfer, consign, demote, exile

A: promote, elevate, advance, recall

squeamish

(adj.) inclined to nausea; easily shocked or upset; excessively fastidious or refined

S: nauseated, queasy, delicate oversensitive, priggish

subservient

(adj.) subordinate in capacity or role; submissively obedient; serving to promote some end

S: secondary, servile, obsequious, useful

A: primary, principal, bossy, domineering

susceptible

(adj.) open to; easily influenced; lacking in resistance

S: vulnerable, receptive, impressionable

A: resistant, immune

abate

(v.) to make less in amount, degree, etc.; to subside, become less; to nullify; to deduct, omit

S: diminish, decrease, subside, let up

A intensity, increase, magnify, wax

adulation

(n.) praise or flattery that is excessive

S: adoration, idolization, hero-worship

A: ridicule, derision, scorn, odium

anathema

(n.) an object of intense dislike; a curse or strong denunciation (often used adjectivally without the article)

S: malediction, imprecation, abomination

A: benediction, blessing

astute

(adj.) shrewd, crafty, showing practical wisdom

S: shrewd, acute, sagacious, judicious, wily

A: obtuse, doltish, empty-headed, dumb

avarice

(n.) a greedy desire, particularly for wealth

S: cupidity, rapacity, acquisitiveness

culpable

(adj.) deserving blame, worthy of condemnation

S: guilty, delinquent, peccant, blameworthy

A: blameless, innocent, laudable, meritorious

dilatory

(adj.) tending to delay or procrastinate, not prompt; intended to delay or postpone

S: stalling, slow, tardy, laggard

A: prompt, punctual, speedy, expeditious

egregious

(adj.) conspicuous, standing out from the mass (used particularly in an unfavorable sense)

S: glaring, flagrant, blatant

A: unnoticeable, paltry, piddling

equivocate

(v.) to speak or act in a way that allows for more than one interpretation;to be deliberately vague or ambiguous

S: to talk out of both sides of one’s mouth, palter, hedge, waffle

A: to speak one’s mind plainly

evanescent

(adj.) vanishing, soon passing away; light and airy

S: ephemeral, transient, transitory

A: everlasting, immortal, imperishable

irresolute

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

S: indecisive, vacillating, wavering

A: determined, decisive, unwavering

nebulous

(adj.) cloudlike, resembling a cloud; cloudy in color, not transparent; vague, confused, indistinct

S; hazy, fuzzy, cloudy, vague, murky, opaque, indeterminate

A: definite, distinct, clear, sharply focused

novice

(n.) one who is just a beginner at some activity requiring skill and experience (also used adjectivally)

S: neophyte, tyro, trainee, apprentice

A: veteran, past master, pro, expert

penury

(n.) extreme poverty; barrenness, insufficiency

S; destitution, want, indigence

A: affluence, abundance, luxury, opulence

pretentious

(adj.) done for show, striving to make a big impression; claiming merit or position unjustifiably; making demands on one’s skill or abilities, ambitious

S: inflated, ostentatious, affected

A: unassuming, unaffected, modest

recapitulate

(v.) to review a series of facts; to sum up

S: review, summarize, sum up, go over

resuscitate

(v.) to revive, bring back to consciousness or existence

S: revitalize, reanimate, restore, reactivate

slovenly

(adj.) untidy, dirty, careless

S: unkempt slatternly, slipshod, lax

A: neat, tidy, careful, meticulous

supposition

(n.) something that is assumed or taken for granted without conclusive evidence

S: assumption, presumption, hypothesis

torpid

(adj.) inactive, sluggish, dull

S: sluggish, lethargic, otiose, languid

A: energetic, dynamic, vigorous