MIDTERM VOCABULARY UNIT 1 - 8

Acquisitive

(Adj.) Able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property

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SYN - Greedy, avaricious, retentive

ANT - Altruistic

Arrogate

(V.) To claim or take without right

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SYN - Expropriate, commandeer

ANT - Renounce, abdicate, abandon

Banal

(Adj.) Hackneyed, trite, commonplace

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SYN - Stale, insipid

ANT - Fresh, original, new

Belabor

(V.) To work on excessively; to thrash soundly

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SYN - Overwork

Carping

(Adj.) Tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way

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Petty, nagging criticism

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SYN - nit-picking, caviling

ANT - approving, uncritical

Coherent

(Adj.) Holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; Comprehensible, meaningful

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SYN - connected, unified, consistent, cohesive

ANT - Muddled, chaotic, disjointed

Congeal

(V.) To change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid

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SYN - Harden, jell, solidify

ANT - Liquefy

Emulate

(V.) To imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model

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SYN - Copy, mimic, rival, match, measure up to

Encomium

(n.) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute

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SYN - Panegyric, eulogy

ANT - condemnation, castigation, criticism

Eschew

(V.) To avoid, shun, keep away from

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SYN - Abstain from, steer clear of, forgo

ANT - embrace, adopt

Germane

(Adj.) Relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

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SYN - pertinent

ANT - Irrelevent, extraneous, inappropriate

Insatiable

(Adj.) So great or demanding as not to be satisfied

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SYN - unquenchable, ravenous

Intrasigent

(Adj.) Refusing to compromise, irreconcilable

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SYN - Uncompromising, unyielding, obdurate

ANT - lukewarm, halfhearted, yielding

Invidious

(Adj.) Offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment

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SYN - Malicious, spiteful, prejudicial, pejorative

ANT - Flattering, ameliorative

Largesse

(n.) Generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions

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SYN - Liberality, Bounty

ANT - Stinginess, miserliness

Reconnaissance

(N.) A survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination

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SYN - Exploration

Substantiate

(V.) To establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to

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SYN - Confirm, validate, authenticate

ANT - Refute, disprove, invalidate

Taciturn

(Adj.) Habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very litter

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SYN - Tight-lipped, uncommunicative, laconic

ANT - Garrulous, loquacious, prolix, verbose

Temporize

(V.) To stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation or postpone a decisions; to compromise

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SYN - Dillydally, procrastinate

Tenable

(Adj.) Capable of being held or defended

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SYN - Defensible, justifiable, maintainable

ANT - Indefensible, unjustifiable

Accost

(V.) To approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way

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SYN - Buttonhole, approach

ANT - avoid, shun

Animadversion

(N.) A comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

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SYN - Rebuke, reproof

ANT - Praise, compliment

Avid

(Adj.) Desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager

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SYN - Keen, enthusiastic, grasping

ANT - Reluctant, indifferent, unenthusiastic

Brackish

(Adj.) Having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink

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SYN - Saline

ANT - Clear, sweet

Celerity

(N.) Swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

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SYN - Promptness, speed

ANT - Slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness

Devious

(Adj.) Straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way

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SYN - Roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful

ANT - Direct, straightforward, open, aboveboard

Gambit

(N.) In chess, an opening move that involved risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type

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SYN - ploy, ruse, maneuver

Halcyon

(Adj.) (N.) A legendary bird identified with the kingfisher

Of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent

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SYN - Tranquil, placid, palmy

ANT - Turbulent, tumultuous

Histrionic

(Adj.) pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic

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SYN - affected, stagy

ANT - Muted, subdued

Incendiary

(Adj.) (N.) Deliberately setting or causing fires: designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion. One who deliberately sets fires, arsonist; one who causes strife

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SYN - Firebrand, inflammatory, provocative

ANT - Soothing, quieting, peacemaker

Maelstrom

(N.) a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction

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SYN - Chaos, Turbulence, tumult

Myopic

Nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment

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SYN - Shortsighted

ANT - Farsighted

Overt

(Adj.) Open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized

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SYN - Clear, obvious, manifest, patent

ANT - Clandestine, covert, concealed

Pejorative

(Adj. ) Tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling

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ANT - Complimentary, ameliorative

Propriety

(N.) The state of being proper, appropriateness; standards of what is proper of socially acceptable

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SYN - Fitness, correctness

ANT - Unseemliness, inappropriateness

Sacrilege

(N.) Improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred

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SYN - Desecration, profanation, defilement

Summarily

(Av.) Without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

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SYN - Promptly, peremptorily

Suppliant

(Adj.) (N.) Asking humbly and earnestly. One who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor

Talisman

(N.) An object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish

Undulate

(V.) To move in waves or with wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form

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SYN - fluctuate, rise and fall

Cavort

(V.) To romp or prance around exuberantly; to make merry

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SYN - Gambol

Credence

(N.) Belief, mental acceptance

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SYN - credit, trust, confidence

ANT - Disbelief, skepticism, incredulity

Decry

(V.) To condemn, express strong disapproval; to officially depreciate

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SYN - Denounce, censure, devalue

ANT - Tout, commend, extol, laud, praise

Dissemble

(V.) To disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression

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SYN - Dissimulate, mask, feign

Distraught

(Adj.) Very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict

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SYN - Distract

ANT - Calm, collected

Eulogy

(N.) A formal statement of commendation; high praise

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SYN - Panegyric, encomium, tribute

ANT - Philippic, invective

Evince

(V.) To display clearly, to make evident, to provoke

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SYN - exhibit, manifest, occasion

Exhume

(V.) To remove from a grave; to bring to light

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SYN - Disinter, unearth, uncover

ANT - Bury, inter

Feckless

(Adj.) Lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable

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SYN - Feeble, incompetent, ineffectual

ANT - Competent, capable, effective

Murky

(Adj.) Dark and gloomy, obscure; lacking in clarity and precision

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SYN - Dim, cloudy

ANT - Clear, transparent, lucid, limpid

Nefarious

(Adj.) Wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards

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SYN - iniquitous, reprehensible

ANT - Virtuous, honorable, praiseworthy, meritorious

Piquant

(Adj.) Stimulating to the taste or mind; spicy, pungent; appealingly

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SYN - Zestful, tangy

ANT - Bland, insipid, tasteless, mild

Primordial

(Adj.) Developed or created at the very beginning; going back to the most ancient times or earliest stage; fundamental, basic

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SYN - original, primal

Propinquity

(N.) Nearness in place or time; kinship

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SYN - similarity

ANT - remoteness, distance

Substantive

(Adj.) Real, having a solid basis; considerable in number or amount; meaningful and on topic

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SYN - Substantial, meaty

ANT - Imaginary, unreal, meaningless

Unwonted

(Adj.) Not usual or expected; not in character

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SYN - unusual, uncommon, unexpected, atypical

ANT - usual, customary, typical

Utopian

(Adj.) Founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world; impractical

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SYN - idealistic

ANT - realistic, pragmatic

Verbiage

(N.) Language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness; a manner of expression

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SYN - Prolixity, diction, jargon

Verdant

(Adj.) Green in tint or color; immature in experience or judgement

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SYN - Artless, naive

ANT - Scorched, sere, barren

Viscous

(Adj.) Having a gelatinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity

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SYN - Sticky, thick

ANT - watery, aqueous

Atrophy

(n.) The wasting away of a body organ or tissue; any progressive decline or failure

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(V.) To waste away

SYN - degeneration, deterioration, wither

ANT - growth, mature

Bastion

(N.) A fortified place, stronghold

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SYN - citadel, rampart, parapet

Concord

(N.) A state of agreement, harmony, unanimity; a treaty, pact, covenant

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ANT - Disagreement, strife, discord

Consummate

(V.) To bring to a state of completion or perfection

(Adj.) Complete or perfect in the highest degree

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SYN - Clinch, conclude, masterful

ANT - Launch, initiate, begin, kick off

Disarray

(N.) Disorder, confusion

(V.) To throw into disorder

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SYN - Disorganization, dishevel, mess up

ANT - Organization, order, tidiness

Exigency

(N.) Urgency, pressure; urgent demand, pressing need; and emergency

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SYN - requirement, crisis

Flotsam

(N.) Floating debris; homeless, impoverished people

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SYN - floating wreckage

Frenetic

(Adj.) Frenzied, highly agitated

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SYN - Frantic, overwrought

ANT - Calm, controlled, relaxed, leisurely

Glean

(V.) To gather bit by bit; to gather small quantities of grain left in a field by the reapers

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SYN - Cull, pick up

Grouse

(N.) A type of game bird; a complaint

(V.) To complain, grumble

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SYN - Kvetch, bellyache

Incarcerate

(V.) To imprison, confine, jail

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SYN - Intern

ANT - Liberate, free

Incumbent

(Adj.) Obligatory, required

(N.) One who holds a specific office at the time spoken of

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SYN - mandatory, necessary

ANT - optional, unnecessary

Jocular

(Adj.) Humorous, jesting, jolly, joking

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SYN - waggish, facetious, droll

ANT - Solemn, grave, earnest, grim

Ludicrous

(Adj.) Ridiculous, laughable, absurd

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SYN - Risible, preposterous

ANT - Heartrending, poignant, pathetic

Mordant

(Adj.) Biting or caustic in thought, manner, or style; sharply or bitterly harsh

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SYN - Acrimonious, acidulous, sardonic, scathing

ANT - Bland, mild, gentle, soothing

Nettle

(N.) A prickly or stinging plant

(V.) To arouse displeasure, impatience, or anger; to vex or irritate severely

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SYN - Peeve, annoy, incense, gall

ANT - Please, delight, soothe, pacify

Pecuniary

(Adj.) Consisting of or measured in money; of or related to money

Pusillanimous

(Adj.) Contemptibly cowardly or mean-spirited

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SYN - Lily-livered

ANT - Stouthearted, courageous

Recumbent

(Adj.) In a reclining position, lying down, in the posture of one sleeping or resting

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SYN - Prone, supine, inactive

ANT - erect, energetic, dynamic

Stratagem

(N.) A scheme to outwit or deceive an opponent or to gain an end

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SYN - Trick, ploy, subterfuge

Acuity

(N.) Sharpness (particularly of the mind or sense)

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SYN - Acuteness

ANT - Dullness, obtuseness

Delineate

(V.) To portray, sketch, or describe in accurate and vivid detail; to represent pictorially

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SYN - picture, render

Depraved

(Adj.) Marked by evil and corruption, devoid or moral principles

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SYN - perverted, degenerate, vicious, corrupt

ANT - Moral, virtuous, upright, uncorrupted

Enervated

(V.) To weaken or lessen the mental, moral, or physical vigor of; enfeeble, hamstring

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SYN - impair, cripple, paralyze

ANT - Invigorate, strengthen, buttress

Esoteric

(Adj.) Intended for or understood by only a select few, private, secret

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SYN - Cryptic, arcane, recondite

ANT - Accessible, comprehensible, intelligent

Fecund

(Adj.) Fruitful in offspring or vegetation; intellectually productive

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SYN - Fertile, teeming, prolific

ANT - Infertile, barren, unproductive

Fiat

(N.) An arbitrary order or decree; a command or act of will or consciousness

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SYN - Dictum, ukase

Figment

(N.) A fabrication of the mind; an arbitrary notion

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SYN - Invention, fancy

Garner

(V.) To acquire as the result of effort; to gather and store away, as for future use

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SYN - Collect, accumulate, accrue

ANT - Scatter, squander, waste, dissipate

Hallow

(V.) To set apart as holy or sacred, sanctify, consecrate; to honor greatly, revere

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SYN - Venerate, bless

ANT - Defile, profane

Idiosyncrasy

(N.) A peculiarity that serves to distinguish or identify

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SYN - Quirk, mannerism

Ignominy

(N.) Shame and disgrace

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SYN - Humiliation, disrepute, odium

Mundane

(Adj.) Earthly, worldly, relating to practical and material affairs; concerned with what is ordinary

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SYN - Prosaic, humdrum, routine, sublunary

ANT - Heavenly, spiritual, transcendental

Nuance

(N.) A subtle or slight variation (as in color, meaning, quality) delicate graduation or shade of difference

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SYN - Shade, nicety, refinement

Overweening

(Adj.) Conceited, presumptuous; excessive, immoderate

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SYN - arrogant, unbridled, inflated

ANT - Restrained, understated, meek

Penchant

(N.) A strong attraction of inclination

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SYN - Proclivity, predilection

ANT - Disinclination, aversion

Reputed

(Adj.) According to reputation or general belief; having widespread acceptance and good reputation; (participial) Alleged

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SYN - putative, reputable

ANT - Proven, corroborated, authenticated

Sophistry

(N.) Reasoning that seems plausible but is actually unsound; a fallacy

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SYN - Specious reasoning

Sumptuous

(Adj.) Costly, rich, magnificent

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SYN - Lavish, munificent, opulent, splendid

ANT - Skimpy, stingy, niggardly, spartan

Ubiquitous

(Adj.) Present or existing everywhere

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SYN - pervasive, universal

ANT - restricted, limited, rare, scarce