ELA Unit 7

authorize

authorize

(v) to approve or permit; to give power or authority to syn: order, entitle, empower

ant: forbid,

culprit

(n) a person who has committed a crime or is guilty of some misconduct; an offender

syn: l

dawdle

(v) to waste time; to be idle; to spend more time in doing something than is necessary

syn: delay, loiter, dillydally

ant: hurry, hasten, speed up, bustle

dissect

(v) to cut apart in preparation for scientific study; to analyze with great care

syn: examine

ant: sew together, fuse, weld

expend

(v) to pay out, spend; to use up

syn: utilize, consume, disburse

ant: save, hoard

fatality

(n) an event resulting in death; an accidental death syn: casualty, mortality

ant: injury

gullible

(adj) easily fooled, tricked, or cheated

syn: trusting, innocent, naïve, credulous

ant: suspicious, skeptical

illicit

(adj) not permitted, unlawful, improper

syn: illegal, unauthorized, forbidden

ant: legal, lawful, permissible, aboveboard

immerse

(v) to plunge or dip into fluid; to involve deeply

syn: dunk, engross

ant: dredge up, pull out

inflammatory

(adj) causing excitement or anger; leading to violence or disorder

syn: provoking, incendiary, provocative

ant: calming, soothing, lulling, quieting

memorandum

(n) a note to aid one’s memory; an informal note or report             (pl can be memorandums or memoranda) syn: reminder

pathetic

(adj) marked by strong emotion, especially pity and sorrow; able to move people emotionally; worthy of pity; woefully inadequate

syn: moving, distressing, pitiable, heartrending

ant: funny, hilarious, frightening

persevere

(v) to keep doing something in spite of difficulties; to refuse to quit even when the going is tough

syn: plug away, pursue, stick to it

ant: give up, despair, throw in the towel, quit

prevaricate

(v) to lie, tell an untruth; to mislead on purpose syn: fib, stretch the truth, equivocate

ant: tell the truth

quash

(v) to crush, put down completely

syn: suppress

ant: start, kindle, ignite, encourage

relish

(n) enjoyment or satisfaction; something that adds a pleasing flavor                   (v) to enjoy greatly

syn: (n) pleasure, gusto  (v) take delight in

ant: (v) dislike, loathe, hate, despise

reminisce

(v) to recall one’s past thoughts, feelings, or experiences syn: remember, recollect

scour

(v) to clean or polish by hard rubbing; to examine with great care; to move about quickly in search of

syn: scrub, search, comb

ant: dirty, soil

tribute

(n) something done or given to show thanks or respect; a payment

syn: praise, honor, homage, recognition, commendation, glorification, money, tax, levy

ant: blame, criticism, reproach

writhe

(v) to make twisting or turning movements in a way that suggests pain or struggle

syn: twist, squirm, thrash