abrogate
(v.) to repeal, cancel, declare null and void; revoke
SYN: annul, revoke ANT: renew, ratify
ambient
(adj.) completely surrounding, encompassing
asperity
(n.) roughness, severity; bitterness or tartness; harshness
SYN: rigor, harshness ANT: mildness, blandness, softness, lenience
burnish
(v.) to make smooth or glossy by rubbing, polish (n.) gloss, brightness, luster; shine; buff
SYN: (v.) shine, buff ANT: (v.) dull, abrade
cabal
(n.) a small group working in secret; gang
SYN: ring, gang, plot, conspiracy
delectable
(adj.) delightful, highly enjoyable; deliciously flavored, savory (n.) an appealing or appetizing food or dish; scrumptious
SYN: (adj.) scrumptious ANT: (adj.) repugnant, repulsive, distateful
deprecate
(v.) to express mild disapproval; to belittle; deplore; frown upon
SYN: deplore, frown upon ANT: smile on, approve
detritus
(n.) loose bits and pieces of material resulting from disintegration or wearing away; fragments that result from any destruction; wreckage; ruins
SYN: wreckage, ruins, rubble
ebullient
(adj.) overflowing with enthusiasm and excitement; boiling, bubbling; exhilarated
SYN: exhilarated, elated ANT: gloomy, morose, sullen, apathetic, blase
eclectic
(adj.) drawn from different sources; (n.) one whose beliefs are drawn from various sources; selective
SYN: (adj.) selective, synthetic, pick-and-choose ANT: (adj.) uniform, monolithic
flaccid
(adj.) limp, not firm; lacking vigor or effectiveness; soft
SYN: soft, flabby ANT: hard, solid
impecunious
(adj.) having little or no money; impoverished
SYN: impoverished, indigent ANT: affluent, wealthy, prosperous, rich
inexorable
(adj.) inflexible, beyond influence; relentless, unyielding
SYN: ineluctable, obdurate ANT: avoidable, yielding, pliant
moribund
(adj.) dying, on the way out
SYN: obsolescent ANT: thriving
necromancer
(n.) one who claims to reveal or influence the future through magic, especially communication with the dead; in general, a magician or wizard
SYN: sorcerer, conjurer
onerous
(adj.) burdensome; involving hardship or difficulty; weighty
SYN: weighty ANT: light, easy, undemanding, untaxing
rife
(adj.) common, prevalent, widespread, happening often; full, abounding; plentiful, abundant, replete
ANT: devoid of, lacking
rudiments
(n. pl.) the parts of any subject or discipline that are learned first; the earliest stages of anything; basics
SYN: basics, fundamentals
sequester
(v.) to set apart, separate for a special purpose; to take possession of and hold in custody; segregate
SYN: segregate, isolate, closet
winnow
(v.) to get rid of something unwanted, delete; to sift through to obtain what is desirable; to remove the chaff from the wheat by blowing air on it; to blow on, fan; sift
SYN: sift, strain, filter, sort