Vocabulary Workshop Level F: Unit 7

austere

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

SYNONYMS: forbidding, rigorous, puritanical, ascetic, unadorned

ANTONYMS: mild, indulgent, luxurious, flamboyant

beneficent

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

SYNONYMS: humanitarian, magnanimous, charitable

ANTONYMS: selfish, cruel, harmful, deletorious

cadaverous

(adj.) pale, gaunt, resembling a corpse

SYNONYMS: corpselike, wasted, haggard, emaciated, ghastly

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

concoct

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

SYNONYMS: create, fashion, rustle up

crass

(adj.) coarse, unfeeling; stupid

SYNONYMS: crude, tasteless, oafish, obtuse

ANTONYMS: refined, elegant, tasteful, polished, brilliant

debase

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

SYNONYMS: cheapen, corrupt, demean, depreciate

ANTONYMS: elevate, uplift, improve, enhance

desecrate

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

SYNONYMS: profane, defile, violate

ANTONYMS: revere, venerate, consecrate

disconcert

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

SYNONYMS: upset, rattle, ruffle, faze

ANTONYMS: relax, calm, put at ease

grandiose

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

SYNONYMS: majestic, bombastic, highfalutin

ANTONYMS: simple, modest, humble

inconsequential

(adj.) trifling, unimportant

SYNONYMS: trivial, negligible, paltry

ANTONYMS: important, essential, crucial

infraction

(n.) a breaking of a law or obligation

SYNONYMS: violation, transgression, offense

mitigate

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

SYNONYMS: lessen, relieve, alleviate

ANTONYMS: aggravate, intensify, irritate, exacerbate

pillage

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

SYNONYMS: (v.) ravage, sack, loot; (n.) booty

prate

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

SYNONYMS: prattle, blab, palaver

ANTONYM: come to the point

punctilious

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

SYNONYMS: precise, scrupulous

ANTONYMS: careless, perfunctory

redoubtable

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

SYNONYMS: formidable, august

ANTONYMS: laughable, risible

reprove

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

SYNONYMS: chastise, upbraid, reproach

ANTONYMS: 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

SYNONYMS: reimbursement, redress, restoration

stalwart

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

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

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

vulnerable

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

SYNONYMS: defenseless, unguarded

ANTONYMS: invincible, protected, safe, secure