lang 6

1. anomalous

(adj.) abnormal, irregular, departing from the usual

The heavy rains this year are ____________________ considering our usually

very low precipitation levels.

SYNONYMS: exceptional, unusual, aberrant

ANTONYMS: normal, regular, customary, typical, ordinary

2. aspersion

(n.) a damaging or derogatory statement; the act of slandering or

defaming

Think twice before casting ______________________ on his honesty, for he

might be telling the truth.

SYNONYMS: innuendo, calumny

ANTONYMS: endorsement, praise

3.bizarre

(adj.) extremely strange, unusual, atypical

Years from now I will look at this picture and wonder what sort of

_______________________ costume I was wearing.

SYNONYMS: grotesque, fantastic, outlandish

ANTONYMS: normal, typical, ordinary, expected

4. brusque

(adj.) abrupt, blunt, lacking polite formalities

His request for a large loan for an indefinite length of time was met

with a _____________________refusal.

SYNONYMS: tactless, ungracious

ANTONYMS: tactful, diplomatic

5. cajole

(v.) to coax, persuade through flattery or artifice; to deceive with

soothing thoughts or false promises

With a smile, a joke, and a second helping of pie, she would _____________

him into doing what she wanted.

SYNONYMS: wheedle, inveigle

ANTONYMS: coerce, force

6. castigate

(v.) to punish severely; to criticize severely

After he______________________ the unruly children, they settled down to

study quietly.

SYNONYMS: chastise, censure

ANTONYMS: honor, praise, laud

7. contrive

(v.) to plan with cleverness; to bring about through a plan

She can _________________ wonderful excuses; but when she tries to offer

them, her uneasiness gives her away.

SYNONYMS: think up, concoct, fabricate

8. demagogue

(n.) a leader who exploits popular prejudices and false claims and

promises in order to gain power

Often a show of angry concern conceals the self-serving tactics of a

______________________________.

SYNONYMS: rabble-rouser, firebrand

9. disabuse

(v.) to free from deception or error, set right in ideas or thinking

He thinks that all women adore him, but my sister will probably

_____________________ him of that idea.

SYNONYMS: undeceive, enlighten

ANTONYMS: deceive, delude, pull wool over one’s eyes

10. ennui

(n.) weariness and dissatisfaction, boredom

Some people seem to confuse sophistication with _________________.

SYNONYMS: languor, world-weariness, listlessness

ANTONYMS: enthusiasm, liveliness, excitement, intensity

11. fetter (n.) a chain or shackle placed on the feet (often used in plural); anything

that confines or restrains; (v.) to chain or shackle; to render helpless or

impotent

It is said that good inventors do not ____________________ themselves with

conventional thinking.

SYNONYMS: (n.) bond, restraint; (v.) bind, hamper

ANTONYMS: (v.) free, liberate, emancipate

12. heinous

(adj.) very wicked, offensive, hateful

A town so peaceful, quiet, and law-abiding was bound to be horrified

by so ______________________ a crime.

SYNONYMS: evil, odious, outrageous

ANTONYMS: excellent, wonderful, splendid

13. immutable

(adj.) not subject to change, constant

Scientists labored to discover a set of ___________________ laws of the

universe.

SYNONYMS: unchangeable, unalterable, fixed, invariable

ANTONYMS: changeable, inconstant, variable, fickle

14. insurgent

(n.) one who rebels or rises up against authority; (adj.) rising in revolt,

refusing to accept authority; surging or rushing in or on

George Washington and his contemporaries were _____________________

against Britain.

The army was confident that they could crush the ______________________

forces.

SYNONYMS: (adj.) revolutionary, rebellious, mutinous

ANTONYMS: (adj.) loyalist, loyal, faithful

15. megalomania

(n.) a delusion marked by a feeling of power, wealth, talent, etc. far in

excess of reality

Sudden fame and admiration can make people feel unworthy – or it

can bring on feelings of _______________________.

SYNONYM: delusions of grandeur

ANTONYMS: modesty, self-abasement

16. sinecure

(n.) a position requiring little or no work; an easy job

The office of Vice President of the United States was once considered

little more than a ___________________________.

SYNONYMS: cushy job

17. surreptitious

(adj.) stealthy, secret, intended to escape observation; made or

accomplished by fraud

The movie heroine blushed when she noticed the _____________________

glances of her admirer.

SYNONYMS: furtive, covert, clandestine, concealed

ANTONYMS: open, frank, aboveboard, overt

18. transgress

(v.) to go beyond a limit or boundary; to sin, violate a law

The penitent citizens promised never again to _______________________ the

laws of the land.

SYNONYMS: overstep, trespass

ANTONYMS: obey, toe the line

19. transmute

(v.) to change from one nature, substance, or form to another

To _____________________ distrust into cooperation along that war-torn

border will take more than talk and treaties.

SYNONYMS: transform, convert

ANTONYMS: preserve, maintain

20. vicarious

(adj.) performed, suffered, or otherwise experienced by one person in

place of another

In search of ________________________ excitement, we watched movies of

action and adventure.

SYNONYMS: surrogate, secondhand

ANTONYMS: actual, firsthand