vocab 5

Definitions of Key Terms

  • Amnesty

    • Pronunciation: (am' na stē)

    • Part of Speech: Noun

    • Definition: A general pardon for an offense against a government; in general, any act of forgiveness or absolution.

    • Example Sentence: Many political prisoners were freed under the amnesty granted by the new regime.

    • Synonyms: reprieve

  • Autonomy

    • Pronunciation: (ô tän' ǝ me)

    • Part of Speech: Noun

    • Definition: Self-government, political control.

    • Example Sentence: After the colonies gained autonomy from England, many Americans still clung to English traditions.

    • Synonyms: home rule

    • Antonyms: dependence, subjection

  • Axiomatic

    • Pronunciation: (ak se ǝ mat' ik)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective

    • Definition: Self-evident, expressing a universally accepted principle.

    • Example Sentence: One should not accept the idea that the camera never lies as an axiomatic truth.

    • Synonyms: taken for granted

    • Antonyms: questionable, dubious

  • Blazon

    • Pronunciation: (blāz' ǝn)

    • Part of Speech: Verb

    • Definition: To adorn or embellish; to display conspicuously; to publish or proclaim widely.

    • Example Sentence: They will blazon the results of the election across the Internet and every television set in the land.

    • Synonyms: broadcast, trumpet

    • Antonyms: hide, conceal, bury

  • Caveat

    • Pronunciation: (kav' ē at)

    • Part of Speech: Noun

    • Definition: A warning or caution to prevent misunderstanding or discourage behavior.

    • Example Sentence: The well-known Latin phrase "caveat emptor" means, "Let the buyer beware."

    • Synonyms: admonition, word to the wise

  • Equitable

    • Pronunciation: (ek' wǝ tǝ bǝl)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective

    • Definition: Fair, just, embodying principles of justice.

    • Example Sentence: He did more work, so a sixty-forty split of the profits seemed an equitable arrangement.

    • Synonyms: right, reasonable, evenhanded

    • Antonyms: unjust, unfair, one-sided, disproportionate

  • Extricate

    • Pronunciation: (ek' strǝ kāt)

    • Part of Speech: Verb

    • Definition: To free from entanglements or difficulties; to remove with effort.

    • Example Sentence: The ring must have slid off my finger as I was trying to extricate the fish from the net.

    • Synonyms: disentangle, extract

    • Antonyms: enmesh, entangle

  • Filch

    • Pronunciation: (filch)

    • Part of Speech: Verb

    • Definition: To steal, especially in a sneaky way and in petty amounts.

    • Example Sentence: If you filch pennies from the cash drawer, you will be tempted to steal larger amounts one day.

    • Synonyms: pilfer, purloin, swipe

  • Flout

    • Pronunciation: (flaut)

    • Part of Speech: Verb

    • Definition: To mock, treat with contempt.

    • Example Sentence: She chose to ignore my advice, not because she wanted to flout my beliefs, but because she had strong opinions of her own.

    • Synonyms: sneer at, snicker at, scorn

    • Antonyms: obey, honor

  • Fractious

    • Pronunciation: (frak' shǝs)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective

    • Definition: Tending to be troublesome; unruly, quarrelsome, contrary; unpredictable.

    • Example Sentence: It seems as if even the smoothest-running organizations contain one or two fractious elements.

    • Synonyms: refractory, recalcitrant, peevish

    • Antonyms: docile, tractable, cooperative

  • Precept

    • Pronunciation: (pre' sept)

    • Part of Speech: Noun

    • Definition: A rule of conduct or action.

    • Example Sentence: Many philosophies follow the precept that it is important to treat others as you would like to be treated.

    • Synonyms: principle, maxim

  • Salutary

    • Pronunciation: (sal' yǝ ter e)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective

    • Definition: Beneficial, helpful; healthful, wholesome.

    • Example Sentence: The cute new puppy had a salutary effect on her health.

    • Synonyms: salubrious, curative

    • Antonyms: detrimental, deleterious

  • Scathing

    • Pronunciation: (ska' thin)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective

    • Definition: Bitterly severe, withering; causing great harm.

    • Example Sentence: Sometimes a reasoned discussion does more to change people's minds than a scathing attack.

    • Synonyms: searing, harsh, savage

    • Antonyms: bland, mild

  • Scourge

    • Pronunciation: (skarj)

    • Part of Speech: Verb/Noun

    • Definition: (v.) To whip, punish severely; (n.) A cause of affliction or suffering; a source of severe punishment or criticism.

    • Example Sentence: Jonathan Swift used wit to scourge the British government for its cruel treatment of Ireland. Competing teams consider my daughter the scourge of the soccer field.

    • Synonyms: (v.) flog, beat; (n.) bane, plague, pestilence

    • Antonyms: None listed.

  • Sepulchral

    • Pronunciation: (sa pal' krǝl)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective

    • Definition: Funereal, typical of the tomb; extremely gloomy or dismal.

    • Example Sentence: In a severe and sepulchral tone of voice, my sister announced that we were out of cookies.

    • Synonyms: lugubrious, mortuary

  • Soporific

    • Pronunciation: (säp ǝ rif' ik)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective/Noun

    • Definition: (adj.) Tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy; (n.) Something that induces sleep.

    • Example Sentence: He claimed that the musical was soporific and that he had slept through the entire second act. Shakespeare's Juliet drinks a soporific to appear to be dead—a trick she is soon to regret.

    • Synonyms: (n.) narcotic, anesthetic

    • Antonyms: (adj.) stimulating; (n.) stimulant, stimulus

  • Straitlaced

    • Pronunciation: (stråt' last)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective

    • Definition: Extremely strict in regard to moral standards and conduct; prudish, puritanical.

    • Example Sentence: Travelers may find people overseas straitlaced in some ways but surprisingly free in others.

    • Synonyms: highly conventional, overly strict, stuffy

    • Antonyms: lax, loose, indulgent, permissive, dissolute

  • Transient

    • Pronunciation: (tran' shǝnt)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective/Noun

    • Definition: (adj.) Lasting only a short time, fleeting; (n.) One who stays only a short time.

    • Example Sentence: His bad mood was transient and by the time he'd finished his breakfast, he was smiling. Many farm hands lived the lives of transients during the Great Depression.

    • Synonyms: (adj.) impermanent, ephemeral, evanescent

    • Antonyms: (adj.) permanent, imperishable, immortal

  • Unwieldy

    • Pronunciation: (ǝn wel' dē)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective

    • Definition: Not easily carried, handled, or managed because of size or complexity.

    • Example Sentence: We loaded the truck with the chairs and the coffee table, but the grand piano was too unwieldy.

    • Synonyms: bulky, clumsy, impractical

    • Antonyms: manageable, easy to handle

  • Vapid

    • Pronunciation: (vap' id)

    • Part of Speech: Adjective

    • Definition: Dull, uninteresting, tiresome; lacking in sharpness, flavor, liveliness, or force.

    • Example Sentence: While critics called the movie vapid, I thought the performers were very compelling.

    • Synonyms: lifeless, colorless

    • Antonyms: zesty, spicy, colorful