Adamant→ (adj.) firm in purpose or opinion, unyielding, obdurate, implacable, inflexible; (n.) an extremely hard substance 

1. Synonyms: n/a 

2. Antonyms: (adj.) yielding, flexible, pliable 

3. When writers referred to _______ centuries ago, they sometimes meant diamonds or magnetized iron. 

Curtail→ (v.) to cut short, bring to a halt, or end sooner than expected; to reduce

1. Synonyms: limit, abbreviate, abridge, contract 

2. Antonyms: protract, extend 

3. It is time yet again to _______ the flow of unsolicited nonsense that somehow reaches me as e-mail. 

Deference→ (n.) courteous yielding to the wishes and ideas of another person; great respect marked by submission, as to a superior 

1. Synonyms: respect, consideration 

2. Antonyms: contempt, disdain 

3. Some moderate _______ is due the boss, but too much can seem to conceal other motives. 

Definitive→ (adj.) conclusive, final, the limit of what can be done 

1. Synonyms: exhaustive, authoritative

2. Antonym: tentative 

3. She is working on what she hopes will be the _______ biography of Emily Dickinson. 

Demeanor→ (n.) the way a person behaves, overall impression made by comportment, manner, etc.; facial appearance, mien 

1. Synonyms: conduct, behavior, carriage 

2. Antonyms: n/a 

3. Charles Dickens’s Mr. Pickwick has such a cheerful and sympathetic ________ that few can resist him.   

Enigmatic→ (adj.) puzzling, perplexing, inexplicable, not easily understood 

1. Synonyms: baffling, mysterious, inexplicable 

2. Antonyms: intelligible, understandable, fathomable 

3. He was staring me straight in the eye, neither pleased not displeased, his expression _________.  

Impromptu→ (adj., adv.) without preparation, offhand, suddenly or hastily done; (n.) an extemporaneous composition or remark; a minimal piece suggestive of improvisation 

1. Synonyms: (adj.) spontaneous, improvised, unrehearsed

2. Antonyms: (adj.) rehearsed, planned, premeditated 

3. His ________ speech allowed him to express not only what he was thinking but also what he was feeling. 

Remit→ (v.) to send or hand in (as money); to cancel (as a penalty or punishment), forgive; to lessen, diminish; postpone, defer 

1. Synonyms: absolve, subside, abate, pardon 

2. Antonyms: n/a 

3. They would ________ a certain sum each year to a local charity. 

Requisite→ (adj) needed, necessary, regarded as essential or indispensable 

1. Synonyms: required, obligatory,incumbent 

2. Antonyms: nonessential, superfluous, optional 

3. If you have the __________ coordination and an ear for music, I’ll pay for your first year of dance instruction. 

Thwart→ (v.) to oppose successfully; to prevent, frustrate 

1. Synonyms: foil, baffle

2. Antonyms: aid, assist, abet, further 

3. Our dog’s friendliness would ______ the sternest efforts of the most expensive guard-dog trainer. 

1. Amenable→ (adj.) willing to follow advice or authority, tractable, submissive; responsive; liable to be held responsible 

1. Synonyms: agreeable, complicit, docile 

2. Antonyms: unresponsive, resistant, recalcitrant 

3. They will be __________ to your instructions as long as what you say makes sense. 

Berate→ (v.) to scold sharply 

1. Synonyms: chide, rebuke, reprove, reprimand 

2. Antonyms: praise, compliment, pat on the back 

3. He removed the dog from obedience school when he discovered that the instructor had ________ it too harshly. 

Carnage→ (n.) large-scale slaughter or loss of life 

1. Synonyms: butchery, bloodbath, massacre 

2. Antonyms: n/a 

3. Until television began to broadcast footage of war, the __________ of battle was rarely made real to far-off civilian populations. 

Deplete→ (v.) to use up as a result of spending or consumption; to diminish greatly 

1. Synonyms: exhaust, empty, drain, bankrupt

2. Antonyms: replenish, refill, restock, resupply 

3. Dwelling on all that could go wrong with your project will __________ your energy and courage. 

Extraneous→ (adj.) coming from the outside, foreign; present but not essential, irrelevant 

1. Synonyms: incidental, extrinsic, adventitious

2. Antonyms: intrinsic, relevant, pertinent, germane 

3. One handy way to dodge a difficult question is to earnestly begin talking about something __________ to it. 

Inception→ (n.) the beginning, start, earliest stage of some process, institution,etc. 

1. Synonyms: commencement, inauguration, outset 

2. Antonyms: completing, conclusion, termination 

3. He has worked here steadily since the firm’s __________ and knows every facet of the job. 

Infirmity→ (n.) a weakness or ailment (physical, mental, moral, etc.)  

1. Synonyms: affliction, malady, defect

2. Antonyms: n/ a

3. Was his “deafness” an __________ of old age or a lack of interest in the conversation? 

Potpourri→ (n.) a collection of diverse or miscellaneous items; a general mixture; petals mixed with spices for scent 

1. Synonyms: hodgepodge, farrago, medley 

2. Antonyms: homogeneous or uniform group 

3. The furniture was a __________ of hand-me-downs from my father’s parents and my stepmother’s aunt. 

Precocious→ (adj.) showing unusually early development (especially in talents and mental capacity) 

1. Synonyms: gifted, advanced

2. Antonyms: backward, slow

3. She showed a __________ talent for science. 

Sadistic→ (adj.) delighting in cruelty, excessively cruel

1. Synonyms: brutal, vicious, inhuman, fiendish 

2. Antonyms: masochistic, clement, humane, merciful 

3. The Geneva Convention of 1949 outlawed torture and __________ treatment of prisoners of war. 

Abet→ (v.) to encourage, assist, aid, support (especially in something wrong or unworthy) 

1. Synonyms: n/a

2. Antonyms: hamper, hinder, impede, frustrate 

3. To allow a man in his condition to get behind the wheel of a car is to ________ a potential crime. 

Blatant→ (adj.) noisy in a coarse, offensive way; obvious or conspicuous, especially in an unfavorable sense 

1. Synonyms: flagrant, glaring, egregious, disagreeably loud 

2. Antonyms: inconsequential, trifling, piddling, petty 

3. Your comments showed a __________ disregard for my feelings. 

Broach→ (v.) to bring up or begin to talk about (a subject); to announce, introduce; to break the surface of the water; to turn sideways to the wind and waves; to pierce (a keg or cask) in order to draw off liquid; (n.) a spit for roasting; a tool for tapping casks

1. Synonyms: n/a 

2. Antonyms: n/a 

3. She opted not to _________ the subject of the moldy smell in the bedroom for fear of insulting her hosts. 

Buttress→ (v.) to support, prop up, strengthen; (n.) a supporting structure

1. Synonyms: (v.) bolster, reinforce, brace, shore up 

2. Antonyms: (v.) undermine, weaken, impair  

3. I had to add __________ on either side of my rickety shed to keep it from collapsing. 

Connoisseur→ (n.) an expert; one who is well qualified to pass critical judgements, especially in one of the fine arts 

1. Synonyms: savant, pundit

2. Antonyms: ignoramus, philistine 

3. She was a __________ of both music and film. 

Encumber→ (v.) to weigh down or burden (with difficulties, cares, debt, etc.); to fill up, block up, hinder 

1. Synonyms: overload, clog 

2. Antonyms: unburden, unload, relieve 

3. I feared that joining another club would __________ me with too many obligations. 

Foment→ (v.) to promote trouble or rebellion; to apply warm liquids to, warm 

1. Synonyms: instigate, incite, stir up 

2. Antonyms: quell, quash, squelch, suppress

3. Toward the end of the film, the peasant leader attempts to __________ a storming of the scientist’s castle. 

Inauspicious→ (adj.) unfavorable, unlucky, suggesting bad luck for the future 

1. Synonyms: unpropitious, unpromising, untimely

2. Antonyms: propitious, favorable 

3. Our road trip got off to an __________ start when we ran out of gas within five miles of home. 

Opportune→ (adj.) suitable or convenient for a particular purpose; occurring at an appropriate time. 

1. Synonyms: timely, appropriate, felicitous

2. Antonyms: untimely, inconvenient, inappropriate 

3. If you intend to give that dog a bath, you had better pick an ________ moment, and then pounce! 

Prolific→ (adj.) abundantly productive; abundant, profuse 

1. Synonyms: fruitful, fecund, proliferous 

2. Antonyms: barren, unproductive, sterile, sparse 

3. Haydn was a more _________ composer than Mozart, in part because he lived much longer.