English Vocab Unit 2

Front 1

belligerent

Back 1

(adj.) given to fighting, warlike; combative, aggressive; (n.) one at war, one engaged in war
syn: assertive, truculent, pugnacious
ant: peaceful, conciliatory, placid

Although he signed the peace treaty, his repeating of the oath sounded belligerent.

Front 2

tepid

Back 2

(adj.) lukewarm; unenthusiastic, disinterested
syn: insipid, halfhearted, wishy-washy
ant: heated, excited

The audience showed their distaste for his performance through their tepid applause.

Front 3

meticulous

Back 3

(adj.) extremely careful; particular about details
syn: painstaking, fussy
ant: careless, negligent

Suzy was especially meticulous about her headings; she didn't want any points taken off of her essay that didn't have to be.

Front 4

cursory

Back 4

(adj.) hasty, not thorough
syn: quick, superficial, perfunctory
ant: thorough, painstaking, careful

I gave a final cursory glance at my exam before turning it in to the teacher.

Front 5

averse

Back 5

(adj.) having a deep-seated distaste; opposed, unwilling
syn: disinclined, loath
ant: eager, keen, favorably disposed

Kendra and I are averse TO writing essays, yet we are assigned one each week.

Front 6

adroit

Back 6

(adj.) skillful, expert in the use of hands and mind
syn: clever, deft, dextrous
ant; clumsy, inept, all thumbs

Most advanced art students are adroit AT shading.

Front 7

nostalgia

Back 7

(n.) a longing for something past; homesickness

I had a sense of nostalgia roaming through the streets of Venice and remembering my childhood days spent there.

Front 8

amicable

Back 8

(adj.) peaceable, friendly
syn: congenial, neighborly, cordial
ant: hostile, antagonistic

Front 9

benevolent

Back 9

(adj.) kindly, charitable
syn: benign, well-meaning
ant: malicious, spiteful, malevolent

The benevolent gentleman donated a hefty sum of $500 towards drunk driving victims.

Front 10

duplicity

Back 10

(n.) treacherous, deceitfulness
syn: fraud, double-dealing, chicanery

We never knew John was capable of such duplicity until he cheated on the math test.

Front 11

jeopardy

Back 11

(n.) danger
syn: risk, peril
ant: safety, security

As the unsteady bridge rattled under the truck's tires, we knew we were in serious jeopardy.

Front 12

extol

Back 12

(v.) to praise extravagantly
syn: glorify, applaud, acclaim
ant: criticize, belittle, disparage

He extolled the virtues of Canadians.

Front 13

impetus

Back 13

(n.) a moving force, impulse, stimulus
syn: impulse, incentive, spur
ant: curb, hindrance, impediment

Her new monthly allowance gave impetus for her to go on a shopping spree.

Front 14

feasible

Back 14

(adj.) possible, able to be done
syn: workable, practicable, viable
ant: unworkable, impractical

The workout seemed impossible, but my coach said with hard work, it would be feasible.

Front 15

grimace

Back 15

(n.) a wry face, facial distortion; (v.) to make a wry face
syn: (n.) pained expression, facial contortion
ant: (n.) smile, grin; (v.) beam

I grimaced as I woke up and realized it was a Monday.

Front 16

quintessence

Back 16

(n.) the purest essence or form OF something; the most typical example
syn: paragon, exemplar

She was the quintessence of modest professionalism.

Front 17

holocaust

Back 17

(n.) a large-scale destruction, especially by fire; a vast slaughter
syn: conflagration, annihilation
ant: deluge, inundation

Front 18

scrutinize

Back 18

(v.) to examine closely
syn: inspect, pore over
ant: skim, scan, glance

I scrutinized the student's paper to make sure there was not even a hint of an error.

Front 19

impervious

Back 19

(adj.) not affected or hurt by; admitting of no passage or entrance
syn: impenetrable, resistant
ant: porous, permeable, vulnerable

When buying hurricane shutters, look for large shutters impervious to wind or rain.

Front 20

retrogress

Back 20

(v.) to move backward; to return to an earlier condition
syn: decline, revert
ant: advance, evolve

Although she was playing a great game, she became fatigued and retrogressed INTO a lousy hitter.