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50 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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abhor (ab HOR)
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to regard with extreme repugnance; to detest utterly; to loathe
Synonyms: despise, abominate Antonym: to admire [If there is one particular food I abhor, it is hominy.] |
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accolade (AK uh layd)
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praise, an award
Antonym: censure [He received many accolades for being an excellent teacher.] |
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ascetic (uh SET ik)
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one who leads a life of self-denial and contemplation; absent of luxury
Synonyms: austere, severe, stern Antonym: sensual [The rich playboy could not understand the ascetic life led by the monk.] |
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bequeath (buh KWEETH)
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to hand down, to give or to leave in a will
Antonyms: to keep; to horde [I bequeathed my gym shorts to my brother after I graduated from high school.] |
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charlatan (SHAR luh tun)
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one who claims to know something that he does not; a quack
Antonyms: a professional; authentic authority [The side show featured a charlatan posing as a mind reader.] |
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conflagration (kon fluh GRAY shun)
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a large fire
Antonym: small flame [Some believe that the earth will be destroyed by a large conflagration.] |
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dearth (DERTH)
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a lack, a scarcity
Synonym: paucity Antonym: adequate supply [The dearth of water in the arid country led to numerous deaths.] |
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diffidence (DIF eh duns)
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shyness, reserve, unassertiveness
Synonyms:: bashfulness, modesty Antonym: confidence [Because of his diffidence, he would not ask any girl to the prom.] |
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effervescent (ef ur VES unt)
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showing high spirits
[She put me in a good mood because she was always so effervescent.] |
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ethereal (eh THER ee ul)
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heavenly, unusually delicate, light, lacking material substance, intangible
Antonyms: earthly; mundane [The ethereal sounds of the music soothed and calmed the patient.] |
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expunge (ik SPUNJ)
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to remove, to erase
Antonym: to add to [Their names were expunged from the social register after they were convicted of selling cocaine.] |
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guile (GILE)
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deceitfulness, duplicity
Antonyms: openness; candor [The woman was the unfortunate victim of guile and deceit when she lost her money to that swindler.] |
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implausible (im PLAU zuh bul)
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not believable
Antonym: believable [His explanation of the accident is so implausible that no jury will believe him.] |
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incongruity (in kon GROO eh tee)
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nonconformity, disagreement, incompatability
Antonym: agreement [The incongruity between the two stores led me to doubt the accuracy of either report.] |
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insularity (in suh LAR eh tee)
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qualities of an island; narrow-mindedness of opinion
Antonym: broad-mindedness [The insularity of the president made it difficult to get a notion passed.] |
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morose (muh ROSE)
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being sullen or gloomy
Synonyms: crabbed, glum, saturnine, sulky, surly Antonym: cheerful [He was very morose after his wife left him.] |
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placate (PLAY kate)
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to appease or to pacify by making concessions
Synonyms: conciliate, mollification, propitiate Antonym: to antagonize [My wife is so angry at me that I cannot placate her.] |
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poignant (POIN yunt)
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piercing, incisive, and keen
Synonyms: piquant, pungent, racy Antonym: dull [The man's poignant words struck the very heart of the matter.] |
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provincial (pruh VEN shul)
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lacking sophistication, narrow-minded
Antonym: sophisticated [Her parents are so provincial that they believe they should arrange her marraige.] |
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reiterate (ree IT uh rate)
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to repeat
Antonym: to fail to repeat [I hope that I am not becoming redundant by again reiterating the key facts.] |
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spontaneous (spon TAY nee us)
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having no external cause, acting on impulse
Antonym: planned [He knew exactly what I was thinking because my reaction was so spontaneous.] |
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synthesis (SIN thus sis)
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combining parts into a whole
Antonym: disjoining [Before the project is complete, we need to establish synthesis.] |
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toxic (TOK sik)
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poisonous
Antonym: healthful; harmless [Carbon monoxide is toxic to animal life.] |
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vigilant (VIJ uh lunt)
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very alert, watchful
Antonym: unconcerned; inattentive [I have been vigilant in trying to find the thief.] |
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voluble (VOL yuh bul)
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ability to use words easily, fluent and glib
Synonyms: garrulous, loquacious Antonym: taciturn [A disc jockey needs to be a voluble speaker.] |
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acquiesce (AK wee es)
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to give in, to comply
Synonyms: accede, agree, assent, consent, subscribe Antonyms: to object, to disagree [I was so desperate that I had to acquiesce to his demands.] |
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affinity (uh FIN uh tee)
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a likeness, a natural relationship, a kinship
Antonym: repulsion [Having suffered himself, he felt an affinity for the homeless.] |
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blasphemous (BLAS fuh mus)
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irreverent, profane
Antonyms: sacred, reverent [Telling that sacrilegious joke is blasphemous.] |
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buttress (BUH tris)
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a support or prop
[Many cathedrials are supported by buttresses.] |
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circumspect (SIR kum spekt)
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careful to consider consequences, cautions, prudent
Synonyms: chary, wary Antonyms: reckless, careless, indiscreet [Her circumspect behaviour left no doubts as to her integrity.] |
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corroboration (kuh rob uh RAY shun)
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confirmation
Synonyms: authentication, substantiation, validation, verification Antonym: refutation [Fortunately, I had some corroboration for my whereabouts on the night of the crime.] |
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deplete (deh PLETE)
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to use up gradually, to lessen in amount or value
Antonym: to restore [Our oil reserves have been depleted because of years of drilling and pumping.] |
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despotic (deh SPOT ik)
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ruling oppresively and absolutely; tyrannical
Antonym: ruling democratically [Americans do not like despotic behavior.] |
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emaciated (eh MAY she ay tid)
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very thin (usually as a result of starvation), wasting away
Antonym: fat; corpulent [As a result of receiving little food, most prisoners of concentration camps become extremely emaciated. |
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empirical (em PEER eh kul)
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based on observation or experiment and not on theory
Antonym: theoretical [We need some empirical data to make our case solid.] |
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extraneous (ik STRAY nee us)
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not essential or vital
Synonyms: alien, extrinsic, foreign Antonym: essential [The extraneous assignments left the student with little time for himself.] |
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fallow (FAL ow)
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inactive, plowed but not sowed
Antonym: active [In order for land to be productive, it must lie fallow occasionally.] |
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homogeneous (hoe muh JEE nee us)
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of the same kind
Antonym: heterogeneous [To get the best results with this research, we need a homogeneous group of people to fill out the questionnaire.] |
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hyperbole (hi PER buh lee)
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obvious exaggeration
Antonym: understatement [You have often heard the hyperboly "I've told you a million times;" it's an obvious exaggeration.] |
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incontrovertible (in kon truh VUR tuh bul)
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indisputable
Antonym: disputable; arguable [The district attorney was looking for incontrovertible evidence to prove that the accused arsonist burned the bank.] |
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irascible (uh RAS uh bul)
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irritable, easily angered, cranky, cross
Antonym: impassive; imperturbable [Just about anything could set off his irascible temper.] |
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laconic (luh KON ik)
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using a minimum of words; concise to the point of seeming rude
Synonyms: compendious, concise, pithy, succinct, summary, terse Antonym: verbose [After the loss, the coach's remarks were laconic.] |
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magnanimity (mag nuh NIM eh tee)
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having a lofty, generous, and courageous spirit
Antonym: greed; stinginess [The magnanimity of the king endeared him to his subjects.] |
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obsequious (uh SEE kwee us)
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overly attentive, like a sycophant, servile
Synonyms: slavish, subservient Antonym: disinterested [I believe that his obsequious behavior toward his grandmother is to ensure being included in the will.] |
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proliferation (pro lif uh RAY shun)
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an increase in number, multiplication
Antonym: decline; decrease [Many are afraid of nuclear proliferation and the possibility that a terrorist country will explode a bomb.] |
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scrupulous (SKROO pyuh lus)
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very principled, very careful and conscientious
Synonyms: meticulous, punctilious Antonym: unprincipled [The scrupulous police officer never took a bribe, and he ceaselessly tried to prevent crime.] |
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sublime (suh BLIME)
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exalted, noble, uplifting
Synonyms: resplendent, superb [The romantic dinner, which included delicious food, soft music, and a beautiful setting, was simply sublime.] |
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surreptitious (sur up TISH us)
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secret, clandestine, stealthy
Synonyms: covert, furtive, underhanded Antonym: aboveboard; in an open manner [The Watergate burglars tried to attain information in a surreptitious manner.] |
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veracity (vuh RAS eh tee)
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devotion to the truth
Synonyms: truthfulness, accuracy, correctness [The lawyer had no confidence in the veracity of the witness.] |
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zeal (ZEEL)
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enthusiasm, fervor
Antonym: lack of enthusiasm [To the delight of his students, he brought great zeal to the teaching profession.] |
