Vocabulary: Unit 1

Front 1

acquisitive

Back 1

(adj) able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property

Hint 1

synonyms: greedy, grasping, avaricious, retentive
antonyms: altruistic, unretentive

Front 2

arrogate

Back 2

(v) to claim or take without right

Hint 2

synonyms: expropriate, usurp, commandeer
antonyms: relinquish, renounce, abdicate, abandon

Front 3

banal

Back 3

(adj) hackneyed, trite, commonplace

Hint 3

synonyms: stale, insipid
antonyms: fresh, novel, original, new

Front 4

belabor

Back 4

(v) to work on excessively; to thrash soundly

Hint 4

synonym: overwork

Front 5

carping

Back 5

(adj) tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way
(n) petty, nagging criticism

Hint 5

synonyms: nit-picking, caviling
antonyms: approving, uncritical

Front 6

coherent

Back 6

(adj) holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful

Hint 6

synonyms: connected, unified, consistent, cohesive
antonyms: muddled, chaotic, disjointed

Front 7

congeal

Back 7

(v) to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid

Hint 7

synonyms: harden, jell, coagulate, solidify
antonyms: melt, liquefy

Front 8

emulate

Back 8

(v) to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model

Hint 8

synonyms: copy, mimic, rival, match, measure up to

Front 9

encomium

Back 9

(n) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute

Hint 9

synonyms: panegyric, eulogy, commendation
antonyms: condemnation, castigation, criticism

Front 10

eschew

Back 10

(v) to avoid, shun, keep away from

Hint 10

synonyms: abstain from, steer clear of, forgo
antonyms: embrace, adopt

Front 11

germane

Back 11

(adj) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

Hint 11

synonym: pertinent
antonyms: irrelevant, extraneous, inappropriate

Front 12

insatiable

Back 12

(adj) so great or demanding as not to be satisfied

Hint 12

synonyms: unquenchable, ravenous, voracious

Front 13

intransigent

Back 13

(adj) refusing to compromise, irreconcilable

Hint 13

synonyms: uncompromising, unyielding, obdurate
antonyms: lukewarm, halfhearted, yielding

Front 14

invidious

Back 14

(adj) offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment

Hint 14

synonyms: malicious, spiteful, prejudicial, pejorative
antonyms: complimentary, flattering, ameliorative

Front 15

largesse

Back 15

(n) generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions

Hint 15

synonyms: liberality, munificence, bounty
antonyms: stinginess, miserliness, niggardliness

Front 16

reconnaisance

Back 16

(n) a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination

Hint 16

synonym: scouting expedition

Front 17

substantiate

Back 17

(v) to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to

Hint 17

synonyms: verify, confirm, validate, authenticate
antonyms: refute, disprove, invalidate

Front 18

taciturn

Back 18

(adj) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little

Hint 18

synonyms: tight-lipped, uncommunicative, laconic
antonyms: garrulous, loquacious, prolix, verbose

Front 19

temporize

Back 19

(v) to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpne a decision; to compromise

Hint 19

synonyms: hedge, dillydally, procrastinate

Front 20

tenable

Back 20

(adj) capable of being held or defended

Hint 20

synonyms: defensible, justifiable, maintainable
antonyms: indefensible, unjustifiable