Chapter 8 Vocab Flashcards
allege
to assert without proof or confirmation
Syn:
claim, contend
Ant:
prove, deny
arrant
thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant
Syn:
egregious, unmitigated
badinage
light and playful conversation
Syn:
banter, persiflage, repartee
Ant:
sermon
conciliate
to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent
Syn:
placate, mollify, propitiate
Ant:
antagonize, alienate, estrange
countermand
to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first
Syn:
recall, revoke
Ant:
reaffirm, reassert
echelon
one of a series in an organization or field of activity; an organized military unit; a steplike formation arrangement
Syn:
level, ranks
exacerbate
to make more violent; severe, bitter, or painful
Syn:
aggravate, intensify, worsen
Ant:
alleviate, mitigate, ameliorate
fatuous
stupid or foolish in an unsatisfied way
Syn:
silly. vapid, inane. doltish, vacuous
Ant:
sensible, intelligent, perceptive, bright
irrefutable
impossible to disprove; beyond argument
Syn:
indisputable, incontrovertible, undeniable
Ant:
disputable, indefensible, untenable
juggernaut
a massive inescapable force or object that crushes
lackadaisical
lacking spirit or interest, halfhearted
Syn:
listless, indolent, indifferent, lax
Ant:
energetic, vigorous, wholehearted
litany
a prayer consisting of short appeals to God recited by the leader alternating with responses from the congregation; any repetitive chant; a long list
Syn:
rigmarole, catalog, megillah
macabre
grisly, gruesome; horrible, distressing; having death as a subject
Syn:
grotesque, grim, ghoulish
paucity
an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth
Syn:
lack
Ant:
abundance, glut, plenitude, deluge
portend
to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of
Syn:
bode, foretell, foreshadow, suggest
raze
to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out
Syn:
pull down, demolish, shave off
Ant:
build, construct, raise, erect
recant
to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract
Syn:
repudiate, disavow
Ant:
reaffirm, reassert
saturate
to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity, to satisfy fully
Syn:
permeate, drench, flood, imbue
Ant:
drain
saturnine
of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood
Syn:
sullen, morose
Ant:
lighthearted, cheerful, vivacious
slough
to cast off; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary; to plod through as if through mud; (verb)
a mire; a state of depression (noun)
Syn:
shed, slog
Ant:
take on, acquire, assume
