Chapter 8 Vocab

Question 1

allege

Answer 1

to assert without proof or confirmation

Syn:
claim, contend
Ant:
prove, deny

Question 2

arrant

Answer 2

thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant

Syn:
egregious, unmitigated

Question 3

badinage

Answer 3

light and playful conversation

Syn:
banter, persiflage, repartee
Ant:
sermon

Question 4

conciliate

Answer 4

to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent

Syn:
placate, mollify, propitiate
Ant:
antagonize, alienate, estrange

Question 5

countermand

Answer 5

to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first

Syn:
recall, revoke
Ant:
reaffirm, reassert

Question 6

echelon

Answer 6

one of a series in an organization or field of activity; an organized military unit; a steplike formation arrangement

Syn:
level, ranks

Question 7

exacerbate

Answer 7

to make more violent; severe, bitter, or painful

Syn:
aggravate, intensify, worsen
Ant:
alleviate, mitigate, ameliorate

Question 8

fatuous

Answer 8

stupid or foolish in an unsatisfied way

Syn:
silly. vapid, inane. doltish, vacuous
Ant:
sensible, intelligent, perceptive, bright

Question 9

irrefutable

Answer 9

impossible to disprove; beyond argument

Syn:
indisputable, incontrovertible, undeniable
Ant:
disputable, indefensible, untenable

Question 10

juggernaut

Answer 10

a massive inescapable force or object that crushes

Question 11

lackadaisical

Answer 11

lacking spirit or interest, halfhearted

Syn:
listless, indolent, indifferent, lax
Ant:
energetic, vigorous, wholehearted

Question 12

litany

Answer 12

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

Question 13

macabre

Answer 13

grisly, gruesome; horrible, distressing; having death as a subject

Syn:
grotesque, grim, ghoulish

Question 14

paucity

Answer 14

an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth

Syn:
lack
Ant:
abundance, glut, plenitude, deluge

Question 15

portend

Answer 15

to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of

Syn:
bode, foretell, foreshadow, suggest

Question 16

raze

Answer 16

to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out

Syn:
pull down, demolish, shave off
Ant:
build, construct, raise, erect

Question 17

recant

Answer 17

to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract

Syn:
repudiate, disavow
Ant:
reaffirm, reassert

Question 18

saturate

Answer 18

to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity, to satisfy fully

Syn:
permeate, drench, flood, imbue
Ant:
drain

Question 19

saturnine

Answer 19

of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood

Syn:
sullen, morose
Ant:
lighthearted, cheerful, vivacious

Question 20

slough

Answer 20

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