Lesson 4 Flashcards
Of unclear meaning; something that can be understood in more than one way (adj./adv./n., 1 syn)
Ambiguous, ambiguously, ambiguity
Vague
(the men received an ambiguous message from their boss - her letter was full of ambiguities)
An action or decision made with little thought, order, or reason (adj./adv./n., 1 syn)
Arbitrary, arbitrarily, arbitrariness
Haphazard
(her choice of clothing seemed arbitrary - the teacher arbitrarily decided to give the class a test)
To express or defend oneself strongly; to state positively (v./adv./n./n./adj., 1 syn)
Assert, assertively, assertiveness, assertion, assertive
Declare
(the government asserted its control over the banking system - the company president is an assertive individual)
Very surprising (adj./v./adv., 1 syn)
Astounding, astound, astoundingly
Astonishing
(the scientists made an astounding discovery - the fans were astounded by their team’s success)
Very intelligent, smart, clever (adj./adj./n., 1 syn)
Astute, astutely, astuteness
Perceptive
(he was an astute worker, finishing in half the time it took the others to finish - they astutely determined that there would be no chance to finish on time)
To have the same opinion or draw the same conclusion (v./n., 1 syn)
Concur, concurrence
Agree
(the director concurred with the conclusions of the committee’s report - do you concur with the details of the business plan?)
Making something appear true or good when it is false or bad (adv./adj./v./n., 1 syn)
Deceptively, deceptive, deceive, deception
Misleadingly
(the magician deceptively made the rabbit disappear - Richard deceived Joe about the cost of the coat)
To specify, name, or select to do a task; to indicate (v./n./n., 1 syn)
Designate, designation, designator
Assign
(The president designated the vice president to represent him at the meeting - the designated driver drove every one home after the party)
Strong in one’s opinion, firm in conviction, to find out (adj./n./v., 1 syn)
Determined, determination, determine
Resolute
(they were determined to go to graduate school - the judge determined that the man was lying)
To get the facts or draw out the truth (v./n., 1 syn)
Elicit, elicitation
Extract
(a lawyer will elicit all the facts necessary to prove her case - elicitation of the truth can be difficult at times)
To be a good example of a concept or idea (v./n., 1 syn)
Embody, embodiment
Exemplify
(the constitution is an embodiment of American ideals - Charlotte embodies all of the qualities of a good leader)
To cause a conflict or argument (v./n./adj./adv., 1 syn)
Instigate, instigator, instigative, instigatively
Initiate
(no one knew who had instigated the demonstration - dissatisfaction with government policies instigated the revolution)
Common or routine (adj./adv./n./n., 1 syn)
Mundane, mundanely, mundaneness, mundanity
Ordinary
(the student’s mundane summer job frustrated her - his mother asked him to do all the mundance household chores)
To make a request (v./n., 1 syn)
Petition, petition
Appeal
(Canada petitioned the United Nations to consider its case - the student’s petition was denied)
To give up control (v./n., 1 syn)
Relinquish, relinquishment
Abdicate
(the troubled executive relinquished her control of the company - the relinquishment of his claim to the building will allow the building to be sold)
