Scott McDonald/Unit 3 Flashcards
subordinate or supplementary
SYN: auxiliary, subsidiary, accessory
ANT: central, key, primary, principal, main
ancillary
to remove material considered offensive (from a book, play, film, etc.)
SYN: censor, purge, expurgate
bowdlerize
to come down or stoop voluntarily to a lower level; to deal with people in a patronizing manner
SYN: deign
condescend
to trick; to cheat or swindle
SYN: dupe, decieve, beguile, inveigle
cozen
an enclosed district, region, or area inhabited by a particular group of people or having a special character
SYN: island, subgroup
enclave
a person’s strong point; what a person does best
SYN: gift, aptitude, specialty
ANT: weakness, shortcoming, foible
forte
free; without charge
SYN: on the house;freely
ANT: for a price
gratis
a representation or image of a sacred personage, often considered sacred itself; an image or picture; a symbol; a graphic symbol on a computer monitor display; an object of blind devotion
SYN: emblem, idol
icon
a small, narrow space between things or parts of things
SYN: gap, slot, crevice, interval, lacuna
interstice
the universe considered as a whole; the entire complex structure of something
SYN: cosmos, entirety
ANT: model, miniature, microcosm
macrocosm
a trickster or swindler; a charlatan
SYN: impostor, quack
ANT: sucker, dupe, “mark,” “pigeon”
mountebank
a song of prase, joy, or triumph
SYN: hymn, ode, anthem
ANT: dirge, elegy, lament, threnody
paean
lighthearted joking, talk, or writing
SYN: banter, jesting, repartee, badinage
persiflage
overfullness; superabundance; superfluity
SYN: surplus, surfeit, glut, excess
ANT: shortage, paucity, dearth, scarcity
plethora
concerned with practical considerations or values; dealing with actions and results rather than with abstract theory; stiff in one’s opinions
SYN: down-to-earth, businesslike
ANT: idealistic, impractical, visionary
pragmatic
puzzled; mocking; odd; equivocal
SYN: peculiar, perplexed, mystified, derisive
ANT: unequivocal, crystal-clear, unambiguous
quizzical
inordinate greed; the disposition to obtain one’s desires by force, extortion, or plunder
SYN: avarice, cupidity, voraciousness
ANT: liberality, generosity, altruism
rapacity
a formal split within a religious organization; any division or separation of a group or organization into hostile factions
SYN: rift, breach
ANT: united front, reconciliation
schism
having the power to heal or cure; beneficial
SYN: curative, salutary, salubrious
ANT: harmful, injurious, deleterious
therapeutic
a brilliant performer; a person with masterly skill or technique; (adj). masterly or brilliant
SYN: expert, master, prodigy, maestro
ANT: amateur, beginner, novice; mediocre
virtuoso
