Unit 1 Flashcards
admonish
(v) to caution or advise against something; to scold mildly; to remind of a duty
SYNONYMS: reprimand, call on the carpet
ANTONYMS: praise, pat on the back
breach
(n) an opening gap, rift; a violation or infraction; (v) to create an opening, break through
ANTONYMS: (v) close, seal
brigand
(n) a bandit, robber, outlaw, highwayman
circumspect
(adj) careful, cautious
SYNONYMS: wary, prudent, guarded
ANTONYMS: incautious, rash, reckless, heedless
commander
(v) to seize for military or official use
SYNONYMS: take over, requisition, expropriate
cumbersome
(adj) clumsy, hard to handle; slow-moving
SYNONYMS: ponderous, difficult, uncomfortable
ANTONYMS: manageable, easy to handle
deadlock
(n) a standstill resulting from the opposition of two equal forces or factions; (v) to bring to such a standstill
SYNONYMS (n): standoff, impasse
ANTONYMS: (n): agreement, accord, breakthrough
debris
(n) scattered fragments, wreckage
SYNONYMS: remains, detritus, flotsam, jetsam
diffuse
(v) to spread or scatter freely or widely; (adj) wordy, long-winded, or unfocused; scattered or widely spread
SYNONYMS: (v) disperse; (adj) verbose, prolix
ANTONYMS: (v) concentrate; (adj) brief, concise, succinct
dilemma
(n) a difficult or perplexing situation or problem
SYNONYMS: predicament, quandary, pickle, bind
ANTONYM: cinch
efface
(v) to wipe out; to keep oneself from being noticed
SYNONYMS: blot out, erase, expunge
muddle
(v) to make a mess of; muddle through: to get by; (n) a hopeless mess
SYNONYMS: (v) jumble, mess up; (n) confusion, disorder
ANTONYMS: (n) orderliness, neatness
opinionated
(adj) stubborn and often unreasonable in holding to one’s own ideas, having a closed mind
SYNONYMS: obstinate, pigheaded, inflexible
ANTONYMS: open-minded, reasonable
perennial
(adj) lasting for a long time, persistent; (n) a plant that lives for many years
SYNONYMS: (adj) enduring, recurring
ANTONYMS (adj) brief, short-lived, fleeting, emphemeral
predispose
(v) to incline to beforehand
SYNONYMS: tending to, liable to
ANTONYMS: immunize against, shield from
relinquish
(v) to let go, give up
salvage
(v) to save from fire or shipwreck; (n) property thus saved
SYNONYMS: (v) recover, retrieve, reclaim
ANTONYMS: (v) abandon, scrap, junk
spasmodic
(adj) sudden and violent but brief; fitful; intermittent
SYNONYMS: irregulat, occasional
ANTONYMS: steady, continuous, chronic
spurious
(adj) not genuine, not true, not valid
unbridled
(adj) lacking in restraint
