Unit 1 Flashcards
approbation
(n.) the expression of approval or favorable opinion, praise; official approval
My broad hint that I had paid for the lessons myself brought smiles of \_\_\_\_\_ from all the judges at the piano recital.
Synonyms: sanction
Antonyms: disapproval, condemnation, censure
assuage
(v.) to make easier or milder, relieve; to quiet, calm; to put an end to, appease, satisfy, quench
Her eyes told me that more than a few well-chosen words would be needed to \_\_\_\_ her hurt feelings.
Synonyms: mitigate, slake, allay
Antonyms: intensity, aggravate, exacerbate
coalition
(n.) a combination, union, or merger for some specific purpose
The various community organizations formed a ___ to lobby against parking laws.
Synonyms: alliance, league, federation, combine
Antonym: splinter group
decadence
(n.) decline, decay, or deterioration; a condition or period of decline or decay; excessive self-indulgence
Some viewed her love of chocolate as \_\_\_\_ because she ate two candy bars a day.
Synonyms: degeneration, corruption
Antonyms: rise, growth maturation
elicit
(v.) to draw forth, bring out from some source (such as another person)
My attempt to \_\_\_ information over the phone was met with a barrage of irrelevant recordings.
Synonyms: evoke, extract, educe
Antonyms: repress, quash, squelch, stifle
expostulate
(v.) to attempt to dissuade someone from some course or decision by earnest reasoning
Shakespeare's Hamlet finds it useless to \_\_\_ with his mother for siding with his stepfather.
Synonyms: protest, remonstrate, complain
hackneyed
(adj.) used so often as to lack freshness or originality
The Great Gatsby tells a universal story without being marred by \_\_\_ prose.
Synonyms: banal, trite, commonplace, corny
Antonyms: new, fresh, novel, original
hiatus
(n.) a gap, opening, break (in the sense of having an element missing)
I was awakened not by a sudden sound but by a \_\_\_ in the din of traffic.
Synonyms: pause, lacuna
Antonyms: continuity, continuation
innuendo
(n.) a hint, indirect suggestion, or reference (often in a derogatory sense)
Those lacking the facts or afraid of reprisals often tarnish an enemy’s reputation by use of ___.
Synonyms: insinuation, intimation
Antonym: direct statement
intercede
(v.) to plead on behalf of someone else; to serve as a third party or go-between in a disagreement
She will \_\_\_ in the dispute between the two children, and soon they will be playing happily again.
Synonyms: intervene, mediate
jaded
(adj.) wearied, worn-out, dulled (in the sense of being satiated by excessive indulgence)
The wilted handclasp and the fast-melting smile mark the ___ refugee from too many parties.
Synonyms: sated, surfeited, cloyed
Antonyms: unspoiled, uncloyed
lurid
(adj.) causing shock, horror, or revulsion; sensational; pale or sallow in color; terrible or passionate in intensity or lack of restraint
Bright, sensational, and often ___ some old-time movie posters make today’s newspaper ads look tame.
Synonyms: gruesome, gory, grisly, baleful, ghastly
Antonyms: pleasant, attractive, appealing, wholesome
meritorious
(adj.) worthy, deserving recognition and praise
Many years of ___ service could not dissuade him from feeling that he had not chosen work that he liked.
Synonyms: praiseworthy, laudable, commendable
Antonyms: blameworthy, reprehensible
petulant
(adj.) peevish, annoyed by trifles, easily irritated and upset
An overworked parent may be unlikely to indulge the complaints of a ___ child.
Synonyms: irritable, testy, waspish
Antonyms: perquisite, perk
prerogative
(n.) a special right or privilege; a special quality showing excellence
She seemed to feel that a snooze at her desk was not an annoying habit but the ___ of a veteran employee.
Synonyms: perquisite, perk
provincial
(adj.) pertaining to an outlaying area; local; narrow in mind or outlook, countrified in the sense of being limited and backward; of a simple, plain design that originated in the countryside; (n.) a person with a narrow point of view; a person from an outlying area; a soldier from a province or colony
The banjo, once thought to be a ___ product of the Southern hills, actually came here from Africa.
At first, a ___ may do well in the city using charm alone, but charm, like novelty, wears thin.
Synonyms: (adj.) narrow-minded, parochial, insular, naive
Antonyms: (adj.) cosmopolitan, broad-minded
simulate
(v.) to make a pretense of, imitate; to show the outer signs of
Some skilled actors can ___ emotions they might never have felt in life.
Synonyms: pretend, affect
transcend
(v.) to rise above or beyond, exceed
A great work of art may be said to ___ time, and it remembered for decades, or even centuries.
Synonyms: surpass, outstrip
umbrage
(n.) shade cast by trees; foliage giving shade; an overshadowing influence or power; offense, resentment; a vague suspicion
She hesitated to offer her opinion, fearing that they would take ___ at her criticism.
Synonyms: irritation, pique
Antonyms: pleasure, delight, satisfaction
unctuous
(adj.) excessively smooth or smug; trying too hard to give an impression of earnestness, sincerity, or piety, fatty, oily; pliable
Her constant inquiring about the health of my family at first seemed friendly, later merely ___.
Synonyms: mealymouthed, fawning, greasy
Antonyms: gruff, blunt
