Unit 1 Vocab

Question 1

Adjunct

Answer 1

(n.) something added to something else as helpful and useful but not essential; an assistant or helper; a valuable quality or characteristic; (adj.) added or connected in a subordinate capacity; attached to a faculty or staff in an auxiliary capacity

Synonyms: associate, addition, accessory

Question 2

Bellwether

Answer 2

(n.) the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse; a leader, as in desperate or violent undertaking; an indicator of trends

Synonyms: ringleader, initiator, barometer
Antonyms: follower, imitator, emulator

Question 3

Caterwaul

Answer 3

(v.) to howl or screech like a cat; to quarrel; (n.) a harsh or noisy cry; a racket

Synonyms: (v.) whine; (n.) wail, screech

Question 4

Chimerical

Answer 4

(adj.) absurd; wildly fantastic; impossible

Synonyms: fanciful, visionary, quixotic, pie-in-the-sky
Antonyms: realistic, down-to-earth, practicable

Question 5

Effete

Answer 5

(adj.) lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn-out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out-of-date

Synonyms: decadent, enfeebled, outmoded
Antonyms: thriving, burgeoning, vigorous, dynamic

Question 6

Fait Accompli

Answer 6

(n.) an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action

Synonym: accomplished fact

Question 7

Hidebound

Answer 7

(adj.) narrow-minded and rigid, especially in opinions or prejudices; stubbornly and unthinkingly conservative

Synonyms: intolerant, inflexible
Antonyms: open-minded, tolerant, liberal, progressive

Question 8

Hierarchy

Answer 8

(n.) any system of things or people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank, wealth, class, etc.

Synonyms: chain of command, pecking order

Question 9

Liturgy

Answer 9

(n.) a religious service or rite; the form of a ritual or other act of public worship

Synonyms: ceremony, observance

Question 10

Mirage

Answer 10

(n.) something illusory, without substance, or without a basis in reality; an illusion

Synonym: optical illusion

Question 11

Morass

Answer 11

(n.) a patch of low, soft, wet ground; a swamp; a confusing situation in which one is entrapped, as in quicksand

Synonyms: bog, quagmire
Antonyms: solid ground, bedrock, terra firma

Question 12

Noisome

Answer 12

(adj.) offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

Synonyms: fetid, noxious, vile, loathsome
Antonyms: wholesome, pleasant, sweet-smelling

Question 13

Oblivious

Answer 13

(adj.) forgetful, unaware

Synonym: insensible
Antonyms: aware, mindful, cognizant, alert

Question 14

Poltroon

Answer 14

(n.) a base coward

Synonyms: craven, dastard, “chicken”
Antonyms: hero, stalwart, gallant

Question 15

Proselyte

Answer 15

(n.) a convert; a disciple

Synonyms: novice, neophyte
Antonyms: master, teacher, guide, guru

Question 16

Quasi

Answer 16

(adj.) resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely

Synonyms: kind of, semi-, as if
Antonyms: totally, completely, actually, in fact

Question 17

Raillery

Answer 17

(n.) good-humored ridicule; teasing

Synonyms: banter, persiflage

Question 18

Ribald

Answer 18

(adj.) irreverently mocking; coarse, vulgar, or indecent in language

Synonyms: bawdy, risqué
Antonyms: seemly, proper, decorous

Question 19

Supine

Answer 19

(adj.) lying flat on one’s back; listless or lethargic; apathetic or passive

Synonyms: prone, prostrate, inert
Antonyms: upright, erect, perpendicular, vertical

Question 20

Vignette

Answer 20

(n.) a short description or sketch; a picture or illustration with edges that gradually shade off; a decorative design on the title of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter

Synonyms: thumbnail sketch, anecdote
Antonyms: epic, full-length treatment