Unit 1 vocabulary

Question 1

acquisitive

Answer 1

(adj.) able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property

SYNONYMS: greedy, avaricious, retentive
ANTONYM: altruistic

Question 2

arrogate

Answer 2

(v.) to claim or take without right

SYNONYMS: expropriate, commandeer
ANTONYMS: renounce, abdicate, abandon

Question 3

banal

Answer 3

(adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace

SYNONYMS: stale, insipid
ANTONYMS: fresh, original, new

Question 4

belabor

Answer 4

(v.) to work on excessively; to thrash soundly

SYNONYM: overwork

Question 5

carping

Answer 5

(adj.) tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way; (n.) petty, nagging criticism

SYNONYMS: (adj.) nit-picking, caviling
ANTONYMS: (adj.) approving, uncritical

Question 6

coherent

Answer 6

(adj.) holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful

SYNONYMS: connected, unified, consistent, cohesive
ANTONYMS: muddled, chaotic, disjointed

Question 7

congeal

Answer 7

(v.) to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid

SYNONYMS: harden, jell, solidify
ANTONYM: liquefy

Question 8

emulate

Answer 8

(v.) to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model

SYNONYMS: copy, mimic, rival, match, measure up to

Question 9

encomium

Answer 9

(n.) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute

SYNONYMS: panegyric, eulogy
ANTONYMS: condemnation, castigation, criticism

Question 10

eschew

Answer 10

(v.) to avoid, shun, keep away from

SYNONYMS: abstain from, steer clear of, forgo
ANTONYMS: embrace, adopt

Question 11

germane

Answer 11

(adj.) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

SYNONYM: pertinent
ANTONYMS: irrelevant, extraneous, inappropriate

Question 12

insatiable

Answer 12

(adj.) so great or demanding as not to be satisfied

SYNONYMS: unquenchable, ravenous

Question 13

intransigent

Answer 13

(adj.) refusing to compromise, irreconcilable

SYNONYMS: uncompromising, unyielding, obdurate
ANTONYMS: lukewarm, halfhearted, yielding

Question 14

invidious

Answer 14

(adj.) offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment

SYNONYMS: malicious, spiteful, prejudicial, pejorative
ANTONYMS: flattering, ameliorative

Question 15

largesse

Answer 15

(n.) generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions

SYNONYMS: liberality, bounty
ANTONYMS: stinginess, miserliness, niggardliness

Question 16

reconnaissance

Answer 16

(n.) a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination

SYNONYM: exploration

Question 17

substantiate

Answer 17

(v.) to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to

SYNONYMS: confirm, validate, authenticate
ANTONYMS: refute, disprove, invalidate

Question 18

taciturn

Answer 18

(adj.) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little

SYNONYMS: tight-lipped, uncommunicative, laconic
ANTONYMS: garrulous, loquacious, prolix, verbose

Question 19

temporize

Answer 19

(v.) to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise

SYNONYMS: dillydally, procrastinate

Question 20

tenable

Answer 20

(adj.) capable of being held or defended

SYNONYMS: defensible, justifiable, maintainable
ANTONYMS: indefensible, unjustifiable