unit 12 Flashcards
autocratic (adjective)
absolute in power or authority
For many years, the island was under the _____ control of a dictator.
SYNONYMS: domineering, dictatorial, tyrannical, bossy
ANTONYMS: democratic, egalitarian, lenient, permissive, indulgent
blasphemy (noun)
an act, utterance, or writing showing contempt for something sacred
Galileo was accused of _____ for asserting
that the sun, and not the earth, is the center of the universe.
SYNONYMS: curse, profanity, imprecation
ANTONYMS: veneration, devotion, respect
concerted (adjective)
planned or performed in cooperation with others
Teenagers and adults, northerners and southerners alike, participated in a ______ drive to register new voters.
SYNONYMS: cooperative, combined, consolidated
ANTONYMS: unorganized, unilateral, diffused
intolerable (adjective)
unbearable
To a perfectionist, mediocrity is more than unacceptable; it is simply _____.
SYNONYMS: insufferable, outrageous
ANTONYMS: pleasant, pleasing
irreverent (adjective)
disrespectful
The student’s ______ comments show a lack of respect for people in authority.
SYNONYMS: profane, impious, sacrilegious
ANTONYMS: awed, respectful, devout, pious, deferential
laborious (adjective)
not easy, requiring hard work; hardworking
After cleaning the gutters, we moved on to the _____ task of raking and bagging the leaves.
SYNONYMS: arduous, difficult, strenuous, wearisome
ANTONYMS: easy, effortless, facile
maltreat (verb)
to abuse, use roughly or crudely
The candidate pledged to shut down any factory or manufacturing plant found to ______ workers.
SYNONYMS: misuse, mistreat, harm
ANTONYMS: coddle, pamper, indulge
ponder (verb)
to consider carefully, reflect on
I need time to ______ all of my options before deciding how to spend the summer.
SYNONYMS: ruminate, contemplate
subversive (adjective) (noun)
(adj.) intended to undermine or overthrow
The underground movement circulated ______ pamphlets that criticized the government.
SYNONYM: traitorous
ANTONYMS: patriotic, loyal, true-blue
(n.) one who advocates or attempts to undermine a political system
The Alien and Sedition Acts enacted in 1798 gave the U.S. president the power to deport any noncitizen deemed a ______.
SYNONYM: a revolutionary
synthetic (adjective) (noun)
made or put together by people
Sometimes only a jeweler can detect the difference between an expensive
______ gem and a natural stone.
SYNONYMS: artificial, ersatz
ANTONYMS: natural, genuine
something artificial
Nylon, rayon, and polyester are all
that have revolutionized the textile industry.
appreciable (adjective)
sufficient to be noticed or measured
The injured woman lost an ______ amount of blood before the paramedics arrived.
SYNONYMS: detectable, considerable
ANTONYMS: slight, trivial, inconsequential, negligible
blanch (verb)
to remove the color from; to make or turn pale; to parboil
Even the veteran rescue worker ______ upon seeing the crash site.
SYNONYMS: bleach, drain, wash out, go white
ANTONYMS: color, dye, infuse, blush, flush
brawny (adjective)
strong, muscular
In Arthurian legend, one ______ knight after another tries to pull the sword Excalibar from the stone, but none succeeds.
SYNONYMS: broad-shouldered, strapping, burly
ANTONYMS: slight, frail, puny
contend (verb)
to fight, struggle; to compete; to argue
I enjoy watching the four major tennis tournaments in which brilliant players ______ for the “grand slam” titles.
SYNONYMS: battle, vie, maintain, assert
ANTONYMS: yield, acquiesce, submit, relinquish
humane (adjective)
kind, merciful
The ______ legal code of Hammurabi, king of Babylonia, was ahead of its time in seeking justice for the weak and the oppressed.
SYNONYMS: sympathetic, compassionate, kindhearted
ANTONYMS: cruel, merciless, unfeeling, brutal, heartless
