Unit 13 Flashcards
abet
(v.) to encourage, assist, aid, support (especially in something wrong or unworthy)
To allow a man in his condition to get behind the wheel of a car is to ___ a potential crime.
Antonyms: hamper, hinder, impede, frustrate
aver
(v.) to affirm, declare confidently
I will ___ your fitness to do the work to any prospective employer who inquires.
Synonyms: assert, asseverate, avouch
Antonyms: deny, repudiate, disclaim
blatant
(adj.) noisy in a coarse, offensive way; obvious or conspicuous, especially in an unfavorable sense
Your comments showed a ___ disregard for my feelings.
Synonyms: flagrant, glaring, egregious, disagreeably loud
Antonyms: inconsequential, trifling, piddling, petty
broach
(v.) to bring up or begin to talk about ( a subject); to annouce, introduce; to break the surface of the water,; to turn sideways to the wind and waves; to pierce (a keg or cask) in order to draw off liquid; (n.) a spit for roasting; a tool for tapping casks
She opted not to ___ the subject of the moldy smell in the bedroom for fear of insulting her hosts.
buttress
(v.) to support, prop up, strengthen; (n.) a supporting structure
He has read so widely that he can produce facts to ___ any argument he advances.
I had to add ___ on either side of my rickety shed to keep it from collapsing.
Synonyms: (v.) bolster, reinforce,brace, shore up
Antonyms: (v.) undermine, weaken, impair
carousal
(n.) noisy revelry or merrymaking (often with a suggestion of heavy drinking)
Vikings are notorious for having enjoyed a ___ after each of their battles.
Synonyms: binge, jamboree
collate
(v.) to compare critically in order to note difference, similarities
We decided to ___ the recipes according to how complicated they are.
Synonyms: sort out, cross-check
connoisseur
(n.) an expert; one who is well qualified to pass critical
She was a ___ of both music and film.
Synonyms: savant, pundit
Antonyms: ignoramus, philistine
disconsolate
(adj.) deeply unhappy or dejected; without hope, beyond consolation
Macbeth hardly seems ___ when his wife dies; instead, he bluntly says he has no time to grieve.
Synonyms: grief-stricken, inconsolable
Antonyms: cheerful, blithe, buoyant, jaunty
encumber
(v.) to weigh down or burden (with difficulties, cares, debt, etc); to fill up, block up, hinder
I feared that joining another club would ___ me with too many obligations.
Synonyms: overload, clog
Antonyms: unburden, unload, relieve
foment
(v.) to promote trouble ; or rebellion; to apply warm liquids to, warm
Toward the end of the film, the peasant leader attempts to ___ a storming of the scientist’s castle.
Synonyms: instigate, incite, stir up
Antonyms: quell, quash, squelch, suppress
grisly
(adj.) frightful, horrible, ghastly
Katherine Anne Porter’s Pale Horse, Pale Rider reveals the ___ effects of the influenza virus during the epidemic that followed World War I.
Synonyms: gruesome, gory
Antonyms: pleasant, delightful
herculean
(adj.) (capital H) relating to Hercules; (lowercase h) Characterized by great strength; very hard to do in the sense of requiring unusual strength
We saw that getting the huge desk up the stairs would require a ___ effort.
Synonyms: mighty, powerful, arduous, onerous
Antonyms: puny, Lilliputian, bantam
impassive
(adj.) showing no feeling or emotion; inanimate; motionless
Since nervous laughter is the sign of an inexperienced actor, I tried to adopt an ___ expression on stage.
Synonyms: emotionless, stoical, insensible
Antonyms: emotional, passionate, excitable
inauspicious
(adj.) unfavorable, unlucky, suggesting bad luck for the future
Our road trip got off to an ___ start when we ran out of gas within five miles of home.
Synonyms: unpropitious, unpromising, untimely
Antonyms: propitious, favorable
