unit 14 Flashcards
appall (verb)
to fill with dismay or horror
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 ______ the nation and the world.
SYNONYMS: shock, stupefy, horrify
ANTONYMS: please, cheer, gladden, elate, exhilarate
bellicose (adjective)
warlike in manner or temperament; quarrelsome
Teddy Roosevelt’s foreign policy was often driven by a rather ______ brand of patriotism.
SYNONYMS: aggressive, combative, belligerent
ANTONYMS: amicable, peaceable, pacific
disparage (verb)
to belittle, speak slightingly of; to undervalue
Don’t you think voters are getting awfully tired of listening to politicians ______ their opponents’ voting records?
SYNONYMS: degrade, decry, run down, underrate
ANTONYMS: praise, extol, laud, plug
droll (adjective)
amusingly odd
The hero or heroine of a popular sitcom may be surrounded by a cast of ______ eccentrics.
SYNONYMS: comical, humorous, whimsical, zany
ANTONYMS: humorless, solemn, dour
loll (verb)
to act in a lazy manner; to lounge; to recline, droop
There is nothing I would rather do on a hot, humid summer afternoon than ______ in a hammock under a tree.
SYNONYMS: loaf, loiter, sag, dangle
magnanimous (adjective)
generous in forgiving, above small meanness
The general’s victory was so decisive that he could afford to be ______ toward his former enemies.
SYNONYMS: unselfish, charitable, noble, bighearted
ANTONYMS: petty, selfish, unforgiving, spiteful
nondescript (adjective)
ordinary, not outstanding; not easily classified
Fashion critics judged the designer’s fall clothing line to be disappointingly ______.
SYNONYMS: plain, unremarkable, unimpressive
ANTONYMS: remarkable, vivid, prepossessing
phlegmatic (adjective)
slow-moving, sluggish; unemotional
Sloths are such
______ creatures that they have earned the reputation of being the slowest animals on Earth.
SYNONYMS: lethargic, indolent, torpid, impassive
ANTONYMS: emotional, sensitive, thin-skinned, excitable
rescind (verb)
to repeal, cancel
A sitting Congress sometimes ______ statutes passed by its predecessors.
SYNONYMS: withdraw, retract, annul, abrogate
ANTONYMS: affirm, endorse, uphold, ratify
whet (verb)
to sharpen, put an edge on; to make keen or eager
In most mystery novels, the first chapter is designed to ______ your curiosity to find out “who done it.”
SYNONYMS: hone, excite, stimulate
ANTONYMS: blunt, deaden, stifle, dampen
alacrity (noun)
a cheerful readiness; brisk and eager action
Neighbors responded with ______ to the woman’s cries for help.
SYNONYMS: promptness, willingness, celerity
ANTONYMS: reluctance, unwillingness, hesitancy
alleviate (verb)
to relieve, make more bearable
The doctors and nurses did everything they could to ______ the patient’s severe pain.
SYNONYMS: lessen, allay, mitigate, assuage
antithesis (noun)
the direct opposite, a sharp contrast
Discriminatory practices may be said to constitute the very ______ of our nation’s democratic ideals.
SYNONYMS: contrary, antipode
dissonant (adjective)
not in harmony; disagreeing, at odds
The clamor of ______ voices could be heard clearly through the closed doors of the meeting room.
SYNONYMS: grating, unmelodious, irreconcilable
ANTONYMS: harmonious, agreeing, euphonious
edict (noun)
an order issued by someone in authority
Only in fairy tales can human unhappiness and misery be banished forever by royal ______.
SYNONYMS: command, decree, proclamation
