unit 14 Flashcards

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1
Q

appall (verb)

A

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

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2
Q

bellicose (adjective)

A

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

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3
Q

disparage (verb)

A

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

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4
Q

droll (adjective)

A

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

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5
Q

loll (verb)

A

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

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6
Q

magnanimous (adjective)

A

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

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7
Q

nondescript (adjective)

A

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

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8
Q

phlegmatic (adjective)

A

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

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9
Q

rescind (verb)

A

to repeal, cancel

A sitting Congress sometimes ______ statutes passed by its predecessors.

SYNONYMS: withdraw, retract, annul, abrogate
ANTONYMS: affirm, endorse, uphold, ratify

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10
Q

whet (verb)

A

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

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11
Q

alacrity (noun)

A

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

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12
Q

alleviate (verb)

A

to relieve, make more bearable

The doctors and nurses did everything they could to ______ the patient’s severe pain.

SYNONYMS: lessen, allay, mitigate, assuage

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13
Q

antithesis (noun)

A

the direct opposite, a sharp contrast

Discriminatory practices may be said to constitute the very ______ of our nation’s democratic ideals.

SYNONYMS: contrary, antipode

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14
Q

dissonant (adjective)

A

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

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15
Q

edict (noun)

A

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

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16
Q

elucidate (verb)

A

to clarify, explain

The precise meaning of a passage in Middlemarch is sometimes hard to ______.

SYNONYMS: interpret, expound, explicate
ANTONYMS: obscure, becloud, muddy, obfuscate

17
Q

laud (verb)

A

to praise

At the assembly the principal ______ both students and teachers for the schoolwide improvement in reading scores.

SYNONYMS: hail, extol, glorify, exalt
ANTONYMS: criticize, censure, belittle, disparage

18
Q

loquacious (adjective)

A

talkative, wordy; fond of talking

My dinner companion was so ______ that our conversation quickly turned into a monologue.

SYNONYMS: gossipy, voluble, garrulous, long-winded
ANTONYMS: silent, reticent, closemouthed, terse, taciturn

19
Q

mandatory (adjective)

A

required, obligatory

A union contract may stipulate that members are to receive a ______ annual cost-of-living increase.

SYNONYMS: compulsory, requisite, imperative
ANTONYMS: optional, voluntary, discretionary

20
Q

vivacious (adjective)

A

lively, sprightly, full of energy

A ______ individual will certainly never lack for companions.

SYNONYMS: spirited, animated, ebullient
ANTONYMS: dull, spiritless, listless, indolent