Unit 5 Vocabulary

Question 1

amnesty

Answer 1

(n) a general pardon for an offense against a government; in general, any act of forgiveness or absolution
sentence: Many political prisoners were freed under the amnesty granted by the new regime.
synonym: reprieve

Question 2

autonomy

Answer 2

(n) self-government, political control
sentence: After colonies gained autonomy from England, many Americans still clung to England.

synonym: home rule
antonym: dependence

Question 3

axiomatic

Answer 3

(adj) self-evident, expressing a universally accepted principle
sentence: One should not accept the idea that the camera never lies as an axiomatic truth.

synonym: taken for granted
antonyms: questionable, dubious

Question 4

blazon

Answer 4

(v) to adorn or embellish; to display conspicuously; to publish or proclaim widely

They will blazon the results of the election across the Internet and every television set in the land.

synonyms: broadcast, trumpet
antonyms: hide, conceal, bury

Question 5

caveat

Answer 5

(n) a warning or caution to prevent misunderstanding or discourage behavior

The well-known Latin phrase “caveat emptor” means, “Let the buyer beware.”

Synonyms: admonition, word to the wise

Question 6

equitable

Answer 6

(adj) fair, just, embodying principles of justice

He did more work, so a sixty-forty split of the profits seemed an equitable arrangement.

Synonyms: right, reasonable, evenhanded
Antonyms: unjust, unfair, one-sided

Question 7

extricate

Answer 7

(v) to free from entanglements or difficulties; to remove with effort

The ring must have slid off my finger as I was trying to extricate the fish from the net.

synonyms: disentangle, extract
antonyms: enmesh, entangle

Question 8

filch

Answer 8

(v) to steal, especially in a sneaky way and in petty amounts

If you filch pennies from the cash drawer, you will be tempted to steal larger amounts one day.

synonyms: pilfer, purloin, swipe

Question 9

flout

Answer 9

(v) to mock, treat with contempt

She chose to ignore my advice, not because she wanted to flout my beliefs, but because she had strong opinions of her own.

synonyms: steer at, snicker at, scorn
antonyms: obey, honor

Question 10

fractious

Answer 10

(adj) tending to be troublesome; unruly, quarrelsome, contrary; unpredictable

It seems as if even the smoothest-running organizations contain one or two fractious elements.

synonyms: refractory, peevish
antonyms: docile, tractable, cooperative

Question 11

precept

Answer 11

(n) a rule of conduct or action

Many philosophies follow the precept that it is important to treat others as you would like to be treated.

Question 12

salutary

Answer 12

(adj) beneficial, helpful; healthful, wholesome

The cute new puppy had a salutary effect on her health.

Synonyms: curative
antonyms: detrimental

Question 13

scathing

Answer 13

(adj) bitterly severe, withering; causing great harm

Sometimes a reasoned discussion does more to change people’s minds than a scathing attack.

synonyms: searing, harsh, savage
antonyms: bland, mild

Question 14

scourge

Answer 14

(v) to whip, punish severely; (n) a cause of affliction or suffering; a source of severe punishment or criticism

Jonathan Swift used wit to scourge the British government for its cruel treatment of Ireland.

Competing teams consider my daughter the scourge of the soccer field.

synonyms: (v) flog, beat; (n) bane, plague, pestilence
antonyms: (n) godsend, boon, blessing

Question 15

sepulchral

Answer 15

(adj) funereal, typical of the tomb; extremely gloomy or dismal

In a severe and sepulchral tone of voice, my sister announced that they were out of cookies.

synonyms: lugubrious, mortuary

Question 16

soporific

Answer 16

(adj) tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy; (n) something that induces sleep

He claimed that the musical was soporific and that he had slept through the entire second act.

Shakespeare’s Juliet drinks a soporific so as to appear to be dead–a trick she is soon to regret.

synonyms: (n) narcotic, anesthetic
antonyms: (adj) stimulating; (n) stimulant, stimulus

Question 17

straitlaced

Answer 17

(adj) extremely strict in regard to moral standards and conduct; prudish, puritanical

Travelers may find people overseas straitlaced in some ways but surprisingly free in others.

Synonyms: highly conventional, overly strict, stuffy
Antonyms: lax, loose, indulgent, permissive, dissolute

Question 18

transient

Answer 18

(adj) lasting only a short time, fleeting; (n) one who stays only a short time

His bad mood was transient, and by the time he’d finished his breakfast, he was smiling.

Many farm hands lived the lives of transients during the Great Depression.

synonyms: (adj) impermanent, ephemeral, evanescent
antonyms: (adj) permanent, imperishable, immortal

Question 19

unwieldly

Answer 19

(adj) not easily carried, handed, or managed because of size or complexity

We loaded the truck with the chairs and the coffee table, but the grand piano was too unwieldly.

synonyms: bulky, clumsy, impractical
antonyms: manageable, easy to handle

Question 20

vapid

Answer 20

(adj) dull, uninteresting, tiresome; lacking in sharpness, flavor, liveliness, or force

While critics called the movie vapid, I thought the performers were very compelling.

synonyms: lifeless, colorless
antonyms: zesty, spicy, colorful