Unit 8 vocabulary

Question 1

allege

Answer 1

(v.) to assert without proof or confirmation

SYNONYM: contend
ANTONYM: prove

Question 2

arrant

Answer 2

(adj.) thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant

SYNONYMS: egregious, unmitigated

Question 3

badinage

Answer 3

(n.) light and playful conversation

SYNONYMS: banter, persiflage, repartee
ANTONYM: sermon

Question 4

conciliate

Answer 4

(v.) to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent

SYNONYMS: mollify, propitiate
ANTONYMS: antagonize, alienate, estrange

Question 5

countermand

Answer 5

(v.) to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first

SYNONYMS: recall, revoke
ANTONYMS: reaffirm, reassert

Question 6

echelon

Answer 6

(n.) one of a series of grades in an organization or field of activity; an organized military unit; a steplike formation or arrangement

SYNONYM: rank

Question 7

exacerbate

Answer 7

(v.) to make more violent, severe, bitter, or painful

SYNONYMS: intensify, worsen
ANTONYMS: alleviate, mitigate, ameliorate

Question 8

fatuous

Answer 8

(adj.) foolish in a self-satisfied way

SYNONYMS: silly, vapid, inane, doltish, vacuous
ANTONYMS: intelligent, perceptive, bright

Question 9

irrefutable

Answer 9

(adj.) impossible to disprove; beyond argument

SYNONYMS: indisputable, incontrovertible, undeniable
ANTONYMS: disputable, indefensible, untenable

Question 10

juggernaut

Answer 10

(n.) a massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path

Question 11

lackadaisical

Answer 11

(adj.) lacking spirit or interest, halfhearted

SYNONYMS: indolent, indifferent, lax
ANTONYMS: energetic, vigorous, wholehearted

Question 12

litany

Answer 12

(n.) a prayer consisting of short appeals to God recited by the leader alternating with responses from the congregation; any repetitive chant; a long list

SYNONYMS: catalog, megillah

Question 13

macabre

Answer 13

(adj.) grisly, gruesome; horrible, distressing; having death as a subject

SYNONYMS: grim, ghoulish

Question 14

paucity

Answer 14

(n.) an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth

SYNONYM: lack
ANTONYMS: glut, plenitude, deluge

Question 15

portend

Answer 15

(v.) to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of

SYNONYMS: bode, foretell, suggest

Question 16

raze

Answer 16

(v.) to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out

SYNONYMS: pull down, demolish, shave off
ANTONYMS: build, construct, raise, erect

Question 17

recant

Answer 17

(v.) to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract

SYNONYMS: repudiate, disavow
ANTONYM: reassert

Question 18

saturate

Answer 18

(v.) to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully

SYNONYMS: drench, flood, imbue
ANTONYM: drain

Question 19

saturnine

Answer 19

(adj.) of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood

SYNONYM: morose
ANTONYMS: cheerful, vivacious

Question 20

slough

Answer 20

(v.) to cast off, discard; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary; to plod through as if through mud; (n.) a mire; a state of depression

SYNONYMS: (v.) shed, slog
ANTONYMS: (v.) take on, acquire, assume