Vocab List 5 Flashcards
Amnesty
(n.) A general pardon for an offense against a government; in general, any act of forgiveness or absolution.
Example: Many political prisoners were freed under the new regime’s amnesty.
Synonym: reprieve
Autonomy
(n.) Self-government, political control.
Example: After the colonies gained autonomy, many Americans still clung to English traditions.
Synonym: home rule
Antonyms: dependence, subjection
Axiomatic
(adj.) Self-evident, expressing a universally accepted principle.
Example: One should not accept the idea that the camera never lies as an axiomatic truth.
Synonym: taken for granted
Antonyms: questionable, dubious
Blazon
(v.) To adorn or embellish; to display conspicuously; to publish or proclaim widely.
Example: 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
Caveat
(n.) A warning or caution to prevent misunderstanding or discourage behavior.
Example: The well-known Latin phrase caveat emptor means, “Let the buyer beware.”
Synonyms: admonition, word to the wise
Equitable
(adj.) Fair, just, embodying principles of justice.
Example: 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, disproportionate
Extricate
(v.) To free from entanglements or difficulties; to remove with effort.
Example: 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
Filch
(v.) To steal, especially in a sneaky way and in petty amounts.
Example: If you filch pennies from the cash drawer, you will be tempted to steal larger amounts one day.
Synonyms: pilfer, purloin, swipe
Flout
(v.) To mock, treat with contempt.
Example: She chose to ignore my advice, not because she wanted to flout my beliefs, but because she had strong opinions of her own.
Synonyms: sneer at, snicker at, scorn
Antonyms: obey, honor
Fractious
(adj.) Tending to be troublesome; unruly, quarrelsome, contrary; unpredictable.
Example: It seems as if even the smoothest-running organizations contain one or two fractious elements.
Synonyms: refractory, recalcitrant, peevish
Antonyms: docile, tractable, cooperative
Precept
(n.) A rule of conduct or action.
Example: Many philosophies follow the precept to treat others as you would like to be treated.
Synonyms: principle, maxim
Salutary
(adj.) Beneficial, helpful; healthful, wholesome.
Example: The cute new puppy had a salutary effect on her health.
Synonyms: salubrious, curative
Antonyms: detrimental, deleterious
Scathing
(adj.) Bitterly severe, withering; causing great harm.
Example: Sometimes a reasoned discussion does more to change people’s minds than a scathing attack.
Synonyms: searing, harsh, savage
Antonyms: bland, mild
Scourge
(v.) To whip, punish severely; (n.) A cause of affliction or suffering; a source of severe punishment or criticism.
Example 1: Jonathan Swift used wit to scourge the British government for its cruel treatment of Ireland. (v.)
Example 2: Competing teams consider my daughter the scourge of the soccer field. (n.)
Synonyms: (v.) flog, beat; (n.) bane, plague, pestilence
Antonyms: (n.) godsend, boon, blessing
Sepulchral
(adj.) Funereal, typical of the tomb; extremely gloomy or dismal.
Example: In a severe and sepulchral tone of voice, my sister announced that we were out of cookies.
Synonyms: lugubrious, mortuary
Soporific
(adj.) Tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy; (n.) Something that induces sleep.
Example: He claimed that the musical was soporific, so boring that he slept through the entire second act.
Synonyms: (n.) narcotic, anesthetic
Antonyms: (adj.) stimulating; (n.) stimulant, stimulus
Straitlaced
(adj.) Extremely strict in regard to moral standards and conduct; prudish, puritanical.
Example: 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
Transient
(adj.) Lasting only a short time, fleeting; (n.) One who stays only a short time.
Example: His bad mood was transient, and by the time he finished breakfast, he was smiling.
Synonyms: (adj.) impermanent, ephemeral, evanescent
Antonyms: (adj.) permanent, imperishable, immortal
Unwieldy
(adj.) Not easily carried, handled, or managed because of size or complexity.
Example: We loaded the truck with the chairs and the coffee table, but the grand piano was too unwieldy.
Synonyms: bulky, clumsy, impractical
Antonyms: manageable, easy to handle
Vapid
(adj.) Dull, uninteresting, tiresome; lacking in sharpness, flavor, liveliness, or force.
Example: While critics called the movie vapid, I thought the performers were very compelling.
Synonyms: lifeless, colorless
Antonyms: zesty, spicy, colorful
