Post on 16-Dec-2015
abscond (v.) to run off and hide
• Synonyms: bolt, make off, skip town
• EX– The thieves who absconded with several of the museum’s most valuable paintings have never been found.
anarchy (n.) a lack of government and law; confusion
• Synonyms: chaos, disorder, turmoil, pandemonium
• Antonyms: law and order, peace and quiet
• EX– In the final days of a war,
civilians may find themselves living in anarchy.
arduous (adj.) hard to do, requiring much effort
• Synonyms: hard, difficult, laborious, fatiguing
• Antonyms: easy, simple, effortless
• EX– No matter how carefully
you plan for it, moving to a new home is an arduous chore.
auspicious (adj.) favorable; fortunate
• Synonyms: promising, encouraging, propitious
• Antonyms: ill-omened, ominous, sinister
• EX– My parents describe the
day that they first met as a most auspicious occasion.
daunt (v.) to overcome with fear, intimidate; to dishearten, discourage
• Synonyms: dismay, cow• Antonyms: encourage,
embolden, reassure• EX– Despite all its inherent
dangers, space flight did not daunt the Mercury program astronauts.
disentangle (v.) to free from tangles or complications
• Synonyms: unravel, unwind, unscramble, unsnarl
• Antonyms: tangle up, ensnarl, snag
• EX– Rescuers worked for
hours to disentangle a whale from the fishing net wrapped around its jaws.
fated (adj.) determined in advance by destiny or fortune
• Synonyms: destined, preordained, doomed
• Antonyms: accidental, fortuitous, chance, random
• EX– The tragic outcome of
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is fated from the play’s very first scene.
hoodwink (v.) to mislead by a trick, deceive
• Synonyms: dupe, put one over on
• Antonyms: undeceive, disabuse, clue in
• EX– Many sweepstakes offers hoodwink people into thinking they have already won big prizes.
inanimate (adj.) not having life; without energy or spirit
• Synonyms: lifeless, dead, inert, spiritless
• Antonyms: living, alive, energetic, vigorous, lively, sprightly
• EX– Although fossils are inanimate, they hold many clues to life on Earth millions of years ago.
incinerate (v.) to burn to ashes
• Synonyms: burn up, cremate, reduce to ashes
• EX– Because of
environmental concerns, many cities and towns no longer incinerate their garbage.
pliant (adj.) bending readily; easily influenced
• Synonyms: supple, flexible, elastic, plastic
• Antonyms: rigid, stiff, inflexible, set in stone
• EX– The pliant branches of
the sapling sagged but did not break under the weight of the heavy snow.
precipice (n.) a very steep cliff; the brink or edge of disaster
• Synonyms: cliff, crag, bluff, promontory, ledge
• Antonyms: abyss, chasm, gorge
• EX– During the Cuban missile
crisis, the world hovered on the precipice of nuclear war.
prototype (n.) an original model on which later versions are patterned
• Synonyms: example, sample
• Antonyms: copy• EX– The assembly line
managers studied the prototype of the new car for weeks before production began.
rectify (v.) to make right, correct
• Synonyms: remedy, set right
• Antonyms: mess up, botch, bungle
• EX– The senators debated a
series of measures designed to rectify the nation’s trade imbalance.
reprieve (n.) a temporary relief or delay; (v.) to grant a postponement
• Synonyms: (n.) stay, respite, deferral; (v.) postpone, delay
• Antonyms: (v.) proceed• EX
– A vacation is a kind of reprieve from the cares and responsibilities of everyday life.
– A judge may reprieve a first-time offender from jail time until sentencing.