auxiliary

Someone second in command is an auxiliary to the person in

charge.

Adj – giving assistance or support

N – a helperSyn – additional, back up, reserve

Ant – main, primary, principal

candid

It is safe to be candid about our faults with friends and loved ones.

Adj – frank, sincere, impartial

Syn – forthright, plainspoken, unbiased

Ant – insincere, evasive, misleading

cubicle

The tiniest cubicle is usually assigned to the newest employee.

N – a small room or compartment

Syn – enclosure, hole=in-the=wall

Ant – vast hall, auditorium

Drudgery

Trade unions lobby to relieve the endless drudgery of factory

workers.

N – work that is hard and tiresome

Syn – toil, labor, grind

Ant – play, frolic, amusement, recreation, fun

Envoy

On more than one occasion, a former President has been asked to act as a special envoy to the United Nations.

N – a representative or messenger

Syn == agent, ambassador, minister, emissary

escalate

A small dispute can escalate into a major conflict unless the opposing

parties sit down and talk.

V – to elevate; to increase in intensity

Syn – climb, raise, ascend, mount

Ant – decrease, lessen, descend, defuse

Expedient

As an expedient, we chose to use a rock as a makeshift hammer.

N – a means to an endadj – advantageous, useful

Syn – contrivance, device; serviceable

Ant – inconvenient, untimely, disadvantageous

feign

Children sometimes feign illness to avoid going to school.

V – to pretend

Syn – fake, sham, affect, simulate

flair

An opera singer needs a flair for the dramatic as well as a good

voice.

N – a natural quality, talent, or skill; a distinctive style

Syn – aptitude, bent, knack, gift, style, panache

Ant – inability, incapacity

grievous

Reporters should take careful notes when interviewing to avoid making grievous errors in print.

Adj – causing sorrow or pain;p serious

Syn – painful, heartrending, onerous, flagrant

Ant – joyful, uplifting, cheery, upbeat, comforting

heterogeneous

Most college admissions officers actively seek a student body that is both talented and heterogeneous.

Adj – composed of different kinds, diverse

Syn – miscellaneous, mixed, variegated

Ant – uniform, homogeneous, of a piece

horde

When the doors opened, a horde of shoppers headed towards the

sales racks.

N – a vast number; a throng

Syn – crowd, mass, multitude, host, swarm

Ant – few, handful

impel

Hunger often impels people to leave their homes in search of

food.

V – to force, drive forward

Syn – urge, push, spur, propel, incite

Ant – discourage, check, restrain, curb

incredulous

When the testimony of a witness contradicts the evidence, you can

expect incredulous stares from the jury.

Adj – disbelieving, skeptical

Syn – dubious, mistrustful, doubting

Ant – believing, trustful, gullible

inscribe

The young man asked the jeweler to inscribe the lockets with his

fiancee’s name.

V – to write or engrave; to enter a name on a list

Syn – imprint, enroll, enlist

Ant – erase, rub out, delete, efface, obliterate

monologue

By means of a monologue, a playwright shares a character’s private

thoughts with the audience.

N – a speech by one actor; a long talk by one person

Syn – soliloquy, recitation

Ant – dialogue, conversation, colloquy

prognosis

Doctors are particularly happy to deeliver a prognosis of a speedy

recovery.

N – a forecast of the probably course and outcome of a disease

or situationSyn – prediction, projection

rasping

The rasping of metal scraping against metal sets my teeth on

edge.

Adj – with a harsh, grating soundn – a harsh sound

Syn – scratchy, scraping, abrasive

Ant – sonorous, smooth, satiny, silky, mellow

repugnant

Despite their repugnant lack of cleanliness, pigs are endearing to

many people.

Adj – offensive, disagreeable, distateful

Syn – hateful, odious, revolting, repulsive

Ant – pleasing, attractive, tempting, wholesome

scuttle

Pirates would not wish to scuttle a captured galleon before looting

its cargo.

V – to sink a ship by cutting holes in it; to get rid of something in a

decisive way; to run hastilyn – a pail

Syn – abandon, discard, scrap, dump

Ant – keep afloat, salvage, preserve