Vocabulary

Level F Unit 8

acrimonious• (adjective) stinging, bitter in temper or tone

• SYN: biting, caustic; rancorous, hostile, peevish

• ANT: gentle, warm, mild, friendly, cordial

The two neighbors had an acrimonious exchange over the property line between their houses.

bovine• (adjective) resembling a cow or ox; sluggish, unresponsive

• SYN: stolid, dull, slow, stupid

• ANT: alert, sharp, bright, keen, quick

consternation• (noun) dismay, confusion

• SYN: shock, amazement, bewilderment; dismay

• ANT: calm, composure, aplomb

Imagine our consternation when the game-winning field goal was blocked!

corpulent• (adjective) fat; having a large, bulky body

• SYN: overweight, heavy, obese, stout, portly

• ANT: slender, lean, spare, gaunt, emaciated

Too many treats make for a corpulent pet.

disavow

• (verb) to deny responsibility for or connection with

• SYN: disown, disclaim, retract, abjure

• ANT: acknowledge, admit, grant, certify

The suspect disavowed any connection with the robbery.

dispassionate• (adjective) impartial; calm, free from emotion

• SYN: unbiased, disinterested, cool, detached

• ANT: committed, engaged, partial, biased

dissension• (noun) disagreement, sharp difference of opinion

• SYN: strife, discord, contention

• ANT: agreement, accord, harmony Dissension often seems to prevent

Congress from doing its job.

dissipate• (verb) to cause to disappear; to scatter, dispel; to spend foolishly, squander; to be extravagant in pursuit of pleasure

• SYN: disperse, strew, diffuse, waste

• ANT: gather, collect, conserve, husband

Many lottery winners tend to dissipate their money in a relatively short amount of time.

expurgate• (verb) to remove objectionable passages or words from a written text; to cleanse, purify

• SYN: purge, censor, bowdlerize

gauntlet• (noun) an armored or protective glove; a challenge; two lines of men armed with weapons with which to beat a person forced to run between them; an ordeal

• SYN: dare, provocation, trial, punishment

hypothetical• (adjective) based on an assumption or guess; used as a provisional or tentative idea to guide or direct investigation

• SYN: assumed, supposed, conjectural, conditional

• ANT: actual, real, tested, substantiated

ignoble• (adjective) mean, low, base

• SYN: inferior, unworthy, dishonorable, sordid

• ANT: admirable, praiseworthy, lofty, noble

impugn• (verb) to call into question; to attack as false

• SYN: challenge, deny, dispute, query, question

• ANT: confirm, prove, verify, validate

intemperate• (adjective) immoderate, lacking in self-control; inclement

• SYN: excessive, extreme, unrestrained, inordinate

• ANT: moderate, restrained, cool and collected

odium• (noun) hatred, contempt; disgrace or infamy resulting from hateful conduct

• SYN: abhorrence, opprobrium, shame, ignominy

• ANT: esteem, admiration, approbation Many in Libya feel nothing but odium toward their

former grandiose leader Moammar Gadhafi.

perfidy• (noun) faithlessness, treachery

• SYN: betrayal, disloyalty, treason, duplicity

• ANT: faithfulness, loyalty, steadfastness Julius Caesar could never have

predicted the perfidy that he would experience from his closest friends.

relegate• (verb) to place in a lower position; to assign, refer, turn over; to banish

• SYN: transfer, consign, demote, exile

• ANT: promote, elevate, advance, recall His lack of effort soon found him relegated

from starter to bench warmer.

squeamish• (adjective) inclined to nausea; easily shocked or upset; excessively fastidious or refined

• SYN: nauseated; queasy, delicate, oversensitive, priggish

subservient• (adjective) subordinate in capacity or role; submissively obedient; serving to promote some end

• SYN: secondary, servile, obsequious, useful

• ANT: primary, principal, bossy, domineering

Women are no longer willing to accept subservient roles in the work place.

susceptible• (adjective) open to; easily influenced; lacking in resistance

• SYN: vulnerable, receptive, impressionable

• ANT: resistant, immune