Vocabulary

1. Pacify – to placate or appease Synonyms: allay, ameliorate, assuage, mitigate, mollify, conciliate Antonyms: aggravate, incite, intensify Usage: Hopefully the warm bottle of milk will pacify the crying baby.   2. Surreal – appearing as a fantasy or dream Synonyms: hypnagogic, dreamlike Antonyms: real Usage: When I woke up after the surgery, I felt as though I was in a surreal environment because of […]

1. Incarcerate – to lock a person up as a consequence for his or her actions Synonyms: confine, detain, imprison, book, constrain, hold, immure, impound Antonyms: free, release Usage: The police are going to incarcerate the teen who keeps committing acts of violence.   2. Impiety – lack of respect for God Synonyms: blasphemy, godlessness, heresy, irreverence, profanity Antonyms: piety, faith Usage: With an air

1. Labile – easily or frequently changed Synonyms: unstable, vacillant, mutable, unsettled, adaptable, capricious Antonyms: balanced, fixed Usage: The labile currency can be changed out easily when visiting a different country.   2. Pander – indulge Synonyms: cajole, gratify, massage, please, satisfy, snow Antonyms: dissatisfy, annoy, disappoint Usage: Because Jim wants his son to value a dollar, he does not pander to his whims by

1. Sordid – very bad or dirty Synonyms: disreputable, nasty, shameful, sleazy, squalid, abject, avaricious Antonyms: clean, decent Usage: If people learn of the politician’s sordid past, they will not vote for him.   2. Primordial – in the beginning; in a basic way Synonyms: prehistoric, primal, primeval, primitive, pristine Antonyms: modern, latest Usage: Man’s first language was primordial and consisted of only a few

1. Recalcitrant – stubborn, uncooperative attitude. Synonyms: fractious, obstinate, rebellious, wayward, contrary, contumacious Antonyms: agreeable, compliant, manageable Usage: Because of its two recalcitrant members, the committee got very little work done.   2. Aberrant – straying from the normal or right way Synonyms: abnormal, deviant, weird, atypical, bizarre Antonyms: normal, regular, usual, same Usage: When the astronomer looked into the telescope, he was shocked by the

1. Oppress – to hold down through use of force or fear Synonyms: afflict, annoy, harass, maltreat, overwhelm, persecute, subjugate Antonyms: aid, assist, comfort, help Usage: For centuries, men tried to oppress women by forbidding them to work outside of the home.   2. Facile – easily performed Synonyms: effortless, hasty, accomplished, adept, adroit, apparent, articulate Antonyms: arduous, complicated, confusing Usage: No one was

1. Ambush – lying in wait in concealed position Synonyms: ambuscade, camouflage, concealment, deception, hiding, lurking Antonyms: frankness, honesty Usage: I called the police because I was sure that a man was lying in ambush behind my car.   2. Swoop – descend quickly. Synonyms: dive, plummet, pounce, fall, plunge, rush, slide Antonyms: rise, ascend Usage: The owl can swoop down on a mouse in

1. Dreadful – extremely bad or serious. Synonyms: abominable, alarming, appalling, atrocious, awful, distressing Antonyms: advantageous, beautiful, comforting, delightful Usage: There’s been a dreadful accident   2. Rabid – having excessive enthusiasm for something or someone Synonyms: delirious, fanatical, fervent, frenzied, furious, virulent, zealous Antonyms: apathetic, calm, disinterested, dispassionate Usage: Rabid viewers of the television show repeatedly watch their favorite episodes.   3.

1. Masquerade – pretend to be someone one is not. Synonyms: pretence, deception, facade, disguise, dissimulation, subterfuge Antonyms: reality, openness Usage: In front of the media, the politician masqueraded as a decent human being.   2. Infringement – the action of breaking the terms of a law Synonyms: contravention, violation, transgression, breach, complaince Antonyms: obedience Usage: Conspiracy groups believe the government is constantly

1. Scamper – to move quickly with light steps Synonyms: scoot, skip, sprint, hasten, scurry Antonyms: dawdle, stroll Usage: After eating his lunch, the boy couldn’t wait to scamper outside to play.   2. Improvise – create and perform spontaneously or without preparation. Synonyms: brainstorm, contrive, devise, invent, extemporize Antonyms: design, devise, plan Usage: Since I forgot my lines, I tried to improvise the role

1. Swindler – person who cheats another Synonyms: charlatan, con artist, counterfeiter, crook, absconder, chiseler Antonyms: philanthropist Usage: After the swindler claimed large amounts of money by providing blatant lies, he was thrown in jail as a penniless man.   2. Frivolous – not having any serious purpose or value. Synonyms: flippant, waggish, facetious, fatuous, inane, shallow, superficial Antonyms: intelligent, sensible, wise, grave

1. Clink – bang against, ring Synonyms: chink, clang, jangle, jingle, sound Usage: The rhythm of the train is accompanied by the calming sound of tea glasses clinking on the table of the compartment.   2. Ghoulish – hideous, scary Synonyms: demonic, frightening, ghastly, gruesome, horrible, macabre Antonyms: angelic, cheerful, pleasant Usage: A ghoulish web page lists the inmates admitted to Texas’s death

1. Subaltern – lower in rank Synonyms: assistant, inferior, subordinate Antonyms: superior Usage: Only one was executed, a poor, uneducated subaltern military officer.   2. Caprice – a sudden and unaccountable change of mood or behaviour. Synonyms: contrariety, crotchet, fickleness, quirk, freak, crotchet Antonyms: normality, constancy, constant Usage: Her caprices made his life impossible   3. Bellwether – a person or thing that shows

1. Mockery – teasing and contemptuous language Synonyms: ridicule, derision, sneering, contempt, scorn, scoffing, sarcasm Antonyms: honesty, openness, flattery, praise, respect Usage: Her unusual fashion sense makes her a topic of mockery at school.   2. Erroneous – wrong; incorrect. Synonyms: inaccurate, imprecise, invalid, untrue, fallacious, askew Antonyms: accurate, correct, genuine Usage: Employers sometimes make erroneous assumptions   3. Denigrate – to assault someone’s character

1. Umbrage – offence or annoyance. Synonyms: chagrin, exasperation, fury, indignation, resentment, pique Antonyms: cheer, comfort, delight, enjoyment Usage: She took umbrage at his remarks   2. Intemperate – having or showing a lack of self-control Synonyms: immoderate, excessive, undue, inordinate, unreasonable Antonyms: moderate Usage: John has intemperate mood swings he cannot seem to control.   3. Sojourn – a temporary stay. Synonyms: layover, stopover,