Vocabulary G10
1. Askance [uh-skans] (adv.) – with suspicion, distrust or disapproval
The English teacher looked askance at the suggestion that students read compendiums of Dickens’ novels.
SYNONYMS: distrustfully, suspiciously, skeptically
2. Attenuate [uh-ten-yoo-yet] (v.) – to make thin or slender; to weaken or lessen in force, intensity, or value
After making sure the wound was clean, the doctor attenuated the victim’s pain.
SYNONYMS: thin out, dilute, water down
ANTONYMS: thicken, strengthen, bolster
3. Benign [bih-nahyn] (adj.) – gentle, kind; forgiving, understanding; having a favorable or beneficial effect; not malignant
Abraham Lincoln’s sensitive stepmother had a benign influence on the lonely boy who had lost his mother.
SYNONYMS: benevolent, salutary, salubrious, harmless
ANTONYMS: malevolent, deleterious
4. Cavil (v.) – to find fault in a petty way, carp; (n.) a trivial objection or criticism
I suggest you don’t cavil over small things, but focus on what is important.
Despite a few cavils I might make, I still find her to be an excellent poet.
SYNONYMS: (v.) nitpick, quibble
5. Charlatan [shahr-luh-tn] (n.) – one who feigns knowledge or ability; a pretender, impostor, or quack.
The reporter exposed the real estate agent as a charlatan who routinely deceived her customers.
SYNONYMS: fraud, mountebank
6. Decimate [des-uh-meyt] (v.) – to kill or destroy a large part of
Napoleon was able to decimate his enemy’s armies and lead his men to victory.
SYNONYMS: ravage, devastate
7. Foible [foi-buhl] (n.) – a weak point, failing, minor flaw
Backbiting is one human foible not likely to be eradicated.
SYNONYMS: shortcoming, defect, quirk
ANTONYMS: forte, virtue
8. Forgo (v.) – to do without, abstain from, give up
One of the best ways to lose weight is to forgo dessert.
SYNONYMS: refrain from, renounce
ANTONYMS: indulge in, partake of
9. Fraught [frawt] (adj.) – full of or loaded with; accompanied by
Even with advanced equipment, expeditions to Mt.Everest are fraught with danger.
SYNONYM: charged with
ANTONYM: devoid of, lacking, deficient in
10. Inure [in-yoor] (v.) – to toughen, harden; to render used to something by long exposure
The Inuit have become inured to the hardships of the long Arctic winters.
SYNONYMS: accustom, acclimate
11. Luminous [loo-muh-nuhs] (adj.) – emitting or reflecting light, glowing; illuminating
Walking under that luminous night sky induced in me weighty thoughts not yet pondered.
SYNONYMS: radiant, bright, refulgent, lustrous
ANTONYMS: dark, opaque, dim, murky
12. Obsequious [uhb-see-kwee-uhs] (adj.) – marked by slavish attentiveness; excessively submissive, often for purely self-interested reasons
Jane Austen ridiculed characters who were obsequious to the aristocracy but condescending to their social inferiors.
SYNONYMS: fawning, servile, sycophantic, mealymouthed
ANTONYMS: assertive, bumptious, overbearing, candid, frank, independent
13. Obtuse [uhb-toos] (adj.) – blunt, not coming to a point; slow or dull in understanding; measuring between 90° and 180°; not causing a sharp impression
The lieutenant was too obtuse to see the danger and led his company into harm’s way.
SYNONYMS: stupid, thick, dumb, mild, dull-witted
ANTONYMS: acute, perceptive, quick-witted
14. Oscillate [os-uh-leyt] (v.) – to swing back and forth with a steady rhythm; to fluctuate or waver
The terrified narrator in Poe’s story The Pit and the Pendulum watches the dreaded instrument oscillate as it slowly moves toward him.
SYNONYMS: vibrate, vacillate
15. Penitent [pen-i-tuhnt] (adj.) – regretful for one’s sins or mistakes; (n.) one who is sorry for wrongdoing
The thief was sincerely penitent.
In the Middle Ages, penitents often confessed their sins publicly and were punished publicly.
SYNONYMS: (adj.) remorseful, regretful, rueful, sorry
ANTONYMS: (adj.) unrepentant, remorseless
16. Peremptory [puh-remp-tuh-ree] (adj.) – having the nature of a command that leaves no opportunity for debate, denial, or refusal; offensively self-assured, dictatorial; determined, resolute
The board members resented the director’s peremptory tone of voice.
SYNONYMS: high-handed, unconditional
ANTONYMS: irresolute, tentative, mild, unassuming
17. Rebuff (v.) – to snub; to repel, drive away; (n.) a curt rejection, a check
The old man rebuffed his neighbors by refusing all offers of friendship.
Her rebuff of my invitation was quite rude.
SYNONYMS: (v.) spurn, repulse, reject; (n.) setback
ANTONYMS: (v.) accept, welcome
18. Reconnoiter [ree-kuh-noi-ter] (v.) – to engage in reconnaissance; to make a preliminary inspection
Infantry officers often ask for volunteers to reconnoiter the terrain ahead before moving ahead.
SYNONYM: scout
19. Shambles (n.) – a slaughterhouse; a place of mass bloodshed; a state of complete disorder/confusion, mess
The burglars made a complete shambles of the apartment in their search for money and jewelry.
20. Sporadic [spuh-rad-ik] (adj.) – occurring at irregular intervals, having no set plan or order
The soldiers heard sporadic gunfire from the other side of the river.
SYNONYMS: intermittent, spasmodic
ANTONYMS: constant, steady, continuous, uninterrupted
Vocabulary G10-1 – Complete the Sentence
- Life on the family farm has ______me to hard physical labor and long hours of unremitting toil.
- The general sent scouts on ahead of the army to ______the area for a suitable place to pitch camp.
- Although there had been some ______fighting earlier, the real battles of the Civil War did not begin until Bull Run in July 1861.
- Unless the Special Aide to the Assistant Section Manager involves a salary increase, I would just as soon ______it.
- The riot converted the quiet streets of that suburban community into a ghastly ______.
- Although the moon appears to be a(n) ______body, the fact is that it only reflects light received from the sun.
- As all kinds of wild rumors ran rampant through the besieged city, the mood of the populace ______between hope and despair.
- Good supervisors know that they can get more cooperation from their staff by making polite requests than by issuing ______orders.
- The man’s personality was a strange mixture of strengths and weaknesses, fortes and ______.
- I was totally taken aback when they ______my kind offers of assistance so rudely and nastily.
Vocabulary G10-2 – Complete the Sentence
- No doubt he’s very sorry he got caught, but that does not mean that he’s at all ______about what he did.
- Any “investment counselor” who promises to double your money overnight must be regarded as a(n) ______or a crook.
- Though my childhood recollections have been ______by the passage of time, they have not been totally effaced from my memory.
- In a typical James Bond movie, Agent 007 has a series of adventures that are ______with tongue-in-cheek peril.
- His statements have been so uniformly ______that I get the impression that he is wearing a permanent pair of mental blinders.
- Though critics ______at minor faults in the new Broadway show, the general public loved it.
- I was relieved to learn that the tumor on my arm was ______and my worst fears groundless.
- We look ______at any program that makes it harder for city dwellers to get out and enjoy the beauties of nature.
- During the 14th Century, the Black Death suddenly swept across Europe, ______the population and paralyzing everyday life.
- During imperial times, the Roman Senate was little more than a collection of ______
yes-men, intent upon preserving their own lives.
Vocabulary G10-3 - Synonyms
1. Quibble over who is at fault______
2. Exposed him as a complete fraud______
3. Vacillated between two choices______
4. Looked skeptically at their proposals______
5. Accustomed to extremes of temperature______
6. A storm that ravaged the countryside______
7. An attempt to scout the interior______
8. Unwilling to renounce her inheritance______
9. Shocked by the mess they had created______
10. A salutary effect on consumer confidence______
Vocabulary 10-4 –
Synonyms
11. Full of suspense and tension______
12. Willing to overlook its defects______
13. Will spurn his offer of marriage______
14. His high-handed challenge to our authority______
15. In the radiant circle of the spotlight______
Antonyms
16. Measures that may strengthen the economy______
17. An entirely unrepentant gambler and heel______
18. Her acute handling of the issue______
19. Assumed an overbearing manner______
20. His constant attention to detail______