Word List 1

1) Abdicate ( ab·di·cate ) verb; to give up, to renounce

The king abdicated the throne and gave it to his son; he stepped down.

Sherrie announced she would abdicate chocolate desserts for her health.

Synonyms : renounce, relinquish, resign, abandon

Antonyms : take power, usurp, appropriate, arrogate

2) Acrimonious ( ac·ri·mo·ni·ous ) adjective; stinging, caustic.

The comedian's humor was so acrimonious that he often alienated and offended his audience.

The letter to the editor contained such acrimonious remarks that it was clear that writer was extremely angry.

Synonyms : rancorous, bitter, spiteful, hostile, harsh

Antonyms : harmonious, pleasant, sweet, kind

3) Blithe ( blithe ) adjective; carefree, happy.

The town festival was a blithe affair; everyone was enjoying the music, food, and dancing. The term, “ blithe spirit” refers to someone who seems to be without a care in the world.

Synonyms : carefree, amiable, happy-go-lucky

Antonyms : miserable, depressed, despondent, dejected

4) Blandish ( blan·dish ) verb; to coax through flattery.

Although the saleswoman blandished Sara, she did not purchase the expensive dress. (noun)

Ned was uncomfortable with his date's blandishments ; her compliments were too audacious.

Sam's reputation as a blandisher made many ladies question the sincerity of his compliments.

Synonyms : cajole, sweet talk, wheedle, entice, coax

Antonyms : abuse, criticize, censure, disparage, ridicule, belittle

5) Cabal ( ca·bal ) noun; a group of plotters generally working in secret.

The cabal met to discuss their plans to overthrow the government.

Celeste's candidacy for prom queen was undermined by a cabal that didn't like her.

Synonyms : faction, splinter group, division

6) Caustic ( caus·tic ) noun; a corrosive or burning substance; something that stings.

Battery acid is classified as a caustic substance. (adjective)

Ted's caustic words stung Beth; she thought he was her friend.

Synonyms : scathing, mordent, acerbic, wounding, contemptuous

Antonyms : admiring, complimentary, appreciative, deferential

7) Debunk ( de·bunk ) verb; to reveal the false, inaccurate, or exaggerated nature of one's claims.

In her history paper Susan debunked the myth that Thanksgiving was an annual holiday for the Pilgrims. Ned's futile attempts to debunk gravity resulted in bruises and broken bones.

Synonyms : expose, discredit, deflate, demystify,

Antonyms : affirm, endorse, honor.

8) Despot ( des·pot ) noun; an oppressive ruler with absolute power.

The tyrannical despot refused food and education to his people; he'd rather build palaces and hoard his country's money in foreign bank accounts.

After being elected to senior class president, Frank's despotic nature (adjective) became evident when he asked everyone to refer to him as “your highness.”

Synonyms : dictator, tyrant, autocrat, totalitarian

9) Diffuse ( dif·fuse ) verb; to spread out, scatter, or disperse.

Blown by the breeze, the dandelion seeds diffused all over the field.

The fragrance of the broken perfume bottle diffused throughout the room.

The diffused (adjective) papers, lost on the windy day, were almost impossible to gather.

Synonyms : scatter, disperse, disseminate, circulate

Antonym : concentrate

10) Efface ( ef·face ) verb; to make indistinct, less visible or known, generally by rubbing or erasing.

The names on the gravestones had been effaced with the passage of time.

After they broke up, Alexia effaced all traces of Tony by throwing out everything he gave her including their pictures together.

Synonyms : destroy, eradicate, obliterate, rub away

11) Eschew ( es·chew ) verb; to evade, avoid, or shun.

Theresa eschewed all parties that required dressing up; she simply wouldn't wear anything but jeans. Lenny planned to eschew any foods containing coconut, which he hated.

Synonyms : avoid, shun, disdain

Antonyms : embrace, respect, value

12) Facetious ( fa·ce·tious ) adjective; funny, comedic.

Eric's facetious behavior made him the class clown and an irritant to all his teachers.

Professional comics make money from their facetious wit.

Synonyms : teasing, tongue in cheek, banter, droll

Antonyms : stoic, unmoved, impassive

13) Gambit ( gam·bit ) noun; an opening move in chess, an opening comment in conversation, a strategy or ruse.

Penny's opening gambit in chess allowed her to take control of the game.

Our gambit for the rugby game was simple: rush and pummel.

Synonyms : ploy, maneuver, stratagem, scheme, subterfuge

14) Hiatus ( hi·a·tus ) noun; a pause, gap or space in conversation or presence.

Spring Break is a welcome hiatus at the end of March.

The long hiatus in her conversation with Tim made Ella uncomfortable, finally she said good-bye and hung up the phone.

Synonyms : interruption, lull, interlude, break

15) Impede ( im·pede ) verb; to obstruct, place in the path of, make more difficult.

He knew the difficult class would impede his goal of perfect grades, but he decide to challenge himself.

Synonyms : obstruct, hinder, hamper, encumber, delay

Antonyms : assist, support, help

16) Jaunt ( jaunt ) noun; a short trip or journey usually for entertainment.

“Let's take a jaunt to the park,” suggested Susan to her younger siblings.

Synonyms : outing, stroll, spree, trip

Antonyms : odyssey, voyage, expedition

17) Malevolent ( ma·lev·o·lent ) adjective; evil, malicious, having the intent to do harm or damage. From the Latin root Mal meaning bad.

After Ursula kept tripping Marvin in the hallway, he began to suspect her as malevolent .

No one could have imagined the malevolence (noun) of the woman who poisoned her husband.

Synonyms : spiteful, malicious, wicked, nasty, mean.

Antonyms : benevolent, compassionate, sympathetic, caring

18) Nullify ( nul·li·fy ) verb; to make null and void, to render ineffective.

The information on the drug label warned that taking the pills might nullify other medicines.

In their opposition the two countries decided to nullify the treaty they had signed earlier.

Synonyms : invalidate, annul, reverse, quash, abrogate, annul

Antonyms : validate, authenticate, confirm, corroborate, support

19) Pugnacious ( pug·na·cious ) adjective; bellicose, aggressive, combative.

The pugnacious bully was repeatedly getting into fights.

Synonyms : argumentative, confrontational, belligerent, truculent, contentious

Antonyms : peaceable, calm.

20) Prudent ( pru·dent ) adjective; showing wisdom and thoughtful judgment.

After viewing the weather forecast, David thought it would be prudent to take an umbrella to work. (noun) An important decision such as marriage should be made with prudence .

Synonyms : cautious, sensible, careful, practical, discreet, responsible

Antonyms : hasty, reckless, irresponsible

21) Requisite ( req·ui·site ) adjective; required, necessary, unavoidable.

The position application stated that a four-year-college degree was a requisite for the job. (noun)

Passing the driver's exam is a requisite for obtaining a legal license.

Synonyms : obligatory, mandatory, compulsory

Antonyms : elective, voluntary, optional

22) Sanguine ( san·guine ) adjective; good humor, optimistic character.

Fred's sanguine personality made him fun to be around.

Synonyms : confident, optimistic, cheerful

Antonyms : doubtful, uncertain.

23) Scrupulous ( scru·pu·lous ) adjective; principled or exact, great attention to detail.

Surgery is a scrupulous science requiring equal parts of confidence and skill.

Dan was ordered to clean the kitchen with a scrupulous eye; no speck of dirt would escape his mother.

Synonyms : fastidious, conscientious, meticulous, thorough, painstaking,

Antonyms : sloppy, careless, slapdash, slipshod

24) Trepidation ( trep·i·da·tion ) noun; fear, dread, or worry.

Since Phillip had not studied for his physics exam, he went to class with great trepidation .

Silvia's trepidation increased as she heard the tornado warnings sound.

Synonyms : consternation, apprehension, foreboding, unease

Antonyms : confidence, optimism.

25) Verbose ( ver·bose ) adjective; having a big mouth and using it excessively.

Isabella's verbose nature made her an unwise choice to keep a secret.

Tony was so verbose one often had to find excuses to get away from his talkative conversation.

Synonyms: garrulous, loquacious, long-winded, rambling

Antonyms : taciturn, introverted, reserved, aloof