Word List 15

1) Abstruse ( ab·struse ) adjective; something that is difficult to explain or comprehend, obscure.

The calculations of mathematicians and astronomers who try to explain the universe must be pretty abstruse .

To Charles, the many writing rules of his MLA style manual seemed abstruse .

Synonyms : perplexing, obscure, complex, bewildering, mysterious

Antonyms : understandable, explicable, logical, comprehendible.

2) Aesthetic ( es·thet·ic ) adjective; pertaining to art or beauty.

Although the square building was energy efficient, it was greatly lacking in aesthetics ; in short, it was ugly.

The surgeon's goal was to aesthetically hide the large scar and make it less visible.

An aesthete (noun) is one who appreciates or judges beauty in art. The aesthete regarded the statue with great appreciation.

Synonyms: artistic, visual, beauty

Antonyms: plain, uninspired

3) Attrition ( at·tri·tion) noun; a gradual wearing away by friction or reduction in membership.

The club dissolved due to attrition ; fewer people came every time until there was no one left to meet.

The shoreline slowly wore away due to attrition from the sea tide.

Synonyms : erosion, wearing away

Antonyms: building up, supplement

4) Bathos ba·thos noun; insincere or grossly sentimental, especially in the ending

Celia was riveted to the thrilling book until the end, which was full of bathos and very disappointing.

The audience booed the bathos at the end of the play; the ending was so awful it was laughable.

Synonyms : anticlimax, nadir, letdown, disappointment, banality, triteness, bathos

5) Bilious ( bil·ious) adjective; easy to irritate, sickly

Bilious comes from the word, bile , which refers to stomach acid.

The witch's green skin was an indication of her biliousness . (noun)

The patient biliously turned down every offer of help he received.

Synonyms : dyspeptic, peevish, ill-humored

Antonyms : well, healthy, good-natured

6) Cursory (cur·so·ry) adjective; done in haste with little attention

Unfortunately, Cathy only gave her English paper a cursory glance before she turned it in; she got a “D” due to numerous small errors in her paper.

As he was late Brian performed his morning ritual in a cursory manner; he was surprised to return home later that day and find his back door wide open!

Synonyms: superficial, hasty, perfunctory, rapid, brief, careless

Antonyms: careful, attentive, conscientious, meticulous, assiduous, peruse

7) Craven (cra·ven) adjective; to be afraid,

Our craven dog ran under the bed each time he heard an unfamiliar noise.

Instead of standing up for his beliefs, Ned cravenly cowered to popular opinion. (adverb)

Synonyms : cowardly, gutless, spineless, timorous, pusillanimous

Antonyms : brave, courageous, valiant

8) Disconcert ( dis·con·cert ) verb; to distress, to embarrass

Evelyn was disconcerted to hear her name associated with a vicious untrue rumor.

It was disconcerting to realize that the family's home was not safe in a tornado.

Synonyms : embarrass, distress, offend, displease, disturb

Antonyms : comfort, soothe, console, reassure

9) Disdain (dis·dain) noun;  to regard or treat with haughty contempt; to despise.

Farrah was disdainful towards fast food; she looked down on it with derision.

Ed looked upon cleaning his room with disdain ; he left his mother to do it instead.

Andrew felt great disdain for peas; he simply could not stand them.

Synonyms : scorn, contempt, derision, condescension, disparage, reject, spurn

Antonyms : admire, respect, esteem

10) Empirical ( em·pir·i·cal ) adjective; based on observation or experience, capable of being proved or disproved through experiment

Science and medicine progress through empirical experimentation and observation.

Empirically -based results are more accurate than theory as the empirical results have been confirmed though experiment.

Synonyms: confirmable, experimental

Antonyms: theoretical,

11) Eminent ( em·i·nent) adjective; of high respect, high rank in authority

The eminent Renaissance historian was asked his opinion for all subsequent publications on the Renaissance; his knowledge and authority was useful for evaluation.

The wise woman was considered an eminent authority in her village.

Synonyms : well-known, reputed, distinguished, renowned

Antonyms : infamous, notorious, iniquitous, villainous

12) Futile ( fu·tile) adjective; useless, without useful result.

Sometimes it is said that education is futilely wasted on the young; we often don't possess the maturity to take advantage of education until we are older.

It was futile for the soldiers to fight; they were outnumbered ten to one; after considering their futile options, they decided to surrender.

Synonyms : useless, pointless, fruitless, ineffective

Antonyms : useful, helpful, effective, valuable

13) Grovel ( grov·el) verb; to behave in a servile manner; to beg

After his terrible behavior at prom, Greg groveled to his girlfriend for weeks; he was worried she'd break up with him.

It was painful to watch the skinny hungry dog grovel for scraps of food.

Synonyms: plead, beg, supplicate, implore, entreat, beseech

14) Histrionic ( his·tri·on·ic) adjective: excessively dramatic

All of her friends were used to Heather's histrionic outbursts; she was the original drama queen.

The stage actor histrionically cried out for revenge; he was so overwrought that some in the audience actually laughed. (adverb)

Synonyms: theatrical, dramatic, exaggerated, melodramatic, insincere

Antonyms: genuine, authentic,

15) Intrepid ( in·trep·id )  adjective; full of courage and spirit.
The intrepid solider forged into battle; he was unafraid to fight.

Intrepid is a popular name for cars and sports vehicles implying that the vehicles are unafraid to go anywhere.

Synonyms : fearless, brave, bold, gallant, resolute, daring, valiant, heroic, dauntless

Antonyms: cowardly, pusillanimous, craven, spineless

16) Lament ( la·ment ) verb; to grieve, to express sorrow, to cry out

The family lamented the death of their beloved daughter.

The boy let out a loud lamentation when his puppy died. (noun)

Synonyms : mourn, grieve

Antonyms : celebrate

17) Mawkish ( mawk·ish) adjective; overtly sentimental to the point of insincerity

My girlfriend cherished the mawkish love story; I thought the movie was terrible.

Adria was known for her mawkish behavior; there was always a drama or crisis going on in her life.
Synonyms: maudlin, sappy, syrupy, bathetic (bathos)

18) Nettle ( net·tle) noun; an irritating prickly plant; to irritate

Arthur stumbled through a patch of nettles and came out with scratches and welts on his legs. The sign on the zoo gate warned: “Please do not annoy, vex, irritate or nettle the animals.”

Synonyms : annoy, irritate, vex, grate, exasperate

19) Pejorative ( pe·jor·a·tive ) adjective; to put something down

Carrie's pejorative comments let it be known that she did not respect her boss.

Stephen

Synonyms: derogatory, uncomplimentary, depreciatory, negative

Antonyms : complimentary, flattering, admiring, gracious

20) Probity ( pro·bi·ty ) noun; confirmed integrity, virtue

Daniel was a good candidate for the political office as everyone who knew him confirmed his good character and probity .

In order to work in a bank around money, employees must prove absolute probity and respect for honesty; they can never have bounced a check.

Synonyms : integrity, virtue, uprightness

21) Surmise ( sur·mise) verb; to guess, to infer from evidence

Given the empty cookie jar, the ring of crumbs around her brother's mouth, and his sticky hands, Caitlyn surmised he would not be hungry for dinner.
The detective surmised the culprit of the crime, but he needed more evidence to prove it.

Synonyms: guess, construe, deduce, conclude, assume

22) Sycophant ( syc·o·phant ) noun; one who flatters for self-gain

In Lord of the Rings, Gollum is a sycophant ; he flatters Frodo in an attempt to deceive him and get the ring from him.

Ted's sycophantic tendencies earned the distrust of his colleagues; he was always buttering up his boss in hopes of a gain in raise or title. (adjective)

Synonyms: lackey, toady

23) Tantalize ( tan·ta·lize) verb; to tease or entice , to torment

The tasty desserts tantalized the dieter.

In Greek mythology, Tantalus was a son of Zeus who regularly shared the food of the gods. However, he abused their trust and was punished by being “tantalized”: He was immersed up to his neck in water, but when he bent to drink, it all drained away. Further, luscious fruit hung on trees above him, but when he reached for the fruit, the winds blew the branches beyond his reach.

Synonyms: entice, tease, excite, tempt, beguile, charm

Antonyms: hold back, repel, deter.

24) Validate ( val·i·date ) verb; to declare valid and true

The officer's badge validated his authority as a police officer.

The governor validates his correspondence with a state seal.

Synonyms: authenticate, legalize, authorize, confirm, corroborate, verify

Antonyms: invalid, false, null, specious, sophistic

25) Writhe ( writhe) verb; to twist or move with pain

After he was shot the victim writhed on the ground moaning with pain.

The surgeon had to restrain the writhing patient so he could remove the bullet.

Synonyms: squirm, wiggle, twist, struggle