Vocabulary
Level F Unit 7
austere
• (adj.) severe or stern in
manner; without
adornment or luxury,
simple, plain; harsh or
sour in flavor
• SYN: forbidding,
rigorous, puritanical,
ascetic, unadorned,
subdued
• ANT: mild, indulgent,
luxurious, flamboyant
The Puritans dressed in
an austere manner.
beneficent
• (adj.) performing acts of
kindness or charity;
conferring benefits,
doing good
• SYN: humanitarian,
magnanimous,
charitable
• ANT: selfish, cruel,
harmful, deleterious
Bill Gates is known as a
beneficent humanitarian.
cadaverous
• (adj.) pale, gaunt,
resembling a corpse
• SYN: corpselike,
wasted, haggard,
emaciated, ghastly
• ANT: robust, portly,
rosy, the picture of
health
Pictures of the cadaverous
Holocaust victims shocked the
world during World War II.
concoct
• (v.) to prepare by
combining
ingredients, make
up (as a dish); to
devise, invent,
fabricate
• SYN: create, fashion,
rustle up
Paula Deen has made a fortune
by concocting delicious dishes
for her television show.
crass
• (adj.) coarse, unfeeling;
stupid
• SYN: crude, vulgar,
tasteless, oafish,
obtuse
• ANT: refined, elegant,
tasteful, polished,
brilliant
The crass nature of the press
today is enough to discourage
anyone from running for office.
debase
• (v.) to lower in
character, quality, or
value; to degrade,
adulterate; to cause to
deteriorate
• SYN: cheapen,
corrupt, demean,
depreciate
• ANT: elevate, uplift,
improve, enhance
Don’t debase your character
by associating with
undesirable people.
desecrate
• (v.) to commit
sacrilege upon, treat
irreverently; to
contaminate, pollute
• SYN: profane, defile,
violate
• ANT: revere, honor,
venerate, consecrate
Vandals desecrated
tombstones that were over
100 years old.
disconcert
• (v.) to confuse; to
disturb the
composure of
• SYN: upset, rattle,
ruffle, faze,
perturb
• ANT: relax, calm,
put at ease
Political guests often find
Bill O’Reilly’s questions
disconcerting.
grandiose
• (adj.)grand in an
impressive or stately
way; marked by
pompous affection or
grandeur, absurdly
exaggerated
• SYN: majestic,
bombastic, highfalutin
• ANT: simple, modest,
unaffected, humble
Many country western singers
have grandiose dreams of
making it big in Nashville.
inconsequential
• (adj.) trifling,
unimportant
• SYN: trivial,
negligible, petty,
paltry
• ANT: important,
essential, crucial,
vital
Many of the details you
included in the report were
inconsequential and
unimportant.
infraction
• (n.) a breaking of
a law or
obligation
• SYN: violation,
transgression,
breach, offense
It is rare that the referees
will catch every infraction
on the court.
mitigate
• (v.) to make milder or
softer, to moderate in
force or intensity
• SYN: lessen, relieve,
alleviate, diminish
• ANT: aggravate,
intensify, irritate,
exacerbate
The judge decided to
mitigate her sentence
because she had shown
good behavior.
pillage
• (v.) to rob of goods
by open force (as in
war), plunder; (n.)
the act of looting;
booty
• SYN: (v.) ravage,
sack, loot; (n.) booty
After the riots, looters
began to pillage the
town.
prate
• (v.) to talk a great deal
in a foolish or aimless
fashion
• SYN: chatter, prattle,
blab, blabber, palaver
• ANT: come to the
point, not waste
words
After she got home from
school, she did nothing
but prate on the phone
for hours.
punctilious
• (adj.) very careful and
exact, attentive to fine
points of etiquette or
propriety
• SYN: precise,
scrupulous, exacting,
fussy, finicky
• ANT: careless, negligent,
lax, perfunctory
The soldier’s job required
exact attention to detail.
redoubtable
• (adj.) inspiring fear or
awe; illustrious,
eminent
• SYN: formidable,
fearsome, awesome,
august
• ANT: laughable, risible,
contemptible
The people felt as if it was
time for their redoubtable
leader to step down.
reprove
• (v.) to find fault with,
scold, rebuke
• SYN: chide, chastise,
upbraid, reproach
• ANT: praise,
commend, laud, pat
on the back
The teacher reproved
her students for
misbehaving.
restitution
• (n.) the act of
restoring someone or
something to the
rightful owner or to a
former state or
position; making good
on a loss or damage
• SYN: compensation,
reimbursement,
redress, restoration
The teen was ordered by
the judge to provide
restitution for the
property that he
destroyed.
stalwart
• (adj.) strong and sturdy;
brave; resolute; (n.) a
brave, strong person; a
strong supporter; one who
takes an uncompromising
position
• SYN: (adj.) sturdy, stout,
intrepid, valiant; (n.)
mainstay
• ANT: (adj.) weak, infirm,
irresolute, vacillating
She will be a stalwart
addition to our committee
based on her past voting
record.
vulnerable
• (adj.) open to attack;
capable of being
wounded or damaged;
unprotected
• SYN: defenseless,
exposed, unguarded
• ANT: invincible,
protected, safe, secure
With so many homes built
close to the water, the
town was vulnerable to
hurricanes.