VOCABULARY Grade 11 Unit 7 1-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, The Tibet monks are dressed in an austere manner. luxurious, flamboyant Ex. The austere clothing and conduct of the Puritans expressed humility. austere • They lived in an austerely furnished home with only the barest necessities. • Many people are forced to work in more austere conditions by their employers in the manufacturing of products. • Some European countries are being forced to establish more austere expenditures because of their monetary debts. 2-beneficent • (adj.) performing acts of kindness or charity; conferring benefits, doing good • SYN: humanitarian, magnanimous, charitable Bill Gates is known as a beneficent humanitarian. • ANT: selfish, cruel, harmful, deleterious Ex. From them I learned that purely beneficent acts can require as much hard work as nine-to-five job. beneficent • In an attempt to look beneficent, the selfish millionaire hired a photographer to take pictures of him standing outside a homeless shelter. • Many beneficent projects have to be foregone if sufficient funds are lacking. • John and his wife are a beneficent couple who are regular volunteers at a homeless shelter. 3- cadaverous • (adj.) pale, gaunt, resembling a corpse • SYN: corpselike, wasted, haggard, emaciated, ghastly • ANT: robust, portly, rosy, the picture of Pictures of the cadaverous Holocaust victims shocked the health world during World War II. Ex. The rescued captives were weak from hunger and cadaverous in appearance. cadaverous • Sally has a cadaverous odor and an extremely thin and deathly pale skin that has resulted from the terrible disease that she has. • Erwin's long illness gave him a cadaverous appearance; however, he is beginning to recover and getting his normal skin color again. 4- concoct • (v.) to prepare by combining ingredients, make up (as a dish); to devise, invent, fabricate • SYN: create, fashion, rustle up Martha Stewarts has made a fortune by concocting delicious dishes for her television show. Ex. He concocts a savory stew with fresh herbs and vegetables from the garden. concoct • Henry wanted to concoct a mystery story by using a lot of his imagination without including ideas from his previous mystery stories. • Tom's children decided to concoct a scheme so they could stay up late on Saturday night to see a special TV movie! 5- 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. Ex. We feel that the positions of our representative show a crass indifference to our problems. Crass • There were some people who were shocked by Mildred's crass or offensive comments about the new supervisor at her company. • While he considers his apartment well-furnished, his crass excessiveness goes way beyond the bounds of good taste. 6-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. Ex. Every time a new role is introduced in a popular sport, there are fans who say it will debase the game. debase • The medical profession has been debased by these revelations. • Our society has been debased by war and corruption. 7- 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. Ex. The search continues for the vandals who desecrated the cemetery. desecrate • The local vandals were accused of desecrating several graves by throwing paint on the sites at the cemetery. • People were warned not to desecrate the flags of any of the countries that were participating in the international sports event. 8-disconcert • (v.) to confuse; to disturb the composure of • SYN: upset, rattle, ruffle, faze, perturb • ANT: relax, calm, Political guests often find Bill put at ease O’Reilly’s questions disconcerting. Ex. They had hoped to disconcert him with an unexpected question, but he was well prepared. disconcert • News about Marie's car accident as she was driving to work was disconcerting her employer very much. • The news that his scheduled flight had been canceled again disconcerted the salesman who had arranged an important meeting with a company executive. 9-grandiose • (adj.)grand in an impressive or stately way; marked by pompous affection or grandeur, absurdly exaggerated • SYN: majestic, bombastic, highfalutin Statements of positive expectations need not be • ANT: simple, modest, grandiose. unaffected, humble Ex. In how many stories, I wonder, does an ambitious villain become the victim of grandiose plans? grandiose • The actor had the most grandiose ideas about his appearance and acting ability. • The grandiose buildin g was constructed to look like a decorative art style of architecture but it proved to be too ornate to be admired by most people. 10-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. Ex. Feel free to ignore the inconsequential details, provided that you know exactly which ones they are. inconsequential • Leola made an effort to take her husband's mind off his troubles by talking about inconsequential things. • Since Brad's argument doesn't make any sense, he is just contributing a bunch of inconsequential talk. 11-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. Ex. His uncle paid a fine for his infraction of the local recycling regulations . infraction • Monroe was penalized for an infraction of parking on the street beyond the time limit. • One more infraction and Jason will be suspended from school. • The police ignored Jill’s minor infraction because it was her first violation of the law. 12-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. Ex. I had hoped to mitigate her anger by offering an apology. mitigate • The lawyer tried to mitigate the circumstances of his client's crime so the punishment or penalty would be reduced • There's no way to mitigate the effect of that unfavorable report. • The government hopes the tax break will mitigate unemployment by allowing big companies to hire more people. 13-pillage • (v.) to rob of goods by open force (as in war), plunder; (n.) the act of looting; booty After the riots, looters • SYN: (v.) ravage, began to pillage the sack, loot; (n.) booty town. Ex. The commanding officer warned his troops not to pillage the conquered city. pillage • The general was a decent man and did not allow any of his soldiers to pillage items from towns they invaded. • Without a leader, the troops took the opportunity to pillage gold coins and jewelry from every town through which they travelled. 14-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 My boss sometimes prates aimlessly in meetings. Ex. He would prate endlessly about the past but say nothing useful about our present dilemma. prate • The detective often picked up some clues about criminal cases by listening to the prate at the local club. • After she got home from school, she did nothing but prate on the phone for hours. 15-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. He should be punctilious. Ex. The clerk was so punctilious in obeying court rules that I had to remind him why I was there. punctilious • I attended a strict military school where punctilious behavior was required at all times. While I enjoy cleanliness, I am not so punctilious that I get upset about a little dust on my furniture. • Pharmacists must be very punctilious because the actions they take could result in fatalities. 16-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. Ex. As a ruler he was redoubtable ,but, like all such rulers ,he was not much loved. redoubtable • When the scrawny high school wrestler saw his redoubtable two hundred pound competitor, he fainted. • Ben knew it would take him several weeks to complete the redoubtable task assigned to him by his manager. • A reward is being offered for information that leads to the capture of the redoubtable mobster who has been on the run for fifteen years. 17-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. Ex. She reproved her staff for having followed orders blindly. reprove • During the trial, the defense attorney went out of his way to loudly reprove every statement made by the prosecution • As a voter, I have the right to reprove the politician’s policies that are not in my best interest. • Margaret is going to reprove her son’s decision to drop out of high school. 18-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 The teen was ordered by • SYN: compensation, the judge to provide reimbursement, redress, restitution for the property restoration that he destroyed. Ex. They made restitution for the damage to the car but never fully regained the friendship of its owner. restitution • Since I was in the car but not the driver, I do not believe I should have to pay restitution to the hit-and-run victim. • After Marvin vandalized the school by breaking the library window, he was ordered to pay restitution in the sum of three thousand dollars. • Although Janice made restitution for damaging my car, she and I are no longer the best of friends. • As part of his restitution, the teenage vandal had to rebuild the fence he destroyed. 19-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 • She will be a stalwart addition to our committee • ANT: (adj.) weak, infirm, based on her past voting irresolute, vacillating record. Ex. She became as stalwarts on the basketball court as she was quick at mathematical puzzles. stalwart • When the king was accompanied by his stalwart bodyguards, he felt safe walking among his people. • As a stalwart follower of the Democratic Party, I agree to vote for the party’s presidential candidate. 20-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. Ex. Those brave enough to have opposed the dictator’s rise now found themselves in a vulnerable position. vulnerable Kids are more vulnerable to catch diseases than adults. • Jackie was quite vulnerable and broke out in tears when friends would mention her late husband who died just a few weeks before. • Without some type of shade, my toddler is going to be extremely vulnerable to the sun. • The poorly built castle was vulnerable to attack.
