Allege (v) – to assert without proof or confirmation
Syn: claim, contend
Ant: prove, deny
***dredge up some false information

Arrant (adj) – thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant
Syn: egregious, unmitigated
***apparent

Badinage (n) – light and playful conversation
Syn: banter, persiflage, repartee
Ant: sermon
***banter

Conciliate (v) to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent
Syn: placate, mollify, propitiate
Ant: antagonize, alienate, estrange
***accommodate

I don’t care what he told you! I am ordering you to stop and return to base!
Countermand (v)- to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first
Syn: recall, revoke
Ant: reaffirm, reassert
***counter the command

Echelon (n) – one of a series of grades in an organization or field of activity; an organized military unit; a steplike formation or arrangement
Syn: level, rank

Exacerbate (v) – to make more violent, severe, bitter, or painful
Syn: aggravate, intensify, worsen
Ant: alleviate, mitigate, ameliorate
***aggravate

Fatuous (adj) – stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way
Syn: silly, vapid, inane, doltish, vacuous
Ant: sensible, intelligent, perceptive, bright
***doltish

Irrefutable (adj) – impossible to disprove; beyond argument
Syn: indisputable, undeniable
Ant: disputable, indefensible, untenable
***can’t be disputed

Juggernaut (n) – massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path
***“that bugger can’t be stopped!”

Lackadaisical (adj) - lacking spirit or interest, halfhearted
Syn: listless, indifferent, lax
Ant: energetic, vigorous, wholehearted
***lack energy, in a daze

Litany (n) – a prayer consisting of short appeals to god recited by the leader alternating with responses from the congregation; any repetitive chant; a long list
Syn: rigmarole, catalog, megillah
***list

Macabre (adj) – grisly, gruesome; horrible, distressing; having death as a subject
Syn: grotesque, grim, ghoulish
***massacre

Paucity (n) – an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth
Syn: lack
Ant: abundance, glut, plenitude, deluge
***with poverty there’s a paucity of things

Portend (v) – to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; give advance warning of
Syn: bode, foretell, foreshadow, suggest
***predict

Raze (v) – to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out
Syn: pull down, demolish, shave off
Ant: build, construct, raise, erect
*** opposite of “raise”, razor shaves off hair

I’m sorry! I take that back. I didn’t mean it.
Recant (v) – to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract
Syn: repudiate, disavow
Ant: reaffirm, reassert
***reverse

Saturate (v) – to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully
Syn: permeate, drench, flood, imbue
Ant: drain
***permeate

Saturnine (adj) – of gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood
Syn: sullen, morose
Ant: lighthearted, cheerful, vivacious
***whine

Slough (v) – to cast off, discard; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary; to plod through as if through mud;
(n) a mire; a state of depression
Syn: shed, slog
Ant: take on, acquire, assume
*** (v)take off, (n) in a huff