Vocabulary Unit
Word
14
Part/s of speech and
Definitions
Name___________________ Period_____
Synonyms
Promptness,
willingness, dispatch,
celerity
Lessen, lighten, allay,
mitigate, assuage
Antonyms
Reluctance,
unwillingness,
hesitancy
Sentences
alacrity
P:
(n) a cheerful readiness;
brisk and eager action
Neighbors responded with _____ to
the woman’s cries for help.
alleviate
P:
(v) to relieve, make more
bearable
antithesis
P:
(n) the direct opposite, a
sharp contrast
Contrary, antipode
appall
P:
(v) to fill with dismay or
horror
Shock, stun, stupefy,
horrify
Please, cheer,
gladden, elate,
exhilarate
The assassination of President
John F. Kennedy in 1963 _____ the
nation and the world.
bellicose
P:
(adj) warlike in manner
or temperament;
quarrelsome
Aggressive, combative,
belligerent
Amicable, peaceable,
conciliatory, pacific
Teddy Roosevelt’s foreign policy
was often driven by a rather _____
brand of patriotism.
disparage
P:
(v) to belittle, speak
slightingly of; to
undervalue
Degrade, decry, run
down, underrate
Praise, extol, laud,
plug
dissonant
P:
(adj) not in harmony;
disagreeing, at odds
Harmonious,
agreeing, euphonious
droll
P:
(adj) amusingly odd
Grating, strident,
unmelodious,
irreconcilable
Comical, humorous,
whimsical, zany
Don’t you think voters are getting
awfully tired of listening to
politicians _____ their opponents’
voting records.
The clamor of _____ voices could be
heard clearly through the closed
doors of the meeting room.
The hero or heroine of a popular
sitcom may be surrounded by a
cast of _____ eccentrics.
edict
P:
(n) an order issued by
someone in authority
Command, decree,
proclamation
elucidate
P:
(v) to clarify, explain
Interpret, expound,
explicate
Obscure, becloud,
muddy, obfuscate
The precise meaning of a passage
in the Bible is sometimes hard to
_____.
laud
P:
(v) to praise
Hail, extol, glorify,
exalt
Criticize, censure,
belittle, disparage
At the assembly the principal _____
both students and teachers for the
schoolwide improvement in reading
scores.
The doctors and nurses did
everything they could to _____ the
patient’s severe pain.
Discriminatory practices may be
said to constitute the very _____ of
our nation’s democratic ideals.
Humorless, solemn,
dour
Only in fairy tales can human
unhappiness and misery be
banished forever by royal _____.
Notes about the
word
loll
P:
(v) to act in a lazy
manner; to lounge; to
recline, droop
Loaf, loiter, sag,
dangle
There is nothing I would rather do
on a hot, humid summer afternoon
than _____ in a hammock under a
tree.
My dinner companion was so _____
that our conversation quickly
turned into a monologue.
loquacious
P:
(adj) talkative, wordy;
fond of talking
Gossipy, voluble,
garrulous, longwinded
Silent, reticent,
closemouthed, terse,
taciturn
magnanimous
P:
(adj) generous in
forgiving, above small
meanness
Unselfish, charitable,
noble, bighearted
Petty selfish,
unforgiving, spiteful
The general’s victory was so
decisive that he could afford to be
_____ toward his former enemies.
mandatory
P:
(adj) required, obligatory
Compulsory,
requisite, imperative
Optional, voluntary,
discretionary
A union contract may stipulate
that members are to receive a _____
annual cost of living increase.
nondescript
P:
(adj) ordinary, not
outstanding; not easily
classified
Plain, unremarkable,
unimpressive
Distinctive,
remarkable, vivid,
prepossessing
Fashion critics judged the
designer’s fall clothing line to be
disappointingly _____.
phlegmatic
P:
(adj) slow-moving,
sluggish; unemotional
Lethargic, indolent,
torpid, stolid,
impassive
Emotional, sensitive,
thin-skinned,
excitable
rescind
P:
(v) to repeal, cancel
Withdraw, revoke,
retract, annul,
abrogate
Affirm, endorse,
uphold, ratify
Sloths are such _____ creatures
that they have earned the
reputation of being the slowest
animals on Earth.
A sitting Congress sometimes _____
statutes passed by its
predecessors.
vivacious
P:
(adj) lively, sprightly, full
of energy
Spirited, animated,
ebullient
whet
P:
(v) to sharpen, put an
edge on; to make keen or
eager
Hone, excite,
stimulate
Dull, spiritless,
listless, indolent,
languid
dull, blunt, deeded,
stifle, dampen
A _____ individual will certainly
never lack for companions.
In most mystery novels, the first
chapter is designed to _____ your
curiosity to find out “who done it.”