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AM Lit VOCABULARY
Week 6: The Age of Reason
1. solace (verb) to give comfort to in grief or misfortune
The kind words brought a little solace to the grieving widow.
syn: assure, cheer, console, comfort
ant: distress, torment, torture, trouble
2. inevitable (adjective) sure to happen; incapable of being avoided or evaded
Getting wet is inevitable if you are going to try to give your dog a bath
syn: certain, inescapable, unavoidable
ant: avoidable, uncertain, unsure
3. spurn (verb) to refuse to accept (someone or something that you do not think deserves your respect,
attention, affection, etc.)
Fiercely independent, the elderly couple spurned all offers of financial help.
syn: disapprove, negative, refuse, reject
ant: accept, agree (to), approve
4. inviolate (adjective) not harmed or changed; not violated or profaned, especially: pure
These rights must remain inviolate.
syn: NA
ant: NA
5. supplicate (verb) to make a humble entreaty; especially : to pray to God
The minister reminded his flock that God is a being to be obeyed and worshipped always and not just
someone to be supplicated in times of trouble
syn: appeal (to), beseech, entreat, implore
ant: NA
6. insidious (adjective) causing harm in a way that is gradual or not easily noticed
Most people with this insidious disease have no idea that they are infected.
syn:
ant:
7. vigilant (adjective) alertly watchful especially to avoid danger
When traveling through the city, tourists should be extra vigilant.
syn: attentive, awake, observant, alert
ant: asleep
8. avert (verb) to turn (your eyes, gaze, etc.) away or aside; to prevent (something bad) from happening
The diplomatic talks narrowly averted a war.
syn: prevent, forestall, stave off
ant: NA
9. tyranny (noun) a government in which all power belongs to one person; the rule/authority of a tyrant
He was dedicated to ending the tyranny of slavery.
syn: dictatorship, totalitarianism, despotism
ant: NA
10. impious (adjective) not pious; lacking in reverence or proper respect (as for God or one's parents)
Puritans often feared seeming impious.
syn: irreverent, blasphemous, profane
ant: pious, reverant
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11. dominion (noun) the land that a ruler or government controls; supreme authority
The countries fought for dominion of the territory.
syn: dominance, domination, hegemony
ant: impotence, powerlessness
12. precipitate (verb) to cause (something) to happen quickly or suddenly
The budget problem was precipitated by many unexpected costs.
syn: aftereffect, conclusion, corollary
ant: cause, reason
13. sottish (adjective) resembling a sot: drunken, doltish, stupid
You could smell the whiskey on her sottish aunt's breath from a block away!
syn: besotted, hammered, high, impaired
ant: sober
14. disaffected (adjective) no longer happy and willing to support a leader, government, etc.
The citizen’s heroic actions in saving the child from the burning building were laudable.
syn: NA
ant: NA
15. eloquence (noun) discourse marked by force and persuasiveness; the quality of forceful or persuasive
expressiveness
The senator's eloquence is well known.
syn: articulateness, poetry, rhetoric
ant: inarticulateness