Vocabulary Unit I
Vocabulary Lesson 1: Get to the Point!
Today’s roots:
co-, concis
❑ concise (adj)
together, with
cut
brev
cur
brief
run, course
brief and to the point (con- altogether + cis cut)
Ricky, try to be a bit more concise in this paper; the assignment was for a three-page paper; yours was 106.
Synonyms: succinct, terse
Antonyms: prolix, discursive, protracted, circumlocutory, verbose
❑ laconic (adj)
disposed to using few words (from Latin term for Spartans, who spoke little)
I’ve known Lucy for ten years, but she’s so laconic that I hardly know anything about her past.
Synonyms: taciturn, reticent
Antonyms: garrulous, loquacious
❑ succinct (adj)
spoken or written in a clear and precise manner
Because commercial time during the Super Bowl runs over $3 million per minute, it’s good to be succinct.
Synonyms: terse, concise
Antonyms: prolix, discursive, protracted, circumlocutory, verbose
❑ brusque (adj)
rudely abrupt
My girlfriend tends to be brusque when she’s mad; she just tells me to “talk to the hand.”
Synonyms: curt, abrupt, petulant
❑ abridge (v)
to shorten a written text
The dictionary was 1,400 pages long before it was abridged by the publishers to 850 pages.
Synonym: abbreviate
Antonyms: augment, amplify, protract
❑ brevity (n)
quality of succinct expression (brev- brief + -ity quality of)
Speeches at the Academy Awards are not known for their brevity; they often go on long past their allotted time.
Synonyms: conciseness, pithiness, succinctness, laconism
❑ conspire (v)
to plan together secretly to commit an illegal act (con- together + -spire breathe)
Synonyms: collude, collaborate
❑ concur (v)
to agree (con- together + -cur run)
Synonyms: accord, harmonize, cohere
❑ concord (n)
a state of harmony (con- together + -cord heart)
Synonyms: unanimity, consensus
❑ congenital (adj)
existing at birth (con- together + gen born)
Synonyms: innate, inborn
❑ schism (n)
a division into political or religious factions (cis cut)
Synonyms: faction, rift, divergence
❑ incisive (adj)
having or indicating keen insight (in- in + cis cut)
Synonyms: acute, keen, astute, canny, perspicacious, judicious, shrewd
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Vocabulary Lesson 2: Think Before You Judge
Today’s roots:
jud
jur
❑ judicious (adj)
judge
oath, law
leg
scrut
law
to examine
showing sound judgment; prudent ( jud- judge + -ious full of)
After much thought, I decided that the most judicious thing to do was to avoid the swamp full of alligators.
Synonyms: prudent, sensible, circumspect, sagacious
Antonyms: improvident, rash
❑ adjudicate (v)
to hear and judge a case ( jud- judge + -ate to do)
Sometimes when my two children fight, I feel like I’m adjudicating a capital crime rather than settling a quarrel.
❑ astute (adj)
shrewd; keen
The young Sherlock Holmes was quite the astute investigator; he always unraveled even the toughest mysteries.
Synonyms: sagacious, shrewd, incisive, canny, perspicacious
Antonyms: vacuous, vapid, obtuse
❑ scrutinize (v)
to examine carefully (scruta examine + -ize to do)
Before buying an apple, scrutinize it to be sure that it has no bruises.
Synonyms: analyze, peruse
❑ pragmatic (adj)
concerned with practical outcomes
The architects chose a solarium design that was less aesthetic than pragmatic: it was not beautiful, but it kept heating and
lighting costs down.
❑ perjure (v)
to lie under oath ( per- through + jur oath)
The mobster told blatant lies while on the stand, perjuring himself to keep his partners out of jail.
Synonym: prevaricate
❑ prudent (adj)
using good judgment ( prudentia knowledge)
It would not be prudent to sneak out of your room again tonight; your parents will ground you if they catch you!
Synonyms: judicious, sensible
Antonyms: improvident, rash
❑ jurisprudence (n)
❑ jurisdiction (n)
the science or philosophy of law ( jur- law + prudentia knowledge)
the sphere of authority or control ( jur- law + dictio declaration)
Synonym: domain
❑ adjure (v)
to command solemnly, as under oath (ad- to + jur oath)
Synonyms: enjoin, entreat, beseech
❑ adjudge (v)
to determine based upon law (ad- to + jud judge)
Synonym: adjudicate
❑ acumen (n)
keenness of judgment (acus sharp)
Synonyms: discernment, perspicacity, shrewdness
❑ inscrutable (adj)
beyond comprehension or examination (in- not + scruta examine)
Synonyms: enigmatic, recondite, abstruse
❑ allegation (n)
a formal accusation (ad- to + legare dispute)
Synonyms: contention, assertion, charge
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Vocabulary Lesson 3: Let’s Talk About It
Today’s roots:
locu, loqu talk
verb word
circum
e-, ex-
❑ eloquent (adj)
well spoken (e- out + loqu talk)
around
out
She is an eloquent spokeswoman for animal rights; she conveys her ideas with great ease and fluidity.
Synonyms: articulate, fluent
Antonym: inarticulate
❑ loquacious (adj)
very talkative (loqu- talk + -ious full of)
That guy never stops talking; now I understand why they call him “Loquacious Larry”!
Synonyms: garrulous, voluble
Antonyms: laconic, taciturn, reticent
❑ circumlocution (n)
evasive speech; talking around the subject (circum- around + loqu talk)
The politician had perfected the art of circumlocution; he knew exactly how to avoid answering direct questions.
Synonym: evasion
❑ colloquial (adj)
conversational; using everyday language (co- together + loqu talk)
I like Professor Thompson because she is so colloquial; yesterday she said my thesis idea was “really cool.”
❑ grandiloquent (adj)
speaking in a pompous manner (grand- great + loqu talk + -ent adjective)
His speech was pompous and grandiloquent; it seemed he was just trying to use as many big words as possible.
Synonyms: pontifical, portentous
❑ elocution (n)
expressive delivery of public speech (e- out + loqu talk + -tion noun)
James is adept at elocution; his expressions and mannerisms add a new level of meaning to his words.
❑ garrulous (adj)
talkative
Karl is always ready to talk about any subject, no matter how trivial, but at parties he is even more garrulous.
Synonyms: loquacious, voluble
❑ pontificate (v)
to speak pompously (pontifex high priest)
Synonyms: declaim, sermonize, dogmatize
❑ verbose (adj)
wordy (verb- word + -ose full of)
Synonyms: prolix, discursive, digressive
❑ verbatim (adv)
word for word (verb- word)
I followed the recipe verbatim.
❑ ineffable (adj)
unable to be expressed in words (in- not + effari utter)
Try as he might to express his love in a poem, his feelings seemed ineffable.
❑ tangential (adj)
only superficially relevant; off-topic
Synonyms: irrelevant, incidental, immaterial
❑ tout (v)
to promote or praise energetically
Synonyms: acclaim, herald, laud
❑ anecdote (n)
a short and often humorous story
Don’t confuse with antidote (n), a remedy.
❑ discursive (adj)
straying from the topic (dis- away + curs course)
Synonyms: digressive, desultory
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Vocabulary Lesson 4: “Good, Thanks”
Today’s roots:
ben, bene, bon good
grat to please, thank
❑ benefactor (n)
eu good
vole wish
one who supports or helps another (bene- good + fact to make)
Mr. King is the benefactor who generously donated the money for the new children’s wing in the hospital.
Synonyms: philanthropist, patron
Antonyms: malefactor, nemesis, antagonist, adversary
❑ benign (adj)
harmless (bene good)
She was relieved to find out that her tumor was benign.
Synonym: innocuous
Antonyms: malignant, virulent
❑ benevolent (adj)
kind; considerate (bene- good + vole wish)
The benevolent Cub Scout did his good deed for the day when he helped a motorist change a tire.
Synonyms: gracious, altruistic, magnanimous
Antonyms: malevolent, malicious, inimical, pernicious
❑ benediction (n)
an expression of good wishes (bene- good + dictus declaration)
At the reception, the father of the bride offered a benediction, wishing the couple never-ending love and happiness.
Synonyms: blessing, sanction
Antonyms: curse, malediction, execration
❑ euphemism (n)
the substitution of an inoffensive term for an offensive one (eu- good + pheme speech)
A good journalist avoids the euphemisms of war, like “ordnance” for bombs and “collateral damage” for casualties.
❑ eulogy (n) a praising tribute (eu- good + logia discourse) (Although associated with funerals, “eulogy” has
a positive tone.)
His touching eulogy for his fallen friend left all the mourners weeping.
Synonyms: encomium, laudation, extolment, paean
Antonyms: denunciation, execration, censure
❑ ingratiate (v)
to put oneself in good favor with another (in- in + grat to please)
When starting at a new school, Mary sought to ingratiate herself with her classmates by being excessively nice.
Synonyms: flatter, wheedle, toady, cajole
❑ beneficiary (n)
one who receives benefits (bene- good + fic to make)
Synonyms: heir, recipient, legatee
❑ gratuity (n)
a small payment in gratitude (grat- thank)
Don’t confuse with gratuitous (adj) unnecessary
❑ gratis (adj)
free of charge (grat- thank)
He let me borrow his car gratis.
❑ gratify (v)
to please (grat- please)
Synonyms: appease, mollify, indulge
❑ euphoria (n)
a feeling of extreme happiness (eu- good)
Synonyms: elation, rapture, jubilation, ecstasy
❑ euphonious (n)
sweet sounding (eu- good + phon sound)
Synonyms: mellifluous, dulcet, lyrical
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Vocabulary Lesson 5: Changes
Today’s roots:
rupt
mut
❑ immutable (adj)
break
change
morph form, shape
meta change, beyond
unchangeable (im- not + mut change)
Emily is an immutable vegetarian. No matter how hard we try, we cannot get her to eat meat.
Synonyms: permanent, inveterate
Antonyms: mutable, protean, vacillating, mercurial
❑ metamorphosis (n)
a transformation (meta- change + morph form)
The old house underwent a metamorphosis from a rundown shack into a beautiful cottage.
Synonyms: transformation, mutation, transmogrification
❑ rupture (v)
to break open (rupt- break)
When the vat of smelly liquid ruptured, we picked up our feet to avoid getting the stuff on our shoes.
Synonyms: burst, fissure, cleave
❑ transmute (v)
to transform (trans- across + mut change)
Harry Potter was able to transmute a feather into a frog using a spell he learned in incantations class.
Synonyms: metamorphose, alter, transmogrify
❑ amorphous (adj)
lacking shape; changeable in form (a- without + morph shape)
Rather than marching in precise formation, the battalion broke down into an amorphous mass of charging soldiers.
Synonyms: shapeless, nebulous, vague, nondescript
Antonym: crystalline
❑ mercurial (adj)
erratic; subject to wild changes in character (from the speedy god Mercury)
Molly is the most mercurial person in the office; we can never tell if she’ll be the evil Molly or the sympathetic Molly.
Synonyms: fickle, capricious, vacillating
Antonyms: immutable, stable
❑ protean (adj)
capable of assuming different forms (from the form-changing sea god Proteus)
He has changed his position on issues so many times that he is considered the most protean member of Congress.
Synonyms: polymorphous, labile
Antonyms: immutable, stable
❑ mutate (v)
to change form (mut- change)
Synonyms: transform, transmogrify
❑ fickle (adj)
likely to change opinion unpredictably
Synonyms: capricious, vacillating, mercurial
❑ fluctuate (v)
to vary irregularly ( flux flow)
Synonyms: vacillate, waver
❑ vacillate (v)
to change one’s mind repeatedly
Synonyms: fluctuate, waver
❑ revamp (v)
to revise; to renovate (re- again)
Synonyms: refurbish, renovate
❑ amend (v)
to improve; to remove the faults of
Synonyms: rectify, redress, ameliorate, mitigate
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Vocabulary Lesson 6: One Boring World
Today’s roots:
vac empty
mund world
❑ hackneyed (adj)
uni one
anima spirit, mind
overused; trite
This film was a hackneyed remake with a storyline that has been done a hundred times.
Synonyms: trite, prosaic, banal
Antonyms: original, novel
❑ mundane (adj)
ordinary; typical (mund- world)
Having worked for years behind a desk, she wanted to leave the mundane world behind for exotic adventures abroad.
Synonyms: routine, workaday, banal
Antonyms: singular, extraordinary, sublime
❑ vacuous (adj)
lacking substance (vac- empty)
His latest book is widely criticized as vacuous and unintelligent.
Synonyms: inane, asinine, fatuous
Antonyms: profound, thoughtful, deep
❑ prosaic (adj)
unimaginative; ordinary
I don’t understand why his oration was selected as the best; it was so prosaic that I nearly fell asleep.
Synonyms: mundane, pedestrian
Antonyms: innovative, quixotic, whimsical
❑ insipid (adj)
uninteresting; dull; without flavor (in- not + sapere taste)
Christine is the life of the party, but Tom is as insipid as they come; hardly anyone wants to talk with him.
Synonyms: bland, nondescript, vapid
Antonyms: engaging, enchanting, piquant
❑ banal (adj)
ordinary; trivial
That show used to be my favorite, but its story lines became so banal that I could no longer stand it.
Synonyms: hackneyed, trite
Antonyms: extraordinary, singular, sublime
❑ pedestrian (adj)
commonplace; ordinary
Synonyms: prosaic, banal, vapid
❑ dormant (adj)
inactive; sleeping (dormire sleep)
Synonyms: inert, fallow
❑ unanimous (adj)
in full agreement (un- one + anima mind)
Synonyms: concordant, concerted
❑ uniform (adj)
unvarying; always the same (un- one + forma form)
Synonym: homogeneous
❑ equanimity (n)
the quality of being even-tempered (equa- same + anima mind)
Synonyms: composure, imperturbability, aplomb
❑ magnanimous (adj)
noble of heart; generous; forgiving (magna- great + anima mind)
Synonyms: philanthropic, altruistic, merciful
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Vocabulary Lesson 7: The Humours
Today’s roots:
sanguis blood
choler bile
melan
anima
black
spirit, mind
In medieval Europe, it was widely believed that one’s health and disposition were largely determined by the balance of four bodily liquids called “humours”: blood (sang), phlegm, black bile (melancholer), and yellow bile
(choler).
❑ sanguine (adj)
cheerfully optimistic (sanguis blood)
After acing his final, David was sanguine about his prospects for a good overall course grade.
Synonyms: blithe, buoyant
Antonyms: morose, forlorn, melancholy, sullen
❑ phlegmatic (adj)
sluggish
His prolonged illness turned Julio from a spry, happy bon vivant into a morose and phlegmatic bore.
Synonyms: languorous, lethargic, somnolent, torpid
Antonyms: vigorous, vibrant, hale, spry
❑ melancholy (adj)
sad, depressed (melan- black + choler bile)
She has been so melancholy ever since she broke up with her boyfriend; sometimes she is even too depressed to talk with
her friends.
Synonyms: morose, despondent, disconsolate, sullen
Antonyms: blithe, buoyant, sanguine
❑ choleric (adj)
easily angered (choler- bile + -ic characterized by)
Gena’s mom is really nice but her dad is choleric; he freaks out about the smallest things.
Synonyms: irascible, fractious, bilious, splenetic
❑ recalcitrant (adj)
stubbornly resistant to authority (re- back + calcitrare kick)
Christine is a talented volleyball player, but she’s so recalcitrant that our coach often keeps her on the bench.
Synonyms: refractory, intractable
Antonyms: compliant, docile, tractable, obsequious, obeisant
❑ lethargic (adj)
sluggish; dully apathetic
After three weeks of factoring polynomials, my entire class became lethargic; we were bored to death!
Synonyms: languorous, phlegmatic, torpid
Antonyms: vigorous, vibrant, hale, spry
❑ splenetic (adj)
irritable; easily angered (splen- spleen)
Synonyms: bilious, choleric
❑ querulous (adj)
disposed to complaining
Synonyms: peevish, captious, carping, caviling
❑ dolorous (adj)
marked by or expressive of sorrow or pain (dolor- pain)
Synonyms: lugubrious, doleful
❑ animosity (n)
hostility; ill-will (animosus bold)
Synonyms: malevolence, antagonism, invidiousness
❑ pusillanimous (adj)
cowardly (pusillus- weak + anima spirit)
Synonyms: timorous, craven, dastardly
❑ lassitude (n)
feeling of weakness or listlessness
Synonyms: lethargy, languor, torpor, stupor
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