Day 2 - Vocabulary List
obsolete
DEFINITION: no longer in use; outmoded in design or style
SENTENCE: The typewriter, mimeograph machine, and walkman are now obsolete.
SYNONYMS: outdated, archaic, ancient
ANTONYMS: modern, trendy, contemporary
auspicious
DEFINITION: very favorable
SENTENCE: The Mogul princes of India were required to wait for marriage until the emperor's
astrologers felt that all of the planetary signs were auspicious.
SYNONYMS: promising, fortunate, felicitous
ANTONYMS: unlucky, ominous, unfortunate
morose
DEFINITION: very depressed, despondent; mournful
SENTENCE: When Shah Jahan's wife died during childbirth, the morose emperor canceled all
appointments and refused to eat or drink for eight days.
impasse
DEFINITION: a deadlock; stalemate; failure to reach an agreement
SENTENCE: The Constitutional Convention was almost totally derailed by an impasse between the large
states and the small states.
SYNONYMS: jam, standoff, standstill
ANTONYMS: agreement, breakthrough, development
anachronism
DEFINITION: the false assignment of an event, person, scene, or language to a time when the event,
person, scene, or word did not exist
SENTENCE: She protested the use of a cellphone in a movie set in the 1800s, arguing that it was an
unmistakable anachronism.
belie
DEFINITION: to give a false impression; to contradict
SENTENCE: Her actions belied her words when she denounced cheaters but stole the answers on the
SATs from the person sitting next to her.
SYNONYMS: deny, disagree, oppose
ANTONYMS: attest, prove, confirm
mitigate, mollify, assuage, alleviate
DEFINITION: to relieve; to lessen; to ease
SENTENCE: Americans use pills to mitigate the symptoms of everything from migraine headaches to
indigestion.
SYNONYMS: calm, soothe, placate
ANTONYMS: exacerbate, upset, aggravate
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Day 2 - Vocabulary List
covet
DEFINITION: to really, really want something - longingly
SENTENCE: Lord Voldemort coveted the Elder Wand so he could defeat Harry Potter.
SYNONYMS: want, wish for, pine
ANTONYMS: disregard, neglect, disdain
antithesis
DEFINITION: direct opposite; the complete reverse; antipode
SENTENCE: He was his twin's antithesis; they never agreed on anything, and strangely enough, they had
completely different personalities.
SYNONYMS: antonym, reverse, contrast
ANTONYMS: same, synonym, similar
prototype
DEFINITION: the first version of something - the model to be used in upcoming mass production
SENTENCE: The Model T served as a prototype for the world's first affordable, mass-produced
automobile.
SYNONYMS: archetype, standard, predecessor
aloof
DEFINITION: detached; distant physically or emotionally; reserved; standing near but apart
SENTENCE: Though he often remained aloof, Jay Gatsby often threw lavish parties to court the love of
his life.
SYNONYMS: shy, cool, alone
ANTONYMS: sociable, friendly, outgoing
trite, hackneyed, banal, platitudinous
DEFINITION: unoriginal; commonplace; overused; cliched
SENTENCE: Max never invents hackneyed or trite games - his games are so original as to be almost
confusing.
SYNONYMS: cliche, banal, common
ANTONYMS: original, new, fresh
antecedent
DEFINITION: a preceding event; a forerunner
SENTENCE: The parliamentary system in Britain was the antecedent to American democracy.
SYNONYMS: precursor, forerunner, ancestor
ANTONYMS: descendent, successor, spin-off
plausible
DEFINITION: believable; credible
SENTENCE: Although it sounds impossible now, it was once plausible that a camel would cross the
highway in the Nevada desert.
SYNONYMS: possible, likely, probable
ANTONYMS: unbelievable, unlikely, implausible
implausible
DEFINITION: unbelievable; incredible
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Day 2 - Vocabulary List
SENTENCE: The disbelieving look on his mom's face told him she found his story highly implausible.
SYNONYMS: unbelievable, unlikely, hard to imagine
ANTONYMS: possible, likely, probable
prudent
DEFINITION: careful; cautious; sensible
SENTENCE: Prudent people look before they leap.
SYNONYMS: circumspect, meticulous, vigilant
ANTONYMS: careless, imprudent, unwise
aesthetic
DEFINITION: relating to what is beautiful; an appreciation of what is beautiful or attractive
SENTENCE: Colgate's campus, with its rolling green hills and beautiful lake, is aesthetically pleasing.
SYNONYMS: artistic, creative, cultured
ANTONYMS: ugly, unattractive, displeasing
paradox
DEFINITION: a seemingly contradictory statement that nonetheless expresses a truth
SENTENCE: Catch-22 was the paradox at the heart of Heller's book; in order to get sent home from
war, you had to be crazy, but if you asked to be sent home, you were not crazy. No one could get sent
home.
enigmatic and inscrutable
DEFINITION: mysterious; puzzling; unfathomable; baffling
SENTENCE: The Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile has puzzled art lovers for centuries.
SYNONYMS: cryptic, perplexing, ambiguous
ANTONYMS: clear, known, obvious
acquiesce
DEFINITION: to comply, agree, give in
SENTENCE: He had no choice to acquiesce to his mother's demands after she had nagged him for days.
SYNONYMS: accept, consent, accede
ANTONYMS: fight, reject, protest
naive
DEFINITION: unaffected simplicity; lacking worldly expertise; overly credulous; unsophisticated
SENTENCE: Barney Stinson invents impossible stories about himself so that naive girls will date him.
SYNONYMS: simple, innocent, gullible
ANTONYMS: experienced, sophisticated, wise
autonomous
DEFINITION: independent; not controlled by others
SENTENCE: It was her wish to have an autonomous life; she wanted to live on her own even if it meant
paying her own rent.
SYNONYMS: self-determining, self-ruling, sovereign
ANTONYMS: dependent, imprisoned
futile
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Day 2 - Vocabulary List
DEFINITION: completely useless; doomed to failure
SENTENCE: In Saving Private Ryan, the soldiers' efforts to save the fallen Dr. Wade were futile.
SYNONYMS: useless, pointless, hopeless
ANTONYMS: fruitful, hopeful, productive
indigenous and endemic
DEFINITION: native to an area
SENTENCE: Potatoes, tomatoes, and sunflowers are indigenous to the New World
SYNONYMS: innate, natural, primitive
ANTONYMS: foreign, imported, alien
ubiquitous and prevalent
DEFINITION: characterized by being everywhere; omnipresent; widespread; pervasive
SENTENCE: Cellphones, iPods, and Starbucks are all ubiquitous.
SYNONYMS: everywhere, universal, omnipresent
ANTONYMS: nowhere, uncommon, sporadic
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