VOCABULARY FINAL REVIEW
ENGLISH 10.6
Can you give the definition before
the answer is revealed?
ABSOLVE
• (v.) to clear from blame, responsibility, or guilt
• Syn: acquit, exonerate, vindicate, excuse,
pardon
• Ant: condemn, convict, incriminate, inculpate
The detective
SOLVED the case
and ABSOLVED
the defendant
from any guilt!
CARICATURE
• (n.) a representation (especially a drawing) in
which the subject’s characteristic features are
deliberately exaggerated
• (v.) to present someone or
something in a deliberately
distorted way
Syn: cartoon, burlesque,
Parody, lampoon
He was so
frequently the
subject of
CARICATURE
that he seemed
almost a fictional
CHARACTER.
CLANGOR
•
•
•
•
(n.) a loud ringing sound
(v.) to make a loud ringing sound
Syn: din, clamor, uproar
Ant: silence, stillness,
peace and quiet
The CLANGOR of
the bells
summoned
everyone to the
town square.
CLANG! CLANG!
CONTIGUOUS
• (adj.) side by side, touching; near; adjacent in
time
• Syn: adjoining, abutting, next
door to
• Ant: detached, apart, distant,
remote
Zoning laws
attempt to add
some CONTINUTIY
to businesses and
other buildings that
are CONTIGUOUS
to each other.
CUPIDITY
• (n.) an eager desire
for something; greed
• Syn: avarice, rapacity,
craving, lust
• Ant: generosity,
contentment,
satiation, gratification
CUPID’s only
STUPIDITY
may be found
in his
CUPIDITY
for love.
DELETERIOUS
• (adj.) harmful,
injurious
• Syn: detrimental,
destructive,
pernicious, damaging
• Ant: helpful,
beneficial, harmless,
innocuous
When I
accidentally
DELETED
my entire paper, it
was DELETERIOUS
to my grade.
ENHANCE
• (v.) to raise to a higher
degree; to increase the
value or desirability of
• Syn: improve, magnify,
heighten, elevate
• Ant: diminish, reduce,
lessen, degrade
I think I’ll do
my
homework to
ENHANCE my
grade in
English
The quality of an image is often
ENHANCED by police in the movies.
ENTHRALL
• (v.) to captivate,
charm, hold
spellbound; to enslave;
to imprison
• Syn: fascinate,
enchant, attract,
bewitch
• Ant: bore to tears,
repel, put someone off
The crowd was
so deeply
ENTERTAINED
you could say
they were
ENTHRALLED
EXTENUATE Would it be okay to
• (v.) to lessen the
seriousness or magnitude
of an offense by making
partial excuses
• Syn: moderate, mitigate,
diminish, downplay
• Ant: intensify, aggravate,
worsen, exacerbate
steal bread in an
EXTENUATING
circumstance?
Those
TEN YOU ATE
can only be
explained by the
EXTENUATING
circumstances of
your extreme
hunger.
IMPLICIT
• (adj.) implied or understood though
unexpressed; without doubts or reservations,
unquestioning; potentially contained in
• Syn: inferred, tacit, unspoken,
unconditional
• Ant: explicit, expressed, stated,
revealed
Something
IMPLIED
-- Even if it
is not said –
is IMPLICIT.
INCISIVE
• (adj.) sharp, keen, penetrating (with a
suggestion of decisiveness and effectiveness)
• Syn: acute, cutting, perceptive, trenchant
Her remarks had
great INSIGHT.
Her words
were
INCISIVE
OSTENTATIOUS
• (adj.) marked by conspicuous or pretentious
display, showy
• Syn: flashy, overdone, affected, flamboyant
• Ant: modest, plain, simple, demure, retiring
Old
OSSENBERGER
was so full of
himself, but was
his building as
OSTENATIOUS as
this one?
PARAGON
• (n.) a model of excellence or perfection
• Syn: exemplar, ideal, paradigm, model, good
example
M.C. Escher
is a
PARAGON
of
PARADOX
PARAPHRASE
• (v.) to restate in
other words
• (n.) a statement
that presents a
given idea in new
language
• Syn: reword,
rephrase, a
rendition, version
• Ant: repeat
verbatim,
duplicate, quote
I’ll use a
PAIR
OF PHRASES
to
PARAPHRASE
what he said.
POLITIC
• (adj.) prudent, shrewdly
conceived and
developed; artful,
expedient
• Syn: tactful, diplomatic,
judicious, circumspect
• Ant: unwise,
injudicious, imprudent,
rash
A
POLITICIAN
must be
POLITIC
with his or her
words!
PROSAIC
• (adj.) dull, lacking in distinction and
originality; matter-of-fact, straightforward;
characteristic of prose, not poetic
• Syn: commonplace, humdrum, literal,
pedestrian
• Ant: remarkable, distinctive, poetic, inspired
POETRY vs.
PROSE
Writing that is
filled with
PROSE
instead of
poetry
can be called
PROSAIC
REDUNDANT
• (adj.) extra, excess,
more than is needed;
wordy, repetitive;
profuse, lush
• Syn: unnecessary,
superfluous, verbose,
prolix
• Ant: succinct, terse,
laconic, scarce,
inadequate
I, myself,
prefer steak
over hot
dogs.
It was
REDONE
so many times
it was
REDUNDANT
SANCTIMONIOUS
• (adj.) making a show of virtue or
righteousness; hypocritically moralistic or
pious, self-righteous, canting, holier-than-thou
• Ant: heartfelt, sincere, humble
He was so
SANCTIMONIUS
in his speech
it was as if he
wanted us to
think he was a
SAINT
SCINTILLATING
• (adj./part.) sparkling, twinkling, exceptionally
brilliant (applied to mental or personal
qualities)
• Syn: stimulating, lively, glittering, flashing
• Ant: dull, boring, insipid, flat, tame vapid
Can a SCENT
be so
stimulating that
it can be called
SCINTILLATING?
WINSOME
• (adj.) charming,
attractive, pleasing
(often suggesting
childlike charm
and innocence)
• Syn: winning,
engaging,
delightful,
prepossessing
• Ant: unattractive,
unappealing,
repulsive
He was charming
and WINSOME.
Even when
he lost,
he’d simply say,
“You WIN SOME,
You lose some.”
ABSTEMIOUS
ABSTAIN…….
ABSTEM…….
• (adj.) moderate, sparing (as in eating and
drinking); characterized by abstinence and
self-discipline
• Syn: temperate, sober, moderate
• Ant: indulgent, immoderate, intemperate
ABSTEMIOUS
SOUNDS LIKE
ABSTAIN…….
To restrain oneself
from doing or
enjoying something.
CENSURABLE
CULPABLE
• (adj.) deserving of blame or correction
• Syn: blameworthy, discreditable,
reprehensible
• Ant: commendable, laudable, meritorious
CENSURABLE
Worthy of Censure.
Censure is
the expression of
formal disapproval.
CONTINGENT
• (adj.) likely but not certain to happen, possible; dependent
on uncertain events or conditions; happening by chance
• (n.) a representative group forming part of a larger body
• Syn: conditional, dependent, a detachment
• Ant: independent of, unconnected with, certain
CONTINGENT
Good grades are
contingent upon
hard work!
Study your
vocab words.
Your success
on Friday’s quiz
is contingent
upon it!
CORROBORATE
• (v.) to confirm, make more certain, bolster,
substantiate, verify
• Ant: refute, contradict, undermine, discredit
CORROBORATE
Sounds like “cops
and robbers”
A police officer
can be called
upon in court to
corroborate the
testimony of
a witness.
DENIZEN
• (n.) an inhabitant, resident; one who frequents a place
• Syn: resident, dweller, habitue
• Ant: alien, outsider, stranger, foreigner
DENIZEN
Sounds like “den”
During football season, Roger’s
friends were denizens of his den.
DISCURSIVE
Cursive
Handwriting
• (adj.) passing aimlessly from one place or
subject to another, rambling, roving, nomadic
• Syn: digressive, diffuse, wandering, episodic
• Ant: short and to the point, succinct
DISCURSIVE
Sounds like “cursive”
To people who didn’t learn it,
cursive handwriting can seem to
wander aimlessly all over the paper
in a discursive manner.
To people who didn’t learn it, cursive handwriting can seem to
wander aimlessly all over the paper in a discursive manner.
DISSEMINATE
• (v.) to scatter or spread widely
• Syn: disperse, publicize, broadcast, circulate
• Ant: bring together, concentrate, muster,
conceal, hide
DISSEMINATE
Think “Distribute”
In Mean Girls,
Regina disseminated copies of the
burn book all over the school.
DOWDY
• (adj.) poorly dressed, shabby; lacking smartness
and good taste
• Syn: frumpy, tacky, frowsy, drab
• Ant: chic, stylish, elegant, fashionable
DOWDY
Sounds like Chris O’Dowd!
Even when he dresses up,
Chris O’Dowd can appear Dowdy!
FLORID
• (adj.) highly colored, reddish; excessively ornate,
showy
• Syn: flushed, ruddy, flowery, frilly, flamboyant
• Ant: pale, ashen, pallid, sallow, austere, stark
FLORID
Sounds like “Florida”
Florida’s flowers are especially florid
this time of year.
FOIST
• (v.) to impose by fraud; to pass off as worthy
or genuine; to bring about by stealth,
dishonesty, or coercion
• Syn: pass off, palm off, fob off
FOIST
Sounds like “forced”!
To “foist” something upon someone is
to force him or her to use or do it!
GAUCHE
• (adj.) awkward, lacking in social graces, tactless, clumsy
• Syn: inept, uncouth, maladroit
• Ant: adroit, tactful, diplomatic, politic
GAUCHE
Sounds like “ghost”!
The gauche ghost was
more clumsy than scary!
HERESY
• (n.) an opinion different from accepted belief;
the denial of an idea that is generally held sacred
• Syn: unorthodox belief, heterodoxy
• Ant: orthodoxy
HERESY
Looks like “here say”!
One man’s opinion about how we got here
is another’s idea of heresy!
INCULCATE
REPEAT
REPEAT
REPEAT
• (v.) to impress on the mind by repetition, teach
persistently and earnestly
• Syn: instill, implant, infuse, ingrain, imbue
• Ant: efface, extirpate, root out
INCULCATE
Teach (someone) an
attitude, idea, or habit
by such instruction:
“They will try to
inculcate you with a
respect for culture.”
PALPABLE
• (adj.) capable of being touched or felt; easily seen, heard,
or recognized
• Syn: tangible, plain, obvious, manifest
• Ant: intangible, insubstantial, incorporeal
PALPABLE
Like “Pulp”
“The pulp was
palpable.”
PERCEPTIVE
What is wrong with this girl?
My, aren’t your PERCEPTIVE!
• (adj.) having sympathetic insight or
understanding, capable of keen appreciation
• Syn: insightful, discerning, observant
• Ant: dense, thick, obtuse, dim-witted
PERCEPTIVE
Like “perception”
Don’t you think he has
very good perception?
PERNICIOUS
• (adj.) extremely harmful; deadly, fatal
• Syn: injurious, deleterious, baleful, noxious
• Ant: harmless, innocuous, salutary, salubrious
PERNICIOUS
DANGEROUS!
Don’t you think he
could be very
SALIENT
• (adj.) leaping, jumping, or springing forth; prominent,
standing out, conspicuous
• (n.) a projection or bulge, a land form that projects upward
or outward
• Syn: striking, notable, protrusive, obvious
• Ant: inconspicuous, recessive
SALIENT
EASILY SEEN!
Waldo was quite
salient in this puzzle.
SATIATE
•
•
•
•
(v.) to satisfy completely; to fill to excess
(adj.) full, satisfied
Syn: gratify, cloy, surfeit, gorge
Ant: starve, deprive entirely of
SATIATE
Think: “Satisfied” and “ate”
On Saturday we ate so much more
than we needed to be satisfied.
SEAR
• (v.) to make or become dry and withered; to char
or scorch the surface of; to harden or make
unfeeling; to parch, dessicate, singe
SEAR
Think: “Sears” and “seared”
It looks like Sears got seared!
SPECIOUS
• (adj.) deceptive, apparently good or valid but
lacking real merit
• Syn: deceptively plausible, sophistic, casuistic
• Ant: valid, sound, solid, genuine
SPECIOUS
Think: “Species”
She appeared to be good…
…but she wasn’t!
accrue
(v.) to grow or accumulate over time; to
happen as a natural result
Synonym: collect, accumulate, proceed
from
Antonym: dwindle,
decrease, diminish,
lessen
Rue tried to accumulate food and supplies.
annotation
(n.) a critical or explanatory note or
comment, especially for a literary work
I made a note to explain an abbreviation
1
Welcome to our Eng 10H class
1
10th Grade Honors English
bedlam
(n.) a state or scene of uproar and
confusion
Synonym: commotion, pandemonium,
chaos, anarchy
Antonym: peace and quiet, order,
tranquility
Bethlem Royal Hospital
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bethlem Royal Hospital is a hospital for the treatment of mental illness
located in London. Although no longer based at its original location, it is
recognized as Europe's first and oldest institution to specialize in mental
illnesses. It has been known by various names including St Mary Bethlehem,
Bethlem Hospital, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam.
The word bedlam, meaning uproar and confusion, is derived from the hospital's
prior name. Although currently a modern psychiatric facility, historically it
became representative of the worst excesses of asylums in the era of lunacy
reform.
covert
(adj.) hidden, disguised, purposefully kept
secret; sheltered, secluded;
(n.) a sheltered place, a hiding place
Synonym: undercover,
clandestine, sub-rosa
Antonym: open, overt,
undisguised
debonair
(adj.) pleasant, courteous, lighthearted;
smooth and polished in manner and
appearance
Synonym: carefree, jaunty,
Gracious, suave, urbane
Antonym: distraught, agitated,
boorish, churlish
dun
(v.) to demand insistently, especially in
payment of a debt;
(n.) a creditor
(adj.) dark, dull,
drab, dingy
Synonym: hound,
pester, harass, nag
Are you done…
with the dun?
efficacious
(adj.) effective, producing result
Synonym: effectual, efficient, potent, powerful
Antonym: ineffective,
worthless, useless
We’re going
to be very
effective
with this one
equanimity
(n.) calmness, composure, refusal to panic
Synonym: tranquility, imperturbability
Antonym: excitability, flappability, agitation
Both are
equal in
balance
fortuitous
(adj.) accidental, occurring by a happy
chance
Synonym: unintentional, unplanned,
random, lucky
Antonym: intentional, deliberate,
premeditated
I found a
fortune
gist
(n.) the essential part, main point, or
essence
Synonym: substance, core, nucleus
You’ll get the
gist of this
next one…
gratuitous
(adj.) freely given; not called for by
circumstances, unwarranted
Synonym: voluntary, unjustified, uncalledfor
Antonym: justified, warranted
Did you leave
a gratuity
for the server
at the
restaurant?
imperious
(adj.) overbearing, arrogant, seeking to
dominate; pressing, compelling
Synonym: domineering, magisterial,
urgent, imperative
Antonym: fawning, obsequious, humble,
unassuming
imperious
invective
(n.) a strong denunciation or
condemnation; abusive language
(adj.) abusive, vituperative
Synonym: vituperation, abuse, diatribe,
philippic
Antonym: tribute, panegyric, encomium
The angry professor made
an invection at convection
motley
(adj.) showing great variety; composed of
different elements or many colors;
(n.) a jester’s costume, a jester
Synonym: variegated, heterogeneous,
diverse, fool
Antonym: uniform, homogenous,
monochromatic
munificent
(adj.) extremely generous,
lavish
Synonym: bounteous, liberal
Antonym: stingy, miserly,
tightfisted, parsimonious
procrastinate
(v.) to delay, put off until later
Synonym: stall, temporize, dillydally
I’m gonna make a really
good slide for this next
word.
Later.
provocative
(adj.) tending to produce a strong feeling
or response; arousing desire or appetite;
irritating, annoying
Synonym: stimulating, arousing, vexing,
galling
Antonym: dull, insipid, bland, unstimulating
recondite
(adj.) exceeding ordinary knowledge and
understanding
Synonym: esoteric, arcane, profound,
abstruse
Antonym: simple, uncomplicated
The recon
made him erudite
reprobate
(n.) a depraved, vicious, or unprincipled
person, scoundrel;
(adj.) wicked, corrupt, or unprincipled;
(v.) to disapprove of, condemn
Synonym: scoundrel, blackguard, immoral,
corrupt
Antonym: saint, upright, virtuous, moral
probation
reprobation
Re-re-probation
sedentary
(adj.) characterized by or calling for
continued sitting; remaining in one place
Synonym: seated, stationary, static
Antonym: active, peripatetic, migratory
Sedentary
rock
Sedentary
job