Lesson 22
Word Skills
TRADITIONAL Test on Friday
Please study!!
Slides available on Gerrie Blackwelder
Edgate site- PowerPoint
aberrant - (adj.)
•Departing from an accepted standard
•Deviating from what is normal
Parts: ab (apart, away); err (wander, stray); ant (that which)
Synonyms: abnormal, deviant, atypical
Antonyms: normal, ordinary, typical, standard, conventional
Variant forms: aberration (n.), aberrational (adj.)
anachronistic - (adj.)
Parts: ana (back, through); chron
(time); ic (characterized by)
•Belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in
which it exists
•Placed out of its proper time
Synonyms: old-fashioned; antediluvian; outdated
Antonyms: modern, current, fashionable, au courant
Variant forms: anachronism (n.)
At the Renaissance Faire, actors are dressed and behave in
anachronistic ways to relive the glory of the past Golden Age
of Man.
augment - (v.)
Parts: aug (grow, increase); ment
(result of)
• To make or become greater, as in size, number, or
amount
Synonyms: increase, supplement, enlarge, extend
Antonyms: decrease, diminish, shrink, reduce
Variant forms: augmentation (n.)
Jake will augment his teaching salary by painting
houses in the summer months.
circumlocution - (n.)
•The use of many words where fewer would do, especially in a
deliberate
attempt to be vague or evasive
•Evasion in speaking or writing
Synonyms: evasion, periphrasis, subterfuge, dodging, avoidance,
digression
Antonyms: confronting, addressing
Variant forms: circumlocutional (adj.), circumlocutionist (n.),
circumlocutory (adj.)
Parts: circum (around); locut (talk); tion (act of)
consecrate - (v.)
•Parts: con (together, with); sacr (holy); ate (make, cause)
•To make or declare something sacred; to regard with great respect
•In Christian belief, to change bread and wine into the body and blood of
Christ
•To dedicate to a special goal or purpose as to consecrate one's life to
helping others
Synonyms: sanctify, devote, bless, revere, venerate
Antonyms: desecrate, debase, defile, profane
Variant forms: consecration (n.)
discursive - (adj.)
Parts: dis (apart, away); curs (run); ive (tending to, having the nature
of)
•Digressing from subject to subject
•Covering a wide range of subjects
Synonyms: rambling, digressive, circuitous, wandering,
circumlocutory
Antonyms: concise, succinct, pithy, coherent, concentrated, focused
Variant forms: discursively (adv.), discursiveness (n.)
encumbrance - (n.)
Parts: en (inside, within); combre (hinder, block); ance (state or
condition)
•A burden or impediment
•A lien or claim on property
Synonyms: obstacle, burden, hindrance, impediment, onus,
inconvenience,
millstone
Antonyms: asset, benefit, advantage, strength
Variant forms: encumber (v.)
•
impecunious - (adj.)
Parts: im (not); pecunia (money); ious (full of)
• Having little or no money
Synonyms: impoverished, poor, penniless,
destitute, indigent
Antonyms: rich, affluent, wealthy, prosperous
Variant forms: impecuniousness (n.)
Due to our current economic crisis, more and
more Americans are seemingly impecunious.
inept - (adj.)
Parts: in (not); ept (able, capable)
•Not suitable to the circumstance or occasion
•Having or showing no skill
•Lacking in judgment, sense, or reason
Synonyms: clumsy, awkward, absurd, foolish,
incompetent, preposterous, inappropriate
Antonyms: skilled, appropriate, competent, coordinated
Variant forms: ineptitude (n.), ineptness (n.), ineptly
(adv.)
intransigent - (adj.)
Parts: in (not); trans (across); ag (drive); ent (full of)
•Refusing to moderate an especially extreme position
•Refusing to agree or compromise; unwilling to change one's views or to
agree
Synonyms: uncompromising, stubborn, obstinate, defiant, inflexible,
obdurate,
intractable
Antonyms: accommodating, agreeable, malleable, flexible, pliable,
adaptable, compromising
Variant forms: intransigence (n.); intransigency (n.); intransigently (adv.)
manifest - (adj.)
Parts: manu (hand); festus (made, done)--open like the palm of the
hand
•Clearly apparent to the sight or understanding (adj.)
•To show or demonstrate plainly (v.)
•A list of cargo or passengers (n.)
Synonyms: obvious, apparent, evident, conspicuous (adj.);
reveal, display, demonstrate (v.); record, log (n.)
Antonyms: hidden, secretive, obscure, cryptic,
inconspicuous (adj.) hide, conceal, disguise, camouflage (v.)
Variant forms: manifestation (n.), manifestly (adv.)
non sequitur - (n.)
Parts: non (not); sequ (follow)
•A statement that does not follow logically from
what preceded it
•An inference or conclusion that does not follow
from the premise or evidence
Synonyms: fallacy, misconception
Antonyms: na
Variant forms: na
peripatetic - (adj.)
Parts: peri (around); patein (walk)
•Walking about; moving from place to place
•Pertaining to the philosophy or teaching methods
of Aristotle
Synonyms: itinerant, traveling, roaming, roving
Antonyms: stationary, permanent
Variant forms: peripateticism (n.)
precept - (n.)
Parts: pre (before); cept (take, seize)
• A general rule or principle intended to control behavior or
thought
Synonyms: rule, principle, law, canon, proverb, axiom,
aphorism
Antonyms: na
Variant forms: preceptor (n.) - teacher
propinquity - (n.)
Parts: propinquus (near); ity (state of)
•Nearness in place or time
•Similarity in nature
•Kinship
Synonyms: proximity, nearness, closeness, contiguity
Antonyms: distance
Variant forms: na
remiss - (adj.)
Parts: re (back, again); miss (send)
•Lax or careless in matters requiring attention
•Careless of duty
Synonyms: negligent, slack, neglectful, forgetful,
derelict
Antonyms: responsible, diligent, careful
Variant forms: na
sentient - (adj.)
Parts: sent (feel); ent (full of)
•Able to feel or perceive things
•Having sense perception
Synonyms: conscious, aware, perceptive
Antonyms: unconscious, unaware
Variant forms: sentience (n.), sentiently (adv.)
supplicate - (v.)
Parts: sub (under); plic (fold); ate (make, cause)
• To ask for humbly or earnestly, as by praying
•To make an earnest request
Synonyms: beg, entreat, beseech, implore, plead
Antonyms: demand, require, command, order
Variant forms: supplication (n.)
verbiage - (n.)
Parts: verb (word); age (action)
•Speech or writing that uses too many words or excessively
technical language
Synonyms: verbosity, wordiness
Antonyms: conciseness, succinctness
Variant forms: na
vilify - (v.)
Parts: vilis (worthless); fy (make)
•To speak or write about in an abusively disparaging
manner
Synonyms: defame, slander, deprecate, disparage,
degrade
Antonyms: honor, praise, laud, commend, eulogize,
extol, revere, venerate
Variant forms: vilification (n.), vilifier (n.)