Unit 4 Level D
Abscond
 (v.) to run off and hide
 Synonyms: bolt, make off, skip
town
 The thief absconded with the
money from the bank hoping to
skip town before the police could
capture him.
Access
 (n) approach or admittance to places, persons, things;
and increase, (v) to get at, obtain
 Synonyms: (n) entry, admittance, entrée
 Antonyms: (n) total exclusion
 In order to gain access to the movie theater one must
present a ticket to be admitted.
Anarchy
 (n.) a lack of government and
law, confusion
 Synonyms: chaos, disorder,
turmoil, pandemonium
 Antonyms: law and order,
peace and quiet
 In the final days of the
Vietnam War, many civilians
tried to evacuate the city of
Saigon with United States
troops causing a state of
anarchy in the city as the
government of South
Vietnam dissolved and
confusion took over.
Arduous
 (adj) hard to do, requiring much effort
 Synonyms: hard, difficult, laborious, fatiguing
 Antonyms: easy, simple, effortless
 Power lifting is an extremely arduous sport that
requires much effort by competitors.
Auspicious
 (adj.) favorable; fortunate
 Synonyms: promising,
encouraging, propitious
 Antonyms: ill-omened,
sinister
 It was truly an auspicious
occasion when American
Pharaoh won the Triple
Crown in 2015 his
fortunate victory made
him the first winner since
1978.
Daunt
 (v.) to overcome with fear,
intimidate; to dishearten,
discourage
 Synonyms: dismay, cow
 Antonyms: encourage, embolden,
reassure
 Despite all its inherent dangers,
space flight did not daunt the
Mercury program astronauts they
were neither fearful or
intimidated by the thought of
journeying into space.
Disentangle
 (v.) to free from
tangles or
complications
 Synonyms: unravel,
unwind, unscramble,
unsnarl
 Antonyms: tangle up,
ensnarl, snag
 The diver worked for
hours to disentangle a
whale from the fishing
net wrapped around
its tail.
Fated
 (adj.) determined in
advance by destiny or
fortune
 Synonyms: destined,
preordained, doomed
 Antonyms: fortuitous,
chance, random
 Fortune tellers try to
convince their customers
that they can see the future
and predict the destiny of
their customers and what is
fated for them.
Hoodwink
 (v.) to mislead by a trick,
swindle
 Synonyms: put one over
on, fool
 Antonyms: disabuse
 The wolf in the children’s
story Little Red Riding
Hood, tries to hoodwink
Little Red Riding Hood by
tricking her into
believing that he is really
her grandmother.
Inanimate
 (adj.) not having life;
without energy or
spirit
 Synonyms: lifeless,
dead, inert, spiritless
 Antonyms: living,
alive, energetic, lively,
sprightly
 Breakfast foods are
inanimate objects
that lack energy or
spirit.
Incinerate
 (v) to burn to ashes
 Synonyms: burn up, cremate, reduce to ashes
 Antonyms: extinguish
 The fire incinerated the building leaving only ashes.
Intrepid
 (adj) very brave, fearless,
unshakable
 Synonyms: valiant,
courageous, audacious, daring
 Antonyms: timid, cowardly,
craven
 Wing walkers, intrepid
performers, were popular
attractions at state fairs during
the 1930’s displaying their
fearless acts of playing tennis
atop a biplane flying hundreds
of feet above the spectators.
Larceny
 (n.) theft
 Synonyms: stealing,
robbery
 Stealing a car can
result in a charge of
grand larceny and
imprisonment for the
offender.
Pliant
 (adj) bending readily;
easily influence
 Synonyms: supple,
flexible, elastic, plastic
 Antonyms: rigid, stiff,
inflexible, set in stone
 The gymnast’s pliant
body was easily bent
producing a human
pretzel.
Pompous
 (adj.) overly self-important in
speech and manner;
excessively stately or
ceremonious
 Synonyms: highfalutin,
bombastic
 Antonyms: unpretentious,
plain
 Some think that the British
habit of wearing wigs and
robes in court is rather
pompous, excessively
ceremonial and too
highfalutin for American’s
tastes.
Precipice
 (n) a very steep cliff; the brink or
edge of disaster
 Synonyms: cliff, crag, bluff,
promontory, ledge
 Antonyms: abyss, chasm, gorge
 Daring individuals often get a
thrill balanced on the edge of a
precipice exhibiting feats such
as performing a handstand on
the brink of disaster any
minute if they slip and fall.
Prototype
 (n.) an original model on
which later versions are
patterned
 Synonyms: example, sample
 Antonyms: copy
 Designers in the automotive
industry are always
experimenting with
prototypes hoping their
design might become a
pattern for a new
generation of automobile.
Rectify
 (v) to make right,
correct
 Synonyms: remedy, set
right
 Antonyms: mess up,
botch, bungle
 When you rectify a
situation, hopefully
you will get it right the
second time.
Reprieve
 (n) a temporary relief or delay; (v) to grant a
postponement
 Synonyms: (n) stay, respite; (v) postpone, delay
 Antonyms: (v) proceed
Revile
 (v.) to attack with words,
call bad names
 Synonyms: malign, vilify
 Antonyms: praise,
acclaim, revere, idolize
 During a political
campaign, many
politicians often revile
their opponents calling
them bad names and
attacking them with
harsh words in television
and radio advertisements.