
Unexpected appearance

Syn. ghost

Ant. mortals

The apparitions or ghostly figures that
appeared in the haunted house scared me to
death.

To predict (some future event)

Syn. foretell

Supposedly, Miss Cleo has the ability to
augur the future.

Emotionally hardened; unfeeling;
unsympathetic

Syn. insensitive

Ant. understanding; sensitive

The callous individual didn’t appear to have
any sympathy whatsoever, and he was always
bullying the other kids at school.

To call or bring into existence by or as if by
magic

Syn. summon; invoke

Ant. exorcise

People who conjure spirits often are able to
contact the dead.

Strong disrespect; evaluation as worthless or
mean

Syn. disdain; scorn

Ant. respect; honor; admiration

Many people think of Hitler with contempt
because they view him as a horrible man who
committed terrible acts.

To make certain; confirm

Syn. verify; support; validate

Ant. refute

He corroborated my account of the accident
by providing details that matched my
information.

To enter into an agreement, usually formal,
between two or more persons to do or not do
something specified

Syn. agreed

Ant. disagreed

The rulers of each nation covenanted to end the
war, and they signed an official document to
make it legal.

A severe, searching test or trial

Syn. Test

Rebecca Nurse faced a crucible of her faith
when she was accused of witchcraft; she had
to decide if she would stay true to her beliefs
or give a false confession.

False or unjustified injury of the good reputation
of another as by slander or libel

Syn. falsehood

Ant. truth

She sued the magazine for defamation of
character because the writer of the article falsely
said that she was in rehab for drug addiction.

The giving of testimony under oath

Syn. affidavit

Ant. nullification

In his court deposition, Joe told the truth
about his involvement in the robbery.

Directly opposite

Syn. contrarily

Ant. similarly; identically

Sample sentence: Some Democrats are
diametrically opposed to the ideas of the
Republicans because their ideas are
completely opposite.