Vocabulary Unit 4
Mrs. Williams
English 9 and 9B
abscond (v.) to run off and hide
• Synonyms: bolt, make
off, skip town
• EX
– The thieves who
absconded with several
of the museum’s most
valuable paintings have
never been found.
anarchy (n.) a lack of government and
law; confusion
• Synonyms: chaos,
disorder, turmoil,
pandemonium
• Antonyms: law and
order, peace and quiet
• EX
– In the final days of a war,
civilians may find
themselves living in
anarchy.
arduous (adj.) hard to do, requiring
much effort
• Synonyms: hard,
difficult, laborious,
fatiguing
• Antonyms: easy, simple,
effortless
• EX
– No matter how carefully
you plan for it, moving to
a new home is an
arduous chore.
auspicious (adj.) favorable; fortunate
• Synonyms: promising,
encouraging, propitious
• Antonyms: ill-omened,
ominous, sinister
• EX
– My parents describe the
day that they first met as
a most auspicious
occasion.
daunt (v.) to overcome with fear,
intimidate; to dishearten, discourage
• Synonyms: dismay, cow
• Antonyms: encourage,
embolden, reassure
• EX
– Despite all its inherent
dangers, space flight did
not daunt the Mercury
program astronauts.
disentangle (v.) to free from tangles or
complications
• Synonyms: unravel,
unwind, unscramble,
unsnarl
• Antonyms: tangle up,
ensnarl, snag
• EX
– Rescuers worked for
hours to disentangle a
whale from the fishing
net wrapped around its
jaws.
fated (adj.) determined in advance by
destiny or fortune
• Synonyms: destined,
preordained, doomed
• Antonyms: accidental,
fortuitous, chance,
random
• EX
– The tragic outcome of
Shakespeare’s Romeo
and Juliet is fated from
the play’s very first
scene.
hoodwink (v.) to mislead by a trick,
deceive
• Synonyms: dupe, put
one over on
• Antonyms: undeceive,
disabuse, clue in
• EX
– Many sweepstakes offers
hoodwink people into
thinking they have
already won big prizes.
inanimate (adj.) not having life;
without energy or spirit
• Synonyms: lifeless,
dead, inert, spiritless
• Antonyms: living, alive,
energetic, vigorous,
lively, sprightly
• EX
– Although fossils are
inanimate, they hold
many clues to life on
Earth millions of years
ago.
incinerate (v.) to burn to ashes
• Synonyms: burn up,
cremate, reduce to
ashes
• EX
– Because of
environmental concerns,
many cities and towns
no longer incinerate
their garbage.
pliant (adj.) bending readily; easily
influenced
• Synonyms: supple,
flexible, elastic, plastic
• Antonyms: rigid, stiff,
inflexible, set in stone
• EX
– The pliant branches of
the sapling sagged but
did not break under the
weight of the heavy
snow.
precipice (n.) a very steep cliff; the
brink or edge of disaster
• Synonyms: cliff, crag,
bluff, promontory, ledge
• Antonyms: abyss,
chasm, gorge
• EX
– During the Cuban missile
crisis, the world hovered
on the precipice of
nuclear war.
prototype (n.) an original model on
which later versions are patterned
• Synonyms: example,
sample
• Antonyms: copy
• EX
– The assembly line
managers studied the
prototype of the new
car for weeks before
production began.
rectify (v.) to make right, correct
• Synonyms: remedy, set
right
• Antonyms: mess up,
botch, bungle
• EX
– The senators debated a
series of measures
designed to rectify the
nation’s trade
imbalance.
reprieve (n.) a temporary relief or
delay; (v.) to grant a postponement
• Synonyms: (n.) stay,
respite, deferral; (v.)
postpone, delay
• Antonyms: (v.) proceed
• EX
– A vacation is a kind of
reprieve from the cares
and responsibilities of
everyday life.
– A judge may reprieve a
first-time offender from jail
time until sentencing.