Level F Unit 5

salutary

(adj.) beneficial, helpful; healthful, wholesome SYNONYMS: salubrious, curative ANTONYMS: detrimental, deleterious

scathing

(adj.) bitterly severe, withering; causing great harm SYNONYMS: searing, harsh, savage ANTONYMS: bland, mild

vapid

(adj.) dull, uninteresting, tiresome; lacking in sharpness, flavor, liveliness, or force SYNONYMS: lifeless, colorless ANTONYMS: zesty, spicy, colorful

straitlaced

(adj.) extremely strict in regard to moral standards and conduct; prudish, puritanical SYNONYMS: highly conventional, overly strict, stuffy ANTONYMS: lax, loose, indulgent, permissive, dissolute

equitable

(adj.) fair, just, embodying principles of justice SYNONYMS: right, reasonable, evenhanded ANTONYMS: unjust, unfair, one-sided, disproportionate

sepulchral

(adj.) funereal, typical of the tomb; extremely gloomy or dismal SYNONYMS: lugubrious, mortuary

transient

(adj.) lasting only a short time, fleeting; (n.) one who stays only a short time SYNONYMS: (adj.) impermanent, ephemeral, evanescent ANTONYMS: (adj.) permanent, imperishable, immortal

unwieldy

(adj.) not easily carried, handled, or managed because of size or complexity SYNONYMS: bulky, clumsy, impractical ANTONYMS: manageable, easy to handle

axiomatic

(adj.) self-evident, expressing a universally accepted principle SYNONYM: taken for granted ANTONYMS: questionable, dubious

fractious

(adj.) tending to be troublesome; unruly, quarrelsome, contrary; unpredictable SYNONYMS: refractory, recalcitrant peevish ANTONYMS: docile, tractable, cooperative

soporific

(adj.) tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy; (n.) something that induces sleep SYNONYMS: (n.) narcotic, anesthetic ANTONYMS: (adj.) stimulating; (n.) stimulant, stimulus

amnesty

(n.) a general pardon for an offense against a government; in general, any act of forgiveness or absolution SYNONYM: reprieve

precept

(n.) a rule of conduct or action SYNONYMS: principle, maxim

caveat

(n.) a warning or caution to prevent misunderstanding or discourage behavior SYNONYMS: admonition, word to the wise

autonomy

(n.) self-government, political control SYNONYM: home rule ANTONYMS: dependence, subjection

blazon

(v.) to adorn or embellish; to display conspicuously; to publish or proclaim widely SYNONYMS: broadcast, trumpet ANTONYMS: hide, conceal, bury

extricate

(v.) to free from entanglements or difficulties; to remove with effort SYNONYMS: disentangle, extract ANTONYMS: enmesh, entangle

flout

(v.) to mock, treat with contempt SYNONYMS: sneer at, snicker at, scorn ANTONYMS: obey, honor

filch

(v.) to steal, especially in a sneaky way and in petty amounts SYNONYMS: pilfer, purloin, swipe

scourge

(v.) to whip, punish severely; (n.) a cause of affliction or suffering; a source or severe punishment or criticism SYNONYMS: (v.) flog, beat; (n.) bane, plague, pestilence ANTONYMS: (n.) godsend, boon, blessing