Sadlier Vocabulary Workshop Level G Unit 1-3

banal

(adj) hackneyed, trite, commonplace -The new play's ________________ dialogue made it seem more like a soap opera than a serious drama Synonyms: stale, inspid Antonyms: fresh, original, new

substantive

(adj) real, having a solid basis; considerable in number or amount; meaningful and on topic -The candidate dismissed the silly questions but took the time to answer the most _______________.

acuisitive

(adj.) able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property -In an __________ society, there is a great deal of emphasis on buying and selling. Synonyms: greedy, avaricious, retnetive Antonyms: altruistic

Suppliant

(adj.) asking humbly and earnestly; (n.) one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor -He made a ___________ address to the parole board. -Stranded in the deserted city of Moscow, Napolean had to turn to the Czat not as a conquerer but as a____________

tenable

(adj.) capable of being held or defended -The reasearchers put forth a ______________ theory but their conclusions would be reviewed carefully by others. Synonyms: defensible, justifiable, maintainable Antonyms: indefensible, unjustifiable

murky

(adj.) dark and gloomy, obscure; lacking in clarity or precision -Many visitors have claimed to see a mysterios creature in the _________ waters of Loch ness in Scotland.

Incendiary

(adj.) deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion; (n.) one who deliberately sets fires, arsonist; one who causes strife -The arsonist planted an _____________ device in the baement of the store. -The radical ____________ was sentenced to life imprisonment. SYNONYMS: (adj.) inflammatory, provocative; (n.) firebrand ANTONYMS: (adj.) soothing, quieting; (n.) peacemaker

Avid

(adj.) desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager -Most witers are also ___________ readers who have loved books since childhood. SYNONYMS: keen, enthusiastic, grasping ANTONYMS: reluctant, indifferent, unenthusiastic

primordial

(adj.) developed or created at the very beginning; going back to the most ancient times or earliest stage; fundamental, basic -The _____________ stages of tmost civilization s are founded on common needs met by common goals.

utopian

(adj.) founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world; impractical -A number of American religious groups like the Shakers have built separate communities based on ___________ schemes.

verdant

(adj.) green in tint or color; immature in experience or judgement -The tourists on safari traveled over the ____________ grasslands of Kneya in search of native wildlife

taciturn

(adj.) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little -Woodrow Wilson had the reputation of having a dour and ____________ personality Synonyms: tight-lipped, uncommunicative, laconic Antonyms: garrulous, loquzcious, prolix

viscous

(adj.) having a gelatinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity -The varnish left a __________ residue on the wood that was hard to remove.

Brackish

(adj.) having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink -The shipwrecked passengers adrift on the lifeboat became ill after drinking __________ water. SYNONYM: saline ANTONYMS: clear, sweet

coherent

(adj.) holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful -The physics teacher gave a suprisingly ____________ description of quantum mechanics. Synonyms: connected, unified, consistent, cohesive, Antonyms: muddled, chaotic, disjointed

feckless

(adj.) lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable -Although a __________ youth, he eventually matured into a hard-working and responsible citizen.

Myopic

(adj.) nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment -The ____________ foreign pollicy of the last administration has led to serious problems wiht our allies. SYNONYMS: shortsighted ANTONYMS: farsighted

unwonted

(adj.) not usual or expected, not in character -The listless student answered with __________ spirit when the subject of military tactics was raised.

Individious

(adj.) offensive, hateful; tenfing to cause bitterness and resentment -Bossoes should avoid making ______ comparisons between their employees. Synonyms: malicious, spiteful, prejudicial, prejorative Antonyms: flattering, ameliorative

Overt

(adj.) open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized -In order for Congress to declare war, the President must demonstrate an _____________ threat. SYNONYMS: clear, obvious, manifest, patent ANTONYMS: clandestine, covert, concealed

Histrionic

(adj.) pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic -Upon receiving his award, the young actor gave a ___________ speech. SYNONYMS: affected, stagy ANTONYMS: muted, untheatrical, subdued

intransigent

(adj.) refusing to compromise, irreconcilable -Little will get accomplished if the legislators of both parties maintain their ___________ attitudes. Synonyms: uncomprimising, unyeilding, obdurate Antonyms: lukewarm, halfhearted, yielding

germane

(adj.) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting -Bringing up examples from the past is not __________ to the present discussion Synonym: pertinent Antonyms: irrelevant, extraneous, inappropiate

insatiable

(adj.) so great or demanding as not to be satisfied -People with an _______ appetite for gossisp often do not have compelling sotries of their own. Synonyms: unquenchable, ravenous

piquant

(adj.) stimulating to the taste or mind; spicy, pungent; appealingly provocative -The chef was an expert in making those ______ dishes that are charactetristic of South Indian cooking.

Devious

(adj.) straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way -The interrogator used ________ methods to try to get the suspect to incriminate himself. SYNONYMS: roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful ANTONYMS: direct, straightforward, open, aboveboard

carping

(adj.) tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way; (n.) petty, nagging criticism -The trainee resigned after a week rather than put up with the ____________ complaintsof the sales manager. -Most artist choose to ignore the ________ critics and simply go on with their work. Synonyms(adj): nit-picking, caviling Antonyms(adj): approving, uncritical

Pejorative

(adj.) tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling -The lawyer was accused of making a __________ remark when referring to the defendant's background. ANTONYMS: complimentary, ameliorative

distraught

(adj.) very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict -The workforce became ________ in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash.

nefarious

(adj.) wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards -Brutus and Cassius hatched a _________ plot toassassinate Julius Caesar on the steps of the Roman Senate.

Summarily

(adv.) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely -As soon as there was evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the officila was ___________ ousted fro his post. SYNONYMS: promptly, peremptorily

Propriety

(n) the state of being proper, appropriateness; (pl) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable -The social worker questioned the _________ pf the police's request to see confidential records. SYNONYMS: fitness, correctness ANTONYMS: unseemliness, inappropriateness

Animadversion

(n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval -The inexperienced filmskrer was disheartened by the _______ of the film critic. SYNONYMS: rebuke, reproof ANTONYMS: praise, compliment

encomium

(n.) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute -On Veterans Day, the President delivered a heartfelt _________ to those who died for their country. Synonyms panefyric, eulogy Antonyms: condemnation, castigation, criticism

eulogy

(n.) a formal statement of commendation; high praise -The best friend and longtime law partner of the deceased delivered the _________ at the funeral

Halcyon

(n.) a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher; (adj.) of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent -The teacher read the legend of the ___________, a mythic bird that nested in a calm sea. -The woman often spoke of the _______ days of her childhood. SYNONYMS: (adj.) tranquil, placid, palmy ANTONYMS: (adj.) turbulent, tumultuous

`reconnaissance

(n.) a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination -The field officer required a thorough ________ before ordering any troop movements Synonym: exploration

Maelstrom

(n.) a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction -Many innocent people cuaght in the ____________ of the revolution lost their lives and property. SYNONYMS: chaos, turbulence, tumult

Talisman

(n.) an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish -Most people do not believe that rabbit's feet and other __________ actually bring good luck.

credence

(n.) belief, mental acceptance -The government and the public failed to give ________ to the reports of an impending

largesse

(n.) generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions -The university was the fortunate beneficiary of the ________________ of many of its graduates. Synonyms: liberality, bounty Antonyms: stinginess, miserliness

Sacrilege

(n.) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred -The anthropologist was accused of commiting a _____________ when she disturbed a burial ground. SYNONYMS: desecration, profanation, defilement

Gambit

(n.) in chess, an opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type -Asking an interesting stranger about his or her jo is a popular party ___________. SYNONYMS: ploy, ruse, maneuver

verbiage

(n.) language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness; a manner of expression -The contract was a full meaningless ________________ that seemed designed to confuse the lay person.

propinquity

(n.) nearness in place or time; kinship -The _________ of the two cities has created a gerater metropolitan area that in effect is one city.

Celerity

(n.) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action -Although the heavy snowfall was not expected, teh highway department responded wiht surprising __________. SYNONYMS: promptness, speed ANTONYMS: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness

belabor

(v)to work on excessively; to thrash soundly -His tendency to ___________ the small points often made him miss the big picture Synonym: overwork

arrogate

(v.) To claim or take without right. -The ambitous noblemen will put the youngking under house arrest and _____________ royal priveleges to themselves. Synonms: expropriate, commandeer Antonymns: renounce, abdicate, abandon

Accost

(v.) to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way -The nobleman was _________ by beggars on his way to the castle. SYNONYMS: buttonhole, approach ANTONYMS: avoid, shun

eschew

(v.) to avoid, shun, keep away from -The young athletes promised the coach that they would train vigorously and ____________ bad habits. Synonyms: abstain from, steer clear of. forgo Antonyms: embrace, adopt

congeal

(v.) to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid -If you do not wash your dishes right away, the food on them will ________ Synonyms: harden, jell, solidify Antonyms: liquefy

decry

(v.) to condemn, express strong disapproval; to officially depreciate -Every arm of government and every educational institution should _____________ bigotry in all of its forms.

dissemble

(v.) to disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression -The young man was unable to_______________ his feelings and admitted to having committed the crime.

evince

(v.) to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke -The crows did not __________ any signs of panic but moved in an orderly fashion to the nearest exits.

substantiate

(v.) to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to -The prospector was unable to _________ his claim to the land where the gold was found. Synonyms: confirm, validate, authenticate Antonyms: refute, disprove, invalidate

emulate

(v.) to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model - Most beginning wirters ty to __________ a great writer and later develop their own individual styles. Synonyms: copy, mimic, rival, match, measure up to

Undulate

(v.) to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form -The baseball fans began to ________ as they cheered, so that they apperared to move in a wave. SYNONYMS: fluctuate, rise and fall

exhume

(v.) to remove from a grave; to bring to light -Suspection foul play, the coroner issued an order to __________ the body immediately

cavort

(v.) to romp or prance around exuberantly; to make merry -The actors in the musical_____________ on stage.

temporize

(v.) to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise -For most of Shakespeare's great tragedy, the portagonist Hamlet chooses to ___________ rather than act. Synonyms: dillydally, procastinate