vocab lesson 8 meaning, syn, ant, sent

martinet

a strict disciplinarian; task master the teacher was martinet who never made exceptions to the rules.

quagmire

a swamp;a difficult or inextricable situation the war was a political quagmire for three U.S presidents.

grotesque

absurd;distorted the boy made a grotesque mask for Halloween.

harbinger

an omen or a sign to many, the black cat is a harbinger of bad luck. syn:warning;portent

carcinogen

causing cancer Benzene; a component of gasoline, is a carcinogen.

hackneyed

commonplace; overused "Good as gold" is a hackneyed expression syn: trite;banal ant: fresh; imaginative

recondite

difficult to understand;profound only a few students understood the recondite explanation of the theory.

imperious

domineering;haughty The judge pronounced his findings in an imperious voice. syn: overbearing; arrogant;masterful ant: servile;submissive

censure

to criticize sharply the judge censured the repeat offender for his criminal behavior. syn: condemn;reproach ant: praise; applaud

gambol

to frolic; to romp about playfully the preschoolers like to gambol about on the playground. syn: play;caper;rollick

immolate

to kill someone as sacrificial victim, usually by fire some Buddhist monks immolated themselves in protest of the governments policies.

gibe

to scoff;to ridicule his favorite pastime was to gibe at everything his wife said. syn: jeer;taunt;sneer ant:compliment;praise

agape

open mouthed; surprised even the judge was agape when the witness told the ridiculous story in court. syn: astonished

neologism

a new word or expression some writers coin neologisms to confuse and impress their readers. syn: coinage

olfactory

pertaining to smell if you have a cold, then your olfactory senses will not detect the gas leak.