Studied by 4 peopleaustere
(adj.) severe or stern in manner; without adornment or luxury, simple, plain; harsh or sour in flavor
S: forbidding, rigorous, puritanical, ascetic, unadorned
A: mild, indulgent, luxurious, flamboyant
beneficent
(adj.) performing acts of kindness or charity: conferring benefits, doing good
S: humanitarian, magnanimous, charitable
A: selfish, cruel, harmful, deleterious
cadaverous
(adj.) pale, guant, resembling a corpse
S: corpselike, wasted, haggard, emaciated, ghastly
A: robust, portly, rosy, the picture of health
concoct
(v.) to prepare by combining ingredients, make up (as a dish); to devise, invent, fabricate
S: create, fashion, rustle up
crass
(adj.) coarse, unfeeling; stupid
S: crude, tasteless, oafish, obtuse
A: refined, elegant, tasteful, polished, brilliant
debase
(v.) to lower in character, quality, or value; to degrade, adulterate; to cause to deteriorate
S: cheapen, corrupt, demean, depreciate
A: elevate, uplift, improve, enhance
desecrate
(v.) to commit sacrilege upon, treat irrelevantly; to contaminate, pollute
S: profane, defile, violate
A: revere, venerate, consecrate
disconcert
(v.) to confuse; to disturb the composure of
S: upset, rattle, ruffle, faze
A: relax, calm, put at ease
grandiose
(adj.) grand in an impressive or stately way; marked by pompous affectation or grandeur, absurdly exaggerated
S: majestic, bombastic, highfalutin
A: simple, modest, humble
inconsequential
(adj.) trifling, unimportant
S: trivial, negligible, paltry
A: important, essential, crucial
infraction
(n.) a breaking of a law or obligation
S: violation, transgression, offense
mitigate
(v.) to make milder or softer, to moderate in force or intensity
S: lessen, relive, alleviate
A: aggravate, intensify, irritate, exacerbate
pillage
(v.) to rob of goods by open force (as in war), plunder (n.) the act of looting; booty
S: (v.) savage, sack, loot; (n.) booty
prate
(v.) to talk a great deal in a foolish or aimless fashion
A: prattle, blab, palaver
A: come to the point
punctilious
(adj.) very careful and exact, attentive to fine points of etiquette
S: precise, scrupulous
A: careless, perfunctory
redoubtable
(adj.) inspiring in fear or awe; illustrious, eminent
S: formidable, august
A: laughable, risible
reprove
(v.) to find fault with, scold, rebuke
S: chastise, upbraid, reproach
A; praise, commend, laud, pat on the back
restitution
(n.) the act of restoring someone or something to the rightful owner or to a former state or position; making good on a loss or damage
S: reimbursement, redress, restoration
stalwart
(adj.) strong and sturdy; brave; resolute
(n.) a brave, strong, person;a strong supporter; one who takes an uncompromising position
S: (adj.) sturdy, stout, intrepid, valiant; (n.) mainstay
A: (adj.) weak, infirm, irresolute, vacillating
vulnerable
(adj.) open to attack; capable of being wounded or damaged; unprotected
S: defenseless, unguarded
A: invincible, protected, safe, secure
acrimonious
(adj.) stinging, bitter in temper or tone
S: biting, caustic, rancorous, hostile, peevish
A: gentle, warm, mild, friendly, cordial
bovine
(adj.) resembling a cow or ox; sluggish, unresponsive
S: stolid, dull, slow, stupid
A: alert, sharp, bright, keen, quick
consternation
(n.) dismay, confusion
S: shock, amazement, bewilderment, dismay
A: calm, composure, aplomb
corpulent
(adj.) fat; having a large, bulky, body
S: overweight, heavy, obese, stout, portly
A: slender, ean, spare, guant, emaciated
disavow
(v.) to deny responsibility for or connection with
S: disown, disclaim, retract, abjure
A: acknowledge, admit, grant, certify
dispassionate
(adj.) impartial; calm, free from emotion
S: unbiased, disinterested, cool, detached
A: committed, engaged, partial, biased
dissension
(n.) disagreement, sharp difference of opinion
S: strife, discord, contention
A: agreement, accord, harmony
dissipate
(v.) to cause to disappear; to scatter, dispel; to spend foolishly, squander; to be extravagant in pursuit of pleasure
S: disperse, strew, diffuse, waste
A: gather, collect, converse, husband
expurgate
(v.) to remove objectionable passages or words from a written text; to cleanse, purify
S: purge, censor, bowdlerize
gauntlet
(n.) an armored or protective glove; a challenge; two lines of men armed with weapons with which to beat a person forced to run between them; an ordeal
S; dare, provocation, trial, punishment
hypothetical
(adj.) based on an assumption or guess; used as a provisional or tentative idea to guide or direct investigation
S: assumed, supposed, conjectural, conditional
A: actuatl, real, tested, substantiated
ignoble
(adj.) mean, low, base
S: inferior, unworthy, dishonorable, sordid
A: admirable, praiseworthy, lofty, noble
impugn
(v.) to call into question; to attack as false
S: challenge, deny, dispute, query, question
A: confirm, prove, verify, validate
intemperate
(adj.) immoderate, lacking in self-control; inclement
S: excessive, extreme, unrestrained, inordinate
A: moderate, restrained, cool and collected
odium
(n.) hatred, contempt; disgrace or infamy resulting from hateful conduct
S: abhorrence, opprobrium, shame, ignominy
A: esteem, admiration, approbation
perfidy
(n.) faithlessness, treachery
S: betrayal, disloyalty, treason, duplicity
A: faithfulness, loyalty, steadfastness
relegate
(v.) to place in a lower position; to assign, refer, turn over; to banish
S: transfer, consign, demote, exile
A: promote, elevate, advance, recall
squeamish
(adj.) inclined to nausea; easily shocked or upset; excessively fastidious or refined
S: nauseated, queasy, delicate oversensitive, priggish
subservient
(adj.) subordinate in capacity or role; submissively obedient; serving to promote some end
S: secondary, servile, obsequious, useful
A: primary, principal, bossy, domineering
susceptible
(adj.) open to; easily influenced; lacking in resistance
S: vulnerable, receptive, impressionable
A: resistant, immune
abate
(v.) to make less in amount, degree, etc.; to subside, become less; to nullify; to deduct, omit
S: diminish, decrease, subside, let up
A intensity, increase, magnify, wax
adulation
(n.) praise or flattery that is excessive
S: adoration, idolization, hero-worship
A: ridicule, derision, scorn, odium
anathema
(n.) an object of intense dislike; a curse or strong denunciation (often used adjectivally without the article)
S: malediction, imprecation, abomination
A: benediction, blessing
astute
(adj.) shrewd, crafty, showing practical wisdom
S: shrewd, acute, sagacious, judicious, wily
A: obtuse, doltish, empty-headed, dumb
avarice
(n.) a greedy desire, particularly for wealth
S: cupidity, rapacity, acquisitiveness
culpable
(adj.) deserving blame, worthy of condemnation
S: guilty, delinquent, peccant, blameworthy
A: blameless, innocent, laudable, meritorious
dilatory
(adj.) tending to delay or procrastinate, not prompt; intended to delay or postpone
S: stalling, slow, tardy, laggard
A: prompt, punctual, speedy, expeditious
egregious
(adj.) conspicuous, standing out from the mass (used particularly in an unfavorable sense)
S: glaring, flagrant, blatant
A: unnoticeable, paltry, piddling
equivocate
(v.) to speak or act in a way that allows for more than one interpretation;to be deliberately vague or ambiguous
S: to talk out of both sides of one’s mouth, palter, hedge, waffle
A: to speak one’s mind plainly
evanescent
(adj.) vanishing, soon passing away; light and airy
S: ephemeral, transient, transitory
A: everlasting, immortal, imperishable
irresolute
(adj.) unable to make up one’s mind, hesitating
S: indecisive, vacillating, wavering
A: determined, decisive, unwavering
nebulous
(adj.) cloudlike, resembling a cloud; cloudy in color, not transparent; vague, confused, indistinct
S; hazy, fuzzy, cloudy, vague, murky, opaque, indeterminate
A: definite, distinct, clear, sharply focused
novice
(n.) one who is just a beginner at some activity requiring skill and experience (also used adjectivally)
S: neophyte, tyro, trainee, apprentice
A: veteran, past master, pro, expert
penury
(n.) extreme poverty; barrenness, insufficiency
S; destitution, want, indigence
A: affluence, abundance, luxury, opulence
pretentious
(adj.) done for show, striving to make a big impression; claiming merit or position unjustifiably; making demands on one’s skill or abilities, ambitious
S: inflated, ostentatious, affected
A: unassuming, unaffected, modest
recapitulate
(v.) to review a series of facts; to sum up
S: review, summarize, sum up, go over
resuscitate
(v.) to revive, bring back to consciousness or existence
S: revitalize, reanimate, restore, reactivate
slovenly
(adj.) untidy, dirty, careless
S: unkempt slatternly, slipshod, lax
A: neat, tidy, careful, meticulous
supposition
(n.) something that is assumed or taken for granted without conclusive evidence
S: assumption, presumption, hypothesis
torpid
(adj.) inactive, sluggish, dull
S: sluggish, lethargic, otiose, languid
A: energetic, dynamic, vigorous
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