Unit 11 Vocabulary

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Abrogate

• Verb– To repeal, cancel, declare null and void

• Synonyms: annul, revoke• Antonyms: reaffirm, renew, ratify

Ambient

• Adjective– Completely surrounding, encompassing

Asperity

• Noun – Roughness, severity; bitterness or tartness

• Synonyms: rigor, harshness• Antonyms: mildness, blandness, softness,

lenience

Burnish

• Verb– To make smooth or

glossy by rubbing, polish; • Noun– gloss, brightness, luster

• Synonyms: shine, buff• Antonyms: tarnish, dull,

abrade

Cabal

• Verb– A small group working in

secret

• Synonyms: clique, ring, gang, plot, conspiracy

Delectable

• Adjective– Delightful, highly enjoyable;

deliciously flavored, savory• Verb

– An appealing or appetizing food or dish

• Synonyms: delicious, scrumptious

• Antonyms: repugnant, repulsive, distasteful

Deprecate

• Verb– To express mild

disapproval; to belittle

• Synonyms: deplore, frown upon

• Antonyms: smile on, countenance, approve

Detritus

• Noun– Loose bits and pieces of

material resulting from disintegration or wearing away; fragments that result from any destruction

• Synonyms: debris, wreckage, ruins, rubble

Ebullient

• Adjective– Overflowing with

enthusiasm and excitement; boiling, bubbling

• Synonyms: exhilarated, elated, exuberant

• Antonyms: gloomy, morose, sullen, apathetic, blasé

Eclectic

• Adjective– Drawn from different sources;

• Noun – One whose beliefs are drawn

from various sources

• Synonyms: selective, synthetic, pick-and-choose

• Antonyms: uniform, monolithic

Flaccid

• Adjective– Limp, not firm; lacking vigor or effectiveness

• Synonyms: soft, flabby• Antonyms: hard, firm, solid

Impecunious

• Adjective– Having little or no money

• Synonyms: penniless, impoverished, indigent

• Antonyms: affluent, wealthy, prosperous, rich

Inexorable

• Adjective– Inflexible, beyond

influence; relentless, unyielding

• Synonyms: inescapable, ineluctable, obdurate

• Antonyms: avoidable, yielding, pliant

Moribund

• Adjective– Dying, on the way out

• Synonyms: obsolescent• Antonyms: flourishing,

thriving

Necromancer

• Noun– One who claims to reveal

or influence the future through magic, especially communication with the dead; in general, a magician or wizard

• Synonyms: sorcerer, conjurer

Onerous

• Adjective– Burdensome; involving

hardship or difficulty

• Synonyms: oppressive, weighty

• Antonyms: light, easy, undemanding, untaxing

Rife

• Adjective– Common, prevalent,

widespread, happening often; full, abounding, plentiful, abundant, replete

• Antonyms: devoid of, lacking

Rudiments

• Noun– The parts of any subject or

discipline that are learned first; the earliest stages of anything

• Synonyms: fundamentals, basics

Sequester

• Verb– To set apart, separate

for a special purpose; to take possession of and hold in custody

• Synonyms: seclude, segregate, isolate, closet

Winnow

• Verb– To get rid of something

unwanted, delete; to sift through to obtain what is desirable; to remove the chaff from the wheat by blowing air on it; to blow on, fan

• Synonyms: sift, strain, filter, sort