VOCABULARY UNIT 11

Brevity

• (n) shortness
• Syn: terseness, pithiness
• Ant: verbosity, long-windedness, prolixity
• The brevity of the boy's paper got him a bad grade because it was supposed to be five pages.

Comport

• (v) to conduct or bear oneself, behave; to be in agreement
• Syn: agree, concur
• The young man comported himself well and was able to receive the job.

Concise

• (adj) expressing much in a few words
• Syn: brief, succinct, terse, pithy, to the point
• Ant: wordy, verbose, long-winded, prolix
• The Declaration of Independence is concise, therefor being one of the greatest documents ever written.

Demure

• (adj) sober or serious in manner, modest
• Syn: shy, sedate, seemly, decorous
• Ant: forward, assertive, immodest
• The boys demure personality allowed him to get away with breaking the window.

Depreciation

• (n) a lessening in value; a belittling
• Syn: cheapening, lowering
• Ant: increase, appreciation, enhancement
• The value of the car depreciated once it was bought.

Deteriorate

• (v) to lower in quality or value; to wear away
• Syn: worsen, decline, degenerate, debase
• Ant: fix up, enhance
• The house began to deteriorate when it was left abandoned.

Divulge

• (v) to tell, reveal; to make public
• Syn: disclose, impart, spill the beans,"leak"
• Ant: hide, conceal, cover up, secrete, keep under wraps
• The burglar divulged his actions in stealing the money.

Enlightened

• (adj) free from ignorance and false ideas; possessing sound understanding
• Syn: knowing, aware, cultivated
• Ant: ignorant, unaware, untaught, benighted
• The enlightened scientist came up with new predictions about the universe.

Forestall

• (v) to prevent by acting first
• Syn: hinder, thwart, preclude, ward off
• Ant: welcome, accept, allow, submit, abide by
• To forestall a cold, drink water and wash your hands.

Garble

• (v) to distort in such a way as to make unintelligable
• Syn: jumble, confuse, misrepresent
• Ant: elucidate, articulate
• The letter was garbled on its way to the delivery and was hard to read.

Proponent

• (n) one who puts forward a proposal; one who supports a cause or belief
• Syn: supporter, advocate, exponent
• Ant: opponent, critic, foe, adversary
• Martin Luther King was a proponent leader in the fight for equality.

Quaver

• (v) to shake, tremble; to trill
• Syn: vibrate, shiver, quake, palpitate
• The ground began to quaver during the earthquake.

Recoil

• (v) to spring back, shrink; (n) the act of springing back
• Syn: (v) flinch; (n) kickback
• Ant: (v) advance, proceed, gain ground
• The spring recoiled before it shot off the ground.

Recoup

• (v) to make up for, regain
• Syn: recover, retrieve
• Ant: lose, default, forfeit, kiss good-bye
• The man recoup the money by getting a job and working.

Reek

• (n) an unpleasant smell; (v) to give off unpleasant smells; to give a strong impression
• Syn: (n) stench; (v) stink, smell
• Ant: (n) perfume, fragrance, bouquet
• The garbage reeked and had to be moved out of the house.

Relentless

• (adj) unyielding, harsh, without pity
• Syn: stern, merciless, persistent
• Ant: merciful, accommodating, indulgent
• In horror movies, the killer is relentless and will do anything to kill the person.

Rivulet

• (n) a small stream
• Syn: creek, rill
• The rivulet provided a source for water for the town.

Squander

• (v) to spend foolishly, waste
• Syn: misspend, dissipate
• Ant: save, economize, hoard, squirrel away
• The man squandered his savings and was left with no money.

Staccato

• (adj) detached or disconnected in sound or style
• Syn: abrupt
• Ant: continuous, flowing
• The orchestra played the staccato notes with force so that they were short.

Statue

• (n) a law
• Syn: rule, enactment
• The students must follow the statue of Canisius High School, or they will receive JUG