Vocabulary Unit 13

Ad Infinitum

• adv. endlessly
• Syn: forever, unceasingly, incessantly, ceaselessly
• Ant: succinctly, concisely, tersely, briefly
• The two lovers in the romance movie thought that they would love each other ad infinitum.

Apportion

• v. to divide and give out in shares
• Syn: distribute, allot, parcel out, allocate
• Every week, my parents have to apportion fifty dollars between my sister and I for our allowance.

Bona Fide

• adj. genuine; sincere
• Syn: authentic, indisputable, legitimate, certified
• Ant: false, fake, bogus, spurious, counterfeit
• I considered that person a Bona fide bully.

Buoyant

• adj. able to float easily; able to hold things up; cheerful, hopeful
• Syn: jaunty, lighthearted, animated
• Ant: downcast, gloomy, morose
• No matter what, Joe was always in a buoyant mood.

Clique

• n. a small, exclusive group of people
• Syn: inner circle
• In high school, there is a certain clique of popular students who think they are the most important people.

Concede

• v. to admit as true; to yield, submit
• Syn: acknowledge, grant, allow, assent
• Ant: contest, dispute, gainsay, challenge
• Tori conceded to her mom that she had watched the PG-13 movie without her permission.

Congenial

• adj. getting on well with others; agreeable, pleasant
• Syn: sociable, amiable, compatible
• Ant: disagreeable, cold, standoffish
• Although they lost, the team members were admired for their congenial attitude.

Lofty

• adj. very high; noble
• Syn: elevated, exalted, grand
• Ant: base, petty, low, sordid, despicable
• The Adirondack Mountains are quite lofty.

Migration

• n. a movement from one country or region to another
• Syn: population shift, mass movement
• Migration in the old west was hot and difficult.

Perceive

• v. to be aware of through the senses, observe; to grasp mentally
• Syn: notice, discern, understand
• Ant: miss, overlook, be blind to
• Somehow, my dad perceived the idea that I took the family car for a joyride.

Perverse

• adj. inclined to go against what is expected; stubborn; turned away from what is good and proper
• Syn: obstinate, contrary, mulish
• Ant: tractable, docile, amenable, yielding
• I never understood why bullies choose to have a perverse mindset.

Prelude

• n. an introduction; that which comes before or leads off
• Syn: preface, overture, prologue, "curtain-raiser"
• Ant: epilogue, postlude, aftermath
• Before the president spoke, his secretary gave a huge prelude.

Rancid

• adj. stale, spoiled
• Syn: foul, rank, fetid, sour, rotten, putrid
• Ant: wholesome, fresh
• The smell of the bathroom at the end of the day was purely rancid.

Rustic

• adj. country-like; simple, plain; awkward; n. one who lives in the country
• Syn: adj. rough, unsophisticated, countrified
• Ant: adj. urban, sophisticated
• My friend's cabin in Salamanca is beautifully rustic.

Sever

• v. to separate, divide into parts
• Syn: cut off, amputate, dissolve
• Ant: unite, weld together
• In most horror movies, someone's hand is usually severed off.

Sordid

• adj. wretchedly poor; run down; mean or selfish
• Syn: filthy, squalid, base, vile, seedy, sleazy
• Ant: pure, noble, opulent, lavish
• The old barn looked very sordid and might collapse any day.

Untenable

• adj. not capable of being held or defended; impossible to maintain
• Syn: indefensible, insupportable
• Ant: irrefutable, impregnable, incontestable
• To an average hiker, it is untenable to catch a cougar with their bare hands.

Versatile

• adj. able to do many things well; capable of many uses
• Syn: adaptable, all-around, many-sized
• Ant: limited, specialized, restricted
• A minivan to my family is versatile and always has enough room for one more person.

Vindicate

• v. to clear from hint or charge of wrongdoing; to defend successfully against opposition; to justify
• Syn: acquit, absolve, exonerate, advocate
• Ant: implicate, incriminate, condemn, convict
• The victim's lawyer tried everything he could to vindicate the accusations.

Wane

• v. to lose size, strength, or power
• Syn: diminish, decline, subside
• Ant: grow, wax, amplify, balloon, increase