Vocabulary Unit 12

Appreciable

• adj. sufficient to be noticed or measured
• Syn: detectable, considerable
• Ant: slight, trivial, inconsequential, negligible
• Max's absence of presence would be appreciable to the Hubermans.

Autocratic

• adj. absolute in power or authority
• Syn: domineering, dictatorial, tyrannical, bossy
• Ant: democratic, egalitarian, lenient, permissive, indulgent
• Hitler is an autocratic in "The Book Thief".

Blanch

• v. to remove the color from; to make or turn pale; to parboil
• Syn: bleach, drain, wash out, go white
• Ant: color, dye, infuse, blush, flush
• When Max had first arrived at the Hubermanns, his face was fully blanched.

Blasphemy

• n. an act, utterance, or writing showing contempt for something sacred
• Syn: curse, profanity, imprecation
• Ant: veneration, devotion, respect
• Owning books about Jews was complete blasphemy in Liesel's time.

Brawny

• adj. strong, muscular
• Syn: broad-shouldered, strapping, burly
• Ant: slight, frail, puny
• Viktor, the youth group leader, is quite brawny compared to the others.

Concerted

• adj. planned or performed in cooperation with others
• Syn: cooperative, combined, consolidated
• Ant: unorganized, unilateral, diffused
• The concerted plan of getting Max to the Hubermanns was very difficult.

Contend

• v. to fight, struggle; to compete; to argue
• Syn: battle, vie, maintain, assert
• Ant: yield, acquiesce, submit, relinquish
• Max always dreamed about contending with Hitler in Boxing, but never winning.

Humane

• adj. kind, merciful
• Syn: sympathetic, compassionate, kindhearted
• Ant: cruel, merciless, unfeeling, brutal, heartless
• Han's has always had a very humane personality.

Illustrious

• adj. very famous, distinguished
• Syn: eminent, renowned, prominent, celebrated
• Ant: unknown, obscure, nameless, anonymous
• In Germany, Adolf Hitler is very much illustrious.

Intolerable

• adj. unbearable
• Syn: insufferable, outrageous
• Ant: pleasant, pleasing
• The intolerable smell of Max's dead body would get the Hubermanns caught by the Nazi's for sure.

Irreverent

• adj. disrespectful
• Syn: profane, impious, sacrilegious
• Ant: awed, respectful, devout, pious, deferential
• Viktor was always an irreverent person to the other group members.

Laborious

• adj. not easy, requiring hard work; hardworking
• Syn: arduous, difficult, strenuous, wearisome
• Ant: easy, effortless, facile
• Max's trip to the Hubermanns was quite laborious to him all the way there.

Lithe

• adj. bending easily, limber
• Syn: flexible, pliant, lissome
• Ant: rigid, inflexible, taut
• Jews had to be lithe in order to hide in small compartments in little houses.

Maltreat

• v. to abuse, use roughly or crudely
• Syn: misuse, mistreat, harm
• Ant: coddle, pamper, indulge
• Jewish people in this time of Hitler were constantly maltreated.

Ponder

• v. to consider carefully, reflect on
• Syn: ruminate, contemplate
• Liesel always pondered why the mayor's wife would let her read books in her house.

Subversive

• adj. intended to undermine or overthrow; n. one who advocates or attempts to undermine a political system
• Syn: adj. traitorous; n. a revolutionary
• Ant: adj. patriotic, loyal, true-blue
• A subversive in "The Book Thief" would be Liesel because she goes against the Nazi's rule and steals books anyway.

Synthetic

• adj. made or put together by people; n. something artifical
• Syn: adj. artificial, ersatz
• Ant: adj. natural, genuine
• Liesel's love for Hitler was synthetic.

Temperate

• adj. mild, moderate
• Syn: composed, balanced, mellow, fair
• Ant: immoderate, extreme, excessive, harsh
• Han's attitude was almost always temperate.

Venomous

• adj. poisonous; spiteful, mean
• Syn: nasty, malicious, virulent, malevolent
• Ant: harmless, innocuous
• The Nazi's always seemed like a venomous group of people.

Wily

• adj. sly, shrewd, cunning
• Syn: tricky, artful, foxy, cagey
• Ant: dull-witted, dense, straightforward
• Hitler had appeared like he normally does, wily.