UNIT 15 VOCABULARY

ABRASIVE

• (adj.) causing irritation, harsh; grinding or wearing down
• (noun) a substance used to smooth or polish
• SYN: chafing, grating, rasping, erosive
• ANT: smooth, polished, santiny, oily
• Sand paper is abrasive because it is used to wear down wood in order to make it polished.

ACCLIMATE

• (v.) to adapt to a new climate, envirment, or situation
• SYN: accustom, learn the ropes
• When transfering from a private school to a public school, one must acclimate or adapt to the envirment.

CHAGRIN

• (noun) irritation or humiliation caused by disappointment or frustration
• (verb) to cause such a feeling
• SYN: (n.) vexation, mortification (v.) abash, mortify
• ANT: (n.) jubilation,exultation, triumph (v.) exalt, delight
• Much to my chagrin, I played very disappointingly.

COMPLACENT

• (adj.) self-satisfied; overly content
• SYN: smug, unconcerned
• ANT: discontented
• Complacent people are self-satisfied with themselves.

CONCUR

• (verb) to express agreement, approve
• SYN: agree, assent, ratify, sanction
• ANT: disagree, differ, part company
• My mother and I came to a concur that I would not go to the movies this week but next week.

DEFAMATION

• (noun) slander or libel
• SYN: vilification, calumny
• ANT: salute, tribute
• In order to win the argument I used a technique of defaming my oppressor.

EXPLICATE

• (verb) to make plain or clear, explain; to interpret
• SYN: elucidate, untangle, spell out
• ANT: confuse, bewilder, obscure, obfuscate
• The code was to hard for Jim to handle so I had to explicate to the code ap he could understand it.

FRACAS

• (noun) a noisy quarrel or brawl
• SYN: row, altercation, rhubarb, brouhaha
• ANT: agreement, accord, unanimity, harmony
• Within the prison there was a fracas that caused all the officers to brake it up.

GROTESQUE

• (adj.) unnatural, distorted; bizzare
• SYN: fantastic, outlandish, ugly, deformed
• ANT: appealing, attractive, comely
• Because she was so ugly people viewed her as grotesque.

PANDEMONIUM

• (noun) a wild uproar, din, or commotion
• SYN: chaos, bediam, three-ring circus
• ANT: order, calm, tranquility, peace, repose
• Dick Vital said, "Look at the pandemonium in here!"

RAUCOUS

• (adj.) disagreeably harsh-sounding; disorderly
• SYN: boosterous, clamorous, stident
• ANT: placid, tranquil, peaceful, serene, pastoral
• The sound of the plane going over the peaceful meadow was raucous.

RECEPTIVE

• (adj.) open and responsive to ideas or suggestions
• SYN: open-minded, tolerant, amenable
• ANT: narrow-minded, intolerant, hidebound
• My counselor is receptive because she is open to anything I say.

RENOUNCE

• (verb) to give up or resign something
• SYN: repudiate, disown, abdicate
• ANT: retain, secure, affirm, assent, aver
• The pope a couple years renounced or stepped down.

REPRESS

• (verb) to hold back; to put down or check by force
• SYN: subdue, curb, stifle, bottle up
• ANT: liberate, set loose, provoke, excite
• Blake Griffins dunk was so electrifying that the bench had to be repressed because they were so excited.

RETICENT

• (adj.) not inclined to speak; reserved; reluctant
• SYN: taciturn, closemouthed, tight-lipped
• ANT: talkative, garrulous, voluble, long-winded
• Jim was reticent when speaking about his secrets.

SAVORY

• (adj.) tasty, appetizing; pungent or salty, not sweet; inoffensive
• SYN: delectable, flavorful, aromatic, piquant
• ANT: distasteful, unpalatable, malodorous, bland
• The savory bread had a cinnamon crust to it causing it to taste amazing.

SOMNOLENT

• (adj.) sleepy, drowsy; inducing sleep
• SYN: groggy, soporific
• ANT: alert, lively, wide-awake, stimulating
• My somnolent dog fell right asleep.

VEHEMENT

• (adj.) intense, forceful, powerful
• SYN: emphatic, vigorous, impassioned
• ANT: apthetic, lukewarm, subdued, muted
• You must throw the ball vehemently when throwing it from third base to first base.

VOLUBLE

• (adj.) characterized by a ready flow of words; glib, fluent
• SYN: loquacious, garrulous, long-winded, prolix
• ANT: uncommunicative, reticent, terse
• Her voluble voice would not stop talking.

ZEALOUS

• (adj.) eager, earnest, devoted
• SYN: ardent, fervent, devout, dogged, gung ho
• ANT: reluctant, unwilling, averse, tepid
• Almost everyone in Buffalo are zealous supporters of the Bills.