VOCABULARY UNIT 12

Appreciable

• adj. sufficient to be noticed or measured
• syn: considerable
• ant: slight
• Liesel's actions were very appreciable when she let Max stay with her.

Autocratic

• adj. absolute in power or authority
• syn: domineering
• ant: democratic
• Adolph Hitler was the autocratic leader in Germany in the 1940s.

Blanch

• v. to remove the color from; to make or turn pale; to parboil
• syn: bleach, drain
• ant: color, infuse
• When Max collapsed he became blanch.

Blasphemy

• n. an act, utterance, or writing showing contempt for something sacred
• syn: curse, profanity
• ant: respect, devotion
• It was blasphemy if you didn't know facts about Hitler.

BRAWNY

• adj. strong, muscular
• syn: burly
• ant: frail
• The men in the army with Hans were brawny.

CONCERTED

• adj. planned or performed in cooperation with others
• syn: cooperative
• ant: unorganized
• The Jews and non-Nazis talked bad about Hitler in a concerted manner.

Contend

• v. to fight, struggle; to compete; to argue
• syn: battle
• ant: yield
• Jews in the "Book Thief" contend for their lives.

Humane

• adj. kind, merciful
• syn: sympathetic
• ant: cruel
• Liesel was very humane to Max by letting him hide in her basement.

Illustrious

• adj. very famous, distinguished
• syn: eminent
• ant: unknown
• Hitler's actions were illustrious for being cruel.

Intolerable

• adj. unbearable
• syn: insufferable
• ant: pleasant
• When crossword puzzles are done, Liesel and Max think it's intolerable because they enjoy doing them.

Irreverent

• adj. disrespectful
• syn: profane
• ant: awed
• If you disobeyed Hitler's commands or talked bad about him, you were known as an irreverent person.

Laborious

• adj. not easy, requiring hard work; hardworking
• syn: arduous
• ant: easy
• Keeping Max in the basement was a laborious task because they would get in huge trouble if he was caught.

Lithe

• adj. bending easily, limber
• syn: flexible
• ant: rigid
• Death's actions are as lithe as they can be when it comes to choosing how people die.

Maltreat

• v. to abuse, use roughly or crudely
• syn: misuse
• ant: coddle
• When Hitler captured people he maltreated them horribly.

Ponder

• v. to consider carefully, reflect on
• syn: ruminate
• Max ponders life in the basement and records it in his journal.

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
• Max drew subversive paintings pn the wall of the basement about Hitler.

Synthetic

• adj. made or put together by people; (n. something artificial
• syn: adj. artificial
• ant: adj. natural
• The soup Rosa makes is synthetic.

Temperate

• adj. mild, moderate
• syn: composed
• ant: immoderate, extreme
• When Liesel broke into the mayor's house she was very temperate and went in through the window instead of breaking the door down.

VENOMOUS

• Adj. poisonous; spiteful, mean
• syn: nasty
• ant: harmless
• You could say Hitler was a venomous man to the Jewish population.

Wily

• adj. sly, shrewd, cunning
• syn: tricky
• ant: dull-witted
• Max was a wily jew by hiding without getting caught.