Vocabulary

Level F Unit 7

austere• (adj.) severe or stern in

manner; without adornment or luxury, simple, plain; harsh or sour in flavor

• SYN: forbidding, rigorous, puritanical, ascetic, unadorned, subdued

• ANT: mild, indulgent, luxurious, flamboyant

The Puritans dressed in an austere manner.

beneficent• (adj.) performing acts of

kindness or charity; conferring benefits, doing good

• SYN: humanitarian, magnanimous, charitable

• ANT: selfish, cruel, harmful, deleterious

Bill Gates is known as a beneficent humanitarian.

cadaverous• (adj.) pale, gaunt,

resembling a corpse

• SYN: corpselike, wasted, haggard, emaciated, ghastly

• ANT: robust, portly, rosy, the picture of health

Pictures of the cadaverous Holocaust victims shocked the world during World War II.

concoct• (v.) to prepare by

combining ingredients, make up (as a dish); to devise, invent, fabricate

• SYN: create, fashion, rustle up

Paula Deen has made a fortune by concocting delicious dishes for her television show.

crass

• (adj.) coarse, unfeeling; stupid

• SYN: crude, vulgar, tasteless, oafish, obtuse

• ANT: refined, elegant, tasteful, polished, brilliant

The crass nature of the press today is enough to discourage anyone from running for office.

debase• (v.) to lower in

character, quality, or value; to degrade, adulterate; to cause to deteriorate

• SYN: cheapen, corrupt, demean, depreciate

• ANT: elevate, uplift, improve, enhance

Don’t debase your character by associating with undesirable people.

desecrate• (v.) to commit

sacrilege upon, treat irreverently; to contaminate, pollute

• SYN: profane, defile, violate

• ANT: revere, honor, venerate, consecrate

Vandals desecrated tombstones that were over 100 years old.

disconcert• (v.) to confuse; to

disturb the composure of

• SYN: upset, rattle, ruffle, faze, perturb

• ANT: relax, calm, put at ease

Political guests often find Bill O’Reilly’s questions disconcerting.

grandiose

Many country western singers have grandiose dreams of making it big in Nashville.

• (adj.)grand in an impressive or stately way; marked by pompous affection or grandeur, absurdly exaggerated

• SYN: majestic, bombastic, highfalutin

• ANT: simple, modest, unaffected, humble

inconsequential• (adj.) trifling,

unimportant

• SYN: trivial, negligible, petty, paltry

• ANT: important, essential, crucial, vital

Many of the details you included in the report were inconsequential and unimportant.

infraction• (n.) a breaking of

a law or obligation

• SYN: violation, transgression, breach, offense It is rare that the referees

will catch every infraction on the court.

mitigate• (v.) to make milder or

softer, to moderate in force or intensity

• SYN: lessen, relieve, alleviate, diminish

• ANT: aggravate, intensify, irritate, exacerbate

The judge decided to mitigate her sentence because she had shown good behavior.

pillage• (v.) to rob of goods

by open force (as in war), plunder; (n.) the act of looting; booty

• SYN: (v.) ravage, sack, loot; (n.) booty After the riots, looters

began to pillage the town.

prate• (v.) to talk a great

deal in a foolish or aimless fashion

• SYN: chatter, prattle, blab, blabber, palaver

• ANT: come to the point, not waste words

After she got home from school, she did nothing but prate on the phone for hours.

punctilious• (adj.) very careful and

exact, attentive to fine points of etiquette or propriety

• SYN: precise, scrupulous, exacting, fussy, finicky

• ANT: careless, negligent, lax, perfunctory The soldier’s job required

exact attention to detail.

redoubtable

The people felt as if it was time for their redoubtable leader to step down.

• (adj.) inspiring fear or awe; illustrious, eminent

• SYN: formidable, fearsome, awesome, august

• ANT: laughable, risible, contemptible

reprove• (v.) to find fault with,

scold, rebuke

• SYN: chide, chastise, upbraid, reproach

• ANT: praise, commend, laud, pat on the back

The teacher reproved her students for misbehaving.

restitution• (n.) the act of

restoring someone or something to the rightful owner or to a former state or position; making good on a loss or damage

• SYN: compensation, reimbursement, redress, restoration

The teen was ordered by the judge to provide restitution for the property that he destroyed.

stalwart• (adj.) strong and sturdy;

brave; resolute; (n.) a brave, strong person; a strong supporter; one who takes an uncompromising position

• SYN: (adj.) sturdy, stout, intrepid, valiant; (n.) mainstay

• ANT: (adj.) weak, infirm, irresolute, vacillating

She will be a stalwart addition to our committee based on her past voting record.

vulnerable• (adj.) open to attack;

capable of being wounded or damaged; unprotected

• SYN: defenseless, exposed, unguarded

• ANT: invincible, protected, safe, secure

With so many homes built close to the water, the town was vulnerable to hurricanes.