APOCALYPTIC (adj) [uh-pok-uh-LIP-tik]
Syn: prophetic; pertaining to revelations; ominous
Ant: insignificant; unimportant
Usage: Everything was going too badly; it felt like an apocalyptic moment.
APOCRYPHAL (adj) [uh-POK-ruh-fuh l]
Syn: untrue; made up
Ant: authentic, genuine, verified, attested, undisputed
Usage: The means by which Gary had secured the job was most likely apocryphal.
APOGEE (n) [AP-uh-jee]
Syn: highest point; apex; acme; zenith
Ant: nadir
Usage: The vineyard’s sales had reached its apogee in the 90s before suffering from conflict with other local growers.
APOPLEXY (n) [AP-uh-plek-see]
Syn: stroke; loss of consciousness followed by paralysis
Ant: consciousness
Usage: Bob’s sudden apoplexy was the calm, but deadly symptom indicating he was having a stroke.
APOSTATE (n) [uh-POS-teyt]
Syn: one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs
Ant: faithful; believer
Usage: After the priest’s death, a large number of people turned apostates, forsaking their religion for good.
APOTHECARY (n) [uh-POTH-uh-ker-ee]
Syn: druggist
Usage: Armed with the doctor’s prescription, I headed towards the nearest apothecary.
APOTHEGM (n) [AP-uh-them]
Syn: pithy, compact saying; aphorism
Ant: absurdity; nonsense
Usage: Every saying of Uncle George is revered by us as if it were an apothegm of golden wisdom.
APOTHEOSIS (n) [uh-poth-ee-OH-sis]
Syn: elevation to godhood; deification; an ideal example of something
Ant: exclusion; condemnation
Usage: Last year around this time, David Beckham was the object of apotheosis, but this year he’s just another fallen idol.
APPALL (v) [uh-PAWL]
Syn: dismay; shock
Ant: calm; comfort; console; innervate
Usage: We were appalled to see the sad state Lynette’s mother had been reduced to.
APPEASE (v) [uh-PEEZ]
Syn: pacify or soothe; relieve
Ant: embitter; annoy; irritate; perturb; roil
Usage: Some primitive tribes believe that animals must be sacrificed in order to appease the gods.
APPEND (v) [uh-PEND]
Syn: attach; supplement
Ant: subtract; take away
Usage: It was unanimously decided by the board of directors to append the new clause to the regulations document.
APPRAISE (v) [uh-PREYZ]
Syn: estimate value of
Ant: ignore
Usage: Even with her eyes closed, Lynn could tell that she was being appraised by Gary.
APPREHENSIVE (adj) [ap-ri-HEN-siv]
Syn: fearful; discerning
Ant: trusting; bold
Usage: My mother was more than a little apprehensive about the stranger who, according to her, seemed to be following us.
APPRISE (v) [uh-PRAHYZ]
Syn: inform; tell; advise
Ant: keep secret
Usage: No matter what the consequence would be, we knew we had to apprise the boss about the loss of data.
APPROBATION (n) [ap-ruh-BEY-shuh n]
Syn: approval; praise
Ant: criticism; disapprobation; denial; censure; refusal
Usage: She desperately sought approbation for her actions from her peers.
APPURTENANCES (n) [uh-PUR-tn-uh ns s]
Syn: subordinate possessions
Ant: principal items
Usage: We decided to buy at one go the whole set of appurtenances that would be needed for our new venture.
AQUILINE (adj) [AK-wuh-lahyn]
Syn: curved; hooked
Ant: straight
Usage: Wilma was characterized by her above-average height and sharp, aquiline features.
ARABESQUE (n) [ar-uh-BESK]
Syn: style of decoration involving intertwined plants and abstract curves
Usage: Each contains a variation on arabesque design with green ivy spiraling on a white background.
ARABLE (adj) [AR-uh-buh l]
Syn: fit for growing crops; farmable
Ant: infertile; fallow
Usage: The plains, with their alluvial soil, are more arable for these kinds of crops.
ARBITRATE (n) [AHR-bi-treyt]
Syn: judge; decide
Ant: contest; dispute
Usage: Sam is often asked to arbitrate the issue between the two teams.
ARBORETUM (n) [ahr-buh-REE-tuh m]
Syn: botanic garden; place where different tree varieties are exhibited
Usage: Nina has an awesome arboretum with some rare eucalyptus, cypress, and pine trees.
ARCANE (adj) [ahr-KEYN]
Syn: secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated
Ant: straightforward; obvious; clear
Usage: Arcane matters discussed only between the two of us had somehow been leaked out to the press.
ARCHAIC (adj) [ahr-KEY-ik]
Syn: antiquated
Ant: modern
Usage: Her sense of dressing seemed archaic and old-fashioned.
ARCHETYPE (n) [AHR-ki-tahyp]
Syn: prototype; primitive pattern; typical
Ant: atypical
Usage: Father William was the archetypal Catholic priest.
ARCHIVES (n) [AHR-kahyvs]
Syn: public records; place where public records are kept
Usage: Newspaper archives are the best place to look for old, outdated articles.
ARGOT (n) [AHR-goh]
Syn: jargon; slang
Ant: standard language
Usage: We had devised a new kind of argot among us and when we spoke in it, few others would understand what we spoke of.
ARID (adj) [AR-id]
Syn: dry; barren; dull; unimaginative
Ant: wet; moist; rainy; fertile
Usage: Surviving in the arid desert for the next ten days was a huge challenge John had to face.
ARMADA (n) [ahr-MAH-duh]
Syn: fleet of warships
Usage: A new fleet of ships had been added to the armada making it the best in the world.
ARREARS (n) [uh-REER s]
Syn: debt; obligation
Ant: paid in full; excess
Usage: The family was in deep arrears so they decided to mortgage the house.
ARROYO (n) [uh-ROI-oh]
Syn: gully; ravine
Ant: hillock
Usage: Martha and Jim had spent many happy days in their childhood playing in the mud of the arroyo adjacent to their house.
ARTICULATE (adj) [ahr-TIK-yuh-lit]
Syn: effective; distinct; coherently spoken
Ant: unclear; unintelligible
Usage: Because she can put across her thoughts so articulately, Kay was chosen to represent the sales team at the debate contest.
ARTIFICE (n) [AHR-tuh-fis]
Syn: deception; trickery
Ant: fairness; candor; honesty
Usage: Quite often, artifice wins over people faster than honesty.
ASCENDANCY (n) [uh-SEN-duh n-see]
Syn: controlling influence; domination
Ant: weakness; inferiority
Usage: King George failed to retain his ascendancy over the revolting masses.
ASCETICISM (n) [uh-SET-uh-siz-uh m]
Syn: doctrine of self-denial
Ant: indulgence
Usage: To practice asceticism one needs to have a very strong will and resolve.
ASCRIBE (v) [uh-SKRAHYB]
Syn: refer; attribute; assign
Ant: deny; disconnect; dissociate
Usage: Though she does at times seem very careless, it was not fair to ascribe the mistake to her alone.
ASININE (adj) [AS-uh-nahyn]
Syn: foolish; stupid
Ant: intelligent; smart
Usage: That she could be so stupid and asinine was a huge surprise for me.
ASKANCE (adj) [uh-SKANS]
Syn: with a sideways or indirect look
Ant: directly
Usage: They looked askance at Harry, wondering how in the world he would accomplish the feat.
ASKEW (adj) [uh-SKYOO]
Syn: crooked; slanted; awry
Ant: straight
Usage: At the end of the short but very bumpy ride, Paula’s hat was askew and strands of her hair were falling all over face.
ASPERITY (n) [uh-SPER-i-tee]
Syn: sharpness (of temper)
Ant: mildness; gentleness; sweetness; softness; pleasantness
Usage: It was not appropriate for her to use such asperity while talking to young Peter; the poor little kid was hurt.
ASSAIL (v) [uh-SEYL]
Syn: assault
Ant: applaud
Usage: The new Grand Slam champion was assailed with all sorts of questions at the press conference.
ASSIDUOUS (adj) [uh-SIJ-oo-uh s]
Syn: diligent; persevering
Ant: lazy; negligent
Usage: Sara is a committed, hardworking and assiduous worker.
ASSUAGE (v) [uh-SWEYZH]
Syn: ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger)
Ant: estrange; excite; increase; provoke; inflame; incite; stimulate
Usage: The dentist talked to her gently and assuaged her fears before starting to work on her sore tooth.
ASTEROID (n) [AS-tuh-roid]
Syn: small planet
Usage: The report in the science digest spoke about how the earth would be affected if there were an asteroid strike.
ASTIGMATISM (n) [uh-STIG-muh-tiz-uh m]
Syn: eye defect that prevents proper focus
Ant: sightedness
Usage: After giving me a series of eye tests, the ophthalmologist told me that I have astigmatism.
ASTRINGENT (adj) [uh-STRIN-juh nt]
Syn: binding; causing contraction; harsh
Ant: bland; mild
Usage: Her sharp, caustic remarks acted like an astringent on his delicate feelings.
ASUNDER adv [uh-SUHN-der]
Syn: into parts; apart
Ant: completely
Usage: The bullet hit her body with such force that her arms were torn asunder from her torso.
ASYMMETRIC (adj) [ey-suh-ME-trik]
Syn: not identical on both sides of a dividing central line
Ant: symmetric; balanced
Usage: A recent survey discovered that people who have asymmetric facial features are not as attractive as those with balanced features.
ATAVISM (n) [AT-uh-viz-uh m]
Syn: reversal; resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents; deformity returning after passage of two or more generations
Usage: Suddenly there was an atavism of fortunes and overnight he rose from a pauper to a millionaire.
ATHEISTIC (adj) [ey-thee-IS-tik]
Syn: denying the existence of god
Ant: faithful; spiritual
Usage: Brian has begun to exhibit atheistic behavior and refuses to visit the church anymore.
ATROCITY (n) [uh-TROS-i-tee]
Syn: brutal deed
Ant: kindness
Usage: On the prison island of Alcataraz, numerous unspeakable atrocities were committed on prisoners.
ATTENUATE (v) [uh-TEN-yoo-eyt]
Syn: make thin; weaken; contract
Ant: expand; increase; intensify; strengthen
Usage: The tight corset only seemed to attenuate her figure making her look thinner than ever.
ATTEST (v) [uh-TEST]
Syn: testify; bear witness
Ant: refute; disprove; oppugn; deny
Usage: Anyone who knows Jim well would attest to the fact that he is a good father.
ATTRIBUTE (v) [UH-trib-yoot]
Syn: ascribe; explain; accuse
Ant: vindicate; exonerate; absolve
Usage: “We would like to attribute our success to you, Sir,” said the students, brimming with gratitude.
ATYPICAL (adj) [ey-TIP-i-kuhl]
Syn: not normal
Ant: typical; normal
Usage: His atypical, violent behavior caused his mother great alarm.
AUDACIOUS (adj) [aw-DEY-shuh s]
Syn: daring; bold
Ant: cowardly; timid; feckless; diffident; introverted
Usage: Her audacious behavior shocked the entire crowd.
AUGMENT (v) [awg-MENT]
Syn: increase; add to
Ant: reduce: diminish: deduct
Usage: She has decided to take up another part-time job to augment her income.
AUGURY (n) [AW-gyuh-ree]
Syn: omen; prophecy
Ant: luck; providence
Usage: Her sense of augury allows her to predict events in an uncanny and bizarre way.
AUREOLE (n) [AWR-ee-ohl]
Syn: sun's corona; halo
Usage: Michael arrived into the room looking like a radiant angel with an aureole around his blond head.
AUSPICIOUS (adj) [aw-SPISH-uh s]
Syn: favoring success; faring well for the future; propitious
Ant: inauspicious; unpropitious; discouraging
Usage: It seemed a very auspicious moment to propose to her, so he immediately did that.
AUSTERE (adj) [aw-STEER]
Syn: forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented
Ant: indulgent; genial; luxurious; mild; dissipated
Usage: A nun’s simple and austere lifestyle was just not Gina’s cup of tea; she was too used to material comforts.
AUTHENTICATE (v) [aw-THEN-ti-keyt]
Syn: prove genuine
Ant: disprove
Usage: The bank refused to let him inside the locker vault unless he authenticated his identity.
AUTOMATON (n) [aw-TOM-uh-ton]
Syn: mechanism that imitates actions of humans
Ant: human
Usage: Don’t work so hard as to become an automaton following a mechanical routine.
AUTOPSY (n) [AW-top-see]
Syn: examination of a dead body; post-mortem
Ant: biopsy; examination of living tissue
Usage: The police wanted permission from Dana’s mother to perform an autopsy which they said would determine the cause and exact time of death.
AVALANCHE (n) [AV-uh-lanch]
Syn: great mass of falling snow and ice
Usage: You felt something might come soon but nobody expected the avalanche.
AVENGE (v) [uh-VENJ]
Syn: take vengeance for something; retaliate
Ant: forgive
Usage: Bill has his chance to avenge the defeat in the Thursday singles final.
AVERT (v) [uh-VURT]
Syn: prevent; turn away
Ant: allow
Usage: For having taken the efforts to avert a major disaster with his quick presence of mind and courage, Sgt. Jim Bellows was awarded a gold medal.
AVOCATION (n) [av-uh-KEY-shuh n]
Syn: secondary or minor occupation; hobby
Ant: idleness; leisure; holiday
Usage: Cooking seems to be her favorite avocation.
AVUNCULAR (adj) [uh-VUHNG-kyuh-ler]
Syn: like an uncle; able
Usage: The reason women tend to confide easily in Bill is his avuncular features, which they say remind them of their uncles.
AXIOM (n) [AK-see-uh m]
Syn: self-evident truth, requiring no proof
Ant: fallacy
Usage: It is a sad fact today that many youngsters are not aware of the classic timeless axioms, which were articulated decades ago.
AZURE (adj) [AZH-er]
Syn: sky blue; cerulean
Ant: sky
Usage: His dreamy and azure eyes made many women swoon in their sky blue intensity.
BACCHANALIAN (adj) [bak-uh-NEY-lee-uh]
Syn: drunken
Ant: sober
Usage: Young Croft’s bacchanalian tendencies had his aristocratic father seriously worried about his excessive drinking.
BADINAGE (n) [bad-n-AHZH]
Syn: teasing conversation
Ant: seriousness
Usage: The night was filled with the merry-making and badinage of the young men.
BALEFUL (adj) [BEYL-fuh l]
Syn: deadly; having a malign influence; ominous
Ant: pleasant
Usage: He kept casting baleful glances at her every now and then.
BALLAST (n) [BAL-uh st]
Syn: heavy substance used to add stability or weight
Ant: lightness
Usage: Extra ballast was attached to the boat to assure it would stay upright
BANDY (v) [BAN-dee]
Syn: discuss lightly or glibly; exchange (words) heatedly
Ant: discuss seriously
Usage: The brothers like to bandy insults back and forth every night before they fall asleep.
BANE (n) [beyn]
Syn: cause of ruin; curse
Ant: boon; benefit
Usage: Whether video blogging recently launched by Google will be a boon or bane is yet to be seen.
BANEFUL (adj) [beyn-fuhl]
Syn: destructive; causing ruin or death
Ant: advantageous; beneficial; fortunate
Usage: Mohammed was a believer in the baneful influence of the evil eye.
BARB (n) [bahrb]
Syn: sharp projection from a fishhook, etc; openly cutting remark
Ant: bluntness
Usage: When irate, she would use her words like sharp barbs, which could really hurt people.
BARD (n) [bahrd]
Syn: poet
Usage: Robert Burns, the poet, is Scotland’s best-loved bard.
BAREFACED (adj) [BAIR-feyst]
Syn: shameless; bold; unconcealed
Ant: careful; quiet; shamed
Usage: I could not believe that she would escape with such a barefaced lie but she did.
BAROQUE (adj) [buh-ROHK]
Syn: highly ornate
Ant: simple, unadorned
Usage: The mansion was built in baroque fashion with columns and arcades.
BARRAGE (n) [buh-RAHZH]
Syn: barrier laid down by artillery fire; deluge
Usage: A barrage of bullets hit the bunker, throwing the soldiers to the ground.
BARTERER (n) [BAHR-ter-er]
Syn: trader
Usage: When John discovered that Matthew was a barterer, he wished to learn from him more about trade and negotiations.
BASTION (n) [BAS-chuh n]
Syn: fortress; defense; fortification
Ant: weakness
Usage: The troops decided to line up along the bastion, which offered them a vantage point of view.
BATE (v) [beyt]
Syn: let down; restrain; lessen
Ant: add
Usage: The students waited for the year-end results with bated breath.
BAUBLE (n) [BAW-buh l]
Syn: trinket; trifle
Ant: item of significance
Usage: Billy had gone through endless adventures and hardships in search of the diamonds but ended up with only a few baubles and gems that weren’t worth much.
BAWDY (adj) [BAW-dee]
Syn: indecent; obscene
Ant: serious; upstanding
Usage: The sailors loved to unwind at the pub, drinking beer and sharing bawdy jokes.
BEATIFIC (adj) [bee-uh-TIF-ik]
Syn: giving bliss; blissful
Ant: miserable; sorrowful; unhappy
Usage: The pope bestowed a beatific smile upon them thrilling their hearts.
BEATIFY (v) [bee-AT-uh-fahy]
Syn: bless or sanctify
Ant: condemn; curse; damn
Usage: The contract blesses, canonizes and beatifies this slip of paper as the total sum due.
BEATITUDE (n) [bee-AT-i-tood]
Syn: blessedness; state of bliss
Ant: grief; misery; sorrow; unhappiness
Usage: When the Smiths finally reached the Virgin Mary shrine and beheld her carved angelic face, they felt no end of beatitude and bliss.
BEDRAGGLED (adj) [bi-DRAG-uh ld]
Syn: wet thoroughly; stained with mud; fatigued
Ant: energized; refreshed
Usage: Despite Jim’s insistence that he had gotten into a mishap, the hotel doorman refused to let him in, seeing his bedraggled appearance.
BEGRUDGE (v) [bi-GRUHJ]
Syn: resent; envy
Ant: affirm; allow; concede
Usage: We weren’t so petty-minded as to begrudge Kylie her hard-won success.
BEGUILE (v) [bi-GAHYL]
Syn: mislead or delude; pass time
Ant: be honest
Usage: Regardless of whether they are friends or strangers, Carmen can easily beguile anyone, winning them over with her duplicity.
BEHOOVE (v) [bi-HOOV]
Syn: be suited to; be incumbent upon
Ant: disagree
Usage: It doesn’t behoove a girl from such an affluent family to be talking in this manner.
BELABOR (v) [bi-LEY-ber]
Syn: explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree; attack verbally
Ant: relax; simplify
Usage: With cruel, harsh words they belabored the importance of the code of conduct they had raised her to follow…and she had broken.
BELEAGUER (v) [bi-LEE-ger]
Syn: besiege or attack; harass; annoy
Ant: leave alone
Usage: Faced with bankruptcy of his company, the director was beleaguered with pressures and tensions of all kinds.
BELITTLE (v) [bi-LIT-l]
Syn: disparage or depreciate; put down
Ant: build up; praise
Usage: It was not right of Jake to belittle his neighbor’s achievements in this manner.
BELLICOSE (adj) [BEL-i-kohs]
Syn: warlike
Ant: peaceful
Usage: His bellicose and arrogant behavior was beginning to get on everybody’s nerves.
BEMOAN (v) [bih-MOHN]
Syn: lament; express disapproval of
Ant: gloat; be happy
Usage: I could bemoan the lack of articles but I won't; my pleas fall on deaf ears.
BEMUSED (adj) [bi-MYOOZD]
Syn: confused; lost in thought; preoccupied; absentminded
Ant: attentive
Usage: He could see that she hadn’t been paying attention at all when she gave a bemused look in response to his query.
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