allege
(v.) to assert without proof or confirmation
Syn: contend
Ant: prove
arrant
(adj.) thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant
Syn: egregious, unmitigated
badinage
(n.) light and playful conversation
Syn: banter, persfilage, repartee
Ant: sermon
conciliate
(v.) to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent
Syn: mollify, propitiate
Ant: antagonize, alienate, estrange
countermand
(v.) to cancel or reverse one order of command with another that is contrary to the first
Syn: recall, revoke
Ant: reaffirm, reassert
echelon
(n.) one of a series of grades in an organization or field of activity; an organized military unit; a steplike formation or arrangement
Syn: rank
exacerbate
(v.) to make more violent, severe, bitter, or painful
Syn: intensify, worsen
Ant: alleviate, mitigate, ameliorate
fatuous
(adj.) stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way
Syn: silly, vapid, inane, doltish, vacuous
Ant: intelligent, perceptive, bright
irrefutable
(adj.) impossible to disprove; beyond argument
Syn: indisputable, incontrovertible, undeniable
Ant: disputable, indefensible, untenable
juggernaut
(n.) a massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path
lackadaisical
(adj.) lacking spirit or interest, halfhearted
Syn: indolent, indifferent, lax
Ant: energetic, vigorous, wholehearted
litany
(n.) a prayer consisting of short appeals to God recited by the leader alternating with responses from the congregation; any repetitive chant; a long list
Syn: catalog, megillah
macabre
(adj.) grisly, gruesome; horrible, distressing; having death as a subject
Syn: grim, ghoulish
paucity
(n.) an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth
Syn: lack
Ant: glut, plenitude, deluge
portend
(v.) to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of
Syn: bode, foretell, suggest
raze
(v.) tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out
Syn: pull down, demolish, shave off
Ant: build, construct, raise, erect
recant
(v.) to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract
Syn: repudiate, disavow
Ant: reassert
saturate
(v.) to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully
Syn: drench, flood, imbue
Ant: drain
saturnine
(adj.) of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood
Syn: morose
Ant: cheerful, vivacious
slough
(v.) to cast off, discard; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary; to plod through as if through mud; (n.) a mire; a state of depression
Syn: shed, slog
Ant: take on, acquire, assume