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, persiflage, repartee)
(ANT: sermon)
concillate
(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 or 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
lackadaiscal
(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, plentitude, deluge)
portend
(v.) to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of
(SYN: bode, foretell, suggest)
raze
(v.) to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off of 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)