Level G [Unit 8]

Allege

(v.) to assert without proof or confirmation
Syn: claim, contend

Arrant

(adj.) thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant
Syn: egregious, unmitigated

Badinage

(n.) light and playful conversation
Syn: banter, persiflage, repartee

Conciliate

(v.) to overcome the distrust of, win over;to appease, pacify;to reconcile, make consistent
Syn:placate, mollify, propitiate

Countermand

(v.) to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first
Syn: recall, revoke

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:level, rank

Exacerbate

(v.) to make more violent, severe, bitter, or painful
Syn: aggravate, intensify, worsen

Fatuous

(adj.) stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way
Syn: Silly, vapid, inane, doltish, vacuous

Irrefutable

(adj.) impossible to disprove;beyond argument
Syn: indisputable, incontrovertible, undeniable

Juggernaut

(n.) a massive and inescapable force or object that crushes what is in its path

Lackadaisical

(adj.) lacking spirit or interest, halfhearted
Syn: listless, indolent, indifferent, lax

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: rigmarole, catalog, megillah

Macabre

(adj.) grisly gruesome; horrible, distressing; having death as a subject
Syn: grotesque, grim, ghoulish

Paucity

(n.) an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth
Syn: lack

Portend

(v.)to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of
Syn:bode, foretell, foreshadow, suggest

Raze

(v.) to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out
Syn:pull down, demolish, shave off

Recant

(v.) to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract
Syn: repudiate, disavow

Saturate

(v.) to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully
Syn: permeate, drench, flood, imbue

Saturnine

(adj.) of a gloomy or surly disposition;cold or sluggish in mood
Syn: sullen, morose

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, along