allege
(v.) to assert without proof or confirmation
S: contend
A: prove
arrant
(adj.) thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant
S: egregious, unmitigated
badinage
(n.) light and playful conversation
S: banter, persiflage, repartee
A: sermon
conciliate
(v.) to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent
S: mollify, propitiate
A: antagonize, alienate, estrange
countermand
(v.) to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first
S: recall, revoke
A: 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
S: rank
exacerbate
(v.) to make more violent, severe, bitter, or painful
S: intensify, worsen
A: alleviate, mitigate, ameliorate
fatuous
(adj.) stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way
S: silly, vapid, inane, doltish, vacuous
A: intelligent, perceptive, bright
irrefutable
(adj.) impossible to disprove; beyond argument
S: indisputable, incontrovertible, undeniable
A: 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
S: indolent, indifferent, lax
A: 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
S: catalog, megillah
macabre
(adj.) grisly, gruesome; horrible, distressing; having death as a subject
S: grim, ghoulish
paucity
(n.) an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth
S: lack
A: glut, plenitude, deluge
portend
(v.) to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of
S: bode, foretell, suggest
raze
(v.) to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out
S: pull down, demolish, shave off
A: build, construct, raise, erect
recant
(v.) to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract
S: repudiate, disavow
A: reassert
saturate
(v.) to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully
S: drench, flood, imbue
A: drain
saturnine
(adj.) of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood
S: morose
A: 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
S: (v.) shed, slog
A: (v.) take on, acquire, assume