abrogate
verb- to repeal, cancel, declare null and void
syn: annul, revoke
ant: renew, ratify
ambient
adj- completely surrounding, encompassing
asperity
noun- roughness, severity; bitterness or tartness
syn: rigor, harshness
ant: mildness, blandness, softness, lenience
burnish
verb- to make smooth or glossy by rubbing. polish
noun- gloss, brightness, luster
syn: (v.) shine, buff
ant: (v.) dull, abrade
cabal
noun- a small group working in secret
syn: ring, gang, plot, conspiracy
delectable
adj.- delightful, highly enjoyable; deliciously flavored, savory
noun- an appealing or appetizing food or dish
syn: (adj.) scrumptious
ant: (adj.) repugnant, repulsive, distasteful
deprecate
verb- to express mild disapproval; to belittle
syn: deplore, frown upon
ant: smile on, approve
detritus
noun- loose bits and pieces of material resulting from disintegration or wearing away; fragment that result from any destruction
syn: wreckage, ruins, rubble
eclectic
adj.- drawn from different sources
noun- one who beliefs are drawn from various sources
syn: (adj.) selective, synthetic, pick-and-choose
ant: (adj.) uniform, monolithic
ebullient
adj.- overflowing with enthusiasm and excitement; boiling, bubbling
syn: exhilarated, elated
ant: gloomy, morose, sullen, apathetic, blas�
flaccid
adj.- limp, not firm, lacking vigor or effectiveness
syn: soft, flabby
ant: hard, solid
impecunious
adj,- having little or no money
syn: impoverished, indigent
ant: affluent, wealthy, prosperous, rich
inexorable
adj.- inflexible, beyond influence; relentless, unyielding
syn: ineluctable, obdurate
ant: avoidable, yielding, pliant
moribund
adj.- dying, on the way out
syn: obsolescent
ant: thriving
necromancer
noun- one who claims to reveal or influence the future through magic. especially communication with the dead; in general, a magician or wizard
syn: sorcerer, conjurer
onerous
adj.- burdensome; involving hardship or difficulty
syn: weighty
ant: light, easy, undemanding, untaxing
rife
adj.- common, prevalent, widespread, happening often; full, abounding; plentiful, abundant, replete
syn: devoid of, lacking
rudiments
(noun- plural)- the parts of any subject or discipline that are learned first; the earliest stages of anything
syn: basics, fundamentals
sequester
verb- to set apart, separate for a special purpose; to take possession of and hold in custody
syn: segregate, isolate, closet
winnow
verb- to get rid of something unwanted, delete; to soft through to obtain what is desirable; to remove that chaff from the wheat by blowing air on it; to blow on, fan
syn: sift, strain, filter, sort
askance
adv.- with suspicion, distrust, or disapproval
syn:distrustfully, suspiciously
attenuate
verb- to make thin or slender; to weaken or lessen in force, intensity, or value
syn: thin out, dilute, water down
benign
adj.- gentle, kind, forgiving, understanding; having a favorable a beneficial effect; not malignant
syn: benevolent, salubrious, harmless
ant: malevolent, deleterious
cavil
verb- to find fault in a petty way, carp
noun- a trivial objection or criticism
syn: (v.) nitpick
charlatan
noun- one who feigns knowledge or ability; a pretender, impostor, or quack
syn: mountebank
decimate
verb- to kill or destroy a large part of
syn: devastate
foible
noun- a weak point, failing, minor flaw
syn: shortcoming, quirk
ant: forte, virtue
forgo
verb- to do without, abstain from, give up
syn: refrain from, renounce
ant: indulge in, partake of
fraught
adj.- full of or loaded with; accompanied by
syn: charged with
ant: devoid of, lacking, deficient in
inure
verb- to toughen, harden; to render used to something by long subjection or exposure
syn: accustom, acclimate
luminous
adj.- emitting or reflecting light; glowing; illuminating
syn: bright, refulgent, lustrous
ant: dark, opaque, dim, murky
obsequious
adj.- marked by slavish attentiveness; excessively submissive
syn: fawning, servile, sycophantic, mealy-mouthed
ant: assertive, bumptious, candid, frank, independent
obtuse
adj.- blunt, not coming to a point; slow or dull in understanding; measuring between 90 and 180 degrees; not causing a sharp impression
syn: dumb, thick, mild, dull- witted
ant: perceptive, quick-witted
oscillate
verb- to swing back and forth with a steady rhythm; to fluctuate or waver
syn: vibrate
penitent
adj.- regretful for one's sins or mistakes
noun- one who is sorry for wrongdoing
syn: (adj.) remorseful, regretful, rueful
ant: (adj.) remorseless
peremptory
adj.- having the nature of a command that leaves no opportunity for debate, denial, or refusal; offensively self- assured, dictatorial; determined, resolute
rebuff
verb- to snub, to repel, drive away
noun- a curf rejection, a check
syn: (v.) repulse, reject (n.) setback
ant: (v.) accept, welcome
reconnoiter
verb- to engage in reconnaissance; to make a preliminary inspection
syn: scout
shambles
noun- a slaughterhouse; a place of mass bloodshed; a state of complete disorder and confusion, mess
sporadic
adj.- occurring at irregular intervals, having no set plan or order
syn: intermittent, spasmodic
ant: steady, continuous, uninterrupted
allege
verb- to assert without proof or confirmation
syn: contend
ant: prove
arrant
adj.- thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant
syn: egregious, unmitigated
badinage
noun- light and playful conversation
syn: banter, persiflage, repartee
ant: sermon
conciliate
verb- to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent
syn: mollify, propitiate
ant: antagonize, alienate, estrange
countermand
verb- to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first
syn: recall, revoke
ant: reaffirm, reassert
echelon
noun- 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
verb- to make more violent, severe, bitter, or playful
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
noun- a massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path
lackadaisical
adj.- lacking in spirit or interest, halfhearted
syn: indolent, indifferent, tax
ant: energetic, vigorous, wholehearted
litany
noun- 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
noun- an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth
syn: lack
ant: glut, plenitude, deluge
portend
verb- to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of
syn: bode, foretell, suggest
raze
verb- to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out
syn: pull down, demolish, shave off
ant: build, construct, raise, erect
recant
verb- to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract
syn: repudiate, disavow
ant: reassert
saturate
verb- 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
verb- to cast off, discard; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary; to plod through as if through mud
noun- a mire; a state of depression
syn: (v.) shed, slog
ant: (v.) take on, acquire, assume
acclamation
noun- a shout of welcome; an overwhelming verbal vote of approval
syn: ovation, cheering, plaudits
ant: booing, hissing, jeers, catcalls
bucolic
adj.- characteristic of the countryside. rural, relating to shepherds and cowherds, pastoral
syn: rustic
ant: metropolitan
calumniate
verb- to slander; to accuse falsely and maliciously syn: defame, libel
ant: flatter, whitewash, praise
chary
adj.- extremely cautious, hesitant or slow (to); reserved, diffident
syn: skittish
ant: needless, reckless, incautious
collusion
noun- secret agreement or cooperation
syn: conspiracy, plot, connivance
dilettante
noun- a dabbler in the arts, one who engages in an activity in an amateurish, trifling way
adj.- superficial
syn: amateur
ant: professional
imperturbable
adj.- not easily excited; emotionally steady
syn: unflappable, unexcitable, unruffled
ant: excitable
increment
noun- an enlargement; increase, addition
syn: accretion
ant: reduction, decrease
mandate
noun- an authoritative command, formal order, authorization
syn: (n.) directive
ant: (v.) forbid, ban, outlaw
paltry
adj.- trifling, insignificant, mean, despicable; inferior, trashy
syn: measly, meager, piddling, trivial
ant: gigantic, immense
paroxysm
noun- a sudden outburst, a spasm, convulsion
syn: fit, seizure
pedantry
noun- a pretentious display of knowledge; overly rigid attention to rules and details
syn: nit picking, pettifoggery
peregrination
noun- the act of traveling; an excursion, especially on foot or to a foreign country
syn: journey, wandering, odyssey
redolent
adj.- fragrant, smelling strongly, tending to arouse memories or to create an aura
syn: evocative, reminiscent, aromatic
ant: unevocative, odorless
refulgent
adj.- shining, radiant, resplendent
syn: splendid
ant: dim, dark, obscure, dingy, dull
shibboleth
noun- an expression, word, or custom that distinguishes a particular group of persons from all others, a commonplace saying or truism
syn: password, slogan
tyro
noun- a beginner, novice; one with little or no background or skill
syn: neophyte
ant: veteran, past master, expert
unremitting
adj.- not stopping, maintaining steadily, never letter up, relentless
syn: incessant, unrelenting
ant: desultory, intermittent
vacillate
verb- to swing indecisively from one idea or course of actions to another, to waver weakly in mind or will
syn: fluctuate, oscillate
ant: perserve
vituperative
adj.- harshly abusive, severely scolding
syn: abusive, scurrilous, insulting
ant: complimentary, laudatory, flattering