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