Senior Vocab - Unit 1

acquisitive

(adj) able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property
syn: greedy, grasping, avaricious, retentive
ant: altruistic, unretentive

arrogate

(v) to claim or take without right
syn: expropriate, usurp, commandeer
ant: relinquish, renounce, abdicate, abandon

banal

(adj) hackneyed, trite, commonplace
syn: stale, insipid
ant: fresh, novel, original, new

belabor

(v) to work on excessively; to thrash soundly
syn: overwork

carping

(adj) tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way
syn: nit-picking, caviling
ant: approving, uncritical

coherent

(adj) holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful
syn: connected, unified, consistent, cohesive
ant: muddled, chaotic, disjointed

congeal

(v) to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid
syn: harden, gel, coagulate, solidify
ant: melt, liquify

emulate

(v) to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model
syn: copy, mimic, rival, match, measure up to

encomium

(n) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute
syn: panegyric, eulogy, commendation
ant: condemnation, castigation, criticism

eschew

(v) to avoid, shun, keep away from
syn: abstain from, steer clear of, forgo
ant: embrace, adopt

germane

(adj) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting
syn: pertinent
ant: irrelevant, extraneous, inappropriate

insatiable

(adj) so great or demanding as not to be satisfied
syn: unquenchable, ravenous, voracious

intransigent

(adj) refusing to compromise, irreconcilable
syn: uncompromising, unyielding, irreconcilable
ant: lukewarm, halfhearted, yielding

invidious

(adj) offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment
syn: malicious, spiteful, prejudicial, pejorative
ant: complimentary, flattering, ameliorative

largesse

(n) generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions
syn: liberality, munificence, bounty
ant: stinginess, miserliness, niggardliness

reconnaissance

(n) a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination
syn: scouting expedition

substantiate

(v) to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to
syn: verify, confirm, validate, authenticate
ant: refute, disprove, invalidate

taciturn

habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little

temporize

to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise

tenable

capable of being held or defended