Vocabulary Workshop Level G Unit 8

allege

(v.) to assert without proof or confirmation
Synonym: contend
Antonym: prove

arrant

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

badinage

(n.) light and playful conversation
Synonyms: banter, persiflage, repartee
Antonym: sermon

conciliate

(v.) to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent
Synonyms: mollify, propitiate
Antonyms: antagonize, alienate, estrange

countermand

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

exacerbate

(v.) to make more violent, severe, bitter, or painful
Synonyms: intensify, worsen
Antonyms: alleviate, mitigate, ameliorate

fatuous

(adj.) stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way
Synonyms: silly, vapid, inane, doltish, vacuous
Antonyms: intelligent, perceptive, bright

irrefutable

(adj.) impossible to disprove; beyond argument
Synonyms: indisputable, incontrovertible, undeniable
Antonyms: 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
Synonyms: indolent, indifferent, lax
Antonyms: 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
Synonyms: catalog, megillah

macabre

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

paucity

(n.) an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth
Synonym: lack
Antonyms: glut, plenitude, deluge

portend

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

raze

(v.) to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out
Synonyms: pull down, demolish, shave off
Antonyms: build, construct, raise, erect

recant

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

saturate

(v.) to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully
Synonyms: drench, flood, imbue
Antonym: drain

saturnine

(adj.) of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood
Synonym: morose
Antonyms: 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
Synonyms: (v.) shed, slog
Antonyms: (v.) take on, acquire, assume