vocab unit 6

abject

adj: degraded; base, contemptible; cringing, servile, complete and unrelieved
S: wretched, miserable, ignoble, sheer, utter
A: noble, exalted

agnostic

n: one who believes that nothing can be known about God; a skeptic
adj: without faith, skeptical
S: doubter
A: believer

complicity

n: involvement in wrongdoing; the state of being an accomplice
S: connivance, collusion
A: noninvolvement, innocence

derelict

n: someone or something that is abandoned or neglected
adj: left abandoned; neglectful of duty
S: vagrant, delinquent
A: punctilious, conscientious, scrupulous

diatribe

n: a bitter and prolonged verbal attack
S: harangue, tirade
A: panegyric, encomium, eulogy

effigy

n: a crude image of a despised person
S: figure, figurine

equity

n: the state or quality of being just, fair, or impartial; fair and equal treatment; something that is fair; the money value of a property above and beyond any mortgage or other claim
S: justice, fairness, impartiality
A: unfairness, bias, prejudice

inane

adj: silly, empty of meaning or value
S: idiotic, moronic, fatuous
A: sensible, meaningful, profound

indictment

n: the act of accusing; a formal accusation
S: charge, accusation

indubitable

adj: certain, not to be doubted or denied
S: unquestionable, indisputable
A: questionable, debatable, dubious

intermittent

adj: stopping and beginning again, sporadic
S: fitful, spasmodic, random
A: uninterrupted

moot

adj: open to discussion and debate, unresolved
v: to bring up for discussion
n: a hypothetical law case argued by students
S: debatable, questionable, broach
A: undebatable, indisputable, self-evident

motif

n: a principal idea, feature, theme, or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design

neophyte

n: a new convert, beginner, novice
S: tenderfoot, tyro
A: veteran, past master, expert, pro

perspicacity

n: keenness in observing and understanding
S: acumen, discernment
A: dullness, obtuseness

plenary

adj: complete in all aspects of essentials; absolute; attended by all qualified members
S: unrestricted
A: limited, restricted, incomplete

surveillance

n: a watch kept over a person; careful, close, and disciplined observation
S: observation, monitoring

sylvan

adj: pertaining to or characteristic of forests; living or located in a forest; wooded, woody
S: arcadian

testy

adj: easily irritated; characterized by impatience and exasperation
S: irritable, peevish, waspish, petulant
A: imperturbable, unexcitable

travesty

n: a grotesque or grossly inferior imitation; a disguise, especially the clothing of the opposite sex
v: to ridicule by imitating in a broad or burlesque fashion
S: burlesque, caricature, farce