Choice Vocabulary

Girder: a large iron or steel beam or compound structure used for building bridges and the
framework of large buildings (noun).

Bristling: copiously supplied (adjective). Syn: fume, flare, fulminate. Ant: appease, soothe,
pacify, repress.
Grovel: to draw back or crouch down in fearful submission (verb). Syn: cower, cringe,
quail (not the bird).

Indenture: a depression or hollow made by a blow or by pressure (noun). Syn: cavity, hole,
dent. Ant: bulge, projection, convexity.
Suave: 1.behaving in a relaxed, confident, and pleasant way in social situations. 2.smooth in
texture, performance, or style (adjective). Syn: graceful, sophisticated, debonair. Ant:
boorish, clumsy, churlish.
Slate: to put (someone or something) on a list (verb). Syn: enroll, register, schedule. Ant:
delete, unsubscribe.
Shoddy: of low quality (adjective). Syn: bad, cheap, inferior. Ant: high quality, excellent,
superior.
Carnage: the killing of a large number of people (noun). Syn: butchery, slaughter,
holocaust.

Threshold: the point at which something begins (noun). Syn: commencement, launch, start.
Ant: conclusion, ending, termination.
Alcove: a freestanding airy structure in a scenic setting (as a park) typically offering
commanding views (noun).


Audit: a close look at or over someone or something in order to judge condition (noun).
Syn: examination, review, check.

Havoc: a state in which everything is out of order (noun). Syn: disorderliness, confusion,
hodgepodge. Ant: orderliness, organization.
Altercation: an often noisy or angry expression of differing opinions (noun). Syn:
controversy, dispute, quarrel. Ant: agreement.
Writhe: to cause to twine about one another (verb). Syn: entwine, interweave, interlace.
Ant: disentangle, uncoil, untwine.
Interim: intended to last, continue, or serve for a limited time (adjective). Syn:
impermanent, provisional, short-term. Ant: long-term, permanent.
Deviant: departing from some accepted standard of what is normal (adjective). Syn:
abnormal, untypical, irregular. Ant: common, ordinary, routine.
Expunge: to destroy all traces of (verb). Syn: abolish, obliterate, wipe out. Ant: preserve,
reconstruct, restore.
Bloodcurdling: arousing fright or horror (adjective). Syn: frightening, horrifying, hair-
raising. Ant: calming, pacifying, soothing.
Colossal: very large or great (adjective). Syn: cosmic, gigantic, grand. Ant: diminutive,
tiny, little.
Litigate: law : to make (something) the subject of a lawsuit : to cause (a case, an issue, etc.)
to be decided and settled in a court of law (verb).
Gimped: to limp or hobble (verb).


Cordoned: a line of people or objects that are placed around or in front of a person or
place to keep people away (noun).

Heinous: hatefully or shockingly evil (adjective). Syn: abominable, awful, horrific. Ant:
lovely, pleasing.
Lather: to spread lather over (something) (verb). Origin: Middle English *lather, from Old
English lathor; akin to Latin lavere to wash.
Jackal: a person who performs menial or degrading tasks for another (noun). Origin:
15951605; < alteration, by association with Jack, of Persian shag ( h ) l; cognate with
Sanskrit gla
Source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.