GRE HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS —Antonyms

1. Abate self-indulgent, abandoned, undisciplined, uncontrolled, hedonistic, profligate, licentious,

unrestrained, immoderate.
Verb

The wind abated after the storm: decrease, diminish, reduce, lessen, subside, decline, fade, fade 5. admonish
away, recede, dwindle, moderate, mitigate, weaken, wane, ebb, curtail, slack, slacken, go down,
lower, fall off, fall away, taper off, lighten, soften, quiet, quell, slow, slow down, slake off, temper,
cool, blunt; ease, relieve, alleviate, assuage, pacify, soothe, allay, mollify, palliate, dull; dampen, verb
restrain, restrict.
1 The captain admonished the guards to be on the alert: warn, caution, put on guard, tip off;
—Antonyms advise, counsel, enjoin.

increase, intensify, magnify, enhance, heighten, aggravate, amplify, grow; multiply, rise, come up, 2 The preacher admonished his congregation for failure to attend weekly services: reprove,
strengthen, sharpen, heat up; quicken, accelerate, hurry, speed, speed up; prolong, extend. censure, reprimand, rebuke, reproach, remonstrate, chide, chasten, scold, upbraid, criticize, take
to task, call to account, rap on the knuckles.
2.Aberrant
—Antonyms
Adjective
2 praise, compliment, commend.
1 The planet's orbit was plainly aberrant: straying, stray, deviating, deviate, wandering, errant,
erring, devious, erratic, rambling, diverging, divergent.

2 Aberrant behavior led to his confinement: abnormal, irregular, unusual, odd, eccentric, peculiar, 6. adulterate
exceptional, weird, queer, curious, singular, strange; unconforming, nonconforming, anomalous.
verb
—Antonyms
The ancient Greeks often adulterated their wine with water: contaminate, thin, water, water down;
1 direct. depreciate, Informal cut.

2 normal.
7. esthetic or aesthetic
3. Abeyance
adjective
Noun
The course in art history is designed to develop the student's esthetic judgment: appreciative of
The building project will be held in abeyance until spring: postponement, suspension, beauty, appealing to artistic taste, having artistic tastes, artistic; sensitive, discriminating,
intermission, remission, deferral, adjournment, discontinuance, inaction, dormancy, latency; cultivated, refined, fastidious.
pause, delay, cessation, quiescence, recess, hiatus, waiting period, in a holding pattern; in cold
storage, on ice, on a back burner. —Antonyms

—Antonyms unesthetic, unappreciative; insensitive, undiscriminating.

Continuance, continuation, continuity, ceaselessness. 8. aggregate

4. abstemious noun

adjective The final plan was an aggregate of all our ideas: composite, compound, union, combination,
gathering, accumulation, collection, amassing, bringing together, summation, mixture, mix, blend,
His abstemious habits allowed him few pleasures: abstinent, ascetic, austere, temperate, mass, conglomeration, conglomerate.
continent, nonindulgent, teetotal, self-denying, sparing, self-disciplined, abstentious.
9. Alacrity —Antonyms

noun explicit, definite, specific, direct, conclusive; clear, plain, frank, unmistakable, obvious, simple,
lucid; unquestionable, honest.
1 She answered his call for assist-ance with alacrity: willingness, enthusiasm, eagerness, fervor,
zeal, avidity; alertness, promptness, dispatch, readiness.
13.ambivalent
2 Despite his 80 years, he moved with alacrity: liveliness, briskness, sprightliness; agility,
nimbleness. adjective

—Antonyms I have ambivalent thoughts on where to spend my vacation: contradictory, conflicting, opposing,
clashing, warring; confused, undecided, unfocused, mixed, wavering, fluctuating, vacillating,
1 unwillingness, indifference, unconcern, apathy, impassiveness, reluctance, disinclination; Informal wishy-washy.
languor, lethargy, dullness.
—Antonyms
2 slowness, sluggishness.
definite, positive; unwavering.
10.alleviate

verb
14. ameliorate
This medication will alleviate the soreness: relieve, ease, allay, assuage; lessen, reduce, abate,
diminish, check, temper, lighten, soften, mitigate, mollify; blunt, dull, moderate, slake, slacken, verb
subdue, quit, quench.
1 The council met to consider ways of ameliorating the foreign situation: improve, better, help,
—Antonyms heal, fix up, patch up, correct, rectify; amend, reform, revise, improve upon, make an
improvement upon; advance, promote.
make worse, aggravate, increase, intensify, heighten, enhance, magnify, multiply.
2 Doctors say the patient's condition has ameliorated: improve, get better, grow better, perk up,
11. amalgamate pick up, progress, come along, mend, show improvement.

verb —Antonyms

Silver must be amalgamated with a harder material to make durable jewelry. The two shipping 1 ruin, botch, queer, screw up, wreck, destroy.
companies amalgamated into one: combine, blend, merge, fuse, mix, commingle; unite, unify, join
together, consolidate, coalesce, incorporate, federate, integrate, synthesize. 2 deteriorate, go downhill, decline, weaken, worsen.
—Antonyms 15. Anachronism
separate, part, divide, disunite.
a•nach•ro•nism (* nak"r* niz'*m), n.

1. an error in chronology in which a person, object, event, etc., is assigned a date or period other
12. ambiguous than the correct one.

adjective 2. a thing or person that belongs to another, esp. an earlier, time.

"Indian" is an ambiguous word because it can refer to an American Indian or a native of India: [1640–50; < L anachronismus < Gk anachronismós a wrong time reference = anachron(ízein) to
equivocal, vague, unclear, cryptic, enigmatic, puzzling, indefinite, uncertain, doubtful; misleading, make a wrong time reference (see ANA-, CHRONO-, -IZE) + -ismos -ISM]
having a double meaning.
a•nach'ro•nis"tic, a•nach"ro•nous, adj.
a•nach'ro•nis"ti•cal•ly, a•nach"ro•nous•ly, an•a•chron•i•cal•ly (an'* kron"ik le), adv. —Antonyms

affinity, fellow feeling, regard, sympathy, attraction, partiality; love, affection, attachment.
16. analogous

adjective
20.Apathy
The heart is analogous to a pump: similar, like, comparable, akin, equivalent, parallel, correlative,
corresponding. Noun

—Antonyms Public apathy can lead to bad government: indifference, unconcern, lack of interest, inattention,
unresponsiveness, passiveness, lethargy, lassitude; lack of feeling, numbness, emotionlessness,
dissimilar, unlike; different, divergent coolness, impassibility, impassivity.

17.Anarchy —Antonyms

Noun Concern, interest, attention, responsiveness, action; emotion, feeling, excitement, passion, zeal,
vehemence, enthusiasm, fervor.
1 Any form of government is better than anarchy: absence of government, disorder, lawlessness,
chaos.
21.Appease
2 Anarchists dream of an ideal state of anarchy in which people will be completely free: utopia,
the millennium. Verb

—Antonyms 1 Nothing would appease the crying baby: calm, make peaceful, pacify, quiet, soothe, solace,
mollify, lull, compose, placate.
1 order, discipline, authority; government, organization, control; regimentation, subjection.
2 That sandwich appeased my appetite: satisfy, ease, allay, abate, assuage, alleviate, temper,
18.Anomalous mitigate, relieve; slake, quench, quell, blunt, still, quiet, dull.

3 Chamberlain should never have tried to appease Hitler: conciliate, accommodate, propitiate.
Adjective

1 An Eskimo in native dress would cut an anomalous figure in Rio: odd, strange, peculiar, —Antonyms
incongruous, out of keeping, bizarre.
1,2,3 aggravate, provoke, inflame, arouse.
2 Cats with six toes are anomalous but not uncommon: irregular, abnormal, atypical; monstrous.
1 disturb, upset, bother, annoy, dissatisfy, perturb.
—Antonyms
3 anger, enrage, infuriate; antagonize, Informal cross
1 common, usual, standard, typical, familiar, unexceptional, ordinary, natural, normal, regular,
conventional, customary.

2 normal, typical.

19.Antipathy 22.Apprise

Noun Verb

I try to be broadminded but do feel antipathy toward people who are dirty and unkempt: dislike, Police should apprise an arrested person of his or her rights to remain silent and to be
aversion, distaste; disgust, repulsion, loathing, repugnance, abhorrence; antagonism, animosity, represented by a lawyer: inform, notify, advise, tell, make acquainted, make aware, make
ill will, enmity, rancor, hostility, unfriendliness. cognizant of, disclose, enlighten.
—Antonyms —Antonyms

Keep secret, keep quiet about. Light, facile, easy, simple, effortless, smooth.

23.Approbation 26.Artless

Noun Adjective

The architect received approbation for his new office building design: praise, congratulation, 1 Her love was as artless as a child's: frank, candid, open, honest, true, guileless, innocent,
compliment, good word, applause, acclaim; approval, acceptance, support, endorsement, naïve, simple, humble, straightforward; sincere, unpretentious, trusting, undesigning, open-
ratification, commendation, laudation, official sanction. hearted, ingenuous, unsophisticated, unaffected, unself-conscious.

—Antonyms
Censure, condemnation, criticism; disapproval, dissatisfaction, protest, rejection, veto.
24.Appropriate
Adjective
1 A long dress is appropriate for a formal wedding: suitable, proper, well-suited, congruous,
fitting, befitting, correct, seemly, apt, apropos, well-chosen; characteristic, belonging, pertinent,
relevant, germane, to the purpose, to the point, opportune.
2 Nothing can compare to the artless beauty of a waterfall: natural, pure, unadorned, plain,
simple, primitive, crude.
3 The painting was completely artless: inartistic, lacking art; without artistic talent, untalented.
—Antonyms
1 cunning, crafty, sly, wily, dishonest, deceitful, designing, artful, insincere, pretended, faked,
phony, false, counterfeit; sophisticated, affected, self-conscious; suspicious, distrustful.
2 artificial, unnatural, synthetic.

Verb 3 artistic, aesthetic.

2 The city will appropriate money for two new schools: allocate, set apart, allot, apportion, assign, 27.Ascetic
earmark.
Noun
3 The county should appropriate land for a new highway: take possession of, take, confiscate,
expropriate. 1 Most of the early saints were extreme ascetics: self-denier, abstainer, self-mortifier; hermit,
recluse, solitary, eremite, anchorite, celibate, cenobite; religious, monk, nun, flagellant; yogi, fakir,
—Antonyms dervish.

1 inappropriate, improper, ill-suited, unsuitable, unsuited, unfitting, incongruous, unbefitting, Adjective

unseemly, incorrect, wrong, inconsonant, incompatible, outré; uncharacteristic, out of place,
inopportune, irrelevant. 2 Trappist monks lead an ascetic existence: austere, self-denying, abstemious, strict, stern,
Spartan, rigorous, self-mortifying.
2 withhold.
—Antonyms
3 give, bestow, donate; relinquish, cede, dispose of.
1 hedonist, sensualist, voluptuary, sybarite, bon vivant.

2 self-indulgent, indulgent, pampered, luxurious, comfortable; abandoned, dissolute, voluptuous,

sensuous, sensual, sybaritic.
25.Arduous

Adjective 28.Assiduous

Crossing the continent in a covered wagon was an arduous undertaking: difficult, hard, laborious, Adjective
toilsome, wearisome, exhausting, fatiguing, tiring, burdensome, heavy, tough, troublesome,
onerous, trying, full of hardships, formidable, severe, Herculean; vigorous, strenuous, energetic.
It takes assiduous work to learn Russian. I admire an assiduous student: diligent, industrious, 3 Her audacious behavior shocked us all: impudent, impertinent, insolent, brazen, fresh,
hardworking, laborious, unremitting, determined, persistent, persevering, earnest, steadfast, shameless, outrageous, defiant, unabashed, presumptuous, assuming, forward, saucy, cheeky,
constant, tenacious, dogged, untiring, tireless, unflagging, indefatigable, sed-ulous. bossy, pert; disrespectful, rude, discourteous.

—Antonyms —Antonyms

indolent, lazy, idle; haphazard, casual, cavalier, lax, hit-or-miss, undetermined, inconstant, happy- 1 unadventurous, unenterprising; cowardly, fainthearted, craven, frightened, timid, pusillanimous,
go-lucky. Slang yellow, chickenhearted, lily-livered.

29.Assuage 2 careful, guarded, discreet; prudent, circumspect, cautious, judicious.

Verb
Liniment will assuage the pain, but soaking in hot water does the injury more good: allay, ease,
relieve, mitigate; lighten, lessen, soften; mollify, alleviate, soothe, calm, quiet, still, pacify,
appease, temper, take the edge off, tone down.
3 tactful, gracious, unassuming, cordial, amiable, ingratiating, deferential, reverential, obsequious,
Informal kowtowing; polite, courteous, mannerly, well-mannered, gentlemanly, ladylike, refined,
polished, formal.
32.austere

—Antonyms Adjective

Intensify, aggravate, irritate, exacerbate, heighten, sharpen, increase, augment; provoke, excite, 1 In the old days, schoolmasters were thought of as austere men: stern, strict, severe, forbidding,
arouse, kindle, inflame. ascetic.

30.attenuate 2 The Puritans led austere lives: rigorous, rigid, Spartan, ascetic, self-denying, abstemious, strict,
simple, spare, stark, strait-laced, chaste.
Verb
—Antonyms
1 The silversmith attenuated the ingot into one long thread: draw out, make thin, make fine, make
slender, spin out. 1 permissive, lenient, indulgent, easy, flexible, lax; frivolous, gay, cheerful, joyful, merry,
lighthearted, jovial, jolly, jaunty, nonchalant, lively, exuberant, vivacious, effervescent, high-
2 Aspirin only attenuated the pain: weaken, reduce, diminish, lessen, decrease; dilute, water spirited, playful, convivial; kindly, kind, sweet, genial.
down, adulterate, impair, enervate, enfeeble.
2 luxurious, lush, comfortable, easy; sophisticated, cosmopolitan; loose, corrupt, dissolute,
—Antonyms dissipated, debauched, degenerate, depraved, wanton, abandoned, self-gratifying, free-and-easy,
immoral, wicked, evil, sinful, impure, lewd, licentious, lascivious.
1 broadens, make thick, make coarse, make fat, enlarge, expand.

2 increase, amplify, intensify, augment, strengthen, develop. 33. Autonomous

31.Audacious Adjective

Adjective The school of adult education was an autonomous extension of the university: self-governing,
self-determined; self-sufficient, self-reliant, independent, sovereign, free.
1 Napoleon was an audacious leader: bold, daring, adventurous, venturesome, enterprising;
brave, courageous, fearless, unafraid, valiant, intrepid, dauntless, stouthearted, lionhearted, —Antonyms
stalwart, valorous, plucky, Slang gutsy.
Governed, dependent, subject.
2 We admired the audacious feats of the trapeze artists: bold, daring, reckless, rash, risky,
daredevil, devil-may-care, death-defying, breakneck; heedless, foolhardy, injudicious, imprudent,
desperate, hotheaded, self-willed, wild.
34.Aver

Verb
The witness averred that he had seen the suspect at the scene of the crime: assert, declare, Useless, detrimental, detractive, disadvantageous; unfavorable, harmful, pernicious,
affirm, state, avow, avouch, maintain, swear, insist, emphasize, contend, profess, represent, unwholesome.
proclaim, pronounce, protest, asseverate; certify, verify, guarantee.
38.Bolster
—Antonyms
Verb
Deny, disavow, disclaim, repudiate; doubt, be uncertain, gainsay.
1 More timbers are needed to bolster the roof of the mine: support, brace, prop up, hold up,
35.Banal buttress, reinforce, maintain, sustain, shore up, shoulder, cradle.

Adjective 2 More facts are needed to bolster your argument: support, uphold, sustain, strengthen, reinforce,
add to, help, aid, assist.
There were no new ideas in his banal lecture: stale, trite, unoriginal, hackneyed, ordinary,
commonplace, prosaic, pedestrian, unexciting, unimaginative, everyday, stock, humdrum, dull, Noun
uninteresting, conventional, stereotyped, insipid, threadbare, shopworn, tired, corny, cliché-
ridden, vapid, platitudinous, bromidic, jejune. 3 Put the bolster on the couch: cushion, pillow.

—Antonyms —Antonyms

Original, new, novel, unique, exciting, fresh, unusual, extraordinary, innovative, distinctive, 1 weighs down.
stimulating, stimulative, gripping, provocative, challenging, imaginative, interesting.
2 diminish, lessen, weaken, tear down.
36.Belie
39.Bombastic
Verb
Adjective
1 The facts belie your story: disprove, refute, contradict, controvert, repudiate, show to be false,
give the lie to, invalidate, gainsay, negate, betray, deny, defy. No one believed his bombastic claims: grandiloquent, pompous, windy, padded, inflated,
magniloquent, tumid, turgid, verbose, wordy.
2 The author's smile belied his anger with the critic: misrepresent, falsify; disguise, camouflage,
mask, conceal, cloak. —Antonyms

—Antonyms
Temperate, unpretentious, modest, natural, simple, unaffected, deflated, quiet.

1 proves, verify, attest to, validate, support, confirm, corroborate. 40.Boorish

2 represent, reveal, disclose, indicate. Adjective

37.Beneficent She considers the peasants boorish: crude, rude, coarse, vulgar, unrefined, unpolished, uncouth,
gauche, loutish, oafish, rustic, peasantlike.
Adj. doing good or causing good to be done; charitable.
—Antonyms
1.Beneficial
Genteel, polite, polished, cultured, refined, cultivated, gentlemanly, courtly, gallant, lady-like;
Adjective sophisticated, urbane, cosmopolitan.

Exercise is beneficial to good health: helpful, advantageous, propitious, useful, valuable,

contributive, favorable, profitable, productive; healthful, healing, good for. 41.Burgeon

—Antonyms Verb
Housing developments are burgeoning on all sides. Spring has begun to burgeon in every valley The principal castigated the students for their unruly behavior: chastise, upbraid, rebuke, censure,
and glade: thrive, flourish, expand, enlarge, grow, develop, mushroom, escalate, wax, increase, reprimand, reproach, chasten, reprove, berate, scold, admonish, criticize, chide, call on the
spring up, shoot up, proliferate, augment, spread; bloom, blossom, flower, blow, effloresce, open, carpet, bawl out, chew out, dress down, haul over the coals, take to task; punish, discipline,
fructify, bear fruit. correct, penalize.

—Antonyms
42.Burnish
Praise, laud, compliment, honor; reward, encourage.
Verb
47. Catalyst
The silver bracelet was burnished to a bright finish: polish, wax, buff, shine, smooth, and rub up.
cat•a•lyst (kat"l ist), n.
—Antonyms
1. a substance that causes or speeds a chemical reaction without itself being affected.
Abrade, scratch, mar.
2. a person or thing that precipitates an event or change.
43.Buttress
[1900–05; CATALY(SIS) + (-I)ST]
Noun

1 The north wall of the cathedral had a beautiful stone buttress: support, brace, prop, stanchion, 48.Caustic
abutment, arch, stay, and shoulder.
Adjective
Verb
1 Acid is caustic: burning, corrosive, corroding, erosive; astringent, stinging, biting, gnawing,
2 Buttress that fence with some two-by-fours. You'd better buttress your argument with more sharp.
facts: prop, prop up, brace, shore, shore up, reinforce, strengthen, bolster, support, boost, steel.
2 His caustic remarks hurt our feelings: sarcastic, biting, stinging, cutting, scathing, sharp, harsh,
44.Cacophonous
acrid, acrimonious, tart, bitter.

Adjective —Antonyms

The cacophonous sounds of the street came through the open window: dissonant, inharmonious, 1 soothing, healing; bland, mild.
harsh, raucous, dis-cordant, unmusical, unmelodious, strident, screechy, jarring, grating,
disharmonious, nonmelodious; out of tune, off-key, off-pitch.
2 flattering, complimentary; sweet, kind, loving, pleasant, pleasing, gentle, gracious, agreeable,
45.Capricious mild, bland.

49. Chicanery
Adjective
Noun
The capricious man bought and exchanged three shirts in a week: changeable, fickle, variable,
impulsive, erratic, flighty, skittish, mercurial, fanciful, faddish; indecisive, undecided, irresolute,
uncertain, wavering, vacillating, shilly-shallying; irresponsible, inconsistent, unsteady, unstable, There was some chicanery with our reservations, and we complained to the travel agent:
fitful, uneven, eccentric, quirky. deception, trickery, fraud, deceit, cozenage, gulling, guile, hocus-pocus, double-dealing, duplicity,
duping, subterfuge, hoodwinking, pettifoggery, humbuggery; knavery, roguery, rascality, villainy.
—Antonyms
Consistent, unchangeable, inflexible, unmovable, firm, fixed, unwavering, invariable, unswerving; 50.Coagulate
resolute, determined, steadfast, certain, decided, decisive; serious, responsible, steady, stable,
even. Verb
46.Castigate
Certain drugs cause blood to coagulate: clot, congeal; solidify, set, gel, jell, jellify, harden, curdle;
Verb thicken.
—Antonyms —Antonyms

Liquefy, melt, dissolve, and soften. Unobliging, contrary, unsolicitous, uncooperative, indifferent; disagreeable, unpleasant, cold,
unfriendly, ungracious.
51.Coda
56.Compliance
1. A concluding passage of a musical composition.
Noun
2. A concluding section, esp. one serving as a summation of preceding themes, as in a drama.
Compliance with the traffic laws is necessary for safe driving. Yes-men are known for their
3. Anything that serves as a conclusion or summation. compliance: conformity, conforming, obedience, yielding, giving in, submission, deference;
assent, acquiescence, complaisance, pliancy, nonresistance, passivity, docility, meekness.
52.Cogent
—Antonyms
Adjective
noncompliance, nonconformity, disobedience, resistance, rebelliousness, assertiveness,
He gave us several cogent reasons why the plan would inevitably fail: compelling, valid, individuality, stubbornness; obstinacy.
persuasive, forceful, powerful, potent, trenchant, convincing, well-founded, incontrovertible,
sound, meritorious, weighty, effective, undeniable, well-grounded. 57.Conciliatory

—Antonyms Adjective

Unconvincing, unsound, dubious, implausible, improbable. One conciliatory remark would make them friends again: peacemaking, reconciling, friendly,
reassuring, placatory, pacifying, mollifying, accommodative, appeasing.
53. Commensurate also commensurable
—Antonyms
Adjective
Antagonistic, hostile, unfriendly, unforgiving.
Her salary is commensurate with her ability and experience: in accord, consistent, in agreement,
suitable, fitting, appropriate, compatible, corresponding, proportionate, comparable, on a proper
scale, relative, equal, equivalent, even, balanced, meet, parallel, relative, square. 58. Condone

—Antonyms Verb

Inconsistent, unsuitable, inappropriate, unfitting, incompatible, disproportionate, dissimilar, Parents must not condone their children's bad behavior: overlook, let pass, ignore, disregard, put
incomparable, unequal, discordant. up with, wink at; forgive, excuse, pardon, justify, absolve, forget.

54. Compendium —Antonyms

Noun Condemn, denounce, censure, disapprove; punish, castigate.

It was fascinating to browse through the compendium of quotations: digest, abridgment, 59. Confound
condensation, abstract, brief, epitome, overview, précis, summary.
Verb
55.Complaisant
The patient's unusual symptoms confounded the doctor: perplex, confuse, baffle, bewilder,
Adjective puzzle, mystify, mix up, disconcert, unsettle, nonplus, rattle, fluster, throw off the scent; amaze,
astound, astonish, surprise, startle, dumfound, flabbergast, strike with wonder.
The host's complaisant manner made everyone feel welcome: obliging, solicitous, pleasing,
agreeable, compliant, cordial, congenial, affable, warm, gracious, friendly, pleasant, amiable, —Antonyms
good-natured, good-humored, easygoing.
Enlighten, explain, solve, clear up, clarify. No one in the room could find the answer to the conundrum: puzzle, riddle, enigma, mystery,
poser, puzzler, paradox, arcanum, brain-teaser, stumper, stopper, Chinese puzzle, rebus,
60. Connoisseur problem.

Noun
65. Converge
The old gentleman was a connoisseur of fine wines: expert, judge, authority, mavin, person of
good taste, cognoscente; epicure, gourmet. Verb

61. Contention The Mississippi and Missouri rivers converge at St. Louis. A lens converges light rays: come
together, meet, approach; focus, concentrate, bring together.
Noun
—Antonyms
1 Border raiding led to even more contention: struggle, strife, conflict, combat, altercation, feud,
wrangle, rivalry, contest; argument, debate, dispute, disagreement, controversy, dispute, Diverge, separate, part, scatter, disperse.
dissension, falling out, opposition, discord.
66. Convolution
2 It was his contention that she was lazy: allegation, charge, assertion, claim, position, point.
Noun
—Antonyms
The children were fascinated by the convolutions of the snake: coiling, coil, twisting, twist,
1 peace; accord, agreement. winding, undulation, contortion; sinuosity, sinuousness, tortuousness; maze, labyrinth.

62.Contentious —Antonyms

Contentious (k*n ten"sh*s), adj. Uncoiling, unwinding.

1. tending to argument or strife; quarrelsome: a contentious crew. 67. Craven

2. causing, involving, or characterized by argument or controversy: contentious issues. Adjective

3. pertaining to causes between contending parties involved in litigation.
Refusing to stand and fight was a craven thing to do: cowardly, dastardly, pusillanimous; timid,
con•ten"tious•ly, adv. timorous, fearful, frightened, scared; Slang yellow, lily-livered, chicken-hearted; mean-spirited,
base, low, lowdown.
con•ten"tious•ness, n.
—Antonyms
63. Contrite
Brave, courageous, heroic, fearless, valorous, valiant, dauntless; bold, daring, audacious.
Adjective

His contrite manner made us forgives him: conscience-stricken, sorrowful, regretful, repentant,
68. Daunt
rueful, penitent, remorseful, apologetic, chastened, humbled.
Verb
—Antonyms
Crossing the country in wagons did not daunt the early pioneers: intimidate, dismay, faze,
proud, pleased, uncontrite, unrepentant, unapologetic. discourage, dishearten, deject, depress, dash, unnerve, subdue, browbeat, cow, abash, menace,
threaten; frighten, scare, alarm, affright.
64. Conundrum
—Antonyms
Noun
Embolden, encourage, cheer, animate, enliven. He has a mentality that denigrates everything it doesn't understand: defame, malign, slander, tear
down, abuse, stigmatize, tra-duce, disparage, run down, besmirch, downgrade, blacken, call
69. Decorum names, calumniate, backbite, smear, vilify, revile, asperse, soil, sully; Slang give a black eye,
drag through the mud, stab in the back, badmouth, dump on.
Noun
—Antonyms
Jennifer always acts with decorum: propriety, politeness; tact, gentility, respectability, dignity,
taste; good form. Praise, commend, acclaim, exalt, boost.

—Antonyms 75. Deride

Impropriety, inappropriate behavior, bad manners. Verb

70. default They derided the new music: ridicule, mock, scoff, scorn, sneer at.

noun
76. Derivative
1 If the team doesn't show up, they will lose by default: failure to appear or act.
Adjective
2 His car was repossessed because of default of the monthly installment: nonpayment; failure to
pay. 1 The derivative essay received low marks: derived, unoriginal, borrowed, copied, evolved,
imitative, inferred, not original, obtained, plagiarized, rehashed, secondhand.
71. Deference
Noun
Noun
2 offshoot, outgrowth, byproduct, derivation, descendant, product, spinoff.
Out of deference to her age and position, the committee followed her suggestions: consideration,
respect, reverence, honor, esteem, regard; obedience, capitulation. —Antonyms

—Antonyms 1 original, archetypal, authentic, genuine, seminal.

Disrespect, contempt; defiance, disobedience.

77. Desiccate
72.delineate des•ic•cate (des"i kat'), v., -cat•ed, -cat•ing.

de•lin•e•ate (di lin"e at'), v.t., -at•ed, -at•ing. v.t.

1. to trace the outline of; represent pictorially. 1. to dry thoroughly; dry up.

2. to portray in words; describe with precision. 2. to preserve (food) by removing moisture; dehydrate.

de•lin"e•a•ble (-* b*l), adj. v.i.

de•lin"e•a'tor, n. 3. to become thoroughly dried.

73. Denigrate
[1565–75; < L desiccatus dried up, ptp. of desiccare = de- + siccare, der. of siccus dry]

Verb des'ic•ca"tion, n.
des"ic•ca'tive, adj. [1600–10; < Gk]

des"ic•ca'tor, n.

78. Desultory 81.diffidence

des•ul•to•ry (des"*l tôr'e, -tor'e), adj. Noun

1. lacking in consistency, method, purpose, or visible order; disconnected: desultory His diffidence keeps him from making friends: timidity, timidness, timorousness, shyness,
conversation. meekness, insecurity, retiring disposition, reserve, constraint, introversion; bashfulness, extreme
modesty, humbleness, want of self-confidence, unassertiveness, sheepishness, lack of self-
2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject: a desultory remark. assurance; hesitancy, reluctance.

[1575–85; < L desultorius pertaining to a desultor (a circus rider who jumps from one horse to —Antonyms
another), der. of desul-, var. s. of desilire to jump down]
Boldness, audaciousness, forwardness, assertiveness, aggressiveness; self-confidence,
des"ul•to'ri•ly, adv. confidence.

82.Diffuse
des"ul•to'ri•ness, n.

78.deterrent Adjective

Noun 1 The room was bathed in soft, diffuse light: scattered, spread out, unconcentrated, dispersed,
extended widely; vaguely defined.
Punishment is not necessarily a deterrent to crime: restraint, curb, hindrance, check,
discouragement. 2 His talk was so diffuse I missed his point: wordy, verbose, discursive, rambling, long-winded,
lacking conciseness, disjointed, digressive, not concentrated, desultory, roundabout, wandering,
79. Diatribe meandering, maundering, circumlocutory.

Noun —Antonyms

In her diatribe she gave full vent to all her resentments against him: verbal or written castigation, 1 concentrated.
bitter harangue, tirade, violent denunciation, stream of abuse, accusatory language, invective,
vituperation, contumely. 2 succinct, concise, terse, pithy, compact; methodical, organized.

83.Digression
80. Dichotomy
Noun
di•chot•o•my (di kot"* me), n., pl. -mies.
His long digression made him forget his main point: divergence, departure, deviation, detour,
straying, wandering; diversion, obiter dictum, side remark, divagation.
1. division into two parts or kinds; subdivision into halves or pairs.

2. division into two exclusive, opposed, or contradictory groups: a dichotomy between thought
84.dirge
and action.

Noun
3. a mode of branching by constant forking, as in some stems.

He composed a dirge to honor the war dead: funeral song, requiem, death song, death march,
4. the phase of the moon or of an inferior planet when half of its disk is visible.
lament, burial hymn, threnody, mournful composition; mournful sound.
 Antonyms

1 credit, praise, laud.

2 credit, prove, support, accept, verify.

85. Disabuse 89. discrepancy

Verb noun

Someone ought to disabuse him of those star-struck notions: enlighten about, free from error, There is a great discrepancy between his version of the accident and yours: difference,
clear the mind of, disillusion, disenchant, rid of deception, relieve of, set straight, set right, open inconsistency, variance, disagreement, discordance, lack of correspondence, disparity,
the eyes of, free of a mistaken belief. dissimilarity, divergence, incongruity, gap.

—Antonyms correspondence, accord.

86. Discerning

Adjective
90.Discrete
The mediator was discerning in his analysis of the problem: perceptive, acute, perspicacious,
sharp, astute, penetrating, keen-sighted, sensitive, piercing, discriminating, shrewd, intelligent, Adjective
wise, judicious, sage, sagacious, clear-sighted, sharp-sighted; showing discernment, quick to
discern, having keen insight. The Liberal Arts College has been reorganized into six discrete departments: separate, distinct,
different, detached, disconnected, discontinuous, disjunctive, unattached, independent,
—Antonyms unassociated; several, various.

Undiscerning, unperceptive, indiscriminate. —Antonyms

87.discordant Merged, combined, interdependent, united, linked, connected.

dis•cord•ant (dis kôr"dnt), adj. 91.disingenuous

1. being at variance; disagreeing; incongruous. Adjective

2. disagreeable to the ear; dissonant; harsh. Their disingenuous protests irritated us: dishonest, insincere, artful, cunning, designing,
duplicitous, false, feigned, guileful, shifty, sly, wily, two-faced, tricky.
[1250–1300; ME discordaunt < AF < L]
—Antonyms
dis•cord"ant•ly, adv.
Ingenuous.
88. discredit
92. Disinterested
verb
Adjective
1 She discredited his good name with ugly gossip: defame, abuse, dishonor, impair the reputation
of, disgrace, vilify, disparage, smirch, smear, debase, degrade, demean, vitiate, tarnish, taint, We need a disinterested party to settle the argument: impartial, unbiased, neutral, free from bias,
undermine, slur, sully, stigmatize, drag through the mud. unprejudiced, impersonal, outside, uninvolved, dispassionate, free from self-interest.

2 The insurance investigator discredited his false claim: prove false, deny, disallow, disprove, —Antonyms
reject; destroy confidence in, shake one's faith in, undermine belief in; dispute, challenge,
question.
Partial, biased, prejudiced, selfish, having an axe to grind. Applaud, praise, laud, extol, acclaim, commend, compliment, appreciate.

93.Disjointed 96. disparate

Adjective adjective

1 The structure of the house seemed somehow disjointed: disconnected, detached, having the Their views are unusually disparate for brothers: dissimilar, different, unlike, contrasting, at odds,
joints separated, unconnected, unattached, split, divided, apart, disarticulated, helter-skelter. at variance, discrepant, discordant.

2 The movie was too disjointed to make sense: rambling, mixed-up, confused, spasmodic, —Antonyms
disconnected, disorganized, jumbled, tangled, chaotic, disharmonious, discontinuous,
heterogeneous, incoherent, irrational, illogical. similar, like, homogeneous, parallel, accord-ant.

—Antonyms
97. dissemble
1 jointed, connected, attached.
verb
2 sensible, coherent, logical.
He tried to dissemble his disappointment with a joke: hide, mask, disguise, camouflage, feign,
conceal, dissimulate.

94. dismiss —Antonyms

verb show, manifest, evidence, reveal.

1 The workers were dismissed for lunch. Dismiss the meeting: allow to leave, permit to go, 98. disseminate
release, excuse, send forth, let go, disperse; dissolve, adjourn, disband; free, liberate.
verb
2 She was dismissed for loafing on the job: fire, oust, discharge from office, put out of a job, sack,
can, let go, terminate, remove from service, bounce, send packing, give one his walking papers, Plato's philosophy has been disseminated throughout the world: scatter, spread, diffuse,
cashier, Slang pink-slip, give the heave-ho. disperse, circulate, broadcast.

3 I trust her and dismiss any suggestion of dishonesty: put out of mind, reject, set aside, 99.Dissolute
disregard, disclaim, discard, lay aside, repudiate, eliminate.
Adjective
—Antonyms
He was a dissolute young man who thought only of his own pleasure: dissipated, corrupt, loose,
1 hold, detain, recall. debauched, immoral; unrestrained, abandoned.

2 hire, employ, accept, admit. —Antonyms

3 welcome, accept. moral, upright, temperate, sober, prudent, circumspect.

95. Disparage 100.Dissonance

Verb Noun

Don't disparage his attempts to better himself: belittle, ridicule, discredit, run down, put down, 1 The experimental music seemed nothing but dissonance to us: discord, cacophony,
mock, denigrate, demean, undervalue, underrate, depreciate, slight, detract from, derogate. discordance, harshness, jangle, jarring, noise.

—Antonyms 2 Dissonance in the merged companies broke out almost at once: disharmony, antagonism,
breach, break, conflict, disagreement, discord, disparity, dissension, dissidence, disunion,
division, divorce, hostility, incongruity, inconsistency, rift, rupture, schism, variance. 1 There are many documents containing the king's signature: official paper, record, instrument,
legal form.

101. distend
verb
verb
2 The lawyer gathered evidence to document the charges: support, back up, give weight to,
The children's stomachs were distended by malnutrition: swell, bloat, swell out, expand, bulge, verify, certify, substantiate.
inflate, billow, puff out.
105. dogmatic
102. distill
adjective
verb
1 She's so dogmatic you can't tell her anything: opinionated, arbitrary, biased, prejudiced;
1 The liquid distills when heated: evaporate, condense, vaporize. imperious, dictatorial, domineering; stubborn, obstinate.

2 Whiskey is distilled from a fermented mash of grain. Impurities are removed by distilling water: 2 The Nicene Creed is one of the most important dogmatic statements of the Christian faith:
separate by evaporation, produce by vaporization and condensation, purify by distillation; extract, doctrinal, expressing dogma.
draw out, draw forth.
—Antonyms
103. diverge
1 diffident, vacillating, uncertain; docile, complaisant.
verb
106. dormant
1 The path diverges right after the pond: separate, deviate, split off, swerve, deflect.
adjective
2 Her politics and mine diverge greatly: differ, conflict, disagree, be at odds.
The geyser has been dormant for five years: inactive, quiescent, idle; sleeping, somnolent;
—Antonyms hibernating.

1 converges, agree, concur. —Antonyms

103. divest active, operative, moving, awake.

verb 107. dupe

1 He divested himself of his clothing: strip or remove (clothing), disrobe; take off, get out of, peel noun
off.
1 He was the dupe of the racketeers and may go to prison: pawn, patsy, fall guy, cat's paw, Slang
2 During the Depression, the family was divested of its home: deprive, dispossess; rid, strip, free. sucker.

—Antonyms verb

1 clothe, dress, cover. 2 The agency duped her into signing up for $200 worth of lessons: trick, fool, mislead, deceive;
humbug, bamboozle, hoodwink.
104. document

noun 108. ebullience

noun Paean, jubilee, hallelujah, anthem.

Her ebullience could not be denied: enthusiasm, exuberance, animation, buoyancy, 113. elicit
effervescence, effusiveness, elation, excitement, exhilaration, vitality, vivaciousness, vivacity,
liveliness, high spirits. verb

The mayor's remark elicited a flood of letters: bring forth, draw forth, draw out, call forth, evoke,
extract, exact, extort, derive, wrest, fetch, cause, educe, bring to light.
—Antonyms
—Antonyms
apathy, lifelessness.
repress, discourage.
109. eclectic
114. Embellish
adjective
Verb
The disc jockey played an eclectic selection of music: mixed, assorted, catholic, diverse,
heterogeneous, multifarious, wide-ranging, varied, general. He embellished his signature with a series of curlicues: enhance, elaborate, exaggerate,
ornament, decorate, adorn, beautify, garnish, gild, color, embroider, dress up, fancy up, set off,
110. efficacious Slang gussy up.

adjective —Antonyms

None of the prescriptions were efficacious: effective, capable, successful, serviceable, effectual, Simplify, strip bare.
efficient.
115. empirical
—Antonyms
adjective
ineffective.
The old sailor had never studied navigation, but he had a good empirical knowledge of it:
111. effrontery practical, experiential, pragmatic; experimental, firsthand.

noun —Antonyms

What effrontery to barge in uninvited!: shamelessness, brazenness, brashness, impertinence, theoretical, secondhand.
insolence, impudence, presumption, arrogance, audacity, temerity, cheek, nerve, gall, brass,
Yiddish chutzpah. 116. emulate

—Antonyms verb

modesty, reserve, shyness, timidity, bashfulness; respect, diffidence. Politicians would do well to emulate Abraham Lincoln: take as a model, follow the example of,
pattern oneself after, follow, copy, imitate; try to equal, rival; mimic, ape.
112. Elegy
117.endemic
Noun
Noun
The poet laureate composed an elegy upon the death of the king: poem of lamentation, lament
for the dead, melancholy poem, sad poem; requiem, funeral song, song of lamentation, 1. A disease that is constantly present to a greater or lesser degree in people of a certain
melancholy piece of music. class or in people living in a particular location

—Antonyms Adjective
 1. (of disease or anything resembling a disease) constantly present to greater or lesser There is no point in lamenting the ephemeral joys of youth: brief, temporary, transient, short-lived,
extent in a particular locality. temporal, transitory, fleeting, impermanent, evanescent, momentary, passing, fugitive,
unenduring, nondurable, inconstant, fly-by-night, flitting, fugacious.
2. (ecology) native to or confined to a certain region
—Antonyms
3. Originating where it is found
permanent, lasting, enduring, everlasting, perpetual, abiding.

---Synonyms
122. equanimity
autochthonal, autochthonic, autochthonous, indigenous.
noun
118. enervate
We must keep our equanimity during times of crisis: calmness, composure, self-possession,
verb steadiness, poise, aplomb, coolness, imperturbability, presence of mind, self-control, tranquillity,
sangfroid, Informal cool.
The long march in the sun enervated the soldiers: exhaust, weary, weaken, de-bilitate, devitalize,
enfeeble, disable, sap one's energy, deplete, wash out, fatigue, tire, prostrate, Slang bush, fag, —Antonyms
tucker.
panic, hysteria, disquiet, perturbation, agitation, discomposure.
—Antonyms
123. equivocate
energize, invigorate, strengthen, vitalize, stimulate, quicken.
verb
119. engender
Please stop equivocating and give me a straight answer: evade, avoid the issue, hedge, stall,
verb dodge, beat around the bush, fudge, pussyfoot, be ambiguous, mince words, prevaricate,
straddle the fence.
Respect can engender love: give rise to, cause, bring about, beget, breed, generate, produce,
occasion, precipitate. 124. erudite

—Antonyms adjective

kill, end, crush. The professor was an erudite man. The TV newscaster was known for his erudite comments:
learned, well-informed, well-educated, well-versed, literate, well-read, cultured, cultivated,
120. enhance scholarly, thoughtful, intelligent, well-reasoned, wise, sapient.

verb —Antonyms

The splendid dress enhanced her beauty: intensify, heighten, magnify, make more attractive, uninformed, uneducated, illiterate, unscholarly; shallow, unthinking; rash, ill-advised.
make more appealing; elevate, lift, raise, boost; redouble, embellish, augment, add to,
complement. 125. esoteric

—Antonyms adjective

diminish, reduce, lessen, decrease, minimize, depreciate, detract from. 1 Some fields of science seem hopelessly esoteric to the layman: incomprehensible, abstruse,
recondite, arcane, cryptic, enigmatic, inscrutable, mysterious, obscure.
121. ephemeral
2 The tribe has an esoteric ritual that no outsider may witness: secret, undisclosed, private,
adjective confidential, inviolable, hidden, concealed, covert, veiled, cloaked; mystical, occult.
—Antonyms 1 A ship's captain must be able to cope with any exigency: emergency, contingency, crisis,
circumstance, predicament, quandary, plight, strait, extremity, difficulty, hardship; Slang pickle,
1 obvious, clear, plain, simple. pinch, scrape, fix, jam.

2 public, open, exoteric. 2 We have to cope with the exigencies of daily living: requirements, necessities, demands, needs,
constraints, urgencies.

131. extrapolate

126. eulogy ex•trap•o•late (ik strap"* lat'), v., -lat•ed, -lat•ing.

Noun v.t.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is a great eulogy: oration of praise, praise of the dead, encomium,
panegyric; high praise, tribute, homage, hosanna, acclamation, laudation, citation, paean, plaudit.
—Antonyms
condemnation, criticism; vilification, defamation, aspersion, calumny, slander, libel.
1. to infer (an unknown) from something that is known; conjecture.
2. to estimate (the value of a statistical variable) outside the tabulated or observed range.
3. Math. to estimate (a function that is known over a range of values of its independent variable)
to values outside the known range.

127. euphemism v.i.

noun 4. to perform extrapolation.

"Maiden lady" is a euphemism for "old maid": mild expression, restrained expression, inoffensive [1825–35; EXTRA- + (INTER)POLATE]
expression, delicate term, refined term; prudish phrase, overdelicacy, overrefinement,
prudishness. ex•trap'o•la"tion, n.
128. Exacerbate
ex•trap"o•la'tive, adj.
Verb
ex•trap"o•la'tor, n.
Offering your opinion will only exacerbate the situation: aggravate, exaggerate, intensify, inflame, 132. facetious
heighten, worsen, magnify, sharpen, deepen, fan the flames, pour oil on the fire, add fuel to the
flames, rub salt into the wound, add insult to injury.
adjective
—Antonyms
He kept us laughing with his facetious remarks: humorous, funny, amusing, jocular, joking, jovial,
jesting, witty, clever, jocose, droll, comic, comical, playful, wisecracking.
relieve, soothe, comfort, alleviate, assuage, mollify.

129.exculpate —Antonyms

Verb solemn, serious, sober, lugubrious, grave, sedate, staid, sad, dull.

Pronounce not guilty of criminal charges: acquit, assoil, clear, discharge, exonerate.
133. facilitate
130.Exigency
verb
Noun
An addressing machine facilitates the handling of bulk mail: expedite, speed up, accelerate, ease, 2 The young man searched hard for a felicitous last line to his poem: apt, appropriate, suitable,
simplify, help in, make less difficult, make easier, assist the progress of, lessen the labor of, relevant, pertinent, germane, fitting, well-chosen, well-put, well-said, pleasing, happy, inspired;
lighten, smooth; forward, help to advance, promote, further, advance, aid, foster. effective.

—Antonyms —Antonyms

hinder, hamper, complicate, encumber, slow down. 1 infelicitous, solemn, inappropriate.

2 infelicitous, awkward, clumsy, unfortunate.

138.fervor

Noun

The pilgrims arrived at the shrine and offered their prayers with fervor: ardor, passion, intensity,
134. Fallacious earnestness, vehemence, verve, zeal, animation, gusto, fire, enthusiasm, heartiness, eagerness,
zest, warmth; piety, devoutness, seriousness, purposefulness.
Adjective
—Antonyms
The rumors were patently fallacious: incorrect, false, deceptive, erroneous, deluding, fictitious,
illusory, fraudulent, invalid, mistaken, misleading, off, sophistic, spurious, unfounded, boredom, ennui, apathy, detachment, dispassion.
ungrounded, wrong, unsound, untrue.

135. Fatuous 139. flag

Adjective noun

She's so fatuous she thinks all the fellows are flirting with her: foolish, inane, silly, vacant in mind, 1 The country's flag was displayed in every window: banner, emblem, standard, ensign, streamer,
simple, stupid, brainless, witless, vapid, vacuous, asinine, imbecile, idiotic, puerile, obtuse, pennant, colors; (in the U.S.) stars and stripes, Old Glory, stars and bars; (in Great Britain) Union
besotted, senseless, moronic, ridiculous. Jack.

—Antonyms verb

sensible, prudent, judicious, wise, sage, sapient, clever, bright, intelligent, smart, witty 2 The highway patrol flagged us away from the accident: signal, warn, wave.

136. Fawning 3 My energy flagged after climbing all those steps: decline, grow weak, wilt, give way, languish;
grow spiritless, fall off in vigor, abate, slump, succumb, subside, sag, pall; fade, grow weary, tire,
Adjective totter, dodder; faint, sink, ebb, wane, fail.

In the movie he played a fawning courtier: sycophantic, obsequious, compliant, bootlicking, —Antonyms
cowering, servile, cringing, deferential, crawling, flattering, ingratiating, scraping, kowtowing,
subservient, submissive. 3 freshen, recover, brace up.

137. Felicitous 140. Fledgling

Adjective Noun

1 Champagne is for weddings and other felicitous occasions: happy, joyful, joyous, fortunate, As a pilot, he's still a fledgling: inexperienced person, novice, beginner, tyro, freshman,
propitious. apprentice; Informal greenhorn, tenderfoot.

141. Flout
Verb 146. gainsay
gain•say (gan"sa', gan sa"), v.t., -said, -say•ing.
She flouted convention by wearing black at her wedding: scorn, show contempt for, scoff at,
spurn, laugh at, jeer at, gibe at, sneer at, defy, treat with disdain, mock, poke fun at; twit, taunt, 1. to deny; dispute; contradict.
chaff, rag, insult.
2. to speak or act against; oppose.
—Antonyms
[1250–1300; ME gainsaien; see AGAIN, SAY]
Revere; regard, respect, esteem.

142.foment gain"say'er, n.

147. garrulous
verb
adjective
He did his best to foment a quarrel between the brothers: stir up, incite, foster, promote, instigate,
provoke, urge, excite, stimulate, galvanize, foster; rouse, arouse, kindle, inflame, spur, goad,
agitate; irritate, aggravate, exacerbate, quicken, fan the fire, fan into flame, blow the coals. She's so garrulous you can't get a word in edgewise: talkative, effusive, loquacious; wordy, windy,
verbose, long-winded; gabby, voluble, chattery, chatty, prattling, prating, babbling; gossipy.
—Antonyms
—Antonyms
Quell, suppress, repress, quench; check, curb, restrain; allay, discourage, destroy, extinguish,
extirpate. reticent, taciturn, quiet, reserved, closemouthed; terse, concise.

143. forestall 148. goad

verb noun

Labor and management have agreed on a temporary settlement, thereby fore-stalling a strike:
prevent, thwart, ward off, avert, deter, avoid, head off, circumvent; counteract, block, preclude,
obviate; anticipate, guard against; Informal steal a march on, beat to the punch.
144. frugality
noun
In middle age he was known for extreme frugality: carefulness, economizing, conservation,
moderation, economy, prudence, scrimping, saving, thrift, stinginess, miserliness, avariciousness,
parsimony
1 The drovers used goads to keep the herd moving: prod, cattle prod, prick, pointed stick.
2 Fear of failure can be a goad to hard work: incentive, stimulus, stimulant, motive, motivation,
driving motive, pressure, spur; inducement, encouragement, instigation, whet, fillip.
verb
3 His wife goaded him to ask for a raise: prod, urge, exhort, constrain, incite, spur, push,
pressure, drive, stir up, arouse, Slang egg on; stimulate, impel, propel, move, press, set on.
—Antonyms

145. futile 2 detriment, curb.

adjective 3 deter, keep back, hold back.

His efforts to save the business were futile: useless, fruitless, vain, profitless, idle, worthless,
valueless, bootless, unprofitable; ineffective, ineffectual, unsuccessful, unavailing, abortive,
nugatory; trifling, trivial, insignificant, empty, petty, frivolous, unimportant. 149. gouge

—Antonyms gouge (gouj), n., v., gouged, goug•ing.

effective, fruitful, successful; profitable, useful, worthy; important, significant. n.

1. a chisel having a partly cylindrical blade with the bevel on either the concave or the convex —Antonyms
side.
unsociable, solitary, reclusive, introverted, retiring, shy.
2. an act of gouging.

3. a hole made by gouging.

4. an act of extortion; swindle.

152. guileless
5. a. a layer of decomposed rocks or minerals found along the walls of a vein.
adjective
b. fragments of rock that have accumulated between or along the walls of a fault.
The child gave a guileless answer to the question: straightforward, candid, frank, open, natural,
v.t. honest, sincere, truthful, aboveboard; artless, undesigning; ingenuous, naive, unsophisticated,
innocent, simple, unaffected, unselfconscious; harmless, innocuous, unoffending.
6. to scoop out or turn with or as if with a gouge.
—Antonyms
7. to dig or force out with or as if with a gouge (often fol. by out ).
sly, cunning, deceitful, crafty, tricky, deceptive, artful; treacherous, fraudulent
8. to make a gouge in: to gouge one's leg.
153. Gullible
9. to extort from or overcharge.
Adjective
v.i.
The youth was so gullible he bought the Brooklyn Bridge from a con man!: easily fooled, easily
10. to engage in extortion or swindling. deceived, easily cheated, easily duped; overtrusting, unsuspicious, credulous, trusting, trustful;
naive, innocent, unsophisticated, inexperienced, green, simple.
[1300–50; < MF < LL gu(l)bia, perh. < Celtic; cf. OIr gulba sting, Welsh gylf beak, Cornish gilb
—Antonyms
borer]

goug"er, n. Cynical, suspicious, untrusting, hard to convince; sophisticated, worldly.

150. Grandiloquent
154. harangue
Adjective
ha•rangue (h* rang"), n., v., -rangued, -rangu•ing.
The grandiloquent speech went on for over an hour: high-flown, high-sounding, flowery, florid,
grandiose, pompous, pretentious, bombastic, inflated, turgid, swollen, stilted; magniloquent, lofty, n.
rhetorical; Slang highfalutin.
1. a scolding or a verbal attack; diatribe.
—Antonyms
2. a long, passionate, and vehement speech, esp. one delivered before a public gathering.
Simple, direct, unaffected, plain-spoken, matter-of-fact, low-keyed; base, lowly.
3. any long, pompous speech or writing of a tediously hortatory or didactic nature; sermonizing
151. gregarious discourse.

adjective v.t.

A gregarious person loves parties: sociable, social, genial, outgoing, convivial, extroverted, 4. to address in a harangue.
companionable, affable, friendly; vivacious, lively, talkative.
v.i. conformist, assenter.

5. to deliver a harangue. 158. idolatry

[1530–40; < MF < It ar(r)inga speech, oration, n. der. of ar(r)ingare to speak in public, v. der. of noun
1
aringo public square < Go *hriggs RING ]
1 Idolatry was commonplace in many early pagan religions: worship of an object, image-worship,
syn reverence of idols, idolization.

See SPEECH. 2 Only a millionaire could satisfy that woman's idolatry of jewels: inordinate love, worship,
adoration, obsession, preoccupation, excessive fondness, passion, devotion, veneration, single-
minded attention, infatuation, senseless attachment, madness, mania.

155. homogeneous
159.immutable
adjective
Adjective
It was a homogeneous crowd of teenage girls, all wearing jeans and sweaters: of the same kind,
all alike, of a piece; uniform, unmixed, unvarying, unadulterated; consistent, constant, pure; akin, Platinum is one of the most immutable of metals: unchanging, unchangeable, changeless,
kindred, similar, identical. unvarying, unaltered, unalterable, incontrovertible, unmodifiable, intransmutable; permanent,
lasting, enduring, stable; firm, fixed, solid, constant, inflexible.
—Antonyms
—Antonyms
heterogeneous, mixed, varied, varying, variegated, different, diverse, divers, various, divergent.
Changeable, unstable, alterable, flexible, variable.
156. hyperbole

.160. impair
noun

"She's as big as a house" is an example of hyperbole: overstatement, exaggeration, enlargement,
magnification, extravagant statement, figurative statement, stretch of the imagination; figure of
speech, metaphor.
—Antonyms
verb
The water shortage impaired the city's fire-fighting capacity: hinder, damage, mar, hurt, vitiate,
harm, cripple, subvert, injure, lessen, weaken, enfeeble, decrease, undercut, detract from,
reduce; enervate, debilitate, worsen.

—Antonyms
Understatement.

157. iconoclast improve, amend; repair; better, ameliorate, enhance, facilitate, increase.

161. impassive
noun

He's an iconoclast who will have nothing to do with organized religion: dissenter, rebel, adjective
nonconformist, upstart, radical, revolutionary.
The moderator maintained an impassive manner throughout the furious debate: emotionless,
—Antonyms unemotional, unmoved, imperturbable, dispassionate, aloof, stoical, untouched, stony, calm, cool,
sedate, reserved, unperturbed, unimpressible, inscrutable, impervious, stolid, apathetic,
phlegmatic, unimpressionable, insensible, indifferent.
—Antonyms 2 The beautiful actress seemed impervious to the usual ravages of age: immune to, protected
against; untouched by, unmarked by.
responsive, emotional, passionate, excited, perturbed.
3 The stubborn man seemed impervious to reason: unmoved by, unaffected by, untouched by,
162. impede invulnerable, closed.

verb —Antonyms

A lumber shortage impeded construction on the house: delay, slow down, block, interfere with, 1 susceptible, vulnerable.
interrupt, check, retard, obstruct, hinder, thwart, frustrate, inhibit, arrest, sidetrack, stall, stymie,
deter, hamper, hold back, halter, disrupt. 2 open, exposed, susceptible, sensitive, liable, prone.

—Antonyms

assist, promote, advance, further, forward; help, aid.

163. impermeable

im•per•me•a•ble (im pûr"me * b*l), adj. 166. implacable

1. not permeable; impassable. adjective

2. (of porous substances, rocks, etc.) not permitting the passage of a fluid. It was impossible to negotiate with such an implacable enemy: irreconcilable, unappeasable,
inexorable, unamenable, inflexible, intractable, unpacifiable, uncompromising, relentless,
[1690–1700; < LL] unrelenting.

im•per'me•a•bil"i•ty, im•per"me•a•ble•ness, n. —Antonyms

im•per"me•a•bly, adv. reconcilable, appeasable, yielding, lenient, relenting, forbearing, indulgent, tolerant, flexible.

164. imperturbable 167. implicit

adjective adjective

The usually imperturbable man showed signs of fear: unexcitable, calm, collected, cool, serene, 1 Victory was implicit in the early election returns: implied, hinted, suggested, tacitly expressed;
undisturbed, unruffled, dispassionate, unflustered, levelheaded, sedate, composed; inferred, deducible, understood.
unsusceptible, impervious, impassive, unanxious, unfazable; Slang unflappable.
2 The crew had implicit faith in the captain's judgment: innate, inherent, unquestioning,
—Antonyms absolute, complete, profound, certain, resolute, unshakable, unreserved, total, unshakable,
steadfast, staunch.
perturbable, choleric, touchy.
168. implode
165. impervious
im•plode (im plod"), v., -plod•ed, -plod•ing.
adjective
v.i.
1 The firemen wore masks that were impervious to the acrid smoke: impenetrable, impermeable,
inaccessible, allowing no passage to, unapproachable; sealed or closed against; invulnerable. 1. to burst inward (opposed to explode).
v.t. The matter is too inconsequential to worry about: trivial, trifling, of no moment, valueless, slight,
unimportant, of no consequence, insignificant, negligible, nugatory, meaningless, piddling, petty,
2. to pronounce (a consonant) with implosion. picayune.

1
[1880–85; IM- + (EX)PLODE] —Antonyms

169. inadvertent consequential, important, momentous, significant, meaningful, crucial.

adjective 173. incorporate

The newspaper apologized for the inadvertent omission: unintentional, unintended, not on verb
purpose, accidental, fortuitous, unmeant, unthinking, involuntary, unpremeditated.
The committee incorporated the investigator's findings in its report: include, embody, work in,
—Antonyms consolidate, fuse, amalgamate, introduce into, assimilate.

deliberate, premeditated, intentional, studied, considered, conscious, aware

170. inchoate

174. indeterminate
adjective

The architect began with a vague, inchoate design and then worked out the details: beginning,
budding, incipient, commencing, embryonic, nascent; shapeless, formless, unformed, unshaped,
amorphous; unorganized, uncohesive, disjointed, disconnected.
—Antonyms
adjective
The acting superintendent will serve for an indeterminate time: unspecified, undetermined,
unstipulated, uncertain, unfixed in extent or amount, unclear, obscure, not clear, unresolved,
vague, undefined; ambiguous, problematic, perplexing, indefinite.

—Antonyms
formed, shaped; finished, completed.

171.incongruous specified, precise, definite, clear, certain, determined, fixed, defined.

175. indigent
adjective

1 Bathing suits look incongruous on a ski slope: inappropriate, odd, outlandish, out of keeping, adjective
out of place, unsuitable, not harmonious, Slang far-out.
Many indigent people receive government aid: needy, destitute, in want, lacking the necessities of
2 The witness's incongruous testimony damaged his credibility: conflicting, contrary, at variance, life, poor, in need, pinched, poverty-stricken, impoverished, penniless, without resources, badly
off, moneyless, without food and clothing; Informal unable to keep the wolf from the door, hard-
incompatible, contradictory, inconsistent, irreconcilable, discrepant, disagreeing.
up.
—Antonyms
—Antonyms
1 congruous, fitting, suitable, appropriate, consonant, consistent, accordant, agreeing,
wealthy, moneyed, rich, affluent, comfortable, solvent, flush.
harmonious, becoming.

172. inconsequential 176. indolent

adjective
adjective

The indolent boy was fired: lazy, slothful, habitually idle, inactive, easygoing, shiftless, slack,
sluggish, inert, lethargic, do-nothing, listless, lumpish, lackadaisical, dawdling, dilatory.
—Antonyms 2 The play was innocuous and quickly forgotten: meaningless, vapid, insipid, dull, pointless,
empty, barren; trite, banal, commonplace.
industrious; busy, diligent, conscientious, assiduous, sedulous; energetic, strenuous, vigorous,
active. —Antonyms

177. inert 1 hurtful, deleterious, harmful, insidious, obnoxious, damaging, injurious, offensive, malicious.

adjective 2 powerful, trenchant, compelling, impressive.

The man was so inert he seemed dead: motionless, static, immobile, stationary, inactive, 181. insensibility
quiescent, still, passive, inanimate, impassive; listless, phlegmatic, sluggish, dull, numb, leaden,
supine, slack, torpid, languid. noun

—Antonyms 1 The patient lapsed into insensibility: unconsciousness.

dynamic; animated; active, alert, kinetic, brisk, lively, energetic, vigorous. 2 His insensibility to criticism was legendary: indifference, apathy, insusceptibility.

—Antonyms consciousness; concern, sensibility.

178. ingenuous 182. insinuate

adjective verb

She was so charming and ingenuous most people adored her at once: natural, artless, guileless,
unaffected, genuine, simplehearted, openhearted, honest, open, unsophisticated, frank, direct,
trusting, straightforward; Slang up front, straight-shooting.
—Antonyms
1 The article insinuated that the fighter was bribed: imply, suggest, hint slyly, allude remotely to,
intimate, asperse, whisper, let fall.
2 The social climber insinuated herself into the group: ingratiate, push artfully, worm one's way,
gently incorporate, introduce subtly, wheedle, inject, insert.

worldly-wise, jaded, disingenuous; wily, devious, tricky. —Antonyms

179. inherent
1 deny.

adjective 2 withdraw, remove, retreat; alienate.

Freedom of religion is an inherent part of the Bill of Rights: essential, innate, inseparable, 183. insipid
hereditary, native, intrinsic, inborn, deep-rooted, inveterate, natural, inbred, ingrained,
constitutional, inalienable.
adjective

—Antonyms 1 An insipid play like that won't last two weeks: uninteresting, pointless, stupid, dull,
characterless, banal, wearisome, bland, boring, trite, vapid, inane, barren, drab, prosaic, jejune,
foreign, alien, extrinsic, adventitious; subsidiary, superficial, supplemental. lifeless, zestless, arid, monotonous, lean, empty, commonplace; Slang blah, wishy-washy,
namby-pamby.
180. innocuous
2 The unsalted vegetables were insipid: flat, tasteless, savorless, stale, vapid, unappetizing.
adjective
—Antonyms
1 The women exchanged innocuous gossip over lunch: harmless, not damaging, painless, not
injurious, innocent, mild, inoffensive. 1 interesting, zestful, pungent, spirited, spunky, provocative, engaging, lively, stimulating,
exciting, piquant, colorful.
2 pungent, piquant, spicy; fiery, peppery, gingery; savory, flavorful, tasty, palatable, appetizing; Growing up in Alaska inured him to cold weather: accustom, habituate, familiarize, make used to,
gusty. naturalize, custom; harden, strengthen, toughen, season, temper, desensitize, discipline, train,
adapt, acclimatize, acclimate, get used to.
184.insularity (state of being insulated) insulate

verb 189. invective

Thick walls insulated the house: shield, protect, cocoon, cushion, line, wrap; isolate, keep apart, noun
seclude, sequester, separate.
Invective poured from the speaker's mouth: bitter language, harsh words, verbal abuse, venom,
185. intractable vilification, insult, contumely, diatribe, execration, sarcasm; vituperation, denunciation, revilement,
censure, rant, railing, billingsgate.
adjective
—Antonyms
The intractable child refused to obey: stubborn, perverse, headstrong, ornery, hard to cope with,
obstinate, willful, unmanageable, obdurate, incorrigible, mulish, unruly, fractious, froward, praise, honor, commendation.
refractory, ungovernable, uncontrollable, contumacious, unmalleable, inflexible.

190. irascible
—Antonyms
adjective
tractable, obedient, docile, submissive, subdued; compliant, acquiescent, amiable.
The irascible old man is constantly picking fights: easily angered, touchy, cantankerous, choleric,
186. intransigent waspish, bad-tempered, ill-humored, hot-tempered, irritable, intractable, ornery, splenetic, cross,
testy, cranky, grumpy, grouchy, peevish.
adjective
—Antonyms
The intransigent strikers refused to negotiate: uncompromising, stubborn, intractable, obdurate,
iron-willed, steadfast, diehard, unyielding, unmovable, unbudgeable, inflexible. good-natured, amiable, gentle, mild, placid, serene, tranquil, easygoing.

—Antonyms 191. irresolute

compromising, yielding, flexible, open-minded, acquiescent, compliant adjective

187. inundate His irresolute nature made him a poor executive: indecisive, wavering, hesitating, hesitant,
faltering, unsettled, doubtful, undecided, uncertain, unsure, changeable, vacillating, fickle, weak,
verb unsteady, unresolved.

1 Floodwaters inundated the valley: engulf, overflow, fill with water, overspread, drench, —Antonyms
submerge, flood, deluge, drown.
resolute, determined, unwavering, decisive; decided, certain.
2 The visiting astronaut was inundated with invitations: swamp, glut, flood, saturate, overcome;
load down, overburden, overwhelm. 192. itinerary

—Antonyms noun

1 drain dry, reclaim, desiccate, parch, empty. 1 Leave an itinerary so we can reach you: travel plan, schedule, detailed plan for a trip, list of
places to be visited, timetable, course, route, circuit.
188. inure

verb
2 Father kept a lively itinerary of the trip: log, record of a journey, travel record, journal, account, They lauded the brave attempt: praise, extol, applaud, celebrate, esteem, honor.
diary, day book.
—Antonyms

193. laconic censure, condemn, criticize.

adjective 197. lethargic

Although his speeches were laconic, they were informative: short, concise, brief, succinct, terse, adjective
compact, condensed, pithy, concentrated, sparing of words, pointed, to the point, summary; curt,
blunt. The hot, humid climate made everyone lethargic: lazy, drowsy, sleepy, soporific, languid,
indolent, idle, dull, somnolent, comatose, enervated, debilitated, dispirited, unspirited, torpid,
—Antonyms lackluster, sluggish, slothful, indifferent, passive, inert, listless, apathetic.

voluble, wordy, loquacious, garrulous, verbose. —Antonyms

energetic, vigorous, alert, active, responsive, bright, spirited; energized, animated, stimulated.

198.levee

noun-A barrier constructed to contain the flow or water or to keep out the sea-dam,dike,dyke.

194. lassitude

noun 199. levity

His lassitude was caused by overwork: weariness, weakness, debility, sluggishness, fatigue, noun
tiredness, exhaustion, fatigue, lack of energy, enervation, lethargy, listlessness, inertia,
feebleness, indolence, faintness, torpor, torpidity, drowsiness, languor, languidness, supineness, The situation is too grave for levity: frivolity, lightness, lightheartedness, whimsy, lack of
prostration, dullness, droopiness; apathy, indifference, ennui, doldrums, boredom; malaise. earnestness or seriousness, triviality, hilarity, foolishness, silliness, joking, mirth, jocularity, trifling,
flippancy, flightiness; pleasantry, fun.
—Antonyms
—Antonyms
vigor, energy, strength, robustness, freshness; verve, spirit, vitality; Informal get-up-and-go, push,
vim, pep. gravity, seriousness, sobriety, earnestness, solemnity, dignity.

195. latent 200. log

adjective noun

Many of our deepest desires remain latent: dormant, sleeping, quiescent, inactive, passive,
suspended, in abeyance, abeyant, potential, undeveloped, unrealized, unaroused, not manifest,
hidden, concealed, covert, lurking, intangible, unapparent, unexposed, inconspic-uous,
unexpressed.
1 The cabin was built of logs: length of tree trunk, timber, part of tree limb; block, stump.
2 The time of departure was entered in the ship's log: logbook; (loosely) daybook, journal,
calendar, diary, docket, schedule, account, record.

—Antonyms
verb

activated, realized, developed; manifest, expressed, apparent, evident, obvious, conspicuous. 3 The college student spent his summers logging in the north woods: cut timber, fell trees, work
as a lumberjack, lumber.
196. laud
201. loquacious
verb
adjective 205. malinger

He's so loquacious I can't get a word in edgewise: talkative, talky, prolix, garrulous, wordy, verb
verbose, voluble, windy, long-winded; prating, chatty, chattery, chattering, babbling, prattling;
Informal gabby, blabby. In the army he would malinger by pretending to be ill: slack, shirk, procrastinate, loaf, dodge,
evade, duck one's duty, lie down on the job; Slang goldbrick, goof off.
—Antonyms
206. malleable
silent, reserved, taciturn, closemouthed, uncommunicative, reticent.
adjective
202. lucid
1 Tin is a malleable metal: workable, easily shaped, easily wrought; ductile, tractable, plastic,
adjective pliant, flexible.

1 A lucid sky portended a fine day: shining, bright, clear, transparent, crystalline, brilliant,
resplendent, radiant, lustrous, luminous, scintillating, sparkling, dazzling; pellucid; illuminated.
2 The witness gave a lucid account of what happened: clear, easily understood, crystal clear,
intelligible, understandable, articulate, comprehensible; precise, direct, straightforward, accurate,
specific, well-organized, to the point, apposite, positive, certain.
3 Although usually in a delirium, the patient has some lucid moments: clearheaded, clear thinking,
normal, rational; responsive, perceptive.
2 Since young children are malleable, one must be careful what one says in front of them:
impressionable, easily influenced, moldable, tractable, teachable, manageable, governable,
docile; adaptable, flexible, pliable, compliant.
—Antonyms
1 rigid, stiff, hard, firm; unyielding, inflexible, unbending, inelastic.
2 refractory, intractable, recalcitrant, ungovernable.

—Antonyms
207. maverick
1 dark, darkling, gloomy, dusky, obscure, opaque, turgid, muddy, murky; overcast.
noun
2 unintelligible, incomprehensible, vague, indistinct, unclear, ambiguous, equivocal, garbled,
mystifying. 1 The cowboys rounded up the mavericks for branding: unbranded calf, yearling; unbranded cow;
motherless calf.
3 confused, muddled, irrational; unresponsive, unperceptive.
2 The young senator was regarded as a political maverick: noncomformist, eccentric,
203. luminous independent, individualist, loner, independent thinker, one's own man; dissenter, dissident.

adjective 208. mendacious

The watch has a luminous dial: reflecting light, luminescent, radiant, irradiated, glowing, lustrous, adjective
illuminated, shining; shining in the dark; bright, brilliant.
The mendacious retailer misled us: lying, untrue, false, untruthful, deceitful.
204. magnanimous
—Antonyms
adjective
truthful, honest.
Only a truly magnanimous man could forgive such an insult: forgiving, free of vindictiveness,
generous, largehearted, liberal; charitable, beneficent, philanthropic, altruistic, unselfish, princely. 209. metamorphosis

—Antonyms noun

unforgiving, vindictive, resentful, small, petty, selfish; parsimonious, miserly. 1 There are four stages in the metamorphosis of a mosquito: transformation, change of form,
mutation, transmutation, structural evolution, transfiguration, series of changes, modification,
conversion, transmogrification.
2 This once-confident man underwent a complete metamorphosis after his business failure: Flowers would not mollify her anger: appease, calm, moderate, placate, quell, still, lessen,
change in appearance or behavior, personality change, transformation, alteration, radical change, mitigate, allay, reduce, palliate, conciliate, make less violent, decrease, soften, pacify, soothe,
startling change, permutation. tone down, quiet, lighten, temper, abate, ease, assuage, curb, check, dull, lull, blunt.

210. meticulous —Antonyms

adjective exasperate, exacerbate, agitate, stir, increase.

Our meticulous housekeeper never forgets a thing: fastidious, scrupulous, exact, exacting, 214. morose
minutely careful, solicitous about details, painstaking, precise, nice, finical, finicky, fussy,
particular; punctilious, perfectionist. adjective

—Antonyms I feel very morose after reading that sad story: depressed, low, crestfallen, sad, melancholy,
downcast, moody, glum, dour, Informal blue, down in the dumps; saturnine, mopish, gloomy,
careless, inexact, imprecise, sloppy, negligent. despondent, mournful, solemn; sullen, sulky, cross, surly, testy, waspish, sour, churlish, grumpy,
cranky, ill-tempered, irascible.

—Antonyms

cheerful, blithe, happy, good-natured, pleasant, genial, amiable, friendly.

211. misanthropic

adjective
215. mundane
His unhappy childhood fostered his misanthropic personality: antisocial, unfriendly, unsociable,
distrustful, unneighborly, inhospitable, morose, unpersonable, cynical, surly, discourteous, adjective
unaccommodating, unapproachable, unresponsive, cold, distant.
Artists often have trouble with the mundane affairs of life: ordinary, prosaic, commonplace,
—Antonyms worldly, terrestrial, earthly, down-to-earth, day-to-day, routine, humdrum, everyday, practical,
pedestrian, petty.
personable, amiable, amicable, loving, sociable, cordial; humanitarian; philanthropic, charitable.
—Antonyms
212. mitigate
heavenly, celestial, ethereal, empyrean, unearthly, unworldly, spiritual.
verb

There's no way to mitigate the effect of that unfavorable report: lessen, relieve, moderate, 216. negate
moderate in severity, alleviate, abate in intensity, palliate, soften, assuage, allay, soothe, placate,
weaken, mollify, ameliorate, ease, blunt, reduce, lighten, diminish, temper, extenuate. verb

—Antonyms This year's losses negate last year's profits: nullify, invalidate, void, reverse; quash, squash, quell,
squelch; vanquish, defeat, overthrow, overwhelm, destroy, wipe out, blot out; deny, abrogate,
increase, augment, heighten, enhance, strengthen. revoke, gainsay, retract, disavow; rebut, refute, contradict; disallow, set aside; veto, repeal;
disown, disclaim, repudiate.
213. mollify
—Antonyms
verb
affirm, confirm, attest to, ratify, endorse, corroborate, reinforce, support.

217. neophyte
noun —Antonyms

The neophyte learned the ropes very fast: beginner, tyro, apprentice, trainee, novice, probationer, necessitate, require, make essential, oblige, impel, cause, make unavoidable.
newcomer, recruit, learner; tenderfoot, rookie, greenhorn, student, pupil; convert, proselyte,
entrant, disciple, no-vitiate. 221. occlude

—Antonyms verb

veteran, old hand, expert.
218. obdurate
adjective
1 The child was obdurate in refusing to eat vegetables: stubborn, obstinate, intractable,
unyielding, inflexible, adamant, immovable, willful, headstrong, pigheaded, mulish, bullheaded;
unmanageable, uncontrollable, ungovernable.
2 The tyrant was obdurate in his treatment of prisoners: unmoved, uncaring, unfeeling, harsh,
merciless, unmerciful, unpitying, pitiless, unsympathetic, uncompassionate, unsparing,
untouched; hardened, callous, cruel, cold-blooded, hardhearted.
Waste materials seem to be occluding the drain: obstruct, block, clog, shut off, shut up, choke,
choke off, plug, close, barricade, congest, stopper, stop up, constrict, strangulate.
—Antonyms
clear, unclog, open, ream, unplug.
222. officious
adjective
It's hard to be an office manager without being officious: obtrusive, intrusive, interfering,
meddlesome, meddling, prying, poking one's nose in, offering gratuitous advice or services,
Informal kibitzing; overbearing, domineering, self-important, self-assertive, high-handed, high and
mighty; pompous, patronizing.

—Antonyms —Antonyms

1 obedient, agreeable, compliant, flexible, amenable; manageable, docile, tractable. unobtrusive, in the background.

2 compassionate, sympathetic, caring, feeling, merciful, pitying, relenting, softhearted, kind, 223. onerous
gentle, tender.
adjective
219. obsequious
Holding down two jobs can be an onerous task: oppressive, burdensome, hard to endure,
adjective arduous, not easy to bear, distressing, painful, wearisome, taxing, exhausting, crushing, heavy,
weighty, demanding, grievous.
The boss prefers obsequious underlings: servile, fawning, toadying, sycophantic, subservient,
menial, ingratiating, deferential, slavish, cringing, cowering, mealymouthed, truckling, Slang —Antonyms
bootlicking, kowtowing, apple-polishing.
easy, light, simple, effortless, trivial, trifling.
—Antonyms
224. opprobrious
domineering, overbearing, swaggering, lordly, imperious, proud, haughty, arrogant, impudent,
brash, bold, assertive, forceful, aggressive. adjective

220. obviate 1 The editorial made an opprobrious attack on modern morals: damning, denunciatory,
condemnatory, hypercritical, censorious, faultfinding; abusive, scurrilous, acrimonious, malicious,
verb malevolent, maligning, vilifying, vitriolic, fulminating, reviling.

The suspect's confession obviates the necessity for a trial: avert, avoid, make unnecessary, 2 The officer was reprimanded for his opprobrious conduct: disgraceful, dishonorable, shameful,
circumvent, remove, do away with, preclude, prevent; forestall, divert, parry, sidetrack, ward off, disreputable, objectionable, unbecoming, deplorable, reprehensible, base, outrageous, shocking,
turn aside, stave off, fend off, Informal nip in the bud. scandalous, infamous, nefarious, despicable, corrupt, wicked.
—Antonyms —Antonyms

1 complimentary, flattering, approving, praising, laudatory, uncritical. 1 detractor, defamer, censor, critic, backbiter, knocker; opponent, foe, adversary, rival, contender.

2 honorable, noble, meritorious, upright, ethical, principled, virtuous, moral; becoming, 3 nonpartisan, bipartisan, unbiased, impartial, unprejudiced, disinterested, objective, broad-
praiseworthy, worthy, laudable, noteworthy, estimable. minded, open-minded.
225. oscillate
229. pathological
verb
path•o•log•i•cal (path'* loj"i k*l) also path'o•log"ic, adj.
1 The clock's pendulum caught the sunlight as it oscillated: swing, alternate, librate; pulsate,
vibrate, pulse, move back and forth, seesaw, come and go, ebb and flow. 1. of or pertaining to pathology.

2 He's been oscillating between liberal and conservative all his life: waver, vacillate, hesitate, 2. caused or affected by disease.
fluctuate, vary, hem and haw, shilly-shally, change, equivocate.
3. characterized by an unhealthy compulsion: a pathological liar.
226. ostentatious
[1680–90] path'o•log"i•cal•ly, adv.
adjective

Grandfather warned us not to be ostentatious with our money. The dress is too ostentatious to
wear to a reception: flaunting wealth, fond of display, showing off, pompous, immodest, 230. paucity
grandiose, affected, high-flown; conspicuous, pretentious, flamboyant, flashy, showy, gaudy,
garish, loud, florid, overdone, exaggerated, obtrusive. noun

—Antonyms There was a paucity of information on the reported invasion: scarcity, dearth, lack, shortage,
scarceness, scantiness, deficiency, poverty, sparsity, meagerness, puniness, thinness, poorness,
modest, reserved, conservative, somber, sedate; inconspicuous, simple, plain. insufficiency.

227. paragon —Antonyms

noun surfeit, overflow, excess, surplus, superabundance.

Aunt Sue has always been a paragon of virtue: model, example, exemplar, prototype, archetype,
paradigm, apotheosis, idea, symbol, pattern, standard, norm, criterion, yardstick. 231. pedantic

228. partisan
adjective

noun
When you ask him a question you get a pedantic answer: ostentatiously learned, pompous,
academic, scholastic, didactic, doctrinaire, bookish, stilted, dogmatic, punctilious, hairsplitting,
1 The hometown partisans cheered the local team: supporter, follower, adherent, sympathizer, nitpicking, overly meticulous, fussy, finicky, overparticular.
champion, advocate, ally, backer, upholder, enthusiast, fan, zealot, devotee, rooter, booster.
—Antonyms
2 Even after the country was defeated, partisans fought the invaders in the hills: freedom fighter,
guerrilla, irregular, insurgent; (U.S. Civil War) bushwacker, jayhawker.
succinct, pithy, straightforward; vague; general, comprehensive

adjective 232. penchant

3 The senator vowed not to engage in partisan politics: favoring one political party, predisposed
noun
toward one group, favoring a cause, partial, biased, prejudiced, one-sided, slanted, unbalanced,
subjective.
The fat youth had a penchant for rich desserts: fondness, partiality, liking, strong inclination,
fancy, preference, predilection, proclivity, propensity, leaning, attraction, taste, relish, tendency,
affinity, predisposition, disposition, proneness, prejudice, bias; flair, bent, readiness, turn, knack,
gift.
—Antonyms
hatred, dislike, loathing, aversion, abhorrence, disinclination, repulsion.
That was certainly a perfunctory "hello" he gave us: indifferent, casual, disinterested, offhand,
careless, unconcerned, unthinking, cursory, inattentive, lax, hasty, superficial, routine,
mechanical, halfhearted, lukewarm, apathetic, spiritless, listless, passionless; negligent.
—Antonyms
careful, thorough, thoughtful, diligent, assiduous, attentive, warmhearted, effusive, spirited,
ardent, keen, zealous.

233. penury
237. permeable

per•me•a•ble (pûr"me * b*l), adj. capable of being permeated.

noun

She lived in penury during her last years: poverty, impoverishment, want, indi-gence, need, [1400–50; late ME < LL permeabilis = permea(re) to PERMEATE + -bilis -BLE]
privation, destitution, straitened circumstances, dire necessity; financial ruin, insolvency,
bankruptcy. per"me•a•ble•ness, n.

—Antonyms per"me•a•bly, adv.

wealth, prosperity, opulence, luxury, elegance, abundance, affluence.

234. perennial
238. pervasive
adjective
adjective
He sat there with that perennial grin on his face: perpetual, everlasting, permanent, constant,
incessant, unceasing, ceaseless, continual, continuous, unremitting, persistent; fixed, Ill feeling was pervasive at the plant: pervading, prevalent, permeating, widespread, common,
changeless, unchanging, immutable, durable, imperishable, indestructible, lasting, enduring, long- extensive, general, omnipresent, ubiquitous, universal, inescapable.
lasting, undying, timeless, unfailing, long-lived.
239. phlegmatic
—Antonyms
adjective
temporary, occasional, sporadic, intermittent, periodic, evanescent; perishable, transient, fleeting,
ephemeral, temporal. Admiral Togo was always phlegmatic in the face of danger: indifferent, apathetic, nonchalant,
unemotional, unimpassioned, undemonstrative, unresponsive, imperturbable, unconcerned,
unexcitable, cool, calm, serene, tranquil, impassive, stoical; spiritless, listless, languid, lethargic,
235. perfidious sluggish, dull, passive, unfeeling, insensitive.

—Antonyms
adjective

Benedict Arnold's perfidious act made him his country's first traitor: treacherous, traitorous, emotional, passionate, excited; active, demonstrative, alert, lively, animated, energetic,
treasonous, deceitful, false, disloyal, unfaithful, faithless, treasonable, dishonorable, interested.
untrustworthy, unscrupulous; dishonest, corrupt, untruthful, undependable, lying, cheating;
240. piety
Informal sneaky, double-dealing, shifty, two-faced.

236. perfunctory noun

adjective The old woman expressed her piety by attending church daily: piousness, religiousness,
devoutness, devotion, godliness; reverence, respect, loyalty, dutifulness, humility; religiosity.
—Antonyms rise, ascend, shoot upward, soar.

impiety, sacrilege, ungodliness, blasphemy, irreverence; disrespect, disloyalty, infidelity. 246. porous

241. placate adjective

verb Sponges are porous: absorbent, permeable, penetrable, pervious; honeycombed. sievelike,
cellular, riddled, lacy; spongy.
No one can placate him when he's angry: calm, soothe, pacify, quiet, lull, mollify, assuage,
alleviate; appease, propitiate, win over, conciliate. 247. pragmatic

242.Plasticity. adjective

plas•tic•i•ty (pla stis"i te), n. The problem requires a pragmatic solution, not theories: down-to-earth, matter-of-fact, practical,
utilitarian, hardheaded, sober, businesslike, hard-boiled, sensible, realistic, unidealistic, hard-
1. the quality or state of being plastic. nosed, materialistic, unsentimental.

2. the capability of being molded: the plasticity of clay. —Antonyms

[1775–85] idealistic, theoretical; romantic, dreamy, sentimental.

248. preamble
243. platitude
pre•am•ble (pre"am'b*l, pre am"-), n.
noun
1. an introductory statement; preface.
The speech was dull and full of platitudes: trite remark, stereotyped expression, cliché, banality,
commonplace, truism, hackneyed saying, old saw, saw, threadbare phrase, Slang chestnut, 2. the introductory part of a statute, deed, constitution, or other document, stating the intent of
bromide, old familiar tune, same old thing. what follows.

244. plethora 3. a preliminary or introductory fact or circumstance.

noun [1350–1400; ME < ML praeambulum, n. use of neut. of LL praeambulus walking before. See
PRE-, AMBLE]
The potluck supper had a plethora of desserts but no meat dishes: excess, surplus, superfluity,
surplusage, surfeit, overabundance, superabundance, glut, overage, redundancy. pre"am'bled, adj.

—Antonyms 249. precarious

shortage, lack, scarcity, deficiency. adjective

245. plummet 1 The situation was precarious politically: vulnerable, uncertain, problematical, ticklish,
uncontrolled, critical, insecure, touch-and-go, not to be depended upon, unreliable,
verb undependable, doubtful, dubious, questionable.

The hawk plummeted toward the earth: plunge, fall, fall headlong, drop straight down, dive, 2 Free-lance work can be a precarious occupation: hazardous, risky, perilous, unsafe, chancy,
tumble, descend abruptly, nosedive. unsteady, unstable, shaky; alarming, sinister.

—Antonyms —Antonyms
1 certain, sure, secure, dependable, reliable, unquestionable.
254. pristine
2 safe, steady, stable.
adjective
250. precipitate
It was a pristine part of the woods that few hikers had ever seen: undefiled, unsullied, untouched,
verb unspoiled, untarnished, virginal; uncontaminated, unpolluted, pure, unmarred.

1 The war precipitated his induction into the army: hasten, bring on, quicken, expedite, speed up, —Antonyms
accelerate, advance, spur.
sullied, defiled, contaminated, polluted, spoiled, tarnished.
2 The explosion precipitated tons of snow from the mountain: throw, hurl, thrust, cast, fling,
propel, drive, launch, catapult, discharge, let fly. 255. probity

adjective noun

3 She had to make precipitate choices as the test was only 5 minutes: hurried, hasty, abrupt, Above all, the Presidency needs a man of probity for the Cabinet post: integrity, uprightness,
rushed, proceeding rapidly, speedy; headlong, reckless, rash, incautious, foolhardy, imprudent, honesty, virtue, high-mindedness, morality, character, principle, honor, trustworthiness,
thoughtless, impetuous, impulsive. incorruptibility, straightness, decency, goodness, righteousness.

—Antonyms dishonesty, duplicity, unscrupulous, corruption.

251. precursor
256. problematic
noun
adjective
The polite letters were only precursors to blackmail: vanguard, advance guard, forerunner;
harbinger, messenger; usher, herald; predecessor, antecedent; sign, token, mark, omen, portent, The composition of Saturn's rings is problematic: uncertain, doubtful, questionable, dubious,
warning; symptom. unsettled, undetermined, enigmatic, unknown; perplexing, paradoxical, puzzling; difficult,
troublesome, worrisome.

252. presumptuous —Antonyms

adjective certain, settled, known, undisputed, unquestionable.

1 It was presumptuous of the young senator to challenge the leadership so soon: bold, 257. prodigal
audacious, daring, overconfident, overfamiliar, forward, nervy, shameless, brash, brazen, brassy,
fresh, cocky. adjective

2 Her presumptuous airs made her disliked by many: haughty, proud, snobbish, assuming,
overbearing, lofty, patronizing, pompous, lordly, imperious; disdainful, contemptuous,
domineering, dictatorial, arrogant.
253. prevaricate
verb
She may have prevaricated a bit about her illustrious forebears: lie, fib, stretch the truth,
dissemble, perjure, deceive, palter, be untruthful, tell a story, tell a tall story, be evasive; falsify,
misstate, fake, hoodwink, counterfeit, misrepresent, mislead, distort.
1 He had nothing left of his inheritance because of his prodigal ways: wasteful, spendthrift,
unthrifty, thriftless, overliberal, profligate, extravagant, exorbitant, lavish, excessive, gluttonous;
improvident, dissipating, inordinate, intemperate, immoderate, reckless, impetuous, precipitate,
wanton.
2 The prodigal amount of eggs laid by the fish insure the survival of the species: bountiful,
profuse, abounding, abundant, plentiful, bounteous, ample; lush, luxuriant, lavish, exuberant,
generous; numerous, countless, numberless, innumerable, multitudinous; teeming, swarming,
myriad, replete, copious.
noun
3 The prodigal went through money as if it were water: spendthrift, squanderer, spender, wastrel,
profligate. 261. propensity

—Antonyms noun

1 thrifty, frugal, economical, cautious, miserly, stingy; provident, temperate, moderate. Children have a propensity for candy: inclination, leaning, proclivity, predilection, liking, partiality,
weakness, preference, penchant; attraction, liking, affinity, sympathy, favor, pleasure, taste,
2 scarce, scanty, deficient, scant, meager, sparse, few, limited. fancy; turn, bent, tendency, predisposition, bias, prejudice, disposition.

258. profound —Antonyms

adjective disinclination, aversion, loathing, dislike, hatred, antipathy, displeasure.

1 That was a very profound statement: deep, thoughtful, wise, sagacious, sage, penetrating, 262. propitiate
piercing, learned, erudite, intellectual, scholarly, educated; knowledgeable, comprehensive,
recondite, omniscient, all-knowing; philosophical, reflective, thoughtful, well-considered, sober, verb
serious, sober-minded; informed, well-informed, knowing, enlightened.
Offerings were made to propitiate the gods: appease, placate, pacify, calm, assuage, mollify,
2 His death had a profound effect on her: deep, severe, abject, extreme; thorough, conciliate, accommodate, soothe, allay.
thoroughgoing, far-reaching, radical, utter, out-and-out, complete, consummate; penetrating,
piercing, pronounced, decided, positive. —Antonyms

3 Please accept my profound apologies: deeply felt, heartfelt, keenly felt, sincere, heart-stirring, anger, madden, infuriate, roil, pique, provoke.
strongly felt, deep-seated, soul-stirring, moving; hearty, intense, keen, acute, abject.

—Antonyms
263. propriety
1 shallow, superficial, unwise, stupid, unlearned, uneducated, unknowledgeable, thoughtless,
inconsiderate; uninformed, unenlightened; imprudent. noun

2 slight, superficial, shallow, surface, external. Always conduct yourself with propriety: correctness; courtesy, decorum, good behavior,
decorousness, dignity, good manners, etiquette, formality, gentlemanly or ladylike behavior,
3 insincere, shallow, hollow. respectability; savoir faire, appropriateness, becomingness, applicability, fitness, suitableness,
seemliness, aptness, rightness.

259. prohibitive also prohibitory —Antonyms

adjective impropriety, incorrectness, discourtesy, misbehavior, misconduct, bad manners, faux pas,
inappropriateness, unsuitability, unseemliness, inaptness, wrongness.
Prohibitive laws discouraged the drug trade. The project was abandoned because of prohibitive
costs: inhibitive, restrictive, circumscriptive, enjoining, restraining, forbidding; suppressive, 264. proscribe
repressive; preventive, injunctive; hindering, obstructive, disallowing, disqualifying, inadmissible,
unacceptable. verb

260. proliferate During the Renaissance the church proscribed scientific works like those of Galileo: denounce,
condemn, censure, disapprove, repudiate; curse, damn, anathematize; outlaw, prohibit, forbid,
verb interdict, ban, excommunicate; banish, exile; boycott.

Rabbits proliferated after they were introduced into Australia: multiply, increase, reproduce —Antonyms
rapidly, breed quickly, overproduce, procreate, regenerate, propagate, pullulate, teem, swarm;
hatch, breed, spawn.
allow, permit, encourage, aid.
265. pungent
adjective
1 The ribs were served with a hot, pungent sauce: sharp-tasting, highly flavored, savory, spicy,
flavorful, piquant, flavorsome, palatable, tasty, highly seasoned, salty, peppery, hot; nippy, tangy,
strong, stimulating, sharp; sharp-smelling, acrid, sour, acid, tart, astringent, vinegary, caustic,
bitter, acetous, biting, stinging, smarting, penetrating.
2 His pungent ridicule made him quite a few enemies: sharp, piercing, pointed, acute, trenchant,
keen, poignant; stinging, biting, mordent, caustic, invidious, cutting, incisive, penetrating,
sarcastic, smart, wounding, tart, acrimonious, bitter; stimulating, stirring, provocative, tantalizing,
racy, spicy, scintillating; sparkling, brilliant, clever, snappy, keen-witted, witty.
2 A quibble over exact wording delayed passage of the bill: trivial objection, cavil, petty
distinction, nicety; evasion, equivocation, dodge, shift, shuffle, distraction, delaying tactic;
subtlety, subterfuge; white lie, prevarication, pretense, artifice, duplicity.
268. quiescent
qui•es•cent (kwe es"*nt, kwi-), adj. being at rest; quiet; still; inactive or motionless: a quiescent
mind.
[1600–10; < L quiescent-, s. of quiescens, prp. of quiescere to rest; see -ENT]
qui•es"cent•ly, adv.
qui•es"cence, qui•es"cen•cy, n.

—Antonyms 269. rarefied

1 bland, mild; unsavory, unpalatable, flavorless, tasteless; weak, unstimulating. adjective

2 dull, mild, moderate, inane, vapid; pointless. The collectors had rarefied tastes: refined, esoteric, special, secret, recondite, inside, privileged.

270. recalcitrant

266. qualified adjective

adjective
1 Take that dog to a qualified veterinarian: experienced, trained, competent, practiced, versed,
knowing; eligible, fit, fitted, equipped, suited, meet, equal; capable, adept, able, talented, skilled,
skillful, accomplished, expert; certified, licensed, authorized; efficacious, proficient, efficient.
The recalcitrant youth needed more understanding teachers: stubborn, obstinate, unwilling,
unsubmissive, headstrong, refractory, mulish, pigheaded, bullheaded, willful, contrary, balky,
unruly, disobedient, intractable.
—Antonyms

2 He gave a qualified answer when I asked for definite assurances: limited, indefinite, conditional, obedient, compliant, amenable, submissive, yielding; controllable, manageable, governable.
provisional, reserved, guarded; restricted, limited, hedging, equivocal, ambiguous.
271. recant
—Antonyms
verb
1 inexperienced, untrained, unpracticed.
Under cross-examination she recanted her previous testimony: retract, take back, deny, abjure,
267. quibble withdraw, unsay, repudiate, disavow, renege, recall, revoke, renounce, rescind, disclaim, disown,
forswear, repeal, eat one's words, apostatize, change one's mind.
verb
—Antonyms
1 The children quibbled over who got the bigger piece of cake: argue, bicker, squabble, hassle;
raise trivial objections, carp, nag, cavil, nitpick, haggle, niggle; pick a fight, spar, fence; be reaffirm, confirm, repeat, validate.
evasive, dodge the issue, equivocate, waffle, fudge.
272. recluse
noun
noun verb

The recluse emerged from his hideaway: hermit, solitary, ascetic. 1 He was severely reproached for his rude behavior: find fault with, chide, admonish, reprimand,
rebuke, reprove; criticize, censure, condemn, stigmatize, malign, vilify, revile, blame; scold,
upbraid, rail at, castigate, charge, tongue-lash, call to account, take to task; disparage, denounce,
273. recondite asperse; shame, disgrace.

adjective noun

She submitted a recondite thesis for her Ph.D.: profound, deep, abstruse. 2 Her behavior was above reproach. The workers feared their supervisor's reproaches: blame,
rebuke, reproof; upbraiding, scolding, remonstrance, criticism, censure, hard words, tirade,
—Antonyms diatribe.

3 The youth's bad behavior is a constant reproach to his parents: cause of blame, badge of
clear, obvious, patent.
infamy, stigma, taint, blemish, stain, blot, spot, tarnish, slur; indignity, insult, offense; shame,
274. refractory humiliation, degradation, embarrassment, scandal, disgrace, dishonor, discredit.

—Antonyms
adjective

1 praise, commend, applaud, compliment.

The refractory horse stopped dead in its tracks: stubborn, unmanageable, obstinate, perverse,
mulish, headstrong, pigheaded, contumacious, intractable, disobedient, recalcitrant,
cantankerous, ungovernable, unruly. 2 commendation, compliment, praise, applause, honor.

—Antonyms 3 honor, credit.

obedient, tractable.

275. refute
278. reprobate
verb
noun
The accused was given no opportunity to refute the accusations: disprove, confute, give the lie to,
invalidate, counter, rebut, answer, challenge, contradict, deny. 1 The old reprobate never reformed: wicked person, degenerate, profligate, roué, prodigal, rake,
rakehell, immoralist, vo-luptuary, wanton, abandoned person; rascal, scamp, black sheep,
—Antonyms rapscallion, rotter; miscreant, sinner, transgressor, evildoer, wrongdoer, outcast, castaway,
pariah, derelict, untouchable.
prove, vindicate, support, confirm, corroborate, substantiate.
adjective
276. relegate
2 He was a reprobate person with no redeeming qualities: corrupt, incorrigible, depraved,
verb profligate, degenerate, dissolute, abandoned, shameless; wicked, evil, evil-minded, low, base,
bad, vile.
1 They relegated the task to her: entrust, hand over, turn over, charge, commit, consign,
delegate, pass on, refer, assign. —Antonyms

2 They relegated him to the second division: demote, banish, eject, displace, expel, ostracize. 1 angel, paragon, saint.

2 pure, virtuous, righteous, saintly, angelic.

277. reproach
279. repudiate
verb
1 The new government repudiated the treaty signed by the former rulers: reject, disavow, deny,
disclaim, protest; rescind, reverse, revoke, repeal, retract, void, nullify, annul, declare null and
void, abrogate, cancel, abolish, dissolve.
T.E. Lawrence became an increasingly reticent man: taciturn, quiet, uncommu-nicative, silent,
sparing of words, close-mouthed, tight-lipped; reserved, retiring, shy, withdrawn, diffident, self-
contained, restrained, subdued, closed.
—Antonyms

2 The man repudiated the religion he was born into and became an atheist: disown, disavow, voluble, talkative, communicative, unreserved, expansive, inclined to speak freely, candid, frank,
reject, cast off, discard, wash one's hands of, abandon, desert, forsake, renounce. open, plain.

—Antonyms 283. reverence

1 accept, approve; adopt, espouse. noun

2 acknowledge, accept, embrace, welcome.
280. rescind
verb
The judge rescinded the court's previous decision: revoke, reverse, retract, repeal, recall, take
back, invalidate, countermand, overrule, counterorder, override, set aside, discard, get rid of,
sweep aside; void, annul, abrogate, abolish, declare null and void, nullify, cancel, quash, dissolve.
Aeneas' reverence toward his father was one of our Latin teacher's favorite themes: deep
respect, esteem, regard, honor, homage, deference, veneration, admiration, adoration, devotion,
worship; awe, fear; devoutness, piety, gesture indicative of deep respect, observance;
genuflection, prostration, religiosity.
—Antonyms
irreverence, disrespect, disregard, scorn, contempt, dishonor; hatred.

—Antonyms 284.sage

uphold, support; validate. noun

1 The king brought difficult problems to a sage: wise man, magus, pundit, mage, philosopher,
savant, scholar, guru, mandarin, solon, Slang egghead.
281. resolution

noun
adjective
1 The resolution passed by two votes: motion, formal proposition, proposal.
2 He was sage in his judgment: wise, sapient, shrewd, prudent; sensible, sound, sagacious,
2 Have you made a New Year's resolution?: resolve, promise, intent, intention, purpose, plan, knowing, astute, intelligent.
design, ambition; objective, object, aim, goal.
—Antonyms
3 He lacked the resolution to get through medical school: resoluteness, firmness of purpose, fixed
purpose, persistence, determination, tenacity, resolve, will power, perseverance, resilience, 1 fool, idiot.
steadfastness, stability, steadiness, constancy; zeal, earnestness, energy, indefatigability, mettle,
spirit, aggressiveness, follow-through. 2 stupid, foolish, senseless.

4 He was faced with the resolution of a difficult matter: solution, resolving, clearing up, working- 285. salubrious
out.
adjective

282. reticent Regular exercise is salubrious: healthful, healthy, health-promoting, therapeutic, good for one,
salutary, bracing, beneficial, wholesome, lifegiving, invigorating.
adjective
—Antonyms
unhealthful, unhealthy, harmful, unwholesome, insalubrious, deleterious. 1 drain, dry.

286. sanction 289. savor

noun noun

1 We received sanction to proceed with our plans: approval, commendation, endorsement,
assent, consent, permission, authorization; leave, liberty, license, authority; ratification,
confirmation, support.
2 The international community imposed sanctions on Rhodesia for its illegal political actions:
penalty, pressure, punitive measure, coercion.
1 This cake has the savor of nutmeg: taste, flavor, tang, spice, piquancy, pungency; smell,
aroma, odor, scent, fragrance; smack, relish, zest.
2 His words had the savor of vengeance: character, nature, particular quality, characteristic,
property, particularity, distinctive feature, peculiarity, trait, aura, quality; substance, essence, gist,
spirit, soul.

verb verb

3 Our plan wasn't sanctioned by the board of directors: approve, endorse, authorize, legitimate, 3 Her sauce savored of garlic. This plan savors of treason: taste, smell, smack, have a touch,
allow, permit, countenance, accept, agree to, favor, ratify, support. show traces, have the earmarks, be suggestive.

—Antonyms 4 He savored the cookies with cinnamon: spice, season, flavor.

1 disapproval, forbiddance, refusal, ban, prohibition. 5 We ate the stew slowly, savoring it: enjoy, relish, like; take pleasure in, delight in, luxuriate in,
rejoice in, appreciate.
2 incentive, encouragement.
6 He had savored power during his first term in office: experience, taste, sample, try.
3 disapprove, reject, ban, prohibit.

290. secrete

verb

The escaped convicts secreted themselves in a cave: hide, conceal, cache, Informal stash; cloak,
287. satiate curtain, screen, veil, disguise; keep secret, keep under wraps, cover, shroud.

verb —Antonyms

It was a banquet that more than satiated our need for food: satisfy, fill, gratify, suffice, content; reveal, show, display, exhibit.
slake, quench; glut, stuff, sate, surfeit, overfill, overdo, cloy, saturate; sicken, disgust, nauseate;
jade, bore, weary. 291. shard (shärd) also sherd, n.

288. saturate 1. a fragment, esp. of broken earthenware.

verb 2. Zool.

1 Heavy rain saturated the playing field: soak thoroughly, drench, souse, douse; immerse, a. a scale.
submerge.
b. a shell, as of an egg or snail.
2 Dust saturated the attic: fill, infiltrate, cover, permeate, infuse, suffuse, pervade, impregnate,
imbue. c. the hardened forewing of a beetle; elytron.

—Antonyms 292. skeptic or sceptic

noun
He's too much of a skeptic to take anything simply on faith: doubter, doubting Thomas, valid, conclusive, undeniable, inescapable.
questioner, scoffer; agnostic, unbeliever, atheist.

293. solicitous 296. spec•trum (spek"tr*m), n., pl. -tra (-tr*), -trums.

adjective 1. a. an array of entities, as light waves or particles, ordered in accordance with the magnitudes
of a common physical property, as wavelength or mass.
1 He was very solicitous about her office problems: concerned, thoughtful, mindful, regardful,
anxious, attentive. b. the band or series of colors, together with invisible extensions, produced by dispersion of
radiant energy, as by a prism.
2 The politicians do not seem overly solicitous to proceed in this investigation: eager, zealous,
desirous, longing, ardent, intense, keen, avid, enthusiastic, intent. 2. a broad range of varied but related ideas, objects, etc., that form a continuous series or
sequence: the spectrum of political beliefs.
—Antonyms
297. sporadic
1 unconcerned, undisturbed.
adjective
2 uninterested, unambitious, unenthusiastic.
We've had only sporadic snow flurries this month: irregular, spotty, scattered, sparse, spasmodic,
294. soporific fitful, widely spaced, now and then, occasional, infrequent, periodic, fragmentary, intermittent,
discontinuous, few and far between, meager, few, thin, scarce, rare, isolated, uncommon;
haphazard, random.
adjective
—Antonyms
1 His soporific voice almost put us to sleep: hypnotic, somniferous, sleep-inducing, balmy,
sluggish, heavy.
continuous, regular, steady, constant.
2 This warm weather makes me soporific: sleepy, sluggish, drowsy, somnolent, slumberous; 298. stigma
lethargic, lazy.
noun
noun
There was no stigma attached to losing the election: disgrace, shame, odium, dishonor; blot,
3 Wine is a soporific for me: sedative, hypnotic; sleep-inducer. blemish, brand, flaw, mark of shame, smirch, smudge, besmirchment, taint, tarnish.

—Antonyms —Antonyms

1,2 lively, animated. glory, honor, distinction, credit, approval.

3 stimulant. 299. stint

295. specious verb

adjective
He reached the wrong conclusion by specious reasoning: deceptive, misleading, fallacious,
questionable, casuistic, dubious, false, invalid, faulty, sophistical, unsubstantiated, unsound,
unfounded, incorrect, inaccurate, slippery, tricky, untrue, spurious, illogical.
1 I'll have to stint my charity gifts this year: restrict, set limits to, give in small amounts, limit, cut
down on, reduce, be sparing with, restrain, constrain, circumscribe, check, curb.
2 One thing Mother never stints on is food: be sparing, hold back, scrimp, be frugal, save, deny
oneself, economize, pinch pennies, withhold, be parsimonious.

—Antonyms noun

3 She was assigned the most difficult stint. The band did a stint in Las Vegas: job, chore, task,
duty, work period, term, assignment, part, turn, shift, quota; engagement.
 cringe, cower, slink, sneak.
300. stipulate
304. subpoena
verb
sub•poe•na or sub•pe•na (s* pe"n*, s*b-), n., pl. -nas, v., -naed, -na•ing. Law.
Our contract with the decorator stipulates the maximum amount he can charge us: specify, set
forth, insist upon, state, designate, indicate, name, cite, make a point of, make provision; promise,
pledge, guarantee, insure, grant, provide, allow, assure, agree, warrant. n.

301. stolid 1. a writ to summon witnesses or evidence before a court.

adjective v.t.

He's too stolid to show excitement about anything: impassive, unemotional, apathetic, sluggish, 2. to serve with a subpoena
lethargic, phlegmatic, dull, obtuse, lumpish, bovine, dense; insensitive.
305.subside
—Antonyms
verb
excitable, emotional, passionate, energetic, lively, active, animated, acute.
1 As the land subsides, the sea advances: settle, sink; drop, cave in, sag, descend.

302. strait (strat), n. 2 My nervousness subsided when the plane landed. The crowds subsided: diminish, lessen,
abate, decrease, wane, moderate, level off, ebb, calm, recede, melt away, let up, ease, shrink,
1. Often, straits. (used with a sing. v.) a narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of dwindle.
water.
—Antonyms
2. Often, straits. a position of difficulty, distress, or need.
1,2 rise; increase, swell.
3. Archaic. a narrow passage or area.
2 grow, heighten, intensify.
4. ISTHMUS.
306.substantiate
adj. Archaic.
verb
5. narrow.
You haven't substantiated your argument at all: verify, corroborate, prove, demonstrate, show to
6. confined in area. be true, confirm, authenticate, sustain, support.

7. strict, as in requirements or principles. —Antonyms

303.strut disprove, refute, discredit, undermine, tear to shreds, explode

verb 307.supersede

He strutted into the restaurant as though he owned it: swagger, walk pompously, parade, sail, verb
sashay, peacock, promenade.
This new drug will supersede all others in the treatment of the disease: supplant, replace, take
—Antonyms the place of, substitute for, displace, succeed; discard, set aside.

308.supposition

noun
That was only supposition. He acted on the supposition that the public would applaud his feat: scolding, dressing-down, screed, fulmination; denunciation, condemnation, castigation,
presumption, assumption, conjecture, opinion, predication, surmise, guess, guesswork, suspicion, vilification, invective, vituperation, curse.
belief, theory, thesis, notion, view, speculation, hypothesis, proposition, postulate, idea, given.
—Antonyms
—Antonyms
good word, short eulogy, panegyric, complimentary speech, praising speech, laudation,
certainty, surety, fact, knowledge commendation, homage, paean.

310.tacit 314.torpidity

adjective Her torpor may be due to illness: sluggishness, slow movement, inertia, lethargy, laziness,
languidness, listlessness, lassitude, indolence, languor, apathy, passiveness, dullness;
sleepiness, drowsiness, somnolence; inactivity, inertia.
The neighbors had a tacit agreement not to park in front of each other's houses:
unexpressed, understood, assumed, implied, inferred, implicit, wordless, undeclared, —Antonyms
unspoken, unstated, taken for granted.
energy, vigor, vim, pep, animation, liveliness, alertness; wide-awakeness
311. tangential
315.torturous
tan•gen•tial (tan jen"sh*l), adj.
adjective
1. pertaining to or of the nature of a tangent; being or moving in the direction of a tangent.
He had a torturous toothache. The losing candidate spent a torturous night listening to the
2. incidental; peripheral. election returns: torturing, painful, agonizing, racking, cruel, anguishing, tormenting, distressing,
distressful, excruciating, miserable, harrowing, anguished, tormented, distressed, annoying,
3. divergent or digressive: tangential remarks. irksome, unpleasant, galling, disagreeable.

[1620–30] —Antonyms

tan•gen'ti•al"i•ty (-she al"i te), n. painless, pleasant, pleasing, delightful, enjoyable, agreeable, welcome, comforting; gratifying;
contented, cheerful, joyous, happy.
tan•gen"tial•ly, adv.

312.tenuous

adjective

Some legislators made a rather tenuous argument against the bill: weak, flimsy, shaky,
unsubstantial, unsupported, slight, slim, thin, slender, frail, fragile, delicate, gossamer, shallow, 316.tractable
paltry, unconvincing, halfhearted, uncertain, indefinite.
adjective
—Antonyms
A dude ranch needs tractable horses for its guests: amenable, easy to manage, manageable,
strong, solid, valid, substantial easy to control, controllable, governable, obedient, trainable, teachable, docile, tame, submissive,
compliant, yielding.
313.tirade
—Antonyms
noun
intractable, unmanageable, uncontrollable, ungovernable, disobedient, wild, unruly, refractory,
The principal delivered a tirade to the disobedient students. The political candidate let loose a headstrong, willful, stubborn, obstinate.
tirade against his opponent: long angry speech, harangue, diatribe, jeremiad, lecture, reprimand,
317. transgression
noun The veracious reporter was a stickler for detail: honest, truthful, accurate, dependable, faithful,
genuine, reliable, trustworthy, straightforward.
The sinner prayed that his transgressions would be forgiven. Eavesdropping is a transgression on
another's privacy: offense, sin, misdeed, evil deed, trespass, lapse, iniquity, wrongdoing, wrong, 322. verbose
immorality, error; infraction, infringement, breach, encroachment, contravention, overstepping;
violation, infraction, crime, lawbreaking. adjective

—Antonyms The senator is so verbose it takes him an hour to tell a simple joke: wordy, longwinded, voluble,
circumlocutory, effusive, grandiloquent, prolix, talkative, garrulous, gabby, loquacious.
virtue, morality, probity, righteousness, grace, good deed, merit; observance, compliance,
adherence. —Antonyms

318. truculent terse, concise, succinct, pithy; reticent, curt, brusque.

adjective
323. viable
His truculent nature gets him into a lot of scrapes: belligerent, bellicose, aggressive, pugnacious,
hostile, defiant, fierce, nasty, ill-tempered, bad-tempered, ill-humored, ill-natured, snarling; surly, adjective
cross, touchy, peev-ish, snappish, petulant, sour, ungracious, churl-ish, sulky, insolent, rude.
1 The fetus is considered viable at six months. No crops are viable in this barren soil: capable of
—Antonyms independent life, able to live, able to develop, able to thrive, capable of growing.

peaceful, gentle, kind, diffident, accommodating, friendly, gracious, amiable, affable. 2 If the plan doesn't succeed do you have a viable alternative?: workable, practical, practicable,
feasible, usable, applicable, adaptable.
319. vacillate
—Antonyms
verb
1,2 nonviable.
1 He seemed certain about it yesterday, but today he's vacillating: waver, be irresolute, hesitate,
be unsettled, be doubtful, be changeable, fluctuate, falter, not know one's own mind, shilly-shally, 2 unviable, impractical, useless, unworkable, unusable.
hem and haw, blow hot and cold.
324. viscous
2 The earthquake caused the entire house to vacillate: sway, move to and fro, rock, roll, toss,
pitch, shift, waver, totter, teeter, reel, oscillate, wobble, flutter, vibrate. adjective Molasses is a liquid, but an extremely viscous one: thick, viscid, sticky, gluey, syrupy,
tacky, slimy, gummy, glutinous, Informal gooey.
—Antonyms 1 be determined, be resolute, be steadfast, be certain, be settled.

325. vituperation
320. venerate
noun
verb
Her simple mistake hardly merited so much vituperation: abuse, faultfinding, invective, scolding,
As a child he venerated his grandparents: revere, esteem, respect, honor, admire, idolize, adore, denunciation, censure, blame, tongue-lashing, revilement, obloquy, scurrility, castigation, tirade,
cherish, extol, glorify, look up to, treat with deference, pay homage to, reverence, worship, hallow. calumniation.

—Antonyms —Antonyms

scorn, disdain, contemn, despise, detest, hate, execrate, dishonor; disregard, slight, spurn. praise, acclaim, adulation, flattery.

321. veracious 326. volatile

adjective adjective
1 Volatile liquids must be kept in very tightly closed containers: evaporating quickly, evaporable, verb
vaporizing, vaporous; gaseous.
1 The huge waves weltered throughout the night. The dog weltered happily in the muddy puddle:
2 The situation in the Middle East is volatile: explosive, eruptive; unstable, unsettled. roll, toss, heave, writhe; wallow, grovel, tumble about.

3 Richard is too volatile to stick with one job very long: changeable, erratic, unstable, variable, noun
unsteady, irresolute, fitful, spasmodic, unpredictable, undependable, inconstant, capricious,
mercurial, temperamental, moody, fickle, flighty, giddy, frivolous; brash, reckless, wild, rash. 2 Sort this welter of dirty clothes for the laundry: jumble, mass, heap, mess, pile, hodgepodge.

—Antonyms 3 It's hard to hear above the welter of street noises: confusion, tumult, commotion, turmoil,
hubbub, racket, bustle; turbulence, storm, tempest.
1,2,3 stable.
330. whimsical
2 calm, peaceful.
adjective
3 constant, consistent, steady, even-tempered, dependable, resolute, determined, coolheaded,
self-controlled, serious, sober. 1 Jerry is much too whimsical to be a businessman: fanciful, capricious, notional, eccentric,
quixotic; fickle, fitful, inconsist-ent, erratic, changeable, chimerical.
327. warrant
2 Her essay on the care and feeding of husbands is pleasantly whimsical: droll, amusing,
noun waggish, fanciful, quaint.

1 The police have a search warrant. There is a warrant out for the suspect's arrest: authorization, —Antonyms
permission, permit; license.
1 staid, serious, sedate, sober, practical, down-to-earth, pragmatic, matter-of-fact; steady,
verb consistent.

2 Such actions warrant a severe reprimand: justify, provide grounds for, give sufficient reason for;
permit, authorize, license. 331. zealot

3 The manufacturer warrants that all parts are new: guarantee, certify, vouch for, pledge, swear, noun
attest, affirm, promise, vow, avow, assure, assert, declare, asseverate, aver.
1 It takes a real zealot to be a top-notch car salesman: believer, enthusiast, partisan, champion,
devotee, fan, buff; go-getter, pusher, hustler, live wire, eager beaver.

2 Religious zealots wanted the entire population to wear sackcloth and ashes: fanatic, true
believer, obsessed person, bigot, extremist, crank, crackpot, nut.
328. wary

adjective

It does no harm to be wary of new acquaintances: cautious, careful, guarded, suspicious, chary,
heedful, mindful, watchful, vigilant, on one's guard, alert, wakeful, wide-awake; discreet,
circumspect, close-mouthed, prudent.

—Antonyms

unwary, unsuspecting, unguarded, rash, reckless, foolhardy, careless, heedless, incautious;

negligent, remiss.

329. welter