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Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop Level F Unit 5

Terms in this set (20)

amnesty
(n.) a general pardon for an offense against a government; in general, any act of forgiveness or absolution

"Many political prisoners were freed under the amnesty granted by the new regime."
autonomy
(n.) self-government, political control
Syn: home rule
Ant: dependence, subjection, colonial status

"Even after the thirteen colonies gained autonomy from England, many Americans clung to English traditions."
axiomatic
(adj.) self-evident, expressing a universally accepted principle or rule
Syn: taken for granted
Ant: questionable, dubious, controversial

"One should not accept the idea that the camera never lies as an axiomatic truth."
blazon
(v.) to adorn or embellish; to display conspicuously; to publish or proclaim widely
Syn: broadcast, trumpet
Ant: hide, conceal, cover up, bury

"They will blazon the results of the election across the internet and every television set in the land."
caveat
(n.) a warning or caution to prevent misunderstanding or discourage behavior
Syn: admonition, word to the wise

"The well known Latin phrase 'caveat emptor' means 'Let the buyer beware.'"
equitable
(adj.) fair, just, embodying principles of justice
Syn: right, reasonable, evenhanded
Ant: unjust, unfair, one-sided, disproportionate

"He did more work, so a sixty-forty split of the profits seemed an equitable arrangement."
extricate
(v.) to free from entanglements or difficulties; to remove with effort
Syn: disentangle, extract, disengage
Ant: enmesh, entangle, involve

"The ring must have slid off my finger as I was trying to extricate the fish from the net."
filch
(v.) to steal, especially in a sneaky way and in petty amounts
Syn:pilfer, purloin, swipe

"If you filch pennies from the cash drawer, you are unlikely, after a while, to be satisfied with only pennies."
flout
(v.) to mock, treat with contempt
Syn: scoff at, sneer at, snicker at, scorn
Ant: obey, honor, revere, uphold

"She chose to ignore my advice, not because she wanted to flout my beliefs, but because she had strong opinions of her own."
fractious
(adj.) tending to be troublesome; unruly, quarrelsome, contrary; unpredictable
Syn: refractory, recalcitrant, peevish
Ant: docile, tractable, cooperative

"It seems as if even the smoothest-running organizations contain one or two fractious elements."
precept
(n.) a rule of conduct or action
Syn: principle, maxim

"Many religions follow the precept that it is important to treat others as you, yourself, would like to be treated."
salutary
(adj.) beneficial, helpful; healthful, wholesome
Syn: salubrious, curative
Ant: detrimental, deleterious, pernicious

"The cute new puppy had a salutary effect on her health."
scathing
(adj.) bitterly severe, withering; causing great harm
Syn: searing, harsh, ferocious, savage
Ant: bland, mild

"Sometimes a carefully reasoned discussion does more to change people's minds than a scathing attack."
scourge
(v.) to whip, punish severely; (n.) a cause of affliction or suffering; a source of severe punishment or criticism
Syn: (v.) flog, beat; (n.) bane, plague, pestilence
Ant: (n.) godsend, boon, blessing

"Jonathan Swift used wit to scourge the British government for its cruel treatment of Ireland."

"Competing teams consider my daughter the scourge of the soccer field."
sepulchral
(adj.) funereal, typical of the tomb; extremely gloomy or dismal
Syn: doleful, lugubrious, mortuary

"My sister announced in a severe and sepulchral tone of voice that we were out of cookies."
soporific
(adj.) tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy; (n.) something that induces sleep
Syn: (n.) narcotic, anesthetic
Antonyms: (adj.) stimulating; (n.) stimulant, stimulus

"He claimed that the musical, despite its energy, was soporific and that he had slept through the entire second act."

"Shakespeare's Juliet drinks a soporific so as to appear to be dead--a trick she is soon to regret."
straitlaced
(adj.) extremely strict in regard to moral standards and conduct; prudish, puritanical
Syn: highly conventional, overly strict, stuffy
Ant: lax, loose, indulgent, permissive, dissolute

"Travelers may find people overseas straitlaced in some ways but surprisingly free in others."
transient
(adj.) lasting only a short time, fleeting; (n.) one who stays only a short time
Syn: (adj.) impermanent, ephemeral, evanescent
Ant: (adj.) permanent, imperishable, immortal

"His bad mood was transient, and by the time he'd finished his breakfast, he was smiling."

"Many farm hands lived the lives of transients during the Great Depression."
unwieldy
(adj.) not easily carried, handled, or managed because of size or complexity
Syn: cumbersome, bulky, clumsy, impractical
Ant: manageable, easy to handle

"We loaded the truck with the chairs and the coffee table, but the grand piano was too unwieldy."
vapid
(adj.) dull, uninteresting, tiresome; lacking in sharpness, flavor, liveliness, or force
Syn: insipid, lifeless, colorless
Ant: zesty, spicy, savory, colorful, lively

"While critics called the movie vapid, I thought the performers were very compelling."
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