Focus on the goal. Voc. Unit 11 Ms. B. Wulchak

1. Focus on the goal. Voc. Unit 11 Ms. B. Wulchak

2. Vocabulary Unit 11 By Tyler Loux, 2009 Revised by: Kristen Montalvo, 2010 and Tim Conaway in 2011

3. Abrogate (v.) • To cancel, declare null and void, repeal • Synonyms: annul, revoke • Antonyms: reaffirm, renew, ratify • By not voting, a person abrogates and cancels his right to complain about the outcome of that election. • The U.S. government abrogated many treaties with Native American tribes.

4. Ambient (adj.) • Completely surrounding, encompassing • The ambient atmosphere was made romantic by the candles and the soft music.

5. Asperity (n.) • Roughness, severity; bitterness • Synonyms: rigor, harshness • Antonyms: mildness, blandness, softness, lenience • Hardship, affliction, and asperities are difficult to live through, but we can learn from our troubles.

6. Burnish (v.) • To make smooth or glossy by rubbing, polish; (n.) gloss, brightness, luster • Synonyms: shine, buff • Antonyms: tarnish, dull, abrade • Use Brasso to burnish the copper bottoms of frying pans.

7. Cabal (n.) • A small group working in secret (often times up to no good) • Synonyms: clique, ring, gang, plot, conspiracy • A cabal affiliated with Al-Qaeda flew two 767 jets into the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York, September 11, 2001.

8. Delectable (adj.) • Delightful, highly enjoyable; deliciously flavored, savory • (n.) an appealing or appetizing food or dish • Synonyms: delicious, scrumptious • Antonyms: repugnant, repulsive, distasteful • Our culinary classes prepare delectable cuisines.

9. Deprecate (v.) Why not do something better with your life, instead of lazing about and wasting money on your next fix. • To express mild disapproval; to belittle • Synonyms: deplore, frown upon • Antonyms: smile on, countenance, approve • To quietly deprecate conditions to each other accomplishes nothing, but to bravely speak out challenges injustices.

10. Detritus (n.) • Loose bits and pieces of material resulting from disintegration or wearing away; fragments that result from any destruction • Synonyms: debris, wreckage, ruins, rubble • Archaeologists dig through the detritus of past civilizations.

11. Ebullient (adj.) • Overflowing with enthusiasm and excitement; bubbling • Synonyms: exhilarated, elated, exuberant • Antonyms: gloomy, morose, sullen, apathetic, blasé • When I entered the locker room, I could tell from the team’s ebullient faces that they had won the game.

12. Eclectic (adj.) I like all types of music. I have an eclectic taste in music. • Drawn from different sources; (n) one whose beliefs are drawn from various sources • Synonyms: selective, synthetic, pick-and-choose • Antonyms: uniform, monolithic • I have an eclectic appreciation of literature. I like Twilight, The Notebook, and Slam.

13. Flaccid (adj.) • Limp, not firm; lacking vigor or effectiveness • Synonyms: soft, flabby • Antonyms: hard, firm, solid • Exercising and limiting calorie intake might correct how flaccid he has become.

14. Impecunious (adj.) • Having little or no money • Synonyms: penniless, impoverished, indigent • Antonyms: affluent, wealthy, prosperous, rich • Not all of us can be wealthy, but we don’t want to be impecunious.

15. Inexorable (adj.) • Inflexible, beyond influence; relentless, unyielding • Synonyms: inescapable, ineluctable, obdurate • Antonyms: avoidable, yielding, pliant • In the play Macbeth, the main characters face their inescapable, inexorable fate. Death and taxes are inexorable.

16. Moribund (adj.) • Dying, on the way out • Synonyms: obsolescent • Antonyms: flourishing, thriving • Do you think chivalry is moribund in today’s society?

17. Necromancer (n.) • One who claims to reveal or influence the future through magic, especially communication with the dead; in general, a magician or wizard • Synonyms: sorcerer, conjurer • Some people believe that wizards and necromancers speak with the dead.

18. Onerous (adj.) • Burdensome; involving hardship or difficulty • Synonyms: oppressive, weighty • Antonyms: light, easy, undemanding, untaxing • There are many onerous tasks we must perform in life.

19. Rife (adj.) • Common, prevalent, widespread, happening often; full, abounding; plentiful, abundant, replete • Antonyms: devoid of, lacking • A town that is rife with crime will earn a reputation that will keep tourism and new business away.

20. Rudiments (n. pl.) • The parts of any subject or discipline that are learned first; the earliest stages of anything • Synonyms: fundamentals, basics • Some of the rudiments of chess would include knowing the names of the pieces and the directions they can move.

21. Sequester (v.) • (JURY) to set apart, separate for a special purpose, to take possession of and hold in custody. • Synonyms: seclude, segregate, isolate, closet • The judge sequestered the jury for the duration of the trial.

22. Winnow (v.) • To sift through to obtain what is desirable; to remove the chaff from the wheat by blowing air on it; to blow on, fan; get rid of something unwanted, delete • Synonyms: sift, sort, strain filter • She held the rice in the basket and tossed it into the air to winnow the grain from the hulls.

23. Desuetude (n.)- Add on • Disuse, the state of being discontinued. • Students used to be paddled, but such practices have fallen into a state of desuetude.

24. Emanate (v.)- Add on • To come forth from some point or origin • Rays emanate from the sun. • Fragrance emanates from the rose.