(v.) to have an intense dislike or hatred for Synonyms: loathe, abhor, despise, detest

1. Abominate • (v.) to have an intense dislike or hatred for • Synonyms: loathe, abhor, despise, detest • Antonyms: relish, savor, cherish, esteem • Even though my sister and I frequently fight, we don’t abominate each other. I abominate the actions of bullies!

2. Acculturation When the Pilgrims came over from England, they went through a process of acculturation with the Indians. • (n.) the modification of the social patterns, traits, or structures of one group or society by contact with those of another; the resultant blend • Synonyms: adaptation

3. Adventitious • Randomly picking the numbers that landed him the winnings, Jethro won the lottery with an adventitious ticket. • (adj.) resulting from chance rather than from an inherent cause of character; accidental, not essential; (medicine) acquired, not congenital. • Synonyms: extrinsic, incidental, fortuitous • Antonyms: essential, intrinsic, inherent, congenital

4. Ascribe • (v.) to assign or refer to (as a cause of source), attribute • Synonyms: impute, credit, attribute • To avoid plagiarizing, ascribedifferent works of literature to their authors on the Works Cited page. • We ascribed the hole in our window to our next door neighbor.

5. Circuitous • (adj.) roundabout, not direct • Synonyms: indirect, meandering, winding • Antonyms: straight, direct, as the crow flies • Rachel was circuitous when describing where she had been all night because she knew she would get in trouble for staying out past curfew. John decided to take the circuitous approach in getting to know the new girl in class

6. Commiserate • (v.) to sympathize with, have pity or sorrow for, share a feeling of distress • Synonyms: feel sorry for, empathize • Antonym: feel no sympathy for After the earthquake that devastated Haiti, many Americans commiseratedfor the Haitians by sending food, water, and aid. The players commiserated with each other after the devastating loss.

7. Enjoin • (v.) to direct or order; to prescribe a course of action in an authoritative way; to prohibit • Synonyms: bid, charge, command, adjure • Antonyms: allow permit As the man of the house, my father enjoins me to do different chores to help out the family. In the old days, teachers would enjoin their students to behave or face the paddle!

8. Expedite New highways and wider lanes help expeditethe commute from my house to Spaghetti Junction. (v.) to make easy, cause to progress faster Synonyms: accelerate, facilitate, speed up Antonyms: hinder, hamper, impede, obstruct

9. Expiate • (v.) to make amends, make up for; to avert • Synonyms: redeem, make amends for, atone, make reparation Prayer is a common way to expiatefor one’s sins. The boys were willing to expiate their bad behavior by serving detention.

10. Ferment • (n.) A state of great excitement, agitation, or turbulence; (v.) to be in or work into such a state; to produce alcohol by chemical action. • Synonym: (n.) commotion, turmoil, unrest • Antonym: (n.) peace and quiet, tranquility, placidity The scent of the fresh baked cookies sent the child in to a ferment.

11. Inadvertent • (adj.) resulting from or marked by lack of attention; unintentional, accidental. • Synonyms: accidental, unconsidered • Antonyms: deliberate, intentional, premeditated After dozing off while behind the wheel, the driver inadvertently put himself in this predicament. I took an inadvertent wrong turn and ended up on the other side of town

12. Nominal • Existing in name only, not real; too small to be considered or taken seriously • Synonyms: titular, token, trifling, inconsequential • Antonyms: real, actual, exorbitant, excessive Although nominal, his heart and confidence led him to the super lightweight championship 3 years in a row. Because we wanted to attract a large audience, we only charged a nominal fee for the school play.

13. Noncommittal • (adj.) not decisive or definite; unwilling to take a clear position or to say yes or no • Synonyms: cagey, uninformative, playing it safe, playing it close to the vest. • Antonyms: positive, definite, committed With the upcoming elections looming, many voters are noncommittal. Many top high school recruits like to remain noncommittal until signing day.

14. Peculate Synonyms: Embezzle, Defraud, Misappropriate (V.) to steal something that has been given into one’s trust; to take improperly for one’s use His heart full of greed, the man peculated$350.00 from the booster club.

15. Proclivity (n.) a natural or habitual inclination or tendency (especially of human character or behavior) I have the terrible proclivity forbiting my nails, especially when I am nervous. Synonyms: natural bent, penchant, propensity Antonyms: inability or incapacity

16. Sangfroid (n.) composure or coolness, especially in trying circumstances Antonyms: excitability, hysteria, flappability Synonyms: poise, self-assurance, equanimity Renaldo showed sangfroidwhen racing down the field with the ball to score a goal.

17. Seditious (adj.) resistant to lawful authority; having the purpose of overthrowing an established government Synonyms: mutinous, rebellious, subversive Antonyms: supportive, loyal, faithful, allegiant The rebels drew on Uncle Sam to show their seditious feelings toward the government.

18. Tenuous (adj.) thin, slender, not dense; lacking clarity or sharpness; of slight importance or significance; lacking a sound basis, poorly supported Synonyms: flimsy, insubstantial, vague, hazy Antonyms: strong, solid, substantial, valid His argument tenuous, Jeffrey realized that he needed to do some more research on modern day advertising’s influence on teens.

19. vitriolic Synonyms: withering, acerbic, mordant (adj.) Bitter, sarcastic; highly caustic or biting(like a strong acid) His vitriolic use of sarcasm will anger even the most aplomb! Antonyms: bland, saccharine, honeyed, sugary

20. Wheedle Antonyms: coerce, browbeat, intimidate, strong arm Synonyms: cajole, inveigle, soft-soap, sweet-talk (v.) to use coaxing or flattery to gain some desired end The woman wheedled the student to try out for theater because she knew he had great potential. Don’t try to wheedle your teacher into changing your grade!