Shostak Vocabulary Unit 10 By: Twinkle Patel

Askance (adv.) with suspicion, distrust, or disapproval The English teacher looked askance at the suggestion that students read compendiums of Dickens’s novels. Syn: distrustfully, suspiciously, skeptically

Attenuate (v.) To weaken or lessen in force, intensity, or value After making sure the wound was clean, the doctor took steps to attenuate the victim’s pain. Syn: thin out, dilute, water down Ant: thicken, strengthen, bolster

Benign (adj.) gentle, kind, forgiving, understanding; having a favorable or beneficial effect; not malignant Abraham Lincoln’s sensitive stepmother had a benign influence on the lonely boy who had lost his mother. Syn: benevolent, salutary, salubrious, harmless Ant: malevolent, deleterious

Cavil (v.) to find fault in a petty way, carp (n.) a trivial objection or criticism I suggest you do not cavil over small things but instead focus on what is important. Despite a few cavils I might make, I still find her to be an excellent poet. Syn: (v) to nitpick, quibble

Charlatan (n.) one who feigns knowledge or ability; a pretender, impostor, or quack. The reporter exposed the real estate agent as a charlatan who routinely deceived her customers. Syn: fraud

Decimate (v) to destroy or kill a large part of Again and again, Napoleon was able to decimate the armies of his enemies and lead his men on to further victories. Syn: ravage, devastate, obliterate

Foible (n.) a failing, a minor flaw, a weak point Gossiping is one human foible not likely to be eradicated. Syn: shortcoming, defect, quirk Ant: forte, virtue Nail biting is a foible.

Forgo (v.) to do without, abstain from, give up One of the best, if not the easiest, way to lose weight is to forgo dessert. Syn: refrain from, renounce Ant: indulge in, partake of Give up Smoking!

Fraught (adj.) full of or loaded with; accompanied by Even with the most advanced equipment, expeditions to the top of Mt. Everest are still fraught with danger. Syn: charged with Ant: devoid of, lacking, deficient in

Inure (v.) to toughen, harden; to render used to something by long subjection or exposure The Inuit have become inured to the hardships of the long Arctic winters through years of experience. Syn: accustom, acclimate The Iditarod dog sled race The Iditarod dog sled race

Luminous (adj.) emitting or reflecting light, glowing; illuminating Walking under that luminous night sky induced in me weighty thoughts not often pondered. Syn: radiant, bright, refulgent, lustrous Ant: dark, opaque, dim, murky

Obsequious (adj.) marked by slavish attentiveness; excessively submissive, often for self-interested reasons Jane Austen ridiculed characters who were obsequious to the upper class but snobby to the lower class. Syn: fawning, servile, sycophantic, mealy mouthed Ant: assertive, bumptious, overbearing, candid, frank, independent

Obtuse (adj.) slow or dull in understanding; measuring between 90° and 180°; not causing a sharp impression. The lieutenant was too obtuse to see the danger and led his company right into the hands of the enemy. Syn: stupid, dumb, thick, mild, dull-witted Ant: acute, perceptive, quick-witted

Oscillate (v.) to swing back and forth with a steady rhythm; to fluctuate or waver The terrified narrator in Poe’s story The Pit and the Pendulum watches the dreaded instrument oscillate as it slowly moves toward him Syn: vibrate, vacillate

Penitent (adj.) regretful for one’s sins or mistakes (n.) one who is sorry for wrongdoing The thief was sincerely penitent . In the Middle Ages, penitents often confessed their sins publicly and were publicly punished. Syn: (adj.) remorseful, regretful, rueful, sorry Ant: (adj.) unrepentant, remorseless

PEREMPTORY (adj.) having the nature of a command that leaves no opportunity for debate, denial, or refusal; offensively self-assured, dictatorial; determined, resolute. The board members resented the director’s peremptory tone of voice. Syn.: high-handed, unconditional Ant: irresolute, tentative, mild, unassuming

Rebuff (v.) to reject; to snub; to repel, drive away (n.) a curt rejection The old man rebuffed his neighbors by refusing all offers of friendship. Her rebuff of my invitation was quite rude. Syn: (v.) spurn, repulse (n.) setback Ant: (v.) accept, welcome

Reconnoiter Reconnaissance Drone (v.) to engage in reconnaissance; to make a preliminary inspection Infantry officers often ask for volunteers to reconnoiter the terrain ahead before ordering their soldiers to advance. Syn: to scout Reconnaissance Drone

Shambles (n.) a state of complete disorder, disarray and confusion, a mess The burglars made a complete shambles of the apartment in their search for money and jewelry.

Sporadic (adj.) occurring at irregular intervals, having no set plan or order. The soldiers heard sporadic gunfire from the other side of the river. Syn: intermittent, spasmodic Ant: constant, steady, continuous, uninterrupted

CONCATENATION –add-on (n.) The state of being linked together in a series like a chain He planned the concatenation of events for his life, but will it happen that way? Syn. chain, series, sequence

CONCOMITANT – add-on (n.) An event or situation that happens at the same time as or in connection with another (adj.) Occurring or existing alongside something else Earthquakes and tsunamis are natural concomitants. Budget cuts lead to concomitant decreases in services . Earthquake

(Special Thanks to Twinkle Patel c/o 2010 for this ppt.)