Vocab Set #5

Adverse Alleged Antipathy Apathy Jim's adverse reaction to his new medicine was so intense that we rushed him to the hospital. When a fact is alleged, there is doubt about its accuracy. The word alleged is often used in connection with court cases, because the accused is innocent until proven guilty: an alleged robber is a suspected robber but has not been proven guilty of robbery.  If you look at the Greek roots of this word — anti- (meaning "against") and pathos (meaning "feeling"), you can see that antipathy is a feeling against someone or something. Usually it's a condition that is long-term, innate, and pretty unlikely to change — like your antipathy for the Red Sox. Use the noun apathy when someone isn't interested in the important things that are happening. You might feel apathy for the political process after watching candidates bicker tediously with one another. Not just one person, but a whole segment of the population can be accused of inaction or emotional detachment: the expressions voter apathy, student apathy, and consumer apathy show just how unenthusiastic groups of people can be.

Barbarity Compel Deleterious Things that are barbaric, are uncivilized and brutal. The barbarity of the attack was horrifying. Compel means to force or drive someone to do something. If there is a mandatory evacuation, officials will compel you to leave. If something is deleterious, it does harm or makes things worse. Smoking has obvious deleterious effects on your health.

Elicit Extirpation Illicit Incessant Elicit has to do with creating or provoking a response. A great speech will elicit cheers — a bad speech will elicit boos. Teachers try to elicit responses from students. If a friend smiles at you, it will probably elicit a smile of your own. In court, a lawyer might try to elicit mistakes and inconsistencies in the testimony of a witness. Use the noun extirpation to describe the wiping out or elimination of some specific thing. If your summer project is the extirpation of the dandelions in your yard, you intend to pull up every last one. Illicit means not allowed by law or custom. It's illegal to kill endangered elephants, but many poachers still engage in the illicit ivory trade. Those who cheat on their spouses may engage in an illicit love affair. Illegal illicit Something incessant continues without interruption. When you're on a cross- country flight, it's tough to tolerate the incessant crying of a baby.

Ludicrous Malevolence Menace Ludicrous originally meant something that was funny, playful, or joking: a ludicrous comment was just a really funny comment. Over time, ludicrous took on a more negative connotation. Now a ludicrous statement might be funny, but it's also ridiculous, hard to believe, off the wall, or even stupid. When people say "That idea is ludicrous!" it usually means the idea could never happen: the notion is laughable. Malevolence is a nasty, wicked, evil quality. When you're full of malevolence, you wish harm on others. If it's threatening you or otherwise posing some sort of danger, then it's a menace. Angry rabid dogs, smog clouds, and annoying little brothers are all probable menaces.

Overt Pretext Prolific Here's your trick for remembering the difference between overt and covert: overt = "open," covert = "covered.” It was an obvious case of overt discrimination when the newly hired man was promoted instead of the woman who had been with the company for years.  If you catch your mother going through your drawers, and she says she was just tidying up, cleaning was her pretext for snooping. A prolific songwriter, Taylor Swift has written more than 200 songs.

Subdue Vengeance Vilify If someone is angry, you might subdue him with kind words that overcome his anger. If someone is coming at you with a giant karate chop, you may be able to subdue her with a secret weapon — a knee-snap–heel-kick-floor-drop. If someone hurts you, you might be inspired to plan an act of vengeance: some type of payback in order to settle the score. Be careful, though, because you might inspire someone to take vengeance on you in return. The Nazi propaganda vilified the Jews.