Vocabulary 14A

Alacrity (n.) a cheerful readiness; brisk and eager action S: promptness, willingness, dispatch, celerity A: reluctance, unwillingness, hesitancy Neighbors responded with alacrity to the woman’s cried for help.

Alleviate (v.) to relieve, make more bearable S: lessen, lighten, allay, mitigate, assuage The doctors and nurses did everything they could to alleviate the patient’s severe pain.

Antithesis (n.) the direct opposite, a sharp contrast S: contrary, antipode Discriminatory practices may be said to constitute the very antithesis of our nation’s democratic ideals.

Appall (v.) to fill with dismay or horror S: shock, stun, stupefy, horrify A: please, cheer, gladden, elate, exhilarate The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 appalled the nation and the world.

Bellicose (adj.) warlike in manner or temperament; quarrelsome S: aggressive, combative, belligerent A: amicable, peaceable, conciliatory, pacific Teddy Roosevelt’s foreign policy was often driven by a rather bellicose brand of patriotism.

Disparage (v.) to belittle, speak slightingly of; to undervalue S: degrade, decry, run down, underrate A: praise, extol, laud, plug Don’t you think voters are getting awfully tired of listening to politician’s disparage their opponents’ voting records?

Dissonant (adj.) not in harmony; disagreeing, at odds S: grating, strident, unmelodious, irreconcilable A: harmonious, agreeing, euphonious The clamor of dissonant voices could be heard clearly through the closed doors of the meeting room.

Droll (adj.) amusingly odd S: comical, humorous, whimsical, zany A: humorless, solemn, dour The hero or heroine of a popular sitcom may be surrounded by a cast of droll eccentrics.

Edict (n.) an order issued by someone in authority S: command, decree, proclamation Only in fairy tales can human unhappiness and misery be banished forever by royal edict.

Elucidate (v.) to clarify, explain S: interpret, expound, explicate A: obscure, becloud, muddy, obfuscate The precise meaning of a passage in the Bible is sometimes hard to elucidate.