Vocabulary Level F Unit #4

affable (adjective) Courteous and pleasant, easy to speak to Synonyms  agreeable  Amicable  cordial Antonyms  Surly  dour I hope I get seated next to an affable person on the long plane ride to England.

aggrandize (verb) to build up or increase in size, power, or wealth, to make appear greater Synonyms  amplify  Enhance He hired a “life coach” to guide him in how to aggrandize all aspects of his life.

amorphous (adj) shapeless; without organization or form; of no particular type or character Synonyms  unstructured  Nebulous Without an agenda or a leader the meeting became an amorphous gathering.

aura (noun) a distinctive air or personal quality; atmosphere Synonyms  ambiance  Atmosphere Most students want to be near Mr. Whitehead because he gives off a really cool aura.

contraband (noun) smuggle or illegal goods, illegal traffic (adj) illegal or prohibited Synonyms  unlawful  bootleg  Illicit She bought a contraband designer purse out of the back of a van in an ally in a shady part of town.

erudite (adj) scholarly, learned, bookish, pedantic Synonyms  educated  well-read The erudite student was appalled by the immature behavior and ignorant questions asked by his peers.

gossamer (adj) thin, light delicate, insubstantial (noun) thin cloth Synonyms  Sheer, filmy  feathery  Gauzy She wanted make the wings for her fairy costume from fragile gossamer.

infer (verb) to find out by reasoning; to hint suggest, or imply; to arrive at a conclusion on the basis of thought Synonyms  speculate  gather  deduce  presume Our teacher expects us to infer a character’s intent based on his words and behavior.

inscrutable (adj) incapable of being understood; impossible of seeing through physically. Synonyms  incomprehensible  impenetrable Antonyms Intelligible Intelligible penetrable penetrable I didn’t know what to do because my boss’s directions were inscrutable.

insular (adj) relating to, characteristic of, or situated on an island; narrow or isolated in outlook or experience Synonyms  narrow-minded  provincial (unit #1)  parochial The provincial people held very insular attitudes towards new ideas. Insular Area Summary for the U.S. Virgin Islands

irrevocable (adj) Incapable of being changed or called back Synonyms  irreversible  Unchangeable He realized as he was falling that his decision to jump off the roof was, indeed, irrevocable.

propensity (noun) natural inclination or predilection toward Synonyms  proclivity (unit #3)  natural bent  Penchant Her friends don’t tell her any secrets because they know she has a natural propensity towards gossip.

querulous (adj) complaining, fretful, whiny Synonyms  cranky  irritable  petulant (unit #1)  Antonym  Stoical  Serene  placid I have no patience for querulous children; I usually just ignore their whining and complaining.

remonstrate (verb) to argue or plead with someone against something; protest or object to Synonyms  expostulate (unit #1)  reason against  Argue The player got a penalty after he tried to remonstrate with the referee, pleading with him to remove the penalty.

repudiate (verb) to disown; to reject or deny the validity of Synonyms  renounce  disavow  abjure I will not repudiate my cat just because he destroys my furniture with his claws and won’t come when I call him.

resilient (adj) able to recover quickly Synonyms  durable  Springy, elastic  Buoyant Antonyms Rigid Rigid Stiff Stiff inflexible inflexible The players on the team are resilient; they show up for practice with a good attitude ready to work even if they’ve been beaten down the night before

reverberate (verb) to re-echo; to reflect or be reflected repeatedly Synonyms  echo  Rumble The sound of her laughter reverberated through the empty halls.

scurrilous (adj) coarsely abusive, vulgar or low; foul- mouthed Synonyms  obscene  filthy  abusive Her reasoned analysis of the judges’ scandalous behavior was dismissed by him as a(n) scurrilous diatribe.

sedulous (adj) persistent; showing determination Synonyms  tireless  Assiduous Antonyms listless listless indolent indolent I am so proud of my friend who is in sedulous training for an Iron Man competition; she follows a strict training program and never slacks.

sleazy (adj) thin or flimsy in texture; cheap; inferior in quality or character. Ethically low, mean, or disputable Synonyms  inferior  cheesy  Shoddy I knew that I should trust the sleazy lawyer; he had a bad reputation for making disreputable deals.