1. Focus on the goal. Voc. Unit 7 Ms. B. Wulchak

2. By Regina Hull c/o 2009 Revised 2010
Vocab. Unit 7
By Regina Hull
c/o 2009
Revised 2010

3. Allay I took two aspirin to allay the pain.
Verb
to calm or pacify, set to rest: to lessen or relieve
Syn.- reduce, alleviate, moderate
Ant.- aggravate, exacerbate, intensify
I took two aspirin to allay the pain.
The doctor tried to allay his patient’s fears.

4. Bestial
Adjective
beastlike: beastly, brutal: subhuman in intelligence and sensibility
Syn.- animalistic, depraved, loathsome
Ant.- human, humane, clement, virtuous, upright.
The bestial murderers showed no mercy toward the innocent family.

5. Convivial Adjective festive, sociable, having fun together, genial
Syn.- fun-loving, jovial, merry
Ant.- dour, grim, sullen, unsociable
Everyone had a convivial
time at the festive gathering.

6. Coterie
Noun
a circle of acquaintances; a close knit, often exclusive, group of people with a common interest.
Syn.- clique, set
A coterie of students met each week at Barnes and Noble to discuss class notes before the test.

7. Counterpart
Noun
a person or thing closely resembling or corresponding to another: a complement.
Syn.- match
In 2010, President Obama’s counterpart in Mexico was President Calderone and in the U.K and Canada were Prime Ministers Cameron, and Harper.
Felipe Calderone, Mexico
David Cameron, UK
Steven
Harper, Canada

8. Demur Verb and Noun to object or take exception to; to hesitate
an objection
Syn.- protest, object to
Ant.- assent to, consent to, accept, agree to
I decided to demur making my decision until I had more facts.

9. Effrontery Noun shameless boldness, impudence
Syn.- gall, chutzpah, nerve, impertinence, cheek
Ant.- shyness, diffidence, timidity
She has the effrontery to tell her boss to get his work done.

10. Embellish
Verb
to decorate, adorn, touch up; to improve by adding details
Syn.- ornament, garnish,
embroider
Ant.- strip, mar, disfigure
Gossip involves embellishing stories beyond the original ideas.

11. Ephemeral Adjective lasting only a short time, short-lived
Syn.- fleeting, transient, evanescent, transitory
Ant.- durable, long-lasting, permanent, perpetual
Fame and power can be ephemeral; here today, gone tomorrow.

12. Felicitous
Adjective
appropriate, apt, well chosen; marked by well-being or good fortune, happy
Syn.- fortunate, well-put
Ant.- inappropriate, inept
Her speech had well-chosen words and felicitous phrases.
A felicitous occasion

13. Furtive
Adjective
done slyly or stealthily, sneaky, secret, shifty; stolen
Syn.- clandestine, covert, surreptitious
Ant.-forthright, aboveboard, open
Her furtive manner of looking around led me to watch her during the test.

14. Garish
Adjective
glaring; tastelessly showy or over decorated in a vulgar or offensive way
Syn.- gaudy, flashy, tawdry
Ant.- subdued, muted, understated, quiet
Meretricious, garish ladies hang out along Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando.

15. Illusory
Adjective
misleading, deceptive; lacking in or not based on reality
Syn.- specious, spurious, fanciful, imaginary
Ant.- actual, real, factual, objective
Hopes of getting something for nothing are illusory and
unrealistic.

16. Indigent Adjective needy, impoverished
Syn.- penniless, poverty-stricken, destitute
Ant.- wealthy, affluent, prosperous
Some indigent, destitute people would rather be on the streets than move into a group home with regulations.

17. Inordinate
Adjective
far too great, exceeding reasonable limits, excessive
Syn.- exorbitant, extravagant
Ant.- moderate, reasonable, equitable
Driving at an inordinate
rate of speed will get you a ticket.
He’s on a diet to control his inordinate appetite.

18. Jettison
Verb
to cast overboard, get rid of as unnecessary or burdensome
Syn.- cast off, discard, dump, junk, abandon
Ant.- conserve, retain, hold on to, keep
With his ship rapidly sinking, the captain ordered the crew to jettison much of its cargo.

19. Misanthrope Noun someone who hates or despises people
Syn.- people-hater
His negative experiences have turned him
into a misanthrope.
Uncle Scrooge McDuck
Ebeneezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’
A Christmas Carol
Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street

20. Pertinacious Adjective
very persistent; holding firmly to a course of action or a set of beliefs; hard to get rid of, refusing to be put off or denied
Syn.- Stubborn, dogged, determined, tenacious
In a quiet, but pertinacious
way, the lawyer hammered the suspect until the crook confessed.

21. Picayune
Adjective
of little value or importance, paltry, measly; concerned with trifling matters, small-minded
Syn.- inconsequential, piddling, trifling
Ant.- important, significant, huge, gigantic
The proofreader found many picayune flaws in grammar and punctuation in the essay.

22. Raiment Noun kingly clothing, formal attire Syn.- apparel, garments
Even when the king laid aside his royal raiment, he still had the personality of a leader.

23. Threshold (add-on) Noun verge, brink; doorsill; maximum limit
After the man waited in line for thirty minutes, he finally reached his threshold and screamed.
Students who have jobs may reach their threshold of endurance when work requires too many hours.

24. Wraith (add-on) Noun an apparition, a ghost
A woman swore she had seen a wraith in the creepy old house.
Tolkein’s 9 ring wraiths
Casper the friendly wraith