1. Mrs. Williams English 9 and 9B
Vocabulary Unit 4
Mrs. Williams
English 9 and 9B

2. abscond (v.) to run off and hide
Synonyms: bolt, make off, skip town EX
The thieves who absconded with several of the museum’s most valuable paintings have never been found.

3. anarchy (n.) a lack of government and law; confusion
Synonyms: chaos, disorder, turmoil, pandemonium
Antonyms: law and order, peace and quiet EX
In the final days of a war, civilians may find themselves living in anarchy.

4. arduous (adj.) hard to do, requiring much effort
Synonyms: hard, difficult, laborious, fatiguing
Antonyms: easy, simple, effortless EX
No matter how carefully you plan for it, moving to a new home is an arduous chore.

5. auspicious (adj.) favorable; fortunate
Synonyms: promising, encouraging, propitious
Antonyms: ill-omened, ominous, sinister EX
My parents describe the day that they first met as a most auspicious occasion.

6. daunt (v.) to overcome with fear, intimidate; to dishearten, discourage
Synonyms: dismay, cow
Antonyms: encourage, embolden, reassure EX
Despite all its inherent dangers, space flight did not daunt the Mercury program astronauts.

7. disentangle (v.) to free from tangles or complications
Synonyms: unravel, unwind, unscramble, unsnarl
Antonyms: tangle up, ensnarl, snag EX
Rescuers worked for hours to disentangle a whale from the fishing net wrapped around its jaws.

8. fated (adj.) determined in advance by destiny or fortune
Synonyms: destined, preordained, doomed
Antonyms: accidental, fortuitous, chance, random EX
The tragic outcome of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is fated from the play’s very first scene.

9. hoodwink (v.) to mislead by a trick, deceive
Synonyms: dupe, put one over on
Antonyms: undeceive, disabuse, clue in EX
Many sweepstakes offers hoodwink people into thinking they have already won big prizes.

10. inanimate (adj.) not having life; without energy or spirit
Synonyms: lifeless, dead, inert, spiritless
Antonyms: living, alive, energetic, vigorous, lively, sprightly EX
Although fossils are inanimate, they hold many clues to life on Earth millions of years ago.

11. incinerate (v.) to burn to ashes
Synonyms: burn up, cremate, reduce to ashes EX
Because of environmental concerns, many cities and towns no longer incinerate their garbage.

12. pliant (adj.) bending readily; easily influenced
Synonyms: supple, flexible, elastic, plastic
Antonyms: rigid, stiff, inflexible, set in stone EX
The pliant branches of the sapling sagged but did not break under the weight of the heavy snow.

13. precipice (n.) a very steep cliff; the brink or edge of disaster
Synonyms: cliff, crag, bluff, promontory, ledge
Antonyms: abyss, chasm, gorge EX
During the Cuban missile crisis, the world hovered on the precipice of nuclear war.

14. prototype (n.) an original model on which later versions are patterned
Synonyms: example, sample
Antonyms: copy EX
The assembly line managers studied the prototype of the new car for weeks before production began.

15. rectify (v.) to make right, correct
Synonyms: remedy, set right
Antonyms: mess up, botch, bungle EX
The senators debated a series of measures designed to rectify the nation’s trade imbalance.

16. reprieve (n. ) a temporary relief or delay; (v
reprieve (n.) a temporary relief or delay; (v.) to grant a postponement
Synonyms: (n.) stay, respite, deferral; (v.) postpone, delay
Antonyms: (v.) proceed EX
A vacation is a kind of reprieve from the cares and responsibilities of everyday life.
A judge may reprieve a first-time offender from jail time until sentencing.