1. Vocabulary Unit 4
Level D

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

3. Access (n) You need a password in order to access your email accounts.
Admittance to places, persons, things; to obtain
Synonyms: entry, admittance, entrée
Antonyms: total exclusion

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

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

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

7. Daunt (v)
Despite all its inherent dangers, space flight did not daunt the Mercury program astronauts.
To overcome with fear, intimidate
Synonyms: dismay, cow
Antonyms: encourage, embolden, reassure

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

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

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

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

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

13. Intrepid (adj)
Intrepid Polynesian sailors in outrigger canoes were the first humans to reach the Hawaiian Islands.
Very brave, fearless
Synonyms: valiant, courageous, audacious, daring
Antonyms: timid, cowardly, craven, pusillanimous

14. Larceny (n)
Someone who steals property that is worth thousands of dollars commits grand larceny.
Theft, robbery
Synonyms: stealing, robbery, burglary

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

16. Pompous (adj)
Political cartoonists like nothing more than to mock pompous public officials.
Overly self-important in speech and manner; pretentious
Synonyms: pretentious, highfalutin, bombastic
Antonyms: unpretentious, unaffected, plain

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

18. Prototype (n)
A functional prototype of the device was demonstrated at the conclusion of the project.
The first form of something new, made before it is produced in large quantities more…; the first or most typical example of something
Synonyms: example, sample
Antonyms: copy

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

20. Reprieve (n, v)
A vacation is a kind of reprieve from the cares and responsibilities of everyday life.
A temporary relief or delay; to grant a postponement
Synonyms: stay, respite (n), postpone, delay (v)
Antonym: proceed (v)

21. Revile (v)
The enraged King Lear reviles the daughters who have cast him out into a fierce storm.
To attack with words, call bad names
Synonyms: inveigh against, malign, vilify, denounce
Antonyms: praise, acclaim, revere, idolize