Here are some helpful online vocabulary reference tools:
http://oaadonline.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
Week 2
| Verbs | Meaning | Usage |
| ARMISTICE | A temporary suspension of hostilities | The armistice halted the war. Synonym: truce |
| ARTFUL | Sly; crafty - attained his mean objective by artful measures | Synonyms: cunning, wily, adroit, ingenious, guileful Antonyms: guileless, ingenuous, artless |
| ARTICULATE | To speak clearly or distinctly - articulated slowly so that he could not be misunderstood | Capable of speech; distinct, clear – an articulate man, always ready to give his views |
| ASCETIC | Rigorously self-denying - pursued the ascetic life of a monk | Rigorously self-denying - pursued the ascetic life of a monk. Synonyms: austere, abstinent Antonyms: wanton, self-indulgent |
| ASKANCE | With distrust | Looked askance at the forged signature |
| ASSEVERATE |
To abolish or render void |
Asseverated his views with conviction. Synonyms: assert, avouch, aver, avow, allege Antonyms: gainsay, controvert, recant, rescind, abjure, disavow |
| ASSIDUOUS | Industrious | An assiduous worker, toiling long hours. Synonyms: sedulous, attentive, diligent, indefatigable Antonyms :indolent, slothful |
| ASYLUM | A place offering shelter and retreat | Found asylum from persecution. Synonyms: sanctuary, refuge |
| ATHEIST | One who denies that God exists | The atheist declared, "There is no God." Synonyms: infidel, agnostic, skeptic |
| ATTRIBUTE | Assign | Attributed his success to bard work Synonym: ascribe (noun): An inherent quality -Generosity was his outstanding attribute. |
| AUGMENT | To increase or enlarge | An army augmented by numerous enlistments. Synonyms: enhance, amplify - Antonyms: abate, curtail |
| AUSPICIOUS | Indicating a happy outcome | The prospect for this project appears auspicious. Synonyms: propitious, fortunate Antonyms: ominous, foreboding |
| AUTHENTIC | Genuine -proved to be an authentic document | Synonyms: veritable, bona fide Antonyms; apocryphal, counterfeit, spurious, bogus |
| AUTOCRATIC |
Despotic |
Feared by the masses as an autocratic ruler. Synonym: tyrannical Antonym: benevolent |
| AVARICE | Excessive greed | A fortune accumulated by avarice and miserliness. Synonyms: covetousness, cupidity, avidity Antonym: magnanimity |
| AWRY | Unsymmetrical; not straight | The picture, hanging awry on the wall. Synonym: askew |
| BANAL | Lacking in freshness, originality, or vigor | Bored by his banal remarks. Synonyms: commonplace, hackneyed, prosaic, trite, stereotyped, vapid Antonyms: racy, original, vivid |
| BANEFUL | Destructive, poisonous (noun: BANE: poison; source of harm) |
A baneful effect, causing serious injury. Synonyms: deleterious, pernicious, virulent, noxious, toxic Antonym: beneficent |
| BANTER | Good-natured teasing or ridicule | The two wits I exchanged banter, to the amusement of the audience. Synonyms: raillery, chaff |
| BATON | A stick or staff | The conductor wielded his baton gracefully |
| BELIE |
To give a false idea of |
His gracious manner belled his. evil purpose. Synonym: misrepresent |
| BELLICOSE |
Inclined to quarrel; warlike |
His bellicose attitude often got John into fights. Synonyms: pugnacious, contentious, disputatious Antonyms: pacific, conciliatory |
| BELLIGERENT | Engaged in war | Two belligerent nations warring fiercely |
| BENEVOLENT |
Kindly; charitable |
Like a benevolent monarch, bestowing many favors. Synonyms: benign, benignant, gracious, magnanimous Antonyms: malevolent, malignant |
| BEREAVE |
To deprive or leave desolate by loss |
A widow just bereaved of her husband. |
| BESMIRCH | To soil or dirty | Besmirched his opponent's good name with vile epithets. Synonyms: stilly, defile, smirch, bespatter |
| BIASED | Prejudiced | Misled by a biased point of view. Synonyms: bigoted, arbitrary, partial, partisan Antonyms: disinterested, equitable |
| BIBLIOPHILE | A lover of books | The bibliophile fingeredthe old book fondly. Antonym: bibliophobe |
| BIZARRE | Queer; unusual in appearance | bizarre clothes, outlandish in the extreme. Synonyms: odd, fantastic, grotesque, eccentric |
| BLAND | Gentle; polite; agreeable | A bland diet, without irritating foods. Synonyms: mild, suave (affable or persuasive in manner), soothing, non-irritating Antonyms: piquant, tart, racy, caustic, acrid, pungent |
| BLANDISHMENT | A flattering speech or act | Attracted people by his blandishments |
| BLEMISH | (verb): To scar or spoil (noun): A disfigurement, defect |
Bad associates blemished his character A character without a blemish |
| BLIGHT | To ruin or decay | The rotting wheat-, blighted by incessant rain. Synonyms: wither, blast |
| BLITHE | Gay and light-hearted in spirit or mood | Spread cheer with her blithe spirit. Synonyms: jocund, merry, joyous Antonyms: dejected, forlorn, abject |
| BOG |
A swamp |
Sank into the spongy bog. Synonyms: morass, fen, quagmire, mire |
| BOMBASTIC | (noun: BOMBAST): High-sounding; pretentious in language | A bombastic speech, inflated with meaningless high-flown words. Synonyms: ranting, pompous, fustian |
| BOMBASTIC | Unrefined in speech or manners | Exhibited the boorish manners of a backwoodsman. Synonyms: churlish, uncouth. uncultured, crass Antonym: suave |
| BUCOLIC | Pertaining to the country | A bucolic poem de- the joys of the shepherd. Synonyms: pastoral, rustic, rural |
| BUFFOON | A clown | acting like a buffoon, full of ludicrous tricks. Synonym: harlequin |
| BULWARK | (1) An embankment used as a fortification (2) A person, idea, or object serving as a protection |
(1)A lofty bulwark for defense. Synonym: rampart (2) acted as a bulwark in the fight against crime |
| BUMPTIOUS | Obnoxiously conceited or self-assertive | A bumptious monitor, puffed up with his own importance, Synonyms: aggressive, arrogant, contumelious, overbearing |
| CABAL | A small group of persons engaged in plotting | A cabal of prominent persons united to overthrow the government. Synonyms: junto, faction |
| CACOPHONOUS | Unharmonious sounding | A cacophonous blare of trumpets, noisy and discordant. Synonyms: dissonant, discordant, blatant, strident, raucous Antonyms: mellifluous, euphonious, dulcet |
| CADAVEROUS | Corpselike; hence, haggard, pale | His face appeared cadaverous from long imprisonment. Synonyms: ghastly, gaunt, pallid (noun: pallor), wan, ashen Antonyms: rubicund, florid |
| CALLOUS | Unfeeling or insensitive | Made callous by long suffering. Synonyms: insensible, obdurate |
| CALUMNIATE |
To accuse falsely or maliciously in order to injure another's reputation; slander |
Calumniated his political opponent by spreading false rumors. Synonyms: asperse, vilify, defame, scandalize |