Here are some helpful online vocabulary reference tools:
http://oaadonline.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
Week 4
| Verbs | Meaning | Usage |
| CRAVEN | (noun): Coward (adj.): Cowardly |
The deed of a craven, motivated by fear Synonym: Poltroon A craven act which shocked the world. Synonyms: pusillanimous, dastardly. Antonyms: stalwart, intrepid, valiant, stout-hearted |
| CREDENCE | Trust or belief | Gave little credence to the rumor Synonym: conviction Antonym: skepticism |
| CREDIBLE | Worthy of belief | A credible story, true to life. Antonym: incredible |
| CREDITABLE | Deserving or reflecting Credit or honor | Applauded for his creditable performance. Synonyms: praiseworthy, meritorious, commendable Antonyms: discreditable, infamous, opprobrious, ignominious |
| CREDULOUS | Inclined to believe anything; easily imposed upon | A credulous fool whom anyone can dupe. Synonym: gullible Antonyms: incredulous, skeptical |
| CRINGE | To shrink in fear | Cringing before superior force Synonyms, cower, flinch, fawn, truckle, wince |
| CRUCIAL | Decisive or critical; difficult | The crucial event that decided the outcome. |
| CRYPTIC | Containing hidden meaning | A cryptic message, difficult to decipher. Synonyms: occult, enigmatic Antonyms: palpable, manifest |
| CULPABLE | Deserving blame or censure | Removed from office for culpable negligence Synonyms: censurable, reprehensible |
| CUMBROUS | Burdensome and clumsy | A cumbrous knapsack, impeding his march. Synonyms: cumbersome, unwieldy, bulk |
| CURB | To control, check, or restrain | Forcibly curbed the people's protest Synonyms: repress, subdue |
| CURSORY | Hurried; hence, superficial | Time permitted only a cursory examination Antonyms: painstaking, meticulous |
| CURT | Rudely abrupt | Offended by the curt response Synonyms: blunt, brusque, bluff Antonyms: affable, civil |
| CYNICAL |
Sneeringly distrustful of the good motives or conduct of others |
Belittled the hero with a cynical remark Synonyms: sarcastic, surly |
| DEARTH | Scarcity | A dearth of news, brought about by censorship Antonyms: plethora, abundance |
| DEFERENCE | Submitting to the wishes or judgment of another | Yielded out of deference to the old man Synonyms: respect, complaisance, veneration Antonym: recalcitrance |
| DEITY | A god | The sun was a deity to ancient peoples. Synonym: divinity |
| DELECTABLE | Very pleasing | A delectable meal, tastefully prepared |
| DELETE | To erase or cancel, take out or remove | Deleted an offensive phrase Synonyms: expunge, censor, efface, eradicate |
| DELINEATE | To sketch or portray | Striking features, delineated by a master artist |
| DELINQUENT | (noun): An offender (adj.): Failing to fulfill an obligation |
Found to be a delinquent by the court Too many people who are delinquent in meeting their civic duties Synonym: derelict |
| DELUGE | A great flood; downpour | A spring deluge which caused the river to overflow |
| DEMAGOGUE | A leader who tries to stir the passions of people for his own purposes | The mob roused by an unprincipled demagogue |
| DEMEANOR | Behavior; bearing | Carrying himself with a proud demeanor Synonyms: deportment, mien |
| DEMURE | Affectedly or falsely modest or prim | Serious demure as a Victorian maiden Synonyms: sedate, staid, decorous, prudish, coy Antonyms: immodest, frivolous |
| DENOUNCE | (noun: DENUNCIATION): To speak against | Denounced by the press as a traitor. Synonyms: stigmatize, censure, reprehend, castigate Antonyms: laud, eulogize |
| DEPLETE | To empty or to use up | Depleted the public treasury by vast building programs Synonyms: exhaust, drain Antonyms: replenish; (adj.) replete |
| DEPLORE | To express sorrow or grief over | A lamentable situation deplored by all parties Synonyms: lament, decry, grieve |
| DEPRAVED | Of low morals; corrupt | A depraved mind, devising evil Synonyms: debased, wicked, vicious, perverted |
| DEPRECATE | To plead or argue against a certain course of action | Deprecated theproposal severely Synonyms: remonstrate, protest, decry, expostulate Antonym: sanction |
| DEPRECIATE | To belittle or speak slightingly of | Depreciated John's acting ability Synonyms: disparage, derogate (adj. derogatory) Antonyms: enhance, magnify, extol, laud, eulogize |
| DEVASTATION | Widespread ruin | The city left in utter devastation by war. Synonyms: destruction, desolation |
| DEVIOUS | (1) Winding; indirect (2) Straying from the right course |
took a devious, rather than the direct way home Synonym: circuitous Used devious means to attain his wicked ends. Synonyms: crooked, erring |
| DEVOID | Lacking in; not possessing | A speech devoid ofeven a trace of ill-will. Synonym: destitute Antonyms: abounding, prevalent |
| DEVOUT | Devoted to religious observances | devout in his regularity of attendance at worship. Synonyms: pious, religious Antonym: impious |
| DICTUM | Art authoritative statement; a saying | an imperial dictum demanding instant compliance. |
| DIDACTIC | Designed to teach, imparting a lesson | a poem with a didactic purpose. Synonym: pedagogical |
| DIFFIDENT | Lacking in self-confidence | Too diffident to lead a group. Synonyms: shy, timid, reserved, reticent, retiring Antonyms:forward, aggressive |
| DILEMMA | A situation calling for a choice between two equally difficult alternatives; hence, a difficult or perplexing situation | Faced with a dilemma defying solution. Synonyms: predicament, quandary, plight |
| DILETTANTE | One who dabbles in the fine arts for amusement only and without concentrated study | A doctor by profession, a dilettante in art. Synonyms: amateur, connoisseur |
| DISCONCERT |
To confuse; to embarrass |
Disconcerted by his suspicious stare. Synonyms: perturb, discomfit, discompose, abash, disquiet, fluster |
| DISCONSOLATE | Depressed; without hope or possibility of consolation | Made disconsolate by abject poverty. Synonyms: inconsolable, dejected Antonyms: blithesome, carefree |
| DISCOURSE | To converse or talk; to discuss | Discoursed at length on the rise of political parties |
| DISCRETE | Separate | Dwo discrete issues, totally unrelated |
| DISCURSIVE | Rambling from one subject to another | A discursive letter, covering many topics. Synonyms: desultory, digressive |
| DISPARITY | (adj.: DISPARATE): Inequality; difference in image, quantity, character, or rank | Great disparity between promise and performance |
| DISPASSIONATE | Free from feeling or partiality |
Coldly dispassionate as the chairman of the meeting |
| DISPATCH | (verb): To do speedily; to send off (noun): A speedy performance; the sending off of somethin |
Dispatched with remarkable promptness. Synonym: expediteg done with all possible dispatch. Synonyms: celerity, alacrity |
| DISPEL | To drive away; to scatter | dispelled a doubt that had lingered. Synonyms: dissipate, disperse, diffuse |
| DISSENT | (noun: DISSENSION): To disagree; to differ in opinion | He dissented violently, rejecting compromise |
| DISSOLUTE | Living loosely; unrestrained in conduct or morals | His life wasted by dissolute conduct. Synonyms: debauched, dissipated, profligate |
| DISTRAUGHT | Mentally distressed; distracted |
Distraught by trials and tribulations. |
| DIVERSE | (verb: DIVERSIFY; noun: DIVISIBILITY): Varied; different | Two diverse characters; one candid, the other insincere. Synonym: multifarious |
| DIVERTING | Entertaining | A diverting one of the most amusing I've ever seen |
| DIVULGE | To make public or reveal | refused to divulge his source of information. Synonyms: disclose, impart |
| DOGMATIC | Positive in expressing an opinion; asserting an opinion as though it were an undisputed fact | Spoken dogmatically, as if the speaker considered himself infallible. Synonyms: overbearing, opinionated, peremptory, dictatorial |