Here are some helpful online vocabulary reference tools:
http://www.vocabulary.com/
http://thesaurus.com/
http://www.ldoceonline.com/
http://oaadonline.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
Week 6
| Verbs | Meaning | Usage |
| FATHOM | To penetrate and understand | Difficult to fathom his mysterious actions. |
| FATUOUS | Foolish; silly | A fatuous suggestion that struck us as stupid. Synonyms: inane, vacuous, puerile Antonyms: judicious, sagacious, sage |
| FEALTY | Faithfulness | The soldiers were pledged to fealty to their ruler. Synonyms: allegiance, constancy, fidelity Antonyms: disloyalty; infidelity, treachery |
| FEASIBLE | Workable | A feasible plan, proved practical by - previous experience. Antonym: impracticable |
| FEIGN | (noun: FEINT): To pretend | He feigned to be angry, but we saw through his pretense. Synonyms: dissemble, sham, dissimulate, affect |
| FELICITY | (adj.: FELICITOUS): (1) A state of happiness (2) A high ability |
Promoted felicity in the nation. Synonym: bliss Lie has a felicity of language, mastery of the well-chosen phrase |
| FERVID | Spirited; ardent |
A fervid debater, full of emotion. Synonyms: perfervid, impassioned, zealous, fervent, vehement |
| FESTOON | (noun): A garland of flowers, leaves, etc. hung between two points (verb): To hang with festoons |
The room bright with festoons of Thanksgiving decorations Aroom festooned with spring flowers |
| FETISH | (1) Something that is believed to have magical powers (2) An object of unreasoning devotion and worship |
Savages worshipping the fetish in a ceremonial dance Synonym: charm, talisman, amuletPhotography, begun as a hobby, became a fetish |
| FIASCO | A ludicrous and complete failure | All his glorious plans ending in a fiasco. Synonym: debacle |
| FICTITIOUS | Unreal; made-up | Used a fictitious name to avoid being recognized. Synonym: fabricated |
| FLACCID | Lacking firmness | Muscles grown flaccid after the illness. Synonyms: flabby, limp |
| FLAGRANT | Outstandingly bad | Condemned for his flagrant abuse of power. Synonyms: glaring, scandalous, notorious, conspicuous, gross |
| FLAMBOYANT | Elaborately showy | Written in a flamboyant, style, full of highly decorative imagery. Synonyms: florid, ornate, resplendent, embellished, garish, gaudy, gorgeous, rococo Antonym: somber |
| FLAUNT | Display or wave boastfully | Flaunted the excellent report before his delighted parents |
| FLEETING | Passing swiftly | The fleeting hours of happiness Synonyms: transitory, fugitive |
| FLUCTUATE | To waver from one course to another; to vary irregularly | His mood fluctuating with every hour. Synonyms: oscillate, vacillate, undulate, sway |
| FORBEAR | (noun: FORBEARANCE): To exercise self-control; to keep from | forbearing to shoot the animal despite temptation. Synonyms: restrain, abstain |
| FORENSIC | Pertaining to public discussion or law courts | A lawyer gifted in forensic debate. Synonyms: rhetorical, oratorical |
| FORTUITOUS | Accidental | A fortuitous meeting with a friend in need. Synonyms: casual, incidental, adventitious, random |
| FRACAS | A disorderly quarrel | A fracas broke up the meeting. Synonyms: brawl, altercation, fray, wrangle, imbroglio |
| FRUSTRATE | To prevent (the attainment of an object); to defeat or render ineffectual | His scholastic progress was frustrated by a serious illness. Synonyms: balk, thwart, foil, baffle, obstruct, discomfit Antonym: abet |
| FULSOME | Disgustingly excessive | Nauseated by fulsome praise. |
| GARNISH | To trim or decorate | Dishes garnished attractively with greens. Synonyms: adorn, deck |
| GENEALOGY | A record of a person's or a family's ancestors or relatives | An interesting genealogy, including saints and sinners. Synonym: lineage |
| GENESIS | Origin | Chemistry, which had its genesis in alchemy. Synonym: inception |
| GESTICULATE | To make gestures, or indicate feelings by. motions | Gesticulated wildly to show his distress. |
| GHASTLY | Horrible, deathlike | A ghastly disaster which shocked the world. Synonyms: gruesome, grisly, pallid, macabre, grim, lurid |
| GIBE | (variant spelling: JIBE): To laugh at; to utter with scorn | Gibed at his enemy mercilessly. Synonyms: mock, sneer, jeer, scoff, flout, deride (adj.: derisive), rail, taunt |
| GLIB | Smooth-spoken, fluent | A glib liar, distorting the truth effortlessly |
| GLUTTONOUS | (noun. GLUTTON; verb: GLUT): Inclined to eat to excess | Gulped down his food in gluttonous fashion. Synonyms: voracious, intemperate |
| GOSSAMER | (noun): A very thin gauzelike fabric or structure (adj.): Thin and light |
A poem so delicate that it seemed an unreal gossamer The gossamer wings of a dragon flySynonyms: diaphanous, flimsy, gauzelike Antonyms: substantial, ponderous |
| GREGARIOUS | Habitually fond of associating in a company or herd | Gregarious sheep; that gregarious animal, man Antonyms: lone, aloof |
| GRIMACE | A distortion of the face to express an attitude or feeling | A grimace that was more expressive than words |
| HAIL | To greet |
The crowd hailed the returning heroSynonyms: accost, salute |
| HARANGUE | (verb): To deliver a long. noisy speech (noun): A loud, tiresome speech |
Harangued the multitude. |
| HARBINGER | A forerunner; ail announcer | The robin, harbinger of spring. Synonyms: precursor, herald |
| HAUGHTY | Proud; looking down with contempt on others | Dismissed the messenger in a haughty manner |
| HEEDLESS | Thoughtless; taking little care | Rushed into battle, heedless of the danger Synonyms: inadvertent, rash, incautious Antonyms: prudent, circumspect, mindful, wary |
| HEINOUS | Wicked; hateful | Committed a heinous crime. Synonyms: atrocious, outrageous, monstrous, odious, nefarious, abominable |
| HERESY | An opinion held in opposition to the traditional view | A view condemned as heresy. Synonym: heterodoxy Antonym: orthodoxy |
| HIATUS | A gap or vacancy; break | Left a hiatus on the page where he erased a sentence. Synonym: breach |
| HISTRIONIC | Pertaining to the theater; designed for show | Broke into histrionic laughter, hollow and insincere. Synonyms: dramatic, theatrical |
| HOAX | (noun): A trick or deception; a practical joke (verb): To play a trick on; to deceive |
played a hoax upon the credulous public. Synonym: canard He hoaxed the crowd completely with his disguise |
| HOMONYM | Two words having the same sound but different meanings | Confusing such homonyms as mail add male |
| HOVEL | A dirty or wretched dwelling | Born in a hovel, died in a mansion |