UNIT 14

ALACRITY

• N. A cheerful readiness; brisk and eager action
• S. Promptness, willingness, celebrity
• A. Reluctance, unwillingness, hesitancy

ALLEVIATE

• V. To relieve, make more bearable
• S. Lessen, allay, mitigate, assuage
• A. Aggravate, annoy

ANTITHESIS

• N. The direct opposite, a sharp contrast
• S. Contrary, antipode
• A. Same, similarity

APPALL

• V. To fill with dismay or horror
• S. Shock, stupefy, horrify
• A. Please, cheer, gladden, elate, exhilarate

BELLICOSE

• Adj. warlike in manner or temperament; quarrelsome
• S. Aggressive, combative, belligerent
• A. Amicable, peaceable, pacific

DISPARAGE

• V. To belittle, speak slightingly of; to undervalue
• S. Degrade, decry, run down, underrate
• A. Praise, extol, laud, plug

DISSONANT

• Adj. not in harmony; disagreeing; at odds
• S. Grating, unmelodious, irreconcilable
• A. Harmonious, agreeing, euphonious

DROLL

• Adj. amusingly odd
• S. Comical, humorous, whimsical, zany
• A. Humorless, solemn, dour

EDICT

• N. An order issued by someone in authority
• S. Command, decree, proclamation
• A. Request

ELUCIDATE

• V. To clarify, explain
• S. Interpret, expound, explicate
• A. Obscure, becloud, muddy, obfuscate

LAUD

• V. To praise
• S. Hail, extol, glorify, exalt
• A. Criticize, censure, belittle, disparage

LOLL

• V. To act in a lazy manner; to lounge; to recline, droop
• S. Loaf, loiter, sag, dangle
• A. Straighten, achieve

LOQUACIOUS

• Adj. talkative, wordy; fond of talking
• S. Gossipy, voluble, garrulous, long-winded
• A. Silent, reticent, closemouthed, terse, taciturn

MAGNANIMOUS

• Adj. generous in forgiving, above small meanness
• S. Unselfish, charitable, noble, bighearted
• A. Petty, selfish, unforgiving, spiteful

MANDATORY

• Adj. required, obligatory
• S. Compulsory, requisite, imperative
• A. Optional, voluntary, discretionary

NONDESCRIPT

• Adj. ordinary, not outstanding; not easily classified
• S. Plain, unremarkable, unimpressive
• A. Remarkable, vivid, prepossessing

PHLEGMATIC

• Adj. slow-moving, sluggish; unemotional
• S. Lethargic, indolent, torpid, impassive
• A. Emotional, sensitive, thin-skinned, excitable

RESCIND

• V. To repeal, cancel
• S. Withdraw, retract, annul, abrogate
• A. Affirm, endorse, uphold

VIVACIOUS

• Adj. lively, sprightly, full of energy
• S. Spirited , animated, ebullient
• A. Dull, spiritless, listless, indolent

WHET

• V. To sharpen, put an edge on; to make keen or eager
• S. Hone, excite, stimulate
• A. Blunt, deaden, stifle, dampen