Studied by 11 peopleacquisitive
(adj)
greedy; good at getting/ keeping info
syn: grasping, avaricious, retentive
ant: altruistic, unretentive
banal
(adj)
common; stale
syn: insipid
ant: fresh, novel, original, new
belabor
(v)
to overwork
coherent
(adj)
connected
syn: unified, consistent, cohesive
ant: muddled, chaotic, disjointed
emulate
(v)
to copy to surpass
syn: mimic, rival, match, measure up to
eschew
(v)
to shun
syn: abstain from, steer clear of, forgo
ant: embrace, adopt
germane
(adj)
relative, fitting
syn: pertinent
ant: irrelevant, extraneous, inappropriate
insatiable
(adj)
unquenchable
syn: ravenous, voracious
substantiate
(v)
to prove
syn: verify, confirm, validate, authenticate
ant: refute, disprove, invalidate
tenable
(adj)
defensible
syn: justifiable, maintainable
ant: indefensible, unjustifiable
accost
(v)
to approach; challenge
syn: buttonhole, confront
ant: evade, avoid, shun
brackish
(adj)
unpleasant to drink
syn: briny, saline
ant: fresh, clear, sweet
celerity
(n)
swiftness; rapid action
syn: proptness, alacrity, speed
ant: slowness, sluggishness, dilatoriness
gambit
(n)
risky chess move
syn: ploy, stratagem, ruse, maneuver
halcyon
(n) legendary bird
(adj) peaceful; affluent
syn: tranquil, serene, placid, palmy
ant: turbulent, chaotic, tumultuous
incendiary
(adj) setting fires
(n) arsonist
syn: inflammatory, provocative, firebrand
ant: soothing, quieting, peacemaker
myopic
(adj)
shortsighted; closed-minded
ant: farsighted
overt
(adj)
open; easily recognized
syn: clear, obvious, manifest, patent
ant: secret, clandestine, covert, concealed
sacrilege
(n)
disrespectful to sacred people/ objects
syn: desecration, profanation, defilement
undulate
(v)
to move in a wavelike motion
syn: ripple, fluctuate, rise and fall
credence
(n)
trust; credit
syn: confidence, belief
ant: disbelief, skepticism, incredulity
decry
(v)
denounce
syn: condemn, depreciate, censure, devalue
ant: tout, commend, extol, laud, praise
distraught
(adj)
upset
syn: frantic, distracted, agitated
ant: calm, composed, collected
evince
(v)
to exhibit
syn: display, manifest, occasion, provoke
feckless
(adj)
lacking in spiritual strength
syn: feeble, helpless, incompetent, ineffectual, unreliable
ant: competent, capable, effective
nefarious
(adj)
wicked
syn: iniquitous, reprehensible
ant: virtuous, honorable, praiseworthy, meritorious
primordial
(adj)
beginning/ original
syn: primeval, primal, fundamental, basic
propinquity
(n)
proximity/ similarity
syn: kinship ant: remoteness, distance
verbiage
(n)
wordy
syn: verbosity, prolixity, diction, jargon
viscous
(adj)
thick
syn: gummy, sticky, gelatinous
ant: runny, watery, aqueous
atrophy
(n) (v)
to waste away
syn: degeneration, deterioration, wither
ant: growth, development, mature, develop
bastion
(n)
fortified place
syn: citadel, rampart, bulwark, parapet, stronghold
consummate
(adj) (v)
to complete; to perfect
syn: masterful, clinch, conclude
ant: launch, initiate, begin, kick off
exigency
(n)
urgency
syn: requirement, crisis, pressure, demand, pressing need, emergency
glean
(v)
gather bit by bit
syn: collect, cull, pick up
incumbent
(adj) (n)
required; holds a specific office
syn: mandatory, necessary, obligatory
ant: optional, unnecessary
ludicrous
(adj)
ridiculous
syn: risible, preposterous, laughable, absurd
ant: heartbreaking, poignant, pathetic
mordant
(adj)
harsh; bitterly sarcastic
syn: acrimonious, acidulous, sardonic, scathing, caustic
ant: bland, mild, gentle, soothing
pusillanimous
(adj)
cowardly; mean
syn: craven, lily-livered
ant: stouthearted, courageous, daring
stratagem
(n)
scheme to outwit/ decieve
syn: ruse, trick, ploy, subterfuge
acuity
(n)
sharpness of mind/ senses
syn: keenness, acuteness
ant: dullness, obtuseness
depraved
(adj)
evil; corrupt; immoral
syn: perverted, degenerate, vicious
ant: moral, virtuous, upright, uncorrupted
fecund
(adj)
prolific in offspring or ideas
syn: fertile, teeming
ant: infertile, barren, unproductive
figment
(n)
fabrication of the mind; unreasonable thought
syn: creation, invention, fancy
garner
(v)
to receive from effort; to store for future use
syn: collect, accumulate, accrue
ant: scatter, squander, waste, dissipate
hallow
(v)
to deem as holy/ sacred
syn: sanctify, consecrate, revere, venerate, bless
ant: desecrate, defile, profane
idiosyncrasy
(n)
serves to distinguish/ identify
syn: eccentricity, quirk, mannerism
mundane
(adj)
earthly; practical affairs; ordinary
syn: prosaic, humdrum, routine, sublunary
ant: heavenly, unworldly, spiritual, transcendental
nuance
(n)
slight variation in color, meaning, or quality
syn: shade, nicety, refinement
penchant
(n)
strong attraction/ inclination
syn: proclivity, propensity, predilection
ant: disinclination, aversion
simile
comparison using “like” or “as”
“it is with words, as with sunbeams - the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn”
simile
metaphor
comparison
“life the hound / equivocal / comes at a bound / either to rend me / or to befriend”
metaphor
personification
giving the attributes of a human being to an animal, object, or concept
“those guns will fire”
metonymy
apostrophe
addressing someone absent, dead, or non-human as if that person or thing was present
“tiger! tiger! burning bright / in the forests of the night, what immortal hand or eye / could frame thy fearful symmetry”
apostrophe
overstatement
exaggeration that holds some semblance of truth
“o, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! / it seems she hangs upon the cheek of night / like a rich jewel in an ethiope’s ear”
overstatement
metonymy
something closely related to the thing actually meant
“joy and temperance and repose / slam the door on the doctor’s nose”
personification
synecdoche
part of a whole
“malt does more than milton can / to justify god’s ways to man”
synecdoche
imagery
the representation through language of sense experience
Tactile appeals to touch
Organic appeals to what we feel inside
Kinesthetic appeals to body movements
“the air was soft the ground still cold”
“and rocks to twitch, and all to blur”
“as when a set mind, blessed by doubt”
tactile, kinesthetic, and organic imagery
symbol
something that represents or stands for another thing
understatement
saying less than one means
“and the silent nights” (in the inner city)
understatement
denotation
the literal meaning of a word
connotation
the abstract meaning of a word
allusion
a reference to something in past literature, history, pop culture, or people
“so eden sank to grief, / so dawn goes down to day”
allusion
juxtaposition
placing two or more things side by side to create a contrast
“it was the best of times, it was the worst of times”
juxtaposition
irony
text that means the opposite of what is directly said
"son, we want you to tell us everything!"
"today I killed a man. yesterday I helped drap napalm on women and children”
"please don't write us such depressing letters"
irony
Note
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