Grade 10 College Vocabulary, Week 1

Definition: low spirits; sadness that comes from disappointment or loss of hope.

From the reading: "They produced in me an infinity of new images and feelings, that sometimes raised me to ecstasy, but more frequently sunk me into the lowest dejection."

✝ link: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God" (Psalm 43:5).

Synonyms:

despondency, melancholy, gloom

Antonyms:

elation, cheerfulness, exhilaration

Root:Latin deicere, "to throw down" (de- "down" + iacere "to throw").

Definition: loud, confused and disorderly; (of feelings) violently stirred up.

From the reading: "...their feelings were serene and peaceful, while mine became every day more tumultuous."

Synonyms:

turbulent, chaotic, agitated

Antonyms:

calm, serene, orderly

Root:Latin tumultus, "uproar," related to tumere, "to swell."

Definition: often changing; not steady in feeling, purpose or loyalty.

From the reading: "How inconstant are your feelings! But a moment ago you were moved by my representations, and why do you again harden yourself to my complaints?"

Synonyms:

fickle, changeable, capricious

Antonyms:

steadfast, constant, faithful

Root:Latin in- (not) + constare, "to stand firm."

Definition: a state of physical or mental sluggishness; numb inactivity.

From the reading: "...but my general state of feeling was a torpor in which a prison was as welcome a residence as the divinest scene in nature..."

Synonyms:

lethargy, inertia, stupor

Antonyms:

vigor, alertness, energy

Root:Latin torpere, "to be numb, sluggish."

Definition: intense enthusiasm or passion.

From the reading: "I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart."

✝ link: "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11).

Synonyms:

zeal, fervor, passion

Antonyms:

apathy, indifference, coolness

Root:Latin ardere, "to burn."

Definition: never slackening or stopping; constant and persistent.

From the reading: "These thoughts supported my spirits, while I pursued my undertaking with unremitting ardour."

✝ link: "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Galatians 6:9).

Synonyms:

relentless, ceaseless, persistent

Antonyms:

intermittent, sporadic, halfhearted

Root:un- + remit, from Latin remittere, "to send back, slacken."

Definition: an impossible or foolish fancy; a hope or idea that cannot come true.

From the reading: "...they know that metals cannot be transmuted and that the elixir of life is a chimera..."

✝ link: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit" (Ecclesiastes 1:14).

Synonyms:

illusion, fantasy, pipe dream

Antonyms:

reality, certainty, fact

Root:Greek chimaira, "she-goat," the fire-breathing monster of myth, made of a lion, a goat and a serpent.

Definition: to put off doing something, especially out of habit.

From the reading: "I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed."

✝ link: "Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth" (Proverbs 27:1).

Synonyms:

delay, defer, postpone

Antonyms:

expedite, hasten, act promptly

Root:Latin pro- (forward) + crastinus (of tomorrow), from cras, "tomorrow."

Definition: to fill or pour into; to put a quality or a force into something.

From the reading: "...that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet."

✝ link: "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).

Synonyms:

instill, impart, inject

Antonyms:

drain, extract, remove

Root:Latin infundere, "to pour in" (in- + fundere "to pour").

Definition: not alive; lacking life or spirit.

From the reading: "I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body."

Synonyms:

lifeless, inert, insensate

Antonyms:

living, animate, alive

Root:Latin in- (not) + anima, "breath, soul."

Definition: weakness or weariness of body or mind; a lack of energy.

From the reading: "...at others, I nearly sank to the ground through languor and extreme weakness."

Synonyms:

lassitude, fatigue, listlessness

Antonyms:

vigor, vitality, liveliness

Root:Latin languere, "to be faint, weak."

Definition: able to be touched or felt; so intense or obvious that it seems physically real.

From the reading: "As he went on I felt as if my soul were grappling with a palpable enemy..."

Synonyms:

tangible, perceptible, unmistakable

Antonyms:

intangible, imperceptible, imaginary

Root:Latin palpare, "to touch gently, stroke."

Definition: a feeling of strong hatred and disgust.

From the reading: "I felt the greatest ardour for virtue rise within me, and abhorrence for vice..."

✝ link: "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good" (Romans 12:9).

Synonyms:

loathing, revulsion, detestation

Antonyms:

love, admiration, delight

Root:Latin abhorrere, "to shrink back in horror" (ab- "away" + horrere "to bristle").

Definition: an intense desire to do harm; deep-rooted ill will.

From the reading: "He showed unparalleled malignity and selfishness in evil..."

Synonyms:

malevolence, spite, venom

Antonyms:

benevolence, goodwill, kindness

Root:Latin malignus, "evil-natured" (malus "bad" + gignere "to be born").

Definition: too great to be overcome.

From the reading: "But that cannot be; the human senses are insurmountable barriers to our union."

✝ link: "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).

Synonyms:

insuperable, overwhelming, hopeless

Antonyms:

surmountable, manageable, conquerable

Root:in- (not) + surmount, from Old French surmonter, "to rise above."

Definition: a feeling that something, usually something bad, is about to happen.

From the reading: "...she was melancholy, and a presentiment of evil pervaded her..."

Synonyms:

foreboding, premonition, apprehension

Antonyms:

(none exact) obliviousness, unconcern

Root:Latin prae- (before) + sentire (to feel): to feel beforehand.

Definition: to make suffering, pain or a problem less severe.

From the reading: "You come to us now to share a misery which nothing can alleviate..."

✝ link: "Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).

Synonyms:

ease, relieve, mitigate

Antonyms:

aggravate, intensify, worsen

Root:Latin ad- (to) + levis (light): to lighten.

Definition: a state of calm and peace, free from disturbance.

From the reading: "Seek happiness in tranquillity and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries."

✝ link: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isaiah 26:3).

Synonyms:

serenity, peace, calm

Antonyms:

turmoil, agitation, tumult

Root:Latin tranquillus, "calm, quiet."

Definition: to make greater in size, amount or strength.

From the reading: "...is it not a duty to the survivors that we should refrain from augmenting their unhappiness by an appearance of immoderate grief?"

✝ link: "A wise man will hear, and will increase learning" (Proverbs 1:5).

Synonyms:

increase, enlarge, amplify

Antonyms:

diminish, reduce, curtail

Root:Latin augere, "to increase."

Definition: to fill deeply with a feeling, quality or idea, as cloth soaks up dye.

From the reading: "...perhaps, if my first introduction to humanity had been made by a young soldier, burning for glory and slaughter, I should have been imbued with different sensations."

✝ link: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

Synonyms:

permeate, instill, saturate

Antonyms:

empty, drain, purge

Root:Latin imbuere, "to wet, stain, dye."