Grade 11 College Vocabulary, Week 21

Definition: Serving to form or shape something, especially a person's character in early life.

Context (original sentence): The years he spent on his grandfather's farm were the most formative of his life.

Synonyms:

shaping, determining, developmental

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin formare, to shape.

Definition: In a wild state, especially after escape from captivity or domestication.

Context (original sentence): Feral goats had stripped the island of every green shrub.

Synonyms:

wild, untamed, savage

Antonyms:

domesticated, tame

Root:Latin ferus. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: A long-standing rival or opponent; also, a downfall that is deserved and inescapable.

From the reading: "And I pray Nemesis not to visit upon me the words which I am going to utter." (The Republic)

Synonyms:

rival, adversary, bane

Antonyms:

ally

Root:Greek Nemesis, the goddess of retribution (nemein, to give what is due).

Definition: To keep out of sight, typically with a sinister or cowardly motive; to lurk.

From the reading: "At midnight, when there was a moon, I sometimes met with hounds in my path prowling about the woods, which would skulk out of my way, as if afraid, and stand silent amid the bushes till I had passed." (Walden)

Synonyms:

lurk, slink, prowl

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Middle English skulken, of Scandinavian origin (compare Norwegian skulka, to shirk).

Definition: Drawing ideas or styles from a wide and diverse range of sources.

Context (original sentence): Her eclectic library held Greek tragedies, seed catalogues, and sea charts.

Synonyms:

diverse, wide-ranging, varied

Antonyms:

narrow, uniform

Root:Greek eklektikos, selective (ek-, out + legein, to choose).

Definition: Showing great self-discipline; austere and lacking comfort.

Context (original sentence): The monks lived in spartan cells with a bed, a stool, and a crucifix.

Synonyms:

austere, ascetic, severe

Antonyms:

luxurious, lavish

Root:from Sparta, the Greek city famed for its austere discipline.

Definition: A recurring theme, image, or idea in a work of art or literature.

Context (original sentence): Light and darkness form a recurring motif throughout the Gospel of John.

Synonyms:

theme, pattern, refrain

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:French motif, motive or theme, from Late Latin motivus, moving.

Definition: To stop, close up, or obstruct an opening or passage.

Context (original sentence): A fallen tree occluded the mouth of the tunnel.

Synonyms:

block, obstruct, clog

Antonyms:

open, clear

Root:Latin occludere, to shut up (ob- + claudere, to close).

Definition: Seeking to promote the welfare of others, especially by generous gifts of money.

From the reading: "I confess that I have hitherto indulged very little in philanthropic enterprises." (Walden)

Synonyms:

charitable, benevolent, generous

Antonyms:

miserly, selfish

Root:Greek philanthropia, love of mankind (philos, loving + anthropos, man).

Definition: An excessive amount or overabundance of something.

Context (original sentence): The new student faced a plethora of rules, customs, and nicknames to learn.

Synonyms:

glut, surplus, excess

Antonyms:

dearth, paucity

Root:Greek plethore, fullness.

Definition: To explore or examine something fully, especially to reach its depths.

From the reading: "ROXANE: A heart too deep for common minds to plumb, A spirit subtle, charming?" (Cyrano de Bergerac)

Synonyms:

probe, fathom, explore

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin plumbum, lead (as in a lead weight dropped to sound depths).

Definition: A strong verbal or written attack on someone or something.

From the reading: "They have the limitation of all polemic and forensic: they persuade, they seduce, they are unfair." (Pensées)

Synonyms:

diatribe, tirade, invective

Antonyms:

eulogy, panegyric

Root:Greek polemikos, warlike (polemos, war).

Definition: To forbid, especially by law.

From the reading: "In proscribing them, however, he is not singular; all professional athletes are well aware that a man who is to be in good condition should take nothing of the kind." (The Republic)

Synonyms:

forbid, prohibit, ban

Antonyms:

permit, allow

Root:Latin proscribere, to publish as outlawed (pro-, before + scribere, to write).

Definition: Able to change frequently or easily; versatile.

Context (original sentence): The protean actor played a king, a beggar, and a ghost in the same season.

Synonyms:

versatile, changeable, adaptable

Antonyms:

rigid, fixed

Root:from Proteus, the Greek sea god who could change his shape.

Definition: Something that is needed or wanted.

From the reading: "To accomplish the great desideratum of ærial navigation, it was very generally supposed that some exceedingly complicated application must be made of some unusually profound principle in dynamics." (The Works of Edgar Allan Poe)

Synonyms:

requirement, essential, need

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin desideratum, thing desired.

Definition: In a state of inactivity or dormancy; quiet.

From the reading: "Quiescent as he now sat, there was something about his nostril, his mouth, his brow, which, to my perceptions, indicated elements within either restless, or hard, or eager." (Jane Eyre)

Synonyms:

dormant, inactive, latent

Antonyms:

active, erupting

Root:Latin quiescere, to rest.

Definition: A person who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way.

Context (original sentence): Grandfather was a born raconteur whose stories kept the table laughing past midnight.

Synonyms:

storyteller, anecdotist

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:French raconter, to relate or tell.

Definition: To revoke, cancel, or repeal a law, order, or agreement.

Context (original sentence): The council rescinded the curfew once the danger had passed.

Synonyms:

revoke, repeal, annul

Antonyms:

enact, impose

Root:Latin rescindere, to cut off (re- + scindere, to cut).

Definition: Regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with.

From the reading: "O Virgins sacrosanct! if ever hunger, Vigils, or cold for you I have endured, The occasion spurs me their reward to claim!" (The Divine Comedy)

Synonyms:

inviolable, sacred, untouchable

Antonyms:

profane

Root:Latin sacrosanctus (sacer, sacred + sanctus, holy).

Definition: A position requiring little or no work but giving the holder status or pay.

From the reading: "The attendant of this place was temporarily absent, probably because the only guests were at dinner and his office was a sinecure." (The Innocence of Father Brown)

Synonyms:

easy job, cushy post

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin sine cura, without care (of souls).