Grade 11 College Vocabulary, Week 26

Definition: A state of disuse.

From the reading: "Gradually, the staircase that led to the garret, and even the passage-way to the staircase, were avoided by every one in the house, from every one fearing to speak of it, and the legend was gradually falling into desuetude." (Uncle Tom's Cabin)

Synonyms:

disuse, neglect, obsolescence

Antonyms:

use, currency

Root:Latin desuescere, to become unaccustomed.

Definition: Waste or debris of any kind.

Context (original sentence): After the flood, the riverbank was littered with the detritus of broken fences and drowned crops.

Synonyms:

debris, rubble, refuse

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin deterere, to wear away.

Definition: A jeweled crown or headband worn as a symbol of sovereignty.

From the reading: "His forehead circled with a diadem; Distinguish’d from the crowd, he shines a gem, Enchas’d in gold, or polish’d iv’ry set, Amidst the meaner foil of sable jet." (The Aeneid)

Synonyms:

crown, coronet, tiara

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Greek diadema, a band (diadein, to bind across).

Definition: A short statement that expresses a general truth or principle; a formal pronouncement.

From the reading: "Amy Eshton, not hearing or not heeding this dictum, joined in with her soft, infantine tone: “Louisa and I used to quiz our governess too; but she was such a good creature, she would bear anything: nothing put her out." (Jane Eyre)

Synonyms:

maxim, adage, pronouncement

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin dictum, a thing said (dicere, to say).

Definition: To make someone uneasy or embarrassed; to thwart.

From the reading: "The bystanders approved the shrewdness of their chief; yet Gesius did not seem discomfited." (Ben-Hur)

Synonyms:

unsettle, disconcert, embarrass

Antonyms:

reassure, comfort

Root:Old French desconfire, to defeat.

Definition: To pour out or discharge; to give up something taken, especially unwillingly.

From the reading: "The crowd, that saw him fall and float again, Shout from the distant shore; and loudly laugh’d, To see his heaving breast disgorge the briny draught." (The Aeneid)

Synonyms:

discharge, expel, surrender

Antonyms:

swallow, retain

Root:Old French desgorger (des-, out + gorge, throat).

Definition: Essentially different in kind; not able to be compared.

Context (original sentence): The anthology gathers disparate voices, from Roman poets to Scottish ballad singers.

Synonyms:

dissimilar, distinct, divergent

Antonyms:

similar, uniform

Root:Latin disparare, to separate.

Definition: To be indecisive.

Context (original sentence): While the committee dithered, the old barn collapsed in a storm.

Synonyms:

waver, vacillate, hesitate

Antonyms:

decide, resolve

Root:Middle English didderen, to tremble.

Definition: Brave and persistent.

From the reading: "Weird often saveth 15 The undoomed hero if doughty his valor!" (Beowulf)

Synonyms:

valiant, intrepid, stalwart

Antonyms:

cowardly, timid

Root:Old English dohtig, valiant.

Definition: Excessively harsh and severe, especially of laws or punishments.

Context (original sentence): The draconian rule allowed no supper for any boy who was late to chapel.

Synonyms:

harsh, severe, punitive

Antonyms:

lenient, mild

Root:from Draco, Athenian lawgiver whose code (621 B.C.) was notoriously severe.

Definition: The quality of being cheerful and full of energy; exuberance.

Context (original sentence): The ebullience of the children on the last day of school filled the whole street.

Synonyms:

exuberance, buoyancy, high spirits

Antonyms:

gloom, apathy

Root:Latin ebullire, to boil over.

Definition: The state or period of flowering; a full development, as of art or culture.

From the reading: "Behold it here! this little flask Contains the wonderful quintessence, The perfect flower and efflorescence, Of all the knowledge man can ask!" (Poems of Longfellow)

Synonyms:

flowering, blossoming, flourishing

Antonyms:

decline, decay

Root:Latin efflorescere, to blossom out.

Definition: Energy, style, and enthusiasm.

Context (original sentence): The cavalry charged with an elan that astonished even their enemies.

Synonyms:

flair, panache, verve

Antonyms:

lethargy

Root:French elan, rush, from elancer, to dart.

Definition: To omit a sound or syllable when speaking; to leave out or pass over.

Context (original sentence): In poetry, "over" is sometimes elided to "o'er" to fit the meter.

Synonyms:

omit, drop, slur

Antonyms:

include

Root:Latin elidere, to strike out.

Definition: A salary, fee, or profit from employment or office.

From the reading: "Baby-linen—for babies then wore robes of state—afforded still another possibility of toil and emolument." (The Scarlet Letter)

Synonyms:

salary, wages, remuneration

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin emolumentum, profit, perhaps originally a miller's fee for grinding (molere).

Definition: The highest part of heaven; the sky.

From the reading: "There was an ancient belief, that once in ten years the eagle would soar into the empyrean, and plunging thence into the sea, would molt his plumage and renew his youth with a fresh supply of feathers." (The Faerie Queene, Book I)

Synonyms:

heavens, firmament, sky

Antonyms:

abyss

Root:Greek empyrios, fiery (en + pyr, fire).

Definition: An item of food.

Context (original sentence): The pantry was stocked with every comestible a long winter could require.

Synonyms:

food, foodstuff, victual

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin comedere, to eat up.

Definition: Balance of forces or interests; equilibrium.

From the reading: "Our little lives are kept in equipoise By opposite attractions and desires; The struggle of the instinct that enjoys, And the more noble instinct that aspires." (Poems of Longfellow)

Synonyms:

balance, equilibrium, stability

Antonyms:

imbalance

Root:Latin aequus, equal + English poise.

Definition: Made or used as an inferior substitute for something else; artificial.

Context (original sentence): During the war, the family drank ersatz coffee brewed from roasted acorns.

Synonyms:

artificial, imitation, synthetic

Antonyms:

genuine, authentic

Root:German Ersatz, replacement.

Definition: To make pale and weak, especially a plant by growing it in darkness.

From the reading: "Next morning I had the pleasure of encountering him; left a bullet in one of his poor etiolated arms, feeble as the wing of a chicken in the pip, and then thought I had done with the whole crew." (Jane Eyre)

Synonyms:

blanch, weaken, enfeeble

Antonyms:

invigorate, strengthen

Root:French etioler, to blanch.