Grade 6 College Vocabulary, Week 5

Definition: very small; tiny.

From the reading: "I am weary of collecting my treasures with so much trouble, and beholding the heap so diminutive, after I have done my best."

Synonyms:

tiny, minute, miniature

Antonyms:

enormous, immense, colossal

Root:Latin diminuere, "to lessen" (de- + minuere, "to make small"). The same root gives us diminish and minute.

Definition: an idea or plan formed in the mind; (also) the forming of such an idea.

From the reading: "You certainly deserve credit, friend Midas, for striking out so brilliant a conception."

Synonyms:

idea, notion, concept

Antonyms:

(none exact) misunderstanding

Root:Latin conceptio, from concipere, "to take in, grasp" (con- + capere, "to take"). A conception is an idea the mind has grasped.

Definition: to persuade or lead someone to do something; to cause.

From the reading: "What could induce me?" asked Midas, when the stranger asked if he would ever regret his wish.

Synonyms:

persuade, prompt, cause

Antonyms:

prevent, deter, discourage

Root:Latin inducere, "to lead in" (in- + ducere, "to lead").

Definition: To cause to be or become; to give or hand over what is owed.

From the reading: "I ask nothing else, to render me perfectly happy."

KJV: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s" (Matthew 22:21).

Synonyms:

(sense 1) make, cause to be; (sense 2) give, pay, deliver

Antonyms:

(sense 2) withhold, keep back

Root:Old French rendre, from Latin reddere, "to give back" (re- + dare, "to give").

Definition: to mourn aloud; to express deep sorrow or regret.

From the reading: "Ah, but Achilles will have cause to lament when the host perishes beside our burning ships..."

Synonyms:

mourn, grieve, bewail

Antonyms:

rejoice, celebrate, exult

Root:Latin lamentum, "a wailing, weeping."

Definition: a bad, difficult or dangerous situation.

From the reading: "...seeing that in spite of the evil plight he was in, he was a man of worth." (Nausicaa, meeting the shipwrecked Odysseus)

Synonyms:

predicament, trouble, difficulty

Antonyms:

good fortune, comfort, ease

Root:Anglo-Norman plit, "condition, state," mixed with Old English pliht, "danger."

Definition: Empty, bare and lonely; feeling abandoned and miserable.

From the reading: "...the waves overwhelmed me and dashed me against great rocks in a desolate place."

KJV: "Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted" (Psalm 25:16).

Synonyms:

barren, deserted, bleak; (sense 2) forlorn, wretched

Antonyms:

populated, fertile; (sense 2) cheerful, comforted

Root:Latin desolatus, from desolare, "to leave alone" (de- + solus, "alone").

Definition: lonely, abandoned and without hope.

From the reading: "Here am I, naked and forlorn, and I know not amongst what people I am come."

Synonyms:

wretched, abandoned, desolate

Antonyms:

hopeful, cheerful, cared for

Root:Old English forloren, "utterly lost," from forleosan, "to lose completely."

Definition: special honor or respect shown publicly.

From the reading: "There every day shall I pay homage to my memory of thee, to whom I owe my life." (Odysseus, bidding farewell to Nausicaa)

Synonyms:

honor, tribute, respect

Antonyms:

contempt, scorn, disrespect

Root:Old French homage, from homme, "man": in the Middle Ages a vassal knelt and declared himself his lord's "man."

Definition: to ask earnestly; to beg.

From the reading: "And if thou shalt beseech them to loose thee, then must they bind thee with tighter bonds." (Circe's warning about the Sirens)

KJV: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1).

Synonyms:

implore, entreat, plead

Antonyms:

command, demand, refuse

Root:Middle English bisechen: be- (thoroughly) + sechen, "to seek."

Definition: strong, fierce anger.

From the reading: "My spirit cannot contain my wrath." (Achilles, refusing to return to battle)

KJV: "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger" (Proverbs 15:1).

Synonyms:

rage, fury, indignation

Antonyms:

calm, gentleness, forbearance

Root:Old English wrath, "angry," related to writhe, "to twist."

Definition: deep respect mixed with awe.

From the reading: "...Odysseus looking upon her was filled with reverence for her, so noble she seemed."

Synonyms:

awe, veneration, respect

Antonyms:

irreverence, disrespect, contempt

Root:Latin reverentia, from revereri, "to stand in awe of" (re- + vereri, "to fear").

Definition: done without meaning to; not chosen by the will.

From the reading: "The figure of the stranger then became exceedingly bright, and Midas involuntarily closed his eyes."

Synonyms:

automatic, unintentional, reflexive

Antonyms:

voluntary, deliberate, intentional

Root:Latin in- (not) + voluntarius, from voluntas, "will."

Definition: to think about something carefully and for a long time.

From the reading: "All night Odysseus lay awake, tossing this side and that, as he pondered on how he might slay the wooers, and save his house from them."

KJV: "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19).

Synonyms:

consider, reflect, deliberate

Antonyms:

ignore, overlook, disregard

Root:Latin ponderare, "to weigh," from pondus, "weight." To ponder is to weigh a thing in the mind.

Definition: secret, quiet action meant to avoid being seen or heard.

From the reading: "...he knows not how to come into this house, whether openly or by stealth."

Synonyms:

secrecy, furtiveness, sneakiness

Antonyms:

openness, boldness, publicity

Root:Middle English stelthe, from Old English stelan, "to steal."

Definition: to see clearly or tell apart, especially good from evil or truth from error.

Context: A wise reader learns to discern a myth from a true record before deciding what to believe.

KJV: "...those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14).

Synonyms:

distinguish, perceive, detect

Antonyms:

confuse, overlook, miss

Root:Latin discernere, "to separate, distinguish" (dis- "apart" + cernere, "to sift").

Definition: to hate deeply; to shrink from in disgust.

Context: By the end of the tale, Midas came to abhor the gold he had once loved, because it had taken his daughter from him.

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

Synonyms:

detest, loathe, despise

Antonyms:

love, cherish, admire

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

Definition: not fitting or proper; out of keeping with good manners or good character.

From the reading: "It will be unseemly if he should get nothing to-day." (A rude suitor mocks the disguised Odysseus before throwing an ox's foot at him.)

Synonyms:

improper, unfitting, unbecoming

Antonyms:

proper, fitting, seemly

Root:un- + seemly, from Old Norse sœmr, "fitting." Compare this week's head of refutation, unfitting.

Definition: An old made-up story about gods or heroes; a widely believed idea that is false (the common test sense).

Context: The tale of Midas and the Golden Touch is a myth: its lesson about greed is true, but the story never happened.

KJV link: Peter tells the church, "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables" (2 Peter 1:16), for the apostles were eyewitnesses.

Synonyms:

legend, fable; (sense 2) misconception, fiction

Antonyms:

fact, history, truth

Root:Greek mythos, "word, speech, story."

Definition: an argument that a story or claim is not believable; proof that something is false.

Context: In her refutation of the Midas tale, the student first told the story fairly, then showed that it was impossible and illogical.

KJV link: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). A good refutation tests the story and keeps what is good in it.

Synonyms:

disproof, rebuttal, counterargument

Antonyms:

proof, confirmation, support

Root:Latin refutare, "to drive back, disprove."