Grade 6 College Vocabulary, Week 33

Definition: to rule, control, or direct; (also) to decide or determine what must be done.

From the reading: "Get the official entry form from vfw.org or your local VFW Post; it governs every rule not listed here."

KJV link: "...the government shall be upon his shoulder" (Isaiah 9:6). Christ is the King who governs all things.

Synonyms:

rule, direct, control, regulate

Antonyms:

obey, follow, submit to

Root:Latin gubernare, "to steer a ship," from Greek kybernan. To govern is to keep something on course.

Definition: a short statement that gives only the main points of something longer.

From the reading: "A summary of the VFW Patriot’s Pen essay contest for 2026–2027, as checked for this course."

Synonyms:

synopsis, digest, overview, abstract

Antonyms:

expansion, elaboration, full text

Root:Latin summa, "the total, the main thing," from summus, "highest."

Definition: with full energy, warmth, and sincerity; wholeheartedly.

From the reading: "...do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;" (the lesson's Scripture, Colossians 3:23).

KJV: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;" (Colossians 3:23).

Synonyms:

wholeheartedly, earnestly, zealously, sincerely

Antonyms:

halfheartedly, grudgingly, listlessly

Root:Old English heorte, "heart": doing something with the whole heart.

Definition: done by a fixed plan or method, step by step and in order.

From the reading: "...so systematic its methods, that there is hardly a case upon record where any man succeeded in braving it with impunity" (Watson, describing a wicked secret society in "The Five Orange Pips").

KJV link: "Let all things be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). A systematic rule checklist puts this verse to work.

Synonyms:

methodical, orderly, organized, thorough

Antonyms:

haphazard, random, disorderly

Root:Greek systema, "an organized whole," from syn- (together) + histanai (to stand): parts that stand together.

Definition: a proposed explanation that is tested against the evidence. Science passages on tests use this word often.

From the reading: "...we shall see whither that hypothesis will lead us."

KJV link: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). A good thinker tests a hypothesis before he trusts it.

Synonyms:

theory, supposition, proposition

Antonyms:

proof, certainty, established fact

Root:Greek hypo- (under) + thesis (a placing): an idea placed underneath as a foundation to test.

Definition: examining something by breaking it into its parts and studying each one logically.

From the reading: "Some, too, have baffled his analytical skill..."

Synonyms:

logical, rational, methodical, investigative

Antonyms:

impulsive, careless, emotional

Root:Greek analysis, "a loosening up," from ana- (up, throughout) + lyein (to loosen).

Definition: the power of knowing or understanding something at once, without step-by-step reasoning.

From the reading: "...his brilliant reasoning power would rise to the level of intuition..."

Synonyms:

instinct, insight, perception, hunch

Antonyms:

reasoning, deliberation, calculation

Root:Latin intueri, "to look at, consider," from in- (upon) + tueri (to watch).

Definition: Quick to notice things; careful to keep a law, rule, or religious custom.

From the reading: "I am naturally observant, as you may have remarked, Mr. Holmes..." (Miss Violet Hunter, in "The Copper Beeches").

KJV link: "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24). The truly observant person looks past the surface.

Synonyms:

perceptive, alert, watchful, attentive

Antonyms:

inattentive, unobservant, oblivious

Root:Latin observare, "to watch, heed," from ob- (toward) + servare (to keep, guard).

Definition: deliberate deception used to gain money or advantage unfairly; (also) a person who deceives this way.

From the reading: "...the whole affair must be some great hoax or fraud, though what its object might be I could not imagine." (Jabez Wilson, in "The Red-Headed League").

KJV link: "Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him" (Leviticus 19:13).

Synonyms:

deception, swindle, hoax; (a person) impostor, cheat

Antonyms:

honesty, integrity, fair dealing

Root:Latin fraus, fraudis, "deceit, injury."

Definition: To declare someone not guilty of a charge; "acquit oneself" = to behave or perform in a certain way.

From the reading: "James McCarthy was acquitted at the Assizes on the strength of a number of objections which had been drawn out by Holmes..."

KJV: "The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked" (Nahum 1:3).

Synonyms:

clear, exonerate, absolve, release

Antonyms:

convict, condemn, sentence

Root:Old French aquiter, "to settle a debt," from Latin ad- (to) + quietare (to set at rest): to make a person free of a claim.

Definition: a trusted friend to whom one tells private matters and secrets.

From the reading: "See the advantages of a cabman as a confidant." (Holmes, in "A Scandal in Bohemia").

Synonyms:

intimate, trusted friend, companion

Antonyms:

stranger, enemy, rival

Root:French confident, from Latin confidere, "to trust fully," from con- (fully) + fidere (to trust).

Definition: not likely to be true or to happen.

From the reading: "It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

Synonyms:

unlikely, doubtful, far-fetched

Antonyms:

probable, likely, certain

Root:Latin in- (not) + probabilis (provable, likely), from probare, "to test, prove."

Definition: anxious, troubled, or unsettled in mind.

From the reading: "...with a very perturbed expression upon his aristocratic features." (Lord St. Simon, in "The Noble Bachelor").

Synonyms:

troubled, agitated, disturbed, uneasy

Antonyms:

calm, composed, untroubled

Root:Latin perturbare, "to throw into confusion," from per- (thoroughly) + turbare (to disturb), from turba, "a crowd, uproar."

Definition: too full of one's own importance; puffed up and showy in manner or speech.

From the reading: "Our visitor bore every mark of being an average commonplace British tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow."

KJV link: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).

Synonyms:

self-important, arrogant, pretentious, puffed up

Antonyms:

humble, modest, unassuming

Root:Latin pomposus, from Greek pompe, "a solemn procession": acting as if one were always marching in a parade.

Definition: untidy and careless in appearance or in work.

From the reading: "...until it becomes positively slovenly as we get round the angle of the jaw..." (Holmes, deducing from a half-shaved face in "The Boscombe Valley Mystery").

KJV link: "I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;" (Proverbs 24:30). The slovenly worker leaves his field to thorns.

Synonyms:

sloppy, untidy, careless, unkempt

Antonyms:

neat, tidy, meticulous

Root:Middle English sloven, "a careless or rascally fellow," perhaps from Flemish sloef, "dirty."

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

From the reading: "...as though it had dropped in sheer lassitude from his fingers." (Holmes, disguised as a worn-out old man in "The Man with the Twisted Lip").

Synonyms:

weariness, fatigue, lethargy, listlessness

Antonyms:

energy, vigor, vitality

Root:Latin lassitudo, from lassus, "weary."

Definition: impossible to untangle or escape from; so closely joined that the parts cannot be separated.

From the reading: "...the quick, subtle methods by which he disentangled the most inextricable mysteries."

Synonyms:

tangled, knotted, inseparable, hopeless

Antonyms:

simple, separable, solvable

Root:Latin in- (not) + extricare (to disentangle), from ex- (out) + tricae (perplexities, tangles).

Definition: a state of wild, uncontrolled excitement or emotion.

From the reading: "It was sheer frenzy of this sort which made him throw his hands up into the air..." (Holmes, explaining young James McCarthy's outburst in "The Boscombe Valley Mystery").

Synonyms:

fury, agitation, hysteria, rage

Antonyms:

calm, composure, serenity

Root:Greek phrenesis, "madness," from phren, "mind," through Latin and Old French frenesie.

Definition: producing a great deal of money; profitable.

From the reading: "One of our most lucrative means of laying out money is in the shape of loans, where the security is unimpeachable." (the banker in "The Beryl Coronet").

KJV link: A church leader must be "not greedy of filthy lucre;" (1 Timothy 3:3). Lucre and lucrative share a root.

Synonyms:

profitable, gainful, moneymaking, remunerative

Antonyms:

unprofitable, losing, unrewarding

Root:Latin lucrum, "gain, profit."

Definition: paying well; giving a good reward for work or money invested.

From the reading: "...our being able to find remunerative investments for our funds..."

Synonyms:

lucrative, profitable, rewarding, paying

Antonyms:

unpaid, unprofitable, unrewarding

Root:Latin remunerari, "to reward," from re- (back) + munus (gift, duty).