Grade 7 College Vocabulary, Week 11

Definition: a person who flatters powerful people to win their favor; a fawning yes-man.

Context: A sycophant at King David's court might have praised him to his face and whispered about him behind his back. Nathan was no sycophant: he told the king the truth.

KJV link: "A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet" (Proverbs 29:5).

Synonyms:

flatterer, toady, bootlicker

Antonyms:

critic, plain dealer

Root:Greek sykophantes, which in Athens meant "a false accuser, a slanderer." The word has fallen from one ditch into the other: the old sycophant lied to wound, and the modern one lies to please.

Definition: excessive praise or admiration, more than a person deserves.

Context: A young athlete who hears only adulation may never learn what he is doing wrong.

KJV link: "He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue" (Proverbs 28:23).

Synonyms:

flattery, fawning, idolization

Antonyms:

criticism, censure, contempt

Root:Latin adulari, "to fawn upon," a word first used of a dog wagging its tail.

Definition: to coax someone into doing something by flattery, sweet talk or gentle pressure.

Context: At the Council of Elrond, Gandalf tells how Saruman tried to cajole him with fair words and promises of power, so that he would join the White Wizard's plans.

KJV link: Paul did not cajole his hearers: "For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know" (1 Thessalonians 2:5).

Synonyms:

coax, wheedle, sweet-talk

Antonyms:

compel, force, command

Root:French cajoler, "to coax," perhaps first meaning "to chatter like a jay."

Definition: not frank or sincere; pretending to be honest or to know less than one does. (A favorite test word.)

Context: Bilbo's first story of how he got the Ring, that Gollum had promised it to him as a present, was disingenuous. Gandalf was not satisfied until he had the true tale.

KJV link: "They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak" (Psalm 12:2).

Synonyms:

insincere, two-faced, deceptive

Antonyms:

candid, sincere, ingenuous

Root:dis- (not) + ingenuous, from Latin ingenuus, "freeborn, noble, frank." The disingenuous man hides behind a frank face.

Definition: Able to burn or eat away by chemical action; bitingly sarcastic or harsh in speech (the test sense).

Context: A caustic remark may be true, but if it is meant only to wound, it has left the road of love.

KJV link: "There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health" (Proverbs 12:18).

Synonyms:

biting, scathing, acerbic

Antonyms:

gentle, mild, soothing

Root:Greek kaustikos, "burning," from kaiein, "to burn" (compare holocaust, "burnt whole").

Definition: bitterness and ill will in speech or manner.

Context: At the borders of Lothlórien, the old acrimony between Dwarves and Elves flared up when Gimli was told he must walk blindfolded and Legolas was not.

KJV link: "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:" (Ephesians 4:31).

Synonyms:

bitterness, rancor, animosity

Antonyms:

goodwill, harmony, friendliness

Root:Latin acrimonia, "sharpness," from acer, "sharp" (also the root of acrid).

Definition: to speak or write about someone in an abusive, insulting way so as to lower him in others' eyes.

Context: Catiline could not answer Cicero's charges, so he tried to vilify Cicero for his family instead. Fair blame names deeds; vilifying piles up insults.

KJV link: "He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool" (Proverbs 10:18).

Synonyms:

malign, defame, denigrate

Antonyms:

praise, extol, defend

Root:Latin vilificare, from vilis, "cheap, worthless" + facere, "to make": to make someone seem worthless.

Definition: to speak of someone or something as small or unimportant; to belittle.

Context: At Bree the hobbits were quick to disparage the weather-stained Ranger called Strider by his rough looks, yet he proved to be a true friend and the rightful heir of kings.

Synonyms:

belittle, deprecate, run down

Antonyms:

commend, praise, honor

Root:Old French desparagier, "to marry beneath one's rank," from des- (apart) + parage (rank, equality): to treat as lower than one is.

Definition: To set on fire; to stir up a feeling, such as anger, interest or hope.

From the reading: "And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man" (2 Samuel 12:5).

Context: Nathan's parable kindled the king's sense of justice before David knew that he himself was the man.

Synonyms:

ignite, arouse, awaken

Antonyms:

quench, extinguish, smother

Root:Old Norse kynda, "to light a fire."

Definition: Slanting, not straight up or across; indirect, not stated plainly (the test sense).

Context: Nathan's approach was oblique at first: he spoke of a rich man and a poor man's lamb, not of David. Then the oblique story became a direct charge.

Synonyms:

indirect, roundabout, implied

Antonyms:

direct, straightforward, explicit

Root:Latin obliquus, "slanting, sidelong."

Definition: feeling or showing sorrow for having done wrong, together with a wish to make it right.

Context: When Frodo vanished from Amon Hen, Boromir, who had tried to take the Ring by force, fell weeping in shame. Pride gave way to a penitent heart.

KJV link: David's penitent prayer: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Psalm 51:17).

Synonyms:

repentant, contrite, remorseful

Antonyms:

unrepentant, impenitent, defiant

Root:Latin paenitere, "to cause regret, to repent" (also the root of penance).

Definition: to set free from guilt, blame or punishment; to declare forgiven.

Context: Only God could absolve David. When the king confessed, Nathan told him the LORD had done so.

KJV link: "The LORD also hath put away thy sin" (2 Samuel 12:13).

Synonyms:

pardon, forgive, acquit

Antonyms:

condemn, convict, blame

Root:Latin ab- (from) + solvere (to loosen): to loosen someone from his guilt.

Definition: direct and outspoken; saying plainly what one thinks.

Context: At the Council of Elrond, Boromir was forthright: he said openly that he thought the Ring should be used as a weapon against the Enemy. The others answered him just as plainly.

KJV link: Paul was forthright with Peter: "I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed" (Galatians 2:11). "Open rebuke is better than secret love" (Proverbs 27:5).

Synonyms:

frank, candid, blunt

Antonyms:

evasive, indirect, guarded

Root:Old English forthriht, "straight forward."

Definition: to protest earnestly; to plead with someone against something he is doing.

Context: At Bag End, Gandalf had to remonstrate with Bilbo, who was clinging to the Ring and could not bring himself to leave it behind.

KJV link: Christ's rule for remonstrating with a brother: "go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone" (Matthew 18:15).

Synonyms:

protest, object, expostulate

Antonyms:

agree, approve, consent

Root:Medieval Latin remonstrare, "to show again," from re- (again) + monstrare (to show): to point out a wrong once more.

Definition: to use vague or double-meaning words in order to avoid telling the plain truth or taking a clear stand.

Context: When Nathan said, "Thou art the man," David did not equivocate. He said at once, "I have sinned against the LORD."

KJV link: "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil" (Matthew 5:37).

Synonyms:

hedge, prevaricate, dodge

Antonyms:

declare, state plainly, commit

Root:Latin aequus (equal) + vox (voice): speaking with "equal voice" for two meanings at once.

Definition: skill in saying or doing the right thing with others, especially in hard moments, so as not to give needless offense.

Context: Aragorn showed tact in Lothlórien. Rather than let Gimli alone be shamed by the blindfold, he asked that the whole Company be blindfolded, Legolas too.

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

Synonyms:

diplomacy, discretion, sensitivity

Antonyms:

tactlessness, clumsiness, rudeness

Root:Latin tactus, "touch," from tangere, "to touch": a fine sense of touch in dealing with people.

Definition: to soften or moderate something by mixing in something else; (of steel) to harden and toughen by heating and cooling.

Context: Grace does not erase the truth of a rebuke; it tempers it, as salt tempers food.

KJV link: "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" (Colossians 4:6).

Synonyms:

moderate, soften, mitigate

Antonyms:

intensify, heighten, aggravate

Root:Latin temperare, "to mix in due proportion" (compare temperance).

Definition: producing a good effect; beneficial, often after something unpleasant.

Context: Gandalf's stern words to Bilbo were hard to hear, but they proved salutary: Bilbo laid the Ring aside and set out on the road with a lighter heart.

KJV link: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" (Proverbs 27:6). "Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness" (Psalm 141:5).

Synonyms:

beneficial, wholesome, helpful

Antonyms:

harmful, damaging, injurious

Root:Latin salutaris, "healthful," from salus, "health, safety." (It comes from salus, not sal, "salt," but a salutary rebuke is seasoned with salt all the same.)

Definition: the right relation of one thing to another in size or degree; in blame, a charge that fits the size of the wrong.

From the reading: "Blame that fits the size of the wrong: no “always” or “never” when once is the truth."

Context: Calling Jonah "the worst prophet ever" is out of all proportion; saying he fled to Tarshish is true and in proportion.

Synonyms:

balance, measure, fitness

Antonyms:

disproportion, imbalance, excess

Root:Latin pro portione, "according to the share."

Definition: the act of bringing something back to its right condition; in Christian rebuke, bringing the wrongdoer back to God and to those he wronged.

From the reading: "The goal of Christian rebuke: the wrongdoer turned back to God and to those he wronged." In the model passage, David himself says of the thief, "And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."

KJV link: "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;" (Galatians 6:1).

Synonyms:

renewal, recovery, reinstatement

Antonyms:

ruin, destruction, estrangement

Root:Latin restaurare, "to repair, rebuild," from re- (again) + -staurare (to set up).