Grade 7 College Vocabulary, Week 17

Definition: To sink, weaken or grow less; to refuse politely (the sense tests often check).

From the reading: "And every fair from fair sometime declines,"

KJV: "My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass" (Psalm 102:11).

Synonyms:

wane, diminish, ebb; (second sense) refuse, turn down

Antonyms:

flourish, increase, thrive; (second sense) accept

Root:Latin declinare, "to bend away, turn aside" (de- "down, away" + clinare "to bend").

Definition: The natural color and look of the skin of the face; the general character or nature of something ("the whole complexion of the war changed").

From the reading: "And often is his gold complexion dimm’d,"

Context: Shakespeare gives the sun a face: its "gold complexion" is the bright face of heaven's eye, which clouds can darken.

Synonyms:

coloring, hue; (second sense) character, aspect, cast

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin complexio, "a combination," from complecti, "to embrace." Old physicians thought the face showed the blend of a man's bodily "humors."

Definition: lasting forever, without beginning or end; (loosely) seeming never to stop.

From the reading: "But thy eternal summer shall not fade,"

KJV: "...for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Synonyms:

everlasting, endless, timeless

Antonyms:

temporary, fleeting, mortal

Root:Latin aeternus, from aevum, "age, lifetime."

Definition: to settle something firmly and finally, as with an argument, a deal or a victory.

From the reading: "The couplet at the end of a Shakespearean sonnet sums up or clinches the poem."

Synonyms:

settle, secure, seal, decide

Antonyms:

unsettle, lose, leave open

Root:a form of clench, from Old English beclencan, "to hold fast." A carpenter clinched a nail by bending its point over so it could not pull out.

Definition: quickly fading or vanishing; lasting only a short time, like mist.

Context: In Sonnet 18, the buds of May, the summer's warmth and the bright sun are all evanescent; the poet promises that his lines will not be.

Synonyms:

fleeting, vanishing, short-lived

Antonyms:

permanent, lasting, enduring

Root:Latin evanescere, "to vanish" (e- "out" + vanescere, from vanus, "empty").

Definition: lasting a very long time, or coming back again and again; (of plants) living for more than two years.

Context: Four hundred years after it was printed, Sonnet 18 is still a perennial favorite with readers and actors.

Synonyms:

enduring, lasting, recurring

Antonyms:

fleeting, short-lived, annual

Root:Latin perennis, "lasting through the year" (per "through" + annus "year").

Definition: not subject to death; (also) remembered forever.

Context: Shakespeare boasts that his verse will make the man he praises immortal. The Christian reader admires the boast but knows that only God is immortal by His own nature.

KJV: "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Timothy 1:17).

Synonyms:

deathless, undying, everlasting

Antonyms:

mortal, perishable, transient

Root:Latin in- "not" + mortalis, "subject to death," from mors, "death."

Definition: to keep safe from harm, decay or loss; to keep something as it is.

From the reading: "The person, because the poem preserves him."

KJV: "The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul" (Psalm 121:7).

Synonyms:

protect, safeguard, conserve

Antonyms:

destroy, neglect, squander

Root:Latin prae- "before, ahead" + servare "to keep, guard."

Definition: a strong feeling that something, usually something bad, is about to happen.

Context: Fiver, the smallest rabbit in the warren, has a premonition of terrible danger, though nothing around him has yet changed.

Synonyms:

foreboding, presentiment, misgiving

Antonyms:

(none exact) surprise, unawareness

Root:Latin prae- "before" + monere "to warn": a warning that comes ahead of time.

Definition: knowing or seeming to know about events before they happen; wise about the future.

Context: The other rabbits laugh at Fiver, but his fears prove prescient: the warren he warned them to leave is soon destroyed.

Synonyms:

foresighted, farseeing, prophetic

Antonyms:

shortsighted, unaware, oblivious

Root:Latin prae- "before" + scire "to know."

Definition: a person or thing that comes before something else and announces or signals it.

Context: A newly posted signboard at the edge of the field looks harmless to most of the rabbits, but to Fiver it is a harbinger of ruin.

Synonyms:

forerunner, herald, omen

Antonyms:

aftermath, consequence

Root:Middle English herbergeour, "one sent ahead to find lodging (a harbor) for an army or a king."

Definition: a departure of a large number of people (or creatures) at one time, especially to escape danger.

Context: Hazel leads a small exodus of rabbits out of their home warren by night, trusting Fiver's warning when the Chief Rabbit will not.

KJV link: The second book of the Bible is named for Israel's going out from Egypt, when Moses told Pharaoh, "Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go" (Exodus 5:1). The word exodus is not in the verse; it is the book's Greek title.

Synonyms:

departure, flight, migration, emigration

Antonyms:

arrival, influx, return

Root:Greek exodos, "a going out" (ex "out" + hodos "way, road").

Definition: ruling with unlimited power and expecting complete obedience; bossy and domineering.

Context: General Woundwort governs Efrafa in an autocratic way: every rule is his, and no rabbit may question it.

Synonyms:

dictatorial, tyrannical, domineering

Antonyms:

democratic, permissive, gentle

Root:Greek autos "self" + kratos "power, rule": one who rules by himself alone.

Definition: strictly organized and controlled, with little freedom or variety.

Context: In Efrafa, the rabbits live a regimented life: they feed and come above ground only at set times, under guard.

Synonyms:

controlled, disciplined, rigid

Antonyms:

free, relaxed, unstructured

Root:Latin regimentum, "rule, government," from regere, "to rule, direct."

Definition: to bring under complete control by force; to conquer and hold down.

Context: Woundwort subjugates the rabbits of his warren by fear, and he hopes to subjugate Hazel's band as well.

KJV link: The tyrant's yoke crushes, but Christ's yoke gives rest: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Matthew 11:29). Milton's sonnet in Lesson 5.2 speaks of the same "mild yoke."

Synonyms:

conquer, subdue, enslave

Antonyms:

liberate, free, emancipate

Root:Latin sub "under" + iugum "yoke": to put under the yoke, as a conquered army once was made to pass beneath one.

Definition: To say words aloud for someone else to write down; to give orders with authority, or to control what happens.

From the reading: "...holding whole stretches of verse in memory before he dictated them."

Context (sense 2): In Efrafa, the General dictates where each rabbit may go and when.

Synonyms:

(sense 1) speak, recite; (sense 2) command, order, prescribe

Antonyms:

(sense 2) obey, follow, comply

Root:Latin dictare, "to say often, prescribe," from dicere, "to say."

Definition: causing fear or respect because of great size, strength or ability; very hard to overcome.

Context: General Woundwort is a formidable enemy, larger and fiercer than any rabbit Hazel's band has met.

Synonyms:

fearsome, daunting, powerful

Antonyms:

weak, feeble, harmless

Root:Latin formidabilis, from formido, "fear, dread."

Definition: strong, brave and steadily loyal.

Context: Bigwig is the stalwart fighter of the band; when the enemy comes, he holds his ground and will not give way.

KJV link: "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong" (1 Corinthians 16:13).

Synonyms:

steadfast, sturdy, loyal, valiant

Antonyms:

timid, cowardly, wavering

Root:Old English stælwierthe, "serviceable, sturdy," probably from stathol "foundation" + wierthe "worthy."

Definition: showing good judgment; wise and careful in making decisions.

Context: Hazel is not the biggest or strongest rabbit, but he is judicious: he listens to Fiver, uses each friend's gifts and makes careful plans.

Synonyms:

wise, prudent, sensible, discerning

Antonyms:

rash, foolish, imprudent

Root:Latin iudicium, "judgment," from iudex, "judge."

Definition: a trick or secret plan used to get out of trouble or to reach a goal.

Context: Bigwig enters Efrafa by subterfuge, pretending to join its guards so that he can help the captive does escape.

Synonyms:

trickery, ruse, deception, stratagem

Antonyms:

openness, frankness, honesty

Root:Latin subterfugere, "to escape secretly" (subter "beneath, in secret" + fugere "to flee").