Grade 8 College Vocabulary, Week 3

Definition: a change of fortune or circumstance, often an unwelcome one; the ups and downs of life.

From the reading: "Among the vicissitudes incident to life no event could have filled me with greater anxieties..."

Synonyms:

change, reversal, fluctuation

Antonyms:

stability, constancy, permanence

Root:Latin vicissitudo, from vicis, "change, turn" (as in vice president, one who serves in another's turn).

Definition: a settled liking or preference for something.

From the reading: "...from a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection..."

Synonyms:

preference, fondness, partiality

Antonyms:

aversion, dislike, antipathy

Root:Medieval Latin praedilectio, from prae- (before) + diligere (to love, choose): choosing one thing before others.

Definition: unchanging; not able to be changed.

From the reading: "...and, in my flattering hopes, with an immutable decision, as the asylum of my declining years..."

KJV: "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation" (Hebrews 6:18). Washington's decision proved changeable; God's promise is not.

Synonyms:

unchangeable, fixed, permanent

Antonyms:

changeable, mutable, variable

Root:Latin in- (not) + mutabilis (changeable), from mutare, "to change" (as in mutation).

Definition: A natural leaning or desire toward something; a slope or tilt.

From the reading: "...a retreat which was rendered every day more necessary as well as more dear to me by the addition of habit to inclination..."

KJV link: "I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry" (Psalm 40:1). To incline is to lean toward.

Synonyms:

tendency, leaning, disposition

Antonyms:

aversion, reluctance, disinclination

Root:Latin inclinare, "to bend toward," from in- (toward) + clinare (to lean).

Definition: great size, extent, or importance.

From the reading: "...the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me..."

Synonyms:

greatness, scale, significance

Antonyms:

smallness, insignificance, triviality

Root:Latin magnitudo, from magnus, "great" (as in magnify and magnanimous).

Definition: close, careful examination.

From the reading: "...a distrustful scrutiny into his qualifications..."

Synonyms:

inspection, examination, study

Antonyms:

glance, neglect, inattention

Root:Latin scrutinium, from scrutari, "to search through rags": to search even the scraps.

Definition: to state firmly that something is true; to declare.

From the reading: "In this conflict of emotions all I dare aver is that it has been my faithful study to collect my duty..."

Synonyms:

affirm, assert, declare

Antonyms:

deny, retract, disavow

Root:Old French averer, from Latin ad- (to) + verus (true): to declare as true (as in verify).

Definition: A natural gift or talent; money or property given to support a school or other institution.

From the reading: "...(inheriting inferior endowments from nature and unpracticed in the duties of civil administration)..."

Synonyms:

gift, talent, aptitude; (second sense) grant, bequest

Antonyms:

deficiency, lack, shortcoming

Root:Old French endouer, from en- (in) + Latin dotare (to give a dowry): a gift settled upon someone.

Definition: to give up willingly; to let go of a claim, right, or possession.

Context: Cincinnatus was given power for six months, but he chose to relinquish it within about sixteen days and go back to his plow.

Synonyms:

surrender, yield, renounce

Antonyms:

retain, keep, seize

Root:Latin relinquere, "to leave behind," from re- (back) + linquere (to leave).

Definition: to take a position of power or authority by force or without right.

Context: A few discontented officers would gladly have seen Washington usurp the authority of Congress, but he refused even to consider it.

Synonyms:

seize, commandeer, wrest

Antonyms:

relinquish, surrender, abdicate

Root:Latin usurpare, "to take into use, seize," from usus (use) + rapere (to snatch).

Definition: to formally give up a throne, office, or duty.

Context: King George III could hardly believe that a victorious general would choose to abdicate his power rather than become a king himself.

Synonyms:

resign, step down, renounce

Antonyms:

usurp, assume, claim

Root:Latin abdicare, "to disown, renounce," from ab- (away) + dicare (to proclaim).

Definition: self-control; moderation in desires, especially the desire for pleasure or power. One of the four classical (cardinal) virtues.

KJV: "Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:23).

Context: Washington's temperance showed most clearly at the moment when he could have taken the most.

Synonyms:

self-restraint, moderation, sobriety

Antonyms:

excess, indulgence, intemperance

Root:Latin temperantia, "moderation," from temperare, "to mix in due proportion."

Definition: highly skilled; expert from long practice.

Context: Nate Saint became a proficient pilot and mechanic, able to land a small plane on short jungle airstrips and repair it far from any shop.

Synonyms:

skilled, adept, accomplished

Antonyms:

inept, unskilled, incompetent

Root:Latin proficere, "to make progress," from pro- (forward) + facere (to make).

Definition: to set apart as holy; to devote wholly to God or to a sacred purpose.

KJV: "And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?" (1 Chronicles 29:5).

Context: Nate Saint consecrated his skill as a flier to the work of carrying the Gospel to people in the jungles of Ecuador.

Synonyms:

dedicate, devote, sanctify

Antonyms:

profane, desecrate, defile

Root:Latin consecrare, from con- (wholly) + sacrare (to make sacred), from sacer, "holy."

Definition: courage and strength of spirit, especially in facing difficulty.

Context: Long flights over trackless jungle, with no place to land if the engine failed, tested the mettle of every missionary pilot.

Synonyms:

courage, spirit, fortitude

Antonyms:

cowardice, timidity, faintheartedness

Root:a variant spelling of metal: the "stuff" a person is made of. To be "on your mettle" is to be ready to do your best.

Definition: the denial or giving up of one's own interests or desires for a higher purpose.

Context: The self-abnegation of Nate Saint and his companions, who gave their lives in 1956 trying to reach the Waorani people, later bore fruit when members of that tribe came to Christ.

Synonyms:

self-denial, self-sacrifice, renunciation

Antonyms:

self-indulgence, selfishness, self-interest

Root:Latin abnegare, "to refuse, deny," from ab- (away) + negare (to deny).

Definition: a lack or shortage; a weakness or fault.

From the reading: "...ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies."

Synonyms:

shortcoming, weakness, lack

Antonyms:

sufficiency, strength, abundance

Root:Latin deficere, "to fail, be lacking," from de- (away) + facere (to make, do).

Definition: modest or shy because one lacks confidence in oneself.

Context: Washington's address sounds almost diffident: the most famous man in America speaks of his own "inferior endowments" before he speaks of anything else.

Synonyms:

modest, unassuming, reserved

Antonyms:

confident, bold, arrogant

Root:Latin diffidere, "to distrust," from dis- (not) + fidere (to trust): not trusting in oneself.

Definition: An official paper that gives an officer his rank and command; a duty or task given to someone; a group given authority to do a task.

From the reading: "...he handed his commission back to Congress and rode home to be a farmer again."

Synonyms:

appointment, charge, mandate

Antonyms:

dismissal, revocation

Root:Latin commissio, from committere, "to entrust," from com- (together) + mittere (to send).

Definition: humble respect and willingness to yield to the judgment or authority of another.

KJV link: "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves" (Philippians 2:3).

Context: Washington treated Congress with deference, even when he was its most powerful servant.

Synonyms:

respect, submission, regard

Antonyms:

defiance, disrespect, insolence

Root:Latin deferre, "to carry down, yield," from de- (down) + ferre (to carry).