Grade 8 College Vocabulary, Week 12

Definition: to give a name to; to call or designate by a particular name.

From the reading: "at that broad expansion of the river denominated by the ancient Dutch navigators the Tappan Zee"

Synonyms:

name, designate, term, dub

Antonyms:

leave unnamed

Root:Latin denominare, "to name," from de- (fully) + nominare (to name), from nomen, "name."

Definition: lying near or next to something; neighboring.

From the reading: "by the good housewives of the adjacent country"

Synonyms:

neighboring, bordering, adjoining

Antonyms:

distant, remote, separated

Root:Latin adjacere, "to lie near," from ad- (near) + jacere (to lie).

Definition: a natural tendency or habit to behave in a certain way.

From the reading: "from the inveterate propensity of their husbands to linger about the village tavern on market days"

Synonyms:

tendency, inclination, leaning, bent

Antonyms:

aversion, disinclination

Root:Latin propensus, "inclined," from propendere, "to hang forward" (pro- "forward" + pendere "to hang").

Definition: a state of rest, sleep, or calm.

From the reading: "A small brook glides through it, with just murmur enough to lull one to repose" (Irving). Scott's desert fountain also "lay in a steady repose, alike delightful to the eye and the imagination."

KJV link: David knew where true repose comes from: "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety" (Psalm 4:8).

Synonyms:

rest, tranquility, calm, ease

Antonyms:

activity, exertion, agitation

Root:Old French reposer, from Late Latin repausare, "to rest," from re- + pausare (to pause).

Definition: to confirm that something is true or that someone is reliable, from one's own knowledge.

From the reading: "Be that as it may, I do not vouch for the fact, but merely advert to it, for the sake of being precise and authentic."

Synonyms:

attest, certify, guarantee, confirm

Antonyms:

deny, disclaim, repudiate

Root:Old French vochier, "to summon, call on," from Latin vocare, "to call." Someone who vouches is called on as a witness.

Definition: to turn attention to; to mention or refer to briefly. (Test trap: do not confuse it with avert, "to turn away.")

From the reading: "Be that as it may, I do not vouch for the fact, but merely advert to it, for the sake of being precise and authentic."

Synonyms:

refer, allude, mention, touch on

Antonyms:

ignore, pass over, omit

Root:Latin advertere, "to turn toward," from ad- (toward) + vertere (to turn).

Definition: truth; also a statement or principle that is true, especially a lasting one.

Context: A good description essay keeps "I see" separate from "I think." The writer reports the verity of the scene before giving its meaning.

KJV: "The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure" (Psalm 111:7).

Synonyms:

truth, reality, fact, veracity

Antonyms:

falsehood, fiction, untruth

Root:Latin veritas, from verus, "true." (Compare verify and verdict.)

Definition: to think deeply and steadily about something; to ponder.

Context: Before writing a word, the student sat by the creek for fifteen minutes to meditate on what made the place so still.

KJV: "But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night" (Psalm 1:2).

Synonyms:

reflect, contemplate, ruminate, muse

Antonyms:

ignore, disregard, overlook

Root:Latin meditari, "to think over, consider."

Definition: Very dry, with little or no rain; dull and lifeless (as in "an arid lecture").

From the reading: "the traveller recalled the fearful catastrophe which had converted into an arid and dismal wilderness the fair and fertile valley of Siddim"

KJV link: Before its judgment the plain "was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD" (Genesis 13:10).

Synonyms:

dry, parched, barren; (second sense) dull, uninspired

Antonyms:

moist, fertile, lush; (second sense) lively

Root:Latin aridus, from arere, "to be dry."

Definition: Unable to produce crops or offspring; barren; free from germs; lacking new ideas.

From the reading: "a spot of beauty in the midst of a sterile desert"

KJV link: Scott echoes Moses on the land that "is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein" (Deuteronomy 29:23).

Synonyms:

barren, unfruitful, infertile

Antonyms:

fertile, fruitful, productive

Root:Latin sterilis, "barren, unproductive."

Definition: entirely lacking; empty of.

From the reading: "even the very air was entirely devoid of its ordinary winged inhabitants"

Synonyms:

lacking, empty, bereft, without

Antonyms:

full of, abounding in, rich in

Root:Old French desvoidier, "to empty out," from des- (away) + voidier (to empty).

Definition: lasting only a short time; passing away.

From the reading: the brief truces of the Crusades were "endeared by the very circumstances which rendered them transitory."

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

Synonyms:

fleeting, temporary, brief, short-lived

Antonyms:

permanent, lasting, enduring, eternal

Root:Latin transitorius, from transire, "to go across, pass away" (trans- + ire "to go").

Definition: hard to carry, move, or manage because of size, weight, or shape.

From the reading: "In retaining their own unwieldy defensive armour, the Northern Crusaders seemed to set at defiance the nature of the climate and country to which they had come to war."

Synonyms:

cumbersome, bulky, awkward, unmanageable

Antonyms:

handy, manageable, compact

Root:un- + wieldy (able to be wielded), from Old English wieldan, "to control, govern."

Definition: accustomed to hardship or something unpleasant, and so less troubled by it.

From the reading: "Numbers, indeed, of the Western warriors who hurried to Palestine died ere they became inured to the burning climate"

Synonyms:

hardened, accustomed, seasoned, toughened

Antonyms:

unaccustomed, sensitive, vulnerable

Root:Middle English in ure, "in use, in practice," from Old French euvre, "work," from Latin opera.

Definition: based on illusion; seeming real but not actually so; deceptive.

From the reading: the knight, "desirous to terminate this illusory warfare," hurls his mace at the circling Emir.

Synonyms:

deceptive, false, unreal, misleading

Antonyms:

real, genuine, actual

Root:Latin illusorius, from illudere, "to mock, play with" (in- + ludere "to play").

Definition: a clever trick or stratagem, especially one meant to deceive; also, skill in making things.

From the reading: The knight falls as if wounded, and the Saracen "found himself suddenly within the grasp of the European, who had had recourse to this artifice to bring his enemy within his reach!"

Synonyms:

trick, ruse, stratagem, ploy

Antonyms:

candor, frankness, openness

Root:Latin artificium, "craft, skill," from ars (art) + facere (to make). The word moved from "skillful making" to "a skillful trick."

Definition: Severe or strict in manner; plain, simple, and without comfort or ornament.

From the reading: The hermit's features were "emaciated as they were by his austere mode of life."

KJV link: The fearful servant says to his master, "thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow" (Luke 19:21).

Synonyms:

severe, stern, plain, spartan

Antonyms:

indulgent, lavish, luxurious

Root:Greek austeros, "harsh, bitter, dry," through Latin austerus.

Definition: sparing in eating and drinking; moderate and self-denying.

From the reading: "The provision which each had made for his refreshment was simple, but the meal of the Saracen was abstemious. A handful of dates and a morsel of coarse barley-bread sufficed"

KJV link: Daniel asked for an abstemious diet: "Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink" (Daniel 1:12).

Synonyms:

temperate, moderate, frugal, self-denying

Antonyms:

gluttonous, indulgent, self-indulgent

Root:Latin abstemius, from abs- (away from) + temetum (strong drink).

Definition: Showing self-control and moderation; of climate, mild, without extremes of heat or cold.

Context: The knight from the temperate North had to learn a temperate way of life to survive the furnace of the Syrian desert.

KJV: "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things" (1 Corinthians 9:25).

Synonyms:

moderate, restrained, self-controlled; (second sense) mild

Antonyms:

excessive, immoderate, intemperate; (second sense) extreme, harsh

Root:Latin temperatus, from temperare, "to mix in due proportion, to restrain."

Definition: to praise highly, especially in public or in worship.

Context: The closing of a description essay may laud the Maker of the hills, but it should end on an image, not a summary.

KJV: "And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people" (Romans 15:11).

Synonyms:

praise, extol, acclaim, glorify

Antonyms:

criticize, disparage, belittle

Root:Latin laudare, "to praise," from laus, laudis, "praise." (The morning prayer called Lauds comes from the same root.)