Grade 9 College Vocabulary, Week 32

Definition: Preceding in time or order.

From the reading: "Then scan each paragraph for a missing word, a run-on, or a pronoun with no clear antecedent." (the lesson)

Synonyms:

preceding, prior, earlier

Antonyms:

subsequent

Root:Latin antecedens, -entis, present participle of antecedere: compare French antécédent. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: Unequaled; unrivaled.

From the reading: "And now, O Oedipus, our peerless king, All we thy votaries beseech thee, find Some succor, whether by a voice from heaven Whispered, or haply known by human wit." (Oedipus the King and Antigone)

Synonyms:

matchless, incomparable, unrivaled

Antonyms:

ordinary

Root:peer, an equal (Old French per, from Latin par, equal) + -less: without equal.

Definition: To last longer than.

From the reading: "He would the be one moon in a firmament of mustard-seed stars; his name would outlast the human race!" (Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc)

Synonyms:

outlive, survive, endure

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:out, beyond + last (Old English laestan, to continue): to last longer than.

Definition: To restore to a former position or state.

From the reading: "If the Church could be brought to take her life, or to proclaim her an idolater, a heretic, a witch, sent from Satan, not from heaven, it was believed that the English supremacy could be at once reinstated." (Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc)

Synonyms:

restore, reinstall, bring back

Antonyms:

remove, dismiss

Root:re-, again + instate (in-, in + state, Latin status, standing): to put back in a former place.

Definition: Embodied in flesh; in human form.

From the reading: "She was the very genius of Fidelity; she was Steadfastness incarnated." (Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc)

Synonyms:

embodied, personified, in the flesh

Antonyms:

disembodied

Root:Pref. in- not + carnate. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: A false, absurd, or distorted representation of something.

From the reading: "To see him once more in that appalling travesty somewhat revived the horror of his two companions." (The Black Arrow)

Synonyms:

mockery, parody, perversion

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:French travesti, past participle of travestir to disguise, to travesty, Italian travestire, from Latin trans across, over + vestire to dress, clothe. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: Obtrusively bright and showy; lurid.

From the reading: "Abruptly one bulging gas-lit window broke the blue twilight like a bull’s-eye lantern; and Valentin stopped an instant before a little garish sweetstuff shop." (The Innocence of Father Brown)

Synonyms:

gaudy, flashy, loud

Antonyms:

tasteful, subdued

Root:Cf. Old English gauren to stare; of uncertain origin. Cf. gairish. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: Of or like a brother or brothers; brotherly.

From the reading: "They were dressed in black, with white waistcoats, and thick cravats; their arms hung down carelessly; but from time to time they raised them as if they wished to bestow on us a fraternal embrace." (The Swiss Family Robinson)

Synonyms:

brotherly, comradely, friendly

Antonyms:

unfriendly

Root:French fraternel, Late Latin fraternalis, from Latin fraternus, from frater brother. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: To rise and fall irregularly in number or amount.

From the reading: "Thy resolution may fluctuate on the wild and changeful billows of human opinion, but mine is anchored on the Rock of Ages.” “Silence, maiden,” answered the Templar; “such discourse now avails but little." (Ivanhoe)

Synonyms:

vary, waver, oscillate

Antonyms:

stabilize

Root:Latin fluctuare, to move like a wave, from fluctus, a wave (fluere, to flow): to rise and fall.

Definition: Having or showing the symptoms of fever; nervously excited.

From the reading: "“Well?” “Well,” said the curate, “no man but an idiot did.” The rest stared at him with eyes arrested and riveted, and he went on in a febrile and feminine agitation." (The Innocence of Father Brown)

Synonyms:

feverish, hectic, frenzied

Antonyms:

calm

Root:French fébrile, from Latin febris fever. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: To return to a former or less developed state.

From the reading: "The standing is slippery, and the regress is either a downfall, or at least an eclipse, which is a melancholy thing." (Essays)

Synonyms:

revert, relapse, backslide

Antonyms:

progress

Root:Latin regressus, from regredi, regressus. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: Occurring often or repeatedly.

From the reading: "As Father Brown wrote the last and least essential part of his document, he caught himself writing to the rhythm of a recurrent noise outside, just as one sometimes thinks to the tune of a railway train." (The Innocence of Father Brown)

Synonyms:

repeated, periodic, recurring

Antonyms:

isolated

Root:Latin recurrens, -entis, present participle of recurrere: compareFrench récurrent. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: A parody or absurd imitation of a serious work.

From the reading: "I am Astonished!. . . (With burlesque fury): Stay, I will surprise you too!" (Cyrano de Bergerac)

Synonyms:

parody, caricature, lampoon

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:French burlesque, from Italian burlesco, from burla jest, mockery, perh. for burrula, dim. of Latin burrae trifles. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: To diminish gradually in size, amount, or strength.

From the reading: "His little following dwindled away until but sixty men remained in arms." (In Freedom's Cause)

Synonyms:

decrease, shrink, wane

Antonyms:

grow, increase

Root:frequentative of dwine, to waste away (Old English dwinan): to shrink little by little.

Definition: Without a clearly defined shape or form.

From the reading: "This was the shocking thing; that the slime of the pit seemed to utter cries and voices; that the amorphous dust gesticulated and sinned; that what was dead, and had no shape, should usurp the offices of life." (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

Synonyms:

shapeless, formless, vague

Antonyms:

definite, shaped

Root:Greek amorphos, from a-, without + morphe, form: without form.

Definition: Active or occurring intermittently; not regular or steady.

From the reading: "It was nearly noon when Myles was awakened from a fitful sleep by Gascoyne bringing in his dinner, but, as might be supposed, he had but little hunger, and ate sparingly." (Men of Iron)

Synonyms:

sporadic, intermittent, broken

Antonyms:

steady, continuous

Root:From 7th Fit. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: Having a pleasantly sharp taste; pleasantly stimulating.

From the reading: "Yet there be some, that think their wits have been asleep, except they dart out somewhat that is piquant, and to the quick." (Essays)

Synonyms:

spicy, tangy; intriguing

Antonyms:

bland, dull

Root:French, p.pr. of piquer to prick or sting. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: Showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles.

From the reading: "Under it was a big, crisp, iridescent black feather." (Freckles)

Synonyms:

shimmering, opalescent, lustrous

Antonyms:

dull

Root:Latin iris, rainbow.

Definition: To stop or interrupt someone and detain them; to ambush.

From the reading: "The fifth, that it beats down the price of land; for the employment of money, is chiefly either merchandizing or purchasing; and usury waylays both." (Essays)

Synonyms:

ambush, intercept, accost

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Way + lay. (Webster, 1913)

Definition: To cause dough to rise; to permeate and transform for the better.

From the reading: "The dismal day was come; the priests prepare Their leaven’d cakes, and fillets for my hair." (The Aeneid)

Synonyms:

lighten, enliven, permeate

Antonyms:

(none exact)

Root:Latin levamen, relief, from levare, to raise.