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Yleana_2014
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elucidate
- PART OF SPEECH: verb
- DEFINITION: To make clear or plain, esp. by explanation or analysis; to throw light upon; to make easier to understand
- SENTENCE: It is difficult to elucidate many of the twists and turns of politics, both in foreign and domestic policy, because there are so many individual concerns involved.
- SYNONYMS: decode, enlighten, explicate
- ANTONYMS: cloud, complicate, obscure
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effusive
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: marked by the use of unrestrained emotion or enthusiasm, esp. in the sense of praise, gratitude, or pleasure; unduly demonstrative or lacking restraint
- SENTENCE: Jenny was effusive in her praise of the play, saying that she liked everything from the costumes and lights to the lines and the way the actors said them.
- SYNONYMS: extravagant, lavish, exuberant
- ANTONYMS: apathetic, disinterested, quiet
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prolific
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: Very productive, as an author or creator who produces many works, or a plant that produces a great deal of flowers, fruits, or foliage
- SENTENCE: The prolific writer wrote books on every subject you can imagine, from politics to the formation of stones to the possibility of alien life.
- SYNONYMS: abounding, generative
- ANTONYMS: barren, fruitless, impotent
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furor
- PART OF SPEECH: noun
- DEFINITION: an outbreak of public anger or excitement; a general commotion, or situation in which many people are angry or excited
- SENTENCE: The fans that filled the stadium erupted into a furor when the referee disqualified the goal that would have won the game because the player had been offsides.
- SYNONYMS: commotion, ruckus, frenzy, hysteria
- ANTONYMS: calm, harmony, peace
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paranoia
- PART OF SPEECH: noun
- DEFINITION: a baseless or senseless suspicion of the motives of others; an unreasonable feeling that people are trying to harm you, do not like you, etc.
- SENTENCE: Eliot's paranoia led him to believe that a monster who wanted to take over the world was living in his closet.
- SYNONYMS: insanity, delusions, phobia
- ANTONYMS: confidence, trusting
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marginal
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: Of secondary importance and not central, as of a matter that is not of central importance, or a people that live out of the mainstream of society
- SENTENCE: Sadly, many people still consider wildlife preservation a marginal issue in comparison to the concerns of their daily life.
- SYNONYMS: insignificant, minimal, minor, negligible
- ANTONYMS: important, major, significant
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obfuscate
- PART OF SPEECH: verb
- DEFINITION: To deliberately confuse or bewilder; to make something more difficult to understand
- SENTENCE: Though she had been doing nothing wrong, Ellen attempted to obfuscate when the police officer asked her what she had been doing in the park.
- SYNONYMS: baffle, befuddle, bewilder
- ANTONYMS: clarify, explain, explicate
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flummox
- PART OF SPEECH: verb
- DEFINITION: To confuse or perplex someone
- SENTENCE: The many winding plots of the book series made it seem like the author wanted to flummox all of his readers.
- SYNONYMS: baffle, bewilder, confound
- ANTONYMS: elucidate, clarify, explain
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spate
- PART OF SPEECH: noun
- DEFINITION: a large number of things or events that appear in quick succession; a sudden, almost overwhelming, outpouring
- SENTENCE: Film studios often produce a spate of popular action films over the summer months, when many people have much more free time and want to see movies in theaters.
- SYNONYMS: deluge, outpouring, string, torrent
- ANTONYMS: trickle, drip, scarceness
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ineffable
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words; not able or allowed to be uttered because of holiness or taboo
- SENTENCE: Giselle's found her feelings ineffable when she kissed the person she cared about for the first time.
- SYNONYMS: ethereal, transcendent, unspeakable
- ANTONYMS: definable, describable, utterable
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histrionic
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: excessively emotional or dramatic; deliberately affected or self-consciously emotional in behavior or speech
- SENTENCE: Paolo's histrionic performance made me cringe; I wish he wouldn't take himself so seriously.
- SYNONYMS: melodramatic, overacting, theatrical
- ANTONYMS: un-theatrical
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placate
- PART OF SPEECH: verb
- DEFINITION: to appease or pacify, esp. by concessions or conciliatory gestures; to cause (someone) to feel less angry about something
- SENTENCE: I tried to placate the crying baby, but my efforts were useless.
- SYNONYMS: appease, assuage, mollify, pacify
- ANTONYMS: agitate, incite, irritate, provoke
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eschew
- PART OF SPEECH: verb
- DEFINITION: To avoid, esp. as being improper, immoral, or incorrect; to deliberately avoid using or abstain from, as a behavior, object, etc
- SENTENCE: I've never found smoking to be an attractive habit, and so I have not found it hard to eschew that particular vice.
- SYNONYMS: abandon, avoid, forgo, renounce
- ANTONYMS: face, keep, meet, embrace
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stopgap
- PART OF SPEECH: noun
- DEFINITION: A temporary solution or substitute designed to meet an urgent need; someone or something intended to be used for a short period of time before being replaced by someone/thing better
- SENTENCE: The soccer ball ended up popping, proving that it was not the best stopgap to replace the basketball for our practice.
- SYNONYMS: makeshift, resource, substitute
- ANTONYMS: permanent, solution
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flotsam
- PART OF SPEECH: noun
- DEFINITION: The floating wreckage of a ship that has been wrecked; debris floating on or washed up by the sea
- SENTENCE: The flotsam from the shipwreck off of Nantucket reached as far as Bermuda and Ireland.
- SYNONYMS: debris, junk, cargo, driftwood
- ANTONYMS: n/a
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restitution
- PART OF SPEECH: noun
- DEFINITION: returning something stolen or lost to its rightful owner; or, recompense/repayment for injury or loss; equal compensation for loss
- SENTENCE: In 1988, the U.S. government approved a restitution payment of $20,000 to each Japanese internment camp survivor from World War II.
- SYNONYMS: payment, rebate, recompense
- ANTONYMS: fee, penalty, taking
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churlish
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: Ill-tempered or impolite; marked by a lack of civility or social grace; rude in a mean-spirited way
- SENTENCE: Adrian is so churlish in class that he is sent out almost every day for one thing or another.
- SYNONYMS: sullen, surly, grumpy
- ANTONYMS: happy, nice, polished, refined
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surly
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: bad-tempered and unfriendly, esp. in a way that makes one menacing or threatening in appearance; irritable and bad-tempered in mood or manner
- SENTENCE: I knew Sabrina was having an awful day when I asked her how she was and she her reply was surly, because she is usually so bright and cheerful.
- SYNONYMS: boorish, dour, irritable, morose
- ANTONYMS: bight, happy, cheerful, pleasant
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sullen
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: showing irritation or bad humor through silence and reserve; gloomy and resentfully silent or repressed
- SENTENCE: Aaron could not help being sullen and irritable after Michelle turned him down for a date that weekend.
- SYNONYMS: churlish, dour, gloomy, hostile
- ANTONYMS: agreeable, bright, cheerful, friendly
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disquieting
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: inducing feelings of distress, anxiety, or worry; taking away peace or tranquility and causing nerves or uneasiness
- SENTENCE: I find much of the evidence against Leonard disquieting, but I do not think that we can accuse him of cheating before we know for certain.
- SYNONYMS: disturbing, upsetting, annoying, bothersome
- ANTONYMS: calming, pleasing, settling, soothing
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ornate
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: characterized by elaborate and expensive decorations; made in an intricate shape or decorated with complex patterns; using high-flown or fancy words
- SENTENCE: The ornate palace of Versailles, built outside of Paris in the 1660s, by Louis XIV is astoundingly beautiful.
- SYNONYMS: baroque, beautiful, elegant, fancy
- ANTONYMS: dull, offensive, plain, ugly
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odious
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: extremely offensive, unpleasant, or repulsive; arousing or deserving hatred or disdain
- SENTENCE: Jason finds garbage duty odious work, and he hates doing it even though he knows that everyone takes turns with the chores.
- SYNONYMS: loathsome, abominable, obnoxious, revolting
- ANTONYMS: attractive, delightful, pleasing, loveable
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execrable
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: detestable or repulsive in nature; extremely bad or unpleasant
- SENTENCE: Carl could not look at the pictures of the execrable actions of the soldiers who had been sent to help the town fight off raiders.
- SYNONYMS: execrable, repugnant, repulsive, abhorrent
- ANTONYMS: attractive, delightful, good, likeable
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repugnant
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: distasteful, offensive, or objectionable; causing strong dislike or discomfort
- SENTENCE: Arielle's mother finds tattoos repugnant, but that doesn't stop Arielle from having two because she finds them really meaningful.
- SYNONYMS: abhorrent, disgusting, revolting, vile
- ANTONYMS: agreeable, nice, delightful, pleasant
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prescient
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: having or showing knowledge of events before they take place; the ability to know what might or will happen in the future
- SENTENCE: Miranda swears that her dog is prescient, because whenever her life is about to become very hectic, the little canine becomes extra loving and affectionate.
- SYNONYMS: prescient, discerning, alert, astute
- ANTONYMS: ignorant, unobservant, unperceptive
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discerning
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: having or showing outstanding judgment or understanding; able to see and understand people, things, or situations clearly and intelligently
- SENTENCE: Remi is incredibly discerning in the people he associates with, and therefore has a small group of very intelligent, supportive, and caring friends.
- SYNONYMS: astute, perceptive, knowledgeable, insightful
- ANTONYMS: idiotic, stupid, unaware, unintelligent
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perspicacious
- PART OF SPEECH: adjective
- DEFINITION: having a ready insight into and understanding of things; having or showing keen mental perception and understanding
- SENTENCE: Kella's daughter is perspicacious and attentive enough that she understands a number of complex concepts even though she is very young.
- SYNONYMS: acute, astute, aware, clear-sighted, perceptive
- ANTONYMS: ignorant, unobservant, unperceptive
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