Allege v to assert without proof or confirmation

Allege (v) – to assert without proof or confirmation Syn: claim, contend Ant: prove, deny ***dredge up some false information

Arrant (adj) – thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant Syn: egregious, unmitigated ***apparent

Badinage (n) – light and playful conversation Syn: banter, persiflage, repartee Ant: sermon ***banter

Conciliate (v) to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent Syn: placate, mollify, propitiate Ant: antagonize, alienate, estrange ***accommodate

I don’t care what he told you! I am ordering you to stop and return to base! Countermand (v)- to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first Syn: recall, revoke Ant: reaffirm, reassert ***counter the command

Echelon (n) – one of a series of grades in an organization or field of activity; an organized military unit; a steplike formation or arrangement Syn: level, rank

Exacerbate (v) – to make more violent, severe, bitter, or painful Syn: aggravate, intensify, worsen Ant: alleviate, mitigate, ameliorate ***aggravate

Fatuous (adj) – stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way Syn: silly, vapid, inane, doltish, vacuous Ant: sensible, intelligent, perceptive, bright ***doltish

Irrefutable (adj) – impossible to disprove; beyond argument Syn: indisputable, undeniable Ant: disputable, indefensible, untenable ***can’t be disputed

Juggernaut (n) – massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path ***“that bugger can’t be stopped!”

Lackadaisical (adj) - lacking spirit or interest, halfhearted Syn: listless, indifferent, lax Ant: energetic, vigorous, wholehearted ***lack energy, in a daze

Litany (n) – a prayer consisting of short appeals to god recited by the leader alternating with responses from the congregation; any repetitive chant; a long list Syn: rigmarole, catalog, megillah ***list

Macabre (adj) – grisly, gruesome; horrible, distressing; having death as a subject Syn: grotesque, grim, ghoulish ***massacre

Paucity (n) – an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth Syn: lack Ant: abundance, glut, plenitude, deluge ***with poverty there’s a paucity of things

Portend (v) – to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; give advance warning of Syn: bode, foretell, foreshadow, suggest ***predict

Raze (v) – to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out Syn: pull down, demolish, shave off Ant: build, construct, raise, erect *** opposite of “raise”, razor shaves off hair

I’m sorry! I take that back. I didn’t mean it. Recant (v) – to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract Syn: repudiate, disavow Ant: reaffirm, reassert ***reverse

Saturate (v) – to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully Syn: permeate, drench, flood, imbue Ant: drain ***permeate

Saturnine (adj) – of gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood Syn: sullen, morose Ant: lighthearted, cheerful, vivacious ***whine

Slough (v) – to cast off, discard; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary; to plod through as if through mud; (n) a mire; a state of depression Syn: shed, slog Ant: take on, acquire, assume *** (v)take off, (n) in a huff