By Bryan Robinson Ashley Davenport Ryan Tang Abominate

By: Bryan Robinson, Ashley Davenport, & Ryan Tang

Abominate (v. ) to have an intense dislike or hatred for � Synonyms: loathe, abhor, despise, detest � Antonyms: relish, savor, cherish, esteem � � Most students abominate doing homework every day.

Acculturation (n. ) the modification of the social patterns, traits, or structures of one group or society by contact to those of another; the resultant blend � Synonyms: adaptation � � The puritans had to go through an acculturation process before they were fully settled in and used to the new world.

Adventitious (adj. ) resulting from chance rather than from an inherent cause or character; accidental, not essential; (medicine) acquired, not congenital � Synonyms: extrinsic, incidental, fortuitous � Antonyms: essential, intrinsic, inherent, congenital � � The early start to the school year was not adventitious.

Ascribe (v. ) to assign or refer to (as a cause or source), attribute � Synonyms: impute, credit, attribute � � You may ascribe that this work is yours but I believe you copied off of your neighbor.

Circuitous (adj. ) roundabout, not direct � Synonyms: indirect, meandering, winding � Antonyms: straight, direct, as the crow flies � � My father took a circuitous path to find our beach house, we later found out he was lost and took a wrong turn.

Commiserate (v. ) to sympathize with, have pity or sorrow for, share a feeling of distress � Synonyms: feel sorry for, empathize � Antonym: feel no sympathy for � � The teachers always commiserate when my brother tells them a made up story for why he doesn’t have his homework done.

Enjoin (v. ) to direct or order; to prescribe a course of action in an authoritative way; to prohibit Syn: bid, charge, command, adjure Ant: allow, permit A bossy person likes to enjoin people to do things they don’t want to do.

Expedite (v. ) to make easy; cause to progress faster Syn: accelerate, facilitate, speed up Ant: hinder, hamper, impede, obstruct Many stores try to expedite shopping for their customers with low prices and sales.

Expiate (v. ) to make amends, make up for; to avert Syn: redeem, make amends for, atone, make reparation He would say anything to expiate what he had done to her.

Ferment (n. ) a state of great excitement, agitation, or turbulence (v. ) to be in or work into such a state; to produce alcohol by chemical action Syn: commotion, turmoil, unrest Ant: peace and quiet, tranquility, placidity In the midst of the ferment, I could hardly hear what anyone was saying.

Inadvertent (adj. ) resulting from or marked by lack of attention; unintentional, accidental Syn: accidental, unconsidered Ant: deliberate, intentional, premeditated I know it was inadvertent, but I still can’t believe you broke my vase.

Nominal (adj. ) existing in name only, not real; too small to be considered or taken seriously Syn: titular, token, trifling, inconsequential Ant: real, actual, exorbitant, excessive Because of the math test yesterday, many people were out with nominal sicknesses.

Noncommittal (adj. ) not decisive or definite; unwilling to take a clear position or to say yes or no Syn: cagey, uninformative, playing it safe, playing it close to the vest Ant: positive, definite, committed Standing at the alter, suddenly the groom became noncommittal and could not seem to say “I do. ”

Peculate (v. ) to steal something that has been given into one’s trust; to take improperly for one’s own use � Synonyms: embezzle, defraud, misappropriate � � A stereotype of a politician is one who corrupts and embezzles government money for their own private use.

Proclivity (n. ) a natural or habitual inclination or tendency (especially of human character or behavior) � Synonyms: natural bent, penchant, propensity � Antonyms: inability or incapacity � � The proclivity of many people is to bite their nails when they are nervous.

Sangfroid (n. ) composure or coolness, especially in trying circumstances � Synonyms: poise, selfassurance, equanimity � Antonyms: excitability, hysteria, flappability � � In order to succeed, poker players are required to have a lot of sangfroid in order to fool their opponents.

Seditious (adj. ) resistant to lawful authority; having the purpose of overthrowing an established government � Synonyms: mutinous, rebellious, subversive � Antonyms: supportive, loyal, faithful, allegiant � � Mr. Robinson’s penetrating glare quells any of his children’s seditious acts. (LIES)

Tenuous (adj. ) thin, slender, not dense; lacking clarity or sharpness; of slight importance or significance; lacking a sound basis, poorly supported � Synonyms: flimsy, insubstantial, vague, hazy � Antonyms: strong, solid, substantial, valid � � A spider’s thread can be really tenuous, however, it is still able to support the spider as it ascend up its string.

Vitriolic (adj. ) bitter, sarcastic; highly caustic or biting (like a strong acid) � Synonyms: withering, acerbic, mordant � Antonyms: bland, saccharine, honeyed, sugary � � In the show House, Dr. House acts very vitriolic when speaking to his patients, and to his coemployees as well.

Wheedle (v. ) to use coaxing or flattery to gain some desired end � Synonyms: cajole, inveigle, softsoap, sweet-talk � Antonyms: coerce, browbeat, intimidate, strong-arm � � In the game Pokémon, Pokémon Weedle is so weak and unwanted that one would have to wheedle others to take it in exchange for a better Pokémon.