Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop, Level F: Unit VI (6) NAME ______WORD BANK anomalous aspersion bizarre brusque cajole castigate contrive demagogue disabuse ennui fetter heinous immutable insurgent megalomania sinecure surreptitious transgress transmute vicarious

1. CAJOLE (v.) to coax, persuade through flattery or artifice; to deceive with soothing thoughts or false promises

a. With a smile, a joke, and a second helping of pie, she would ______him into doing what she wanted.

b. Synonyms: wheedle, inveigle, sot-soap, sweet-talk

c. Antonyms: coerce, force, strong-arm

2. ASPERSION (n.) a damaging or derogatory statement; the act of slandering or defaming

a. Think twice before casting ______on his honesty, for he might be telling the truth.

b. Synonyms: innuendo, calumny, denigration

c. Antonyms: endorsement, testimonial, praise

3. FETTER (n.) a chain or shackle placed on the feet (often used in plural); anything that confines or restrains; (v.) to chain or shackle; to render helpless or impotent

a. The old phrase “chain gang” refers to prisoners made to work, each joined to the next by linked ______.

It is said that good inventors do not ______themselves with conventional thinking.

b. Synonyms: (n.) bond, restraint; (v.) bind, hamper

c. Antonyms: (v.) free, liberate, emancipate

4. DEMAGOGUE (n.) a leader who exploits popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power

a. Often show of angry concern conceals the self-serving tactics of a ______.

b. Synonyms: rabble-rouser, firebrand

5. VICARIOUS (adj.) performed, suffered, or otherwise experienced by one person in place of another

a. In search of ______excitement, we watched movies of action and adventure.

b. Synonyms: surrogate, substitute, imagined, secondhand

c. Antonyms: real, actual, firsthand

6. MEGALOMANIA (n.) a delusion marked by a feeling of power, wealth, talent, etc., far in excess of reality

a. Sudden fame and admiration can make people feel unworthy – or it can bring on feelings of ______.

b. Synonyms: delusions of grandeur

c. Antonyms: humility, modesty, self-abasement Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop, Level F: Unit VI (6) NAME ______7. ANOMALOUS (adj.) abnormal, irregular, departing from the usual

a. Feeling protective of my friend but knowing of his difficulties placed me in an ______position.

b. Synonyms: exceptional, atypical, unusual, aberrant

c. Antonyms: normal, regular, customary, typical, ordinary

8. BRUSQUE (adj.) abrupt, blunt, with no formalities

a. His request for a large loan for an indefinite amount of time was met with a ______refusal.

b. Synonyms: curt, tactless, ungracious, gruff, rough

c. Antonyms: gracious, tactful, courteous, diplomatic

9. DISABUSE (v.) to free from deception or error, set right in ideas or thinking

a. He thinks that all women adore him, but my sister will probably ______him of that idea.

b. Synonyms: undeceive, enlighten, set straight

c. Antonyms: deceive, delude, pull wool over one’s eyes

10. IMMUTABLE (adj.) not subject to change, constant

a. Scientists labored to discover a set of ______laws of the universe.

b. Synonyms: unchangeable, unalterable, fixed, invariable

c. Antonyms: changeable, inconstant, variable, fickle

11. INSURGENT (n.) one who rebels against authority; (adj.) rising in revolt, refusing to accept authority; surging or rushing in or on

a. George Washington and his contemporaries were ______against Britain.

The army was confident that they could crush the ______forces.

b. Synonyms: (adj.) revolutionary, rebellious, mutinous

c. Antonyms: (adj.) loyalist, loyal, faithful

12. TRANSGRESS (v.) to go beyond a limit or boundary; to sin, violate a law

a. The penitent citizens promised to never again ______the laws of the land.

b. Synonyms: overstep, exceed, trespass, err

c. Antonyms: obey, toe the line Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop, Level F: Unit VI (6) NAME ______13. CASTIGATE (v.) to punish severely, to criticize severely

a. After he ______the unruly children, they settled down to study quietly.

b. Synonyms: chastise, rebuke, censure, upbraid

c. Antonyms: reward, honor, praise, laud

14. ENNUI (n.) weariness and dissatisfaction from lack of occupation or interest, boredom

a. Some people seem to confuse sophistication with ______.

b. Synonyms: languor, world-weariness, listlessness

c. Antonyms: enthusiasm, liveliness, excitement, intensity

15. SINECURE (n.) a position requiring little or no work; an easy job

a. The office of the Vice President of the United States was once considered little more than a ______.

b. Synonyms: “no show” job, cushy job, “plum”

16. TRANSMUTE (v.) to change from one nature, substance, or form to another

a. To ______distrust into friendship along that war-torn border will take more than wise politicians and just laws.

b. Synonyms: transform, convert, translate, metamorphose

c. Antonyms: maintain unchanged, preserve

17. BIZARRE (adj.) extremely strange, unusual, atypical

a. Years from now I will look at this picture and wonder what sort of ______costume I was wearing.

b. Synonyms: grotesque, fantastic, outlandish

c. Antonyms: normal, typical, ordinary, expected

18. CONTRIVE (v.) to plan with ingenuity, invent; to bring about as the result of a scheme or plan

a. She can ______wonderful excuses; but when she tries to offer them, her uneasiness gives her away.

b. Synonyms: think up, devise, concoct, fabricate

19. HEINOUS (adj.) very wicked, offensive, hateful

a. A town so peaceful, quiet, and law-abiding was bound to be horrified by so ______a crime.

b. Synonyms: evil, odious, abominable, outrageous

c. Antonyms: excellent, wonderful, splendid

20. SURREPTITIOUS (adj.) stealthy, secret, intended to escape observation; made or accomplished by fraud

a. The movie heroine blushed when she noticed the ______glances of her admirer. Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop, Level F: Unit VI (6) NAME ______b. Synonyms: furtive, covert, clandestine, concealed

c. Antonyms: open, frank, aboveboard, overt