Allege (v) – to assert without proof or confirmation

Syn: claim, contendAnt: 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, reparteeAnt: sermon***banter

Conciliate (v) to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent

Syn: placate, mollify, propitiateAnt: antagonize, alienate, estrange***accommodate

Countermand (v)- to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first

Syn: recall, revokeAnt: reaffirm, reassert***counter the command

I don’t care what he told you! I am ordering you to stop and return to base!

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, worsenAnt: alleviate, mitigate, ameliorate***aggravate

Fatuous (adj) – stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way

Syn: silly, vapid, inane, doltish, vacuousAnt: sensible, intelligent, perceptive, bright***doltish

Irrefutable (adj) – impossible to disprove; beyond argument

Syn: indisputable, undeniableAnt: 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, laxAnt: 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 listSyn: 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: lackAnt: 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 offAnt: build, construct, raise, erect*** opposite of “raise”, razor shaves off hair

Recant (v) – to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract

Syn: repudiate, disavowAnt: reaffirm, reassert***reverse

I’m sorry! I take that back. I didn’t mean it.

Saturate (v) – to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully

Syn: permeate, drench, flood, imbueAnt: drain***permeate

Saturnine (adj) – of gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood

Syn: sullen, moroseAnt: 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, slogAnt: take on, acquire, assume*** (v)take off, (n) in a huff