Week 14  6/16

1.      Takeoff (n.)

Meaning 1: the moment when an airplane, helicopter, etc., leaves the ground and begins to fly

Meaning 2: the beginning of a jump

Meaning 3: a sudden increase in size, activity, or popularity

Sample sentence: Please remain seated during takeoff.

Synonyms: blastoff, launch, liftoff

Antonyms: landing

 

2.      Current (adj.) (n.)

Meaning 1: happening or existing now: belonging to or existing in the present time

Meaning 2: aware of what is happening in a particular area of activity

Meaning 3: a continuous movement of water or air in the same direction

Meaning 4: a flow of electricity

Meaning 5: an idea, feeling, opinion, etc., that is shared by many or most of the people in a group

Sample sentence: Strong currents pulled the swimmer out to sea.

Synonyms: trend, direction, drift, leaning, run, tendency, tide, wind

 

3.      Abort (v.)

Meaning 1: to end a pregnancy deliberately by causing the death of the fetus

Meaning 2: to stop something before it is completed because of problems or danger

Sample sentence: When problems occurred during the launch, it was necessary to abort.

Synonyms: abandon, cancel, call, call off, cry off, drop, recall, repeal, rescind, revoke, scrap, scrub

Antonyms: continue, keep

 

4.      Severe (adj.)

Meaning 1: very bad, serious, or unpleasant

Meaning 2: causing a lot of physical pain or suffering

Meaning 3: very harsh

Sample sentence: In the most severe cases, the disease can lead to blindness.

Synonyms: austere, authoritarian, flinty, hard, harsh, heavy-handed, ramrod, rigid, rigorous, stern, strict, tough

Antonyms: clement, forbearing, gentle, indulgent, lax, lenient, tolerant

 

5.      Proximity (n.)

Meaning: the state of being near

Sample sentence: <the proximity of the curtains to the fireplace was a cause of concern for the safety inspector>

Synonyms: adjacency, closeness, contiguity, immediacy, nearness, propinquity, vicinity

Antonyms: distance, remoteness

 

6.      Intimate (v.)

Meaning: to say or suggest (something) in an indirect way

Sample sentence: <trying to intimate that there was more going on than anyone knew>

Synonyms: allude, imply, indicate, infer, insinuate, hint, suggest

 

7.      Partly (adv.)

Meaning: somewhat but not completely: to some extent or in some degree

Sample sentence: The project failed partly because of a lack of funds.

Synonyms: half, halfway, incompletely, part, partially, partway, in part

Antonyms: all, altogether, completely, entirely, fully, perfectly, quite, totally, utterly, wholly

 

8.      Anxiety (n.)

Meaning 1: fear or nervousness about what might happen

Meaning 2: a feeling of wanting to do something very much

Sample sentence: He's been feeling a lot of anxiety about his new job.

Synonyms: agita, agitation, anxiousness, apprehension, apprehensiveness, care, concern, concernment, disquiet, disquietude, fear, nervosity, nervousness, perturbation, solicitude, sweat, unease, uneasiness, worry

Antonyms: unconcern

 

9.      Quest (n.)

Meaning 1: a journey made in search of something

Meaning 2: a long and difficult effort to find or do something

Sample sentence: The team's quest to win a championship finally came to an end.

Synonyms: hunt, search

 

10.  Pyramid (n.)

Meaning 1: a very large structure built especially in ancient Egypt that has a square base and four triangular sides which form a point at the top

Meaning 2: a shape, object, or pile that is wide near the bottom and narrows gradually as it reaches the top

Meaning 3: something that resembles a pyramid in the way its parts are arranged or organized

 

11.  Cathedral (adj.) (n.)

Meaning 1: the main church of an area that is headed by a bishop

Meaning 2: emanating from a chair of authority

 

12.  Modest (adj.)

Meaning 1: not very large in size or amount

Meaning 2: not too proud or confident about yourself or your abilities: not showing or feeling great or excessive pride of clothing : not showing too much of a person's body

Sample sentence: She enjoyed modest success with her singing career.

Synonyms: average, intermediate, mean, median, medium, middling, midsize (also midsized), moderate, middle

Antonyms: coarse, dirty, filthy, immodest, impure, indecent, obscene, smutty, unchaste, unclean, vulgar

 

13.  Mere (n.) (adj.)

Meaning: an expanse of standing water: lake, pool

Meaning 2: used to say that something or someone is small, unimportant, etc.

Meaning 3: used to say that something small is important or has a big effect or influence

Sample sentence: <the mere idea of your traveling alone to Europe is ridiculous>

Synonyms: bare, very

 

14.  Construction (n.)

Meaning 1: the act or process of building something (such as a house or road)

Meaning 2: the business of building things (such as houses or roads)

Meaning 3: the way something is built or made

Sample sentence: Construction of the new bridge will begin in the spring.

Synonyms: erection, structure

 

15.  Roam (v.)

Meaning: to go to different places without having a particular purpose or plan

Sample sentence: The chickens are able to roam around freely in the farmyard.

Synonyms: bat, cruise, drift, float, gad (about), gallivant (also galavant), kick around, knock (about), maunder, meander, mooch, ramble, range, wander, rove, traipse

 

16.  Confession (n.)

Meaning 1: a written or spoken statement in which you say that you have done something wrong or committed a crime

Meaning 2: the act of telling people something that makes you embarrassed, ashamed, etc.

Meaning 3: the act of telling your sins to God or to a priest

Sample sentence: I have a confession to make: I have never done this before.

Synonyms: acknowledgment (or acknowledgement), admission, avowal, concession, self-confession

Antonyms: disavowal, nonadmission

 

17.  Exceptional (adj.)

Meaning 1: not usual : unusual or uncommon

Meaning 2: unusually good : much better than average

Meaning 3: mentally or physically disabled

Sample sentence: The seafood dishes at this restaurant are exceptional.

Synonyms: aberrant, aberrated, abnormal, anomalous, atypical, especial, exceeding, extraordinaire, extraordinary, freak, odd, peculiar, phenomenal, preternatural, rare, singular, uncommon, uncustomary, unique, unusual, unwonted

Antonyms: common, customary, normal, ordinary, typical, unexceptional, unextraordinary, usual

 

18.  Vertical (adj.)

Meaning 1: positioned up and down rather than from side to side : going straight up

Meaning 2: having a structure in which there are top, middle, and bottom levels

Synonyms: perpendicular, plumb, raised, standing, stand-up, upright, upstanding, erect

Antonyms: flat, recumbent

 

19.  Occupy (v.)

Meaning 1: to live in (a house, apartment, etc.)

Meaning 2: to fill or be in (a place or space)

Meaning 3: to fill or use (an amount of time)

Sample sentence: She occupies the house that her grandfather built 50 years ago.

Synonyms: absorb, bemuse, busy, catch up, engross, enthrall (or enthral), enwrap, fascinate, grip, immerse, interest, intrigue, involve, engage

 

20.  Gauge (n.) (v.)

Meaning 1: an instrument that is used for measuring something

Meaning 2: something that can be used to measure or judge something else

Meaning 3: the distance between the rails of a railroad

Meaning 4: to make a judgment about (something)

Meaning 5: to measure (something) exactly

Sample sentence: The broadest gauge of the economy—the gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation—has risen little more than 4% since the recovery began. —Alfred L. Malabre, Jr., Wall Street Journal, 26 July 1993

 

21.  Buffer (n.) (v.)

Meaning 1: to protect (something) from something

Meaning 2: to lessen the harmful effects of (something)

Meaning 3: computers: to put (something, such as data) in a buffer

Sample sentence: The trees help buffer the house from the hot summer sun.

Synonyms: cushion, gentle, soften

 

22.  Shrink (v.)

Meaning 1: to become smaller in amount, size, or value

Meaning 2: to make (something) smaller in amount, size, or value

Meaning 3: to quickly move away from something shocking, frightening, or disgusting

Sample sentence: The sweater shrank when it was washed.

Synonyms: compress, condense, constrict, contract

Antonyms: balloon, expand, snowball, swell

 

23.  Numerous (adj.)

Meaning: existing in large numbers

Sample sentence: The birds are becoming more numerous in this area.

Synonyms: beaucoup [slang], legion, multifold, multiple, multiplex, multitudinous, many

Antonyms: few

 

24.  Dormitory (n.)

Meaning 1: a building on a school campus that has rooms where students can live

Meaning 2: a large room with many beds where people can sleep

Sample sentence: Guests at the camp can stay in private cabins or for a smaller fee in the dormitories.

 

25.  Crystal (n.) (adj.)

Meaning 1: a small piece of a substance that has many sides and is formed when the substance turns into a solid

Meaning 2: a clear hard mineral that is either colorless or very light in color and that is used in making jewelry

Meaning 3: a special type of glass that is very clear

Sample sentence: Some of the crystals used in the necklace are a pale pink color.

Synonyms: clear, crystal clear, crystalline, limpid, liquid, lucent, pellucid, see-through, transparent

Antonyms: cloudy, opaque