Lesson 5
Freshmen Vocabulary
- antagonism noun the state of being opposed or hostile to another
Ralph's antagonism made it difficult for him to get along with the group.
syn: hostility ant: friendliness, amity - ardent adj. warm or intense in feeling; passionate
Although Tom was an ardent admirer, Sue knew he would never ask her to marry him.
syn: fervent, zealous ant: cool, apathetic
- arid adj. having little or no rainfall; very dry
They moved to Arizona because the arid weather was good for his lungs.
syn: parched ant: wet, lush, verdant - assuage verb to make less burdensome
or less painful; to ease, relieve
The purpose of a funeral is to assuage the grief of the loved ones still alive.
syn: recede ant: increase, swell
- embellish verb to decorate or improve by adding details; dress up
Henry so embellished the stories of his vacation that no one believed he had actually left home.
syn: enhance ant: simplify - engender verb to give rise to; to cause; to bring
about
His obnoxious behavior engendered hostility in his classmates.
syn: beget, generate ant: terminate, kill - enigma noun someone or something that is hard to
figure out; a mystery
The Riddle of the Sphinx is not the greatest enigma of all.
syn: puzzle, riddle - menagerie noun a collection of animals that people
can view
With the rabbit pens, dog runs, and snake cages, his barn was a real menagerie. - nostalgia noun a bittersweet longing for the things
of the past
He was overcome with nostalgia when the gang sang his college alma mater. - obliterate verb to do away with completely; to destroy
To obliterate all signs and any memory of the town, the Nazis bulldozed every building to the ground, and covered the wreckage with tons of earth.
