Admonish

ad mon' ish

verb

to caution or advise against something; to scold mildly; to remind of a duty

Syn: Warn, call on the carpet

Ant: praise, pat on the back 

breach

noun; verb

an opening, gap, rupture, rift; a violation or infraction; to create an openin, break through

Ant: close, seal 

brigand 

brig' and

noun

a bandit, robber, outlaw, highwayman

circumspect 

cir' cum spect

adjective

careful, cautious

Syn: wary, prudent, guarded

Ant: incautious, rash, reckless,heedless 

commandeer 

 comm an deer'

verb

 to seize for military or offical use

Syn: take over, requisition, expropriate 

Cumbersome

 Cum' ber some
adjective

clumsy, hard to handle; slow-moving

Syn: unwieldy, ponderous

Ant: manageable, easy to handle 

deadlock 

 dead' lock

noun; verb

a standstill resulting from the opposition of two equal forces or factions; to bring to such a standstill 

Syn: standoff, stalemate, impasse

Ant: agreement, accord, breakthrough 

debris

de bris'

noun

scattered fragments, wreckage

Syn: rubble, detritus, flotsam and jetsam

diffuse 

diff use'

verb; adjective

to spread or scatter freely or widely; wordy, long-winded or unfocused; scattered or widely spread

Syn: disperse; rambling, verbose, prolix

Ant: concentrate; brief, concise, succinct 

dilemma 

di lemm' a

noun

a difficult or perplexing situation or problem

Syn: predicament, quandary, pickle, bind

Ant: cinch 

efface 

e fface'

verb

to wipe out; to keep oneself from being noticed

Syn: blot out, erase, obliterate, expunge 

muddle 

 mudd' le

verb

to make a mess of; muddle through: to get by; a hopeless mess

Syn: jumble, mess up; confusion, disorder

Ant: orderliness, tidiness, neatness 

opinionated  

 o pin' ion at ed 

adjective

stubborn and often unreasonable in holding to one's own ideas, having a closed mind.

Syn: obstinate, pigheaded, inflexible,

Ant: open-minded, reasonable 

perennial 

 pe renn' i al 

adjective; noun

lasting for a long time, persistant; a plant that lives for many years

Syn: enduring, recurring

Ant: brief, short-lived, fleeting, ephermeral 

predispose 

pre dis pose'

verb

to incline to beforehand

Syn: make susceptible to

Ant: immunize against, shield from

relinquish 

 re lin' quish

verb

to let go, give up

Syn: surrender, abandon

Ant: hold on to, keep, retain, cling to 

salvage 

sal' vage

verb; noun

to save from fire or shipwreck; property thus saved

Syn: rescue, recover, retrieve, reclaim

Ant: abandon, scrap, junk 

spasmodic

 spas mod' ic

adjective

sudden and violent but brief; fitful; intermittent

Syn: irregular, occasional

Ant: steady, continous, chronic 

spurious 

 spur' i ous

adjective

not genuine, not true, not valid

Syn: false, counterfeit, fraudulent, bogus

Ant: genuine, authentic, bona fide, valid 

unbridled 

 un brid' led

adjective

uncontrolled, lacking in restrait

Syn: unrestrained, unchecked

Ant: restrained, held in check, muted 

adjourn 

ad journ'

verb

to stop proceedings temporarily; move to another place

Syn: postpone, suspend, discontinue

Ant: open, call to order 

alien 

a' li en

noun; adjective

a citizen of another country; foreign, strange

Syn: exotic, unfamiliar

Ant: native, endemic, familiar 

comely 

come' ly

adjective

having a pleasing appearance

Syn: good-looking, attractive, bonny

Ant: plain, homely, ugly, repulsive 

compensate 

com' pen sate

verb

 to make up for; to repay for services

Syn: pay back, reimburse, recompense

Ant: fail to reward, stiff 

dissolute 

diss' o lute

adjective

loose in one's morals or behavior

Syn: dissipated, debauched, immoral, corrupt

Ant: virtuous, chaste, moral, seemly, proper 

erratic

 e rra' tic

adjective

not regular or consistentl differnet from what is ordinarily expected; undependable

Syn: irregular, inconsistent, unpredicable

Ant: steady, consistent, dependable 

expulsion 

ex pul' sion

noun

the process of driving or forcing out

Syn: ejection, ouster, eviction

Ant: admittance, admission 

feint 

 feint

noun; verb

a deliberately deceptive movement, a pretense; to make a deceptive movement, to make a pretense of

Syn: trick, ruse, subterfuge, dodge, bluff

fodder 

fodd' er

noun

 food for horses or cattle; raw material for a designated purpose

Syn: feed, provender 

fortify

for' ti fy

verb

to strengthen, build up

Syn: reinforce, shore up

Ant: readable, decipherable, distinct, clear

illegible 

i lleg' i ble

adjective

difficult or impossible to read

Syn: unreadable, indecipherable, scribbled

Ant: readable, decipherable, distinct, clear 

jeer 

  jeer

verb; noun

to make fun of rudely or unkindly; a rude remark of derision

Syn: laugh at, mock, taunt

Ant: applause, plaudits, accolades 

lucrative 

 lu' cra tive

adjective

bringing in money; profitable

Syn: gainful, moneymaking

Ant: unprofitable, losing, in the red 

mediocre 

me di o' cre

adjective

average, ordinary, undistinguished

Syn: run-of-the-mill

Ant: execeptional, outstanding, distinguished 

proliferate 

pro lif' er ate

verb

to reproduce, increase, or spread rapidly

Syn: multiply, mushroom, burgeon

Ant: decrease, diminish, dwindle, slack off 

subjugate

sub' ju gate

verb

to conquer by force, bring under complete control

Syn: subdue, vanquish, master

Ant: be conquered, submit, surrender 

sully 

 sull' y

verb

to soil, stain, tarnish, defile, besmirch

Syn: pollute, taint, smear

Ant: cleanse, purify, decontaminate 

tantalize 

 tan' tal ize

verb

to tease, torment by teasing

Syn: tempt, lead on, make one's mouth water

Ant: satisfy, fulfill, gratify

terse 

terse

adjective

brief and to the point

Syn: concise, succinct, crisp, short and sweet

Ant: irresolute, wavering, vacillating 

unflinching 

un flin' ching

adjective

firm, showing no signs of fear; not drawing back

Syn: resolute, steadfast, unwavering

Ant: irresolute, wavering, vacillating 

abridge 

 a bridge'

verb

to make shorter

Syn: shorten, condense, abbreviate

Ant: expand, enlarge, augment 

cherubic 

 che ru' bic

adjective

resembling an angel portrayed as a little child with a beautiful. round, or chubby face; sweet and innocent

 Syn: angelic, seraphic, beatific

Ant: impish, devilish, diabolic, fiendish 

adherent 

ad her' ent

noun; adjective

a follower, supporter; attacked, sticking to

Syn: disciple

Ant: opponent, adversary, critic, detractor 

altercation

al ter ca' tion

noun

an angry argument

Syn: quarrel, dispute, squabble

Ant: agreement, accord 

condone 

 con done'

verb

to pardon or overlook

Syn: ignore, wink at, turn a blind eye to

Ant: censure, condemn, disapprove, deprecate 

dissent 

di ssent'

verb; noun

to disagree; disagreement

Syn: differ, dispute

Ant: agree, concur; unanimity, harmony 

eminent

em' in ent

adjective

famous, outstanding, distinguished,projecting

Syn: illustrious, renowned

Ant: obscure, nameless, unsung, lowly, humble