(v.) to caution or advise against something; to scold mildly; to remind of a duty

Mr. Hamlin admonished his students to complete all homework assignments, as the assignments are worth 20% of a student's quarterly average.

syn: warn, call on the carpet

ant: praise, pat on the back

breach

(n.) an opening, gap, rupture, rift; a violation or infraction; (v.) to create an opening; break through

Belching loudly like a bull walrus, Ned committed a breach of etiquette that was frowned upon by all the gathered family.

ant: close, seal

(n.) a bandit, robber, outlaw, highwayman

The brigands that lined the highways of nineteenth-century England would jump out onto the road in front of a coach and scream, "Stand and deliver!" brandishing thier weapons in a menacing fashion.

syn: marauder, thief

ant: vigilante, hero, protector

(adj.) careful, cautious

The superintendent of the EWG school system took a circumspect view of the winter snowfall, often erring on the side of caution, rather than putting children in danger.

syn: wary, prudent

ant: incautious

(v.) to seize for military or official use

The principal commandeered the custodian's tractor to transport a wagonload of goodies to the far field for the football game.

syn: take over, requisition

clumsy, hard to handle; slow-moving

Matt and Jake moved the cumbersome electric dryer from the 3rd floor apartment to the basement using only boards and an outdoor extension cord.

syn: unwieldy, ponderous

ant: manageable, easy to handle

deadlock

(n.) a standstill resulting from the opposition of two equal forces or factions; (v.) to bring to such a standstill

The two prison ball teams were in a deadlock as the final clock ran down- neither could tag out the last girl on the court.

syn: standoff, stalemate

ant: agreement, accord

(n.) scattered fragments, wreckage

The debris that lay strewn about our trailer park after the tornado hit looked like a yard sale that had exploded in an instant.

(v.) to spread or scatter freely or widely; (adj.) wordy, long-winded, or unfocused; scattered or widely spread

The light diffused through the frosted glass pane in a way that made the window glow and sparkle.

syn: disperse; rambling, verbose, prolix

ant: concentrate; brief, concise, succinct

(v.) to wipe out; to keep oneself from being noticed

At the award ceremony, the teacher was humble, making self-effacing remarks about herself, lauding instead the efforts of her students.

syn: blot-out, erase, obliterate, expunge

(v.) to make a mess of; muddle through: to get by; (n.) a hopeless mess

The schedule for the 2-hour delay day was a muddle when the presentation was thrown in on top of what was already a chaotic morning.

syn: a jumble, mess up; confusion, disorder

ant: orderliness, tidiness, neatness 

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

Old Hank, being a cantankerous, opinionated geezer, went on a rant in the middle of the Chatterbox Cafe about how he was sick and tired of paying taxes.

syn: obstinate, pigheaded, inflexible

ant: open-minded, resonable

(adj.) lasting for a long time; (n.) a plant that lives for many years

My wife plants new perennials every spring, and our yard is an ever-expanding garden of color all spring and summer long.

syn: enduring, recurring

ant: brief, short-lived

(v.) to incline to beforehand

The principal was not predisposed to the students' idea of leaving early to go to Dunkin Donuts, so when they came in for the meeting, the students were sadly disappointed.

syn: make susceptible to 

ant: immunize against, shield from

relinquish

(v.) to let go, to give up

General Chaos and his underling, Major Disarray, relinquished control of the day-to-day running of the ship to Ensign Pulver, who ran things according to strict protocols.

syn: surrender, abandon

ant: hold onto, keep, retain, cling to 

(v.) to save from fire or shipwreck; (n.) property thus saved

The salvage crew was able to bring up golden treasure from the sunken wreck, worth millions of dollars.

syn: rescue, recover, retrieve, reclaim

ant: abandon, scrap, junk

(adj.) sudden and violent but brief; fitful; intermittent

Elaine's jerky, twitching dance moves were spasmodic at best, and appeared to the rest of the people at the wedding reception to be the result of a full-body dry heave.

syn: irregular, occasional

ant: steady, continuous

(adj.) not genuine, not true, not valid

The ID which the young man presented to the liquor store clerk was seemingly spurious, so the clerk called the police.

syn: false, conterfeit

ant: genuine, authentic, bona fide

(adj.) uncontrolled, lacking in restraint

The unbridled vituperation streaming forth from Jimmy's mouth was met with swift and stern intervention by the assistant principal.

syn: unrestrained, unchecked

ant: restrained, held in check, muted