(n.) the expression of approval or favorable opinion, praise; official approval

syn: commendation, sanction

ant: disapproval, condemnation, censure

(v.) to make easier or milder, relieve; to quiet, calm; to put an end to, appease, satisfy,quench

syn: mitigate, alleviate, slate allay

ant: intensify, aggravate, exacerbate

(n.) a combination, union, or merger for some specific purpose

syn: alliance, league federation, combine

ant: splinter group

(n.) decline, decay, or deterioration; a condition or period of decline or decay; excessive self-indulgence

syn: degeneration, corruption

ant: rise, growth, development, maturation

(v.) to draw forth, bring out from some source (such as another person)

syn: call forth, evoke, extract, endure

ant: repress, quash, squelch, stifle

(v.) to attempt to dissuade someone from some course or decision by earnest reasoning

syn: protest, remonstrate, complain

ant: N/A

(adj.) used so often as to lack freshness or originality

syn: banal, trite, commonplace, corny

ant: new, fresh, novel, original

(n.) a gap, opening, break (in the sense of having an element missing)

syn: pause, lacuna

ant: continuity, continuation

(n.) a hint, indirect suggestion, or reference (often in a derogatory sense)

syn: insinuation, intimation

ant: direct statement

(v.) to plead on behalf of someone else; to serve as a third party or go-between in a disagreement

syn: intervene, mediate

ant: N/a

(adj.) wearied, worn-out, dulled (in the sense of being satiated by excessive indulgence)

syn: sated, surfeited, cloyed

ant: unspoiled, uncloyed

(adj.) causing shock, horror, or revulsion; sensational; pale or sallow in color; terrible or passionate in intensity or lack of restraint

syn: gruesome, gory, grisly, baleful, ghastly

ant: pleasant, attractive, appealing, wholesome

(adj.) worthy, deserving recognition and praise

syn: praiseworthy, laudable, commendable

ant: blameworthy, reprehensible, discreditable

(adj.) peevish, annoyed by trifles, easily irritated and upset

syn: irritable, testy, waspish

ant: even-tempered, placid, serene, amiable

(n.) a special right or privilege; a special quality showing excellence

syn: perquisite, perk

ant: N/a

pertaining to an outlying area; local; narrow in mind or outlook, countrified in the sense of being limited and backward; of a simple, plain design that originated in the countryside

syn: narrow-minded, parochial, insular, naive

ant: cosmopolitan, catholic, broad-minded

a person with a narrow point of view; a person from an outlying area; a soldier from a province or colony

(v.) to make a pretense of, imitate; to show the outer signs of

syn: feign, pretend, affect

ant: N/a

(v.) to rise above or beyond, exceed

syn: surpass, outstrip

ant: N/a

(n.) shade cast by trees; foliage giving shade; an overshadowing influence or power; offense, resentment; a vague suspicion

syn: irritation, pique, annoyance

ant: pleasure, delight, satisfaction

(adj.) excessively smooth or smug; trying to hard to give an impression of earnestness, sincerity, or piety; fatty, oily; pliable

syn: mealymouthed, servile, fawning, greasy

ant: gruff, blunt