VERBAL ADVANTAGE SUCCESS EDITION ADVANCED

Levels IX

By Charles Harrington Elster

Verbal Advantage Level Nine

With Pronunciations, Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Information Listed in Order of Presentation, by Level and Number. The abbreviation N.B . stands for the Latin nota bene and means "note well, take good note of. 1. PROLIX (PROH-liks) Wordy and tiresome; longwinded and boring; verbose; using more than necessary to get the point across. Synonyms: circumlocutory, tautological, pleonastic. Antonyms: concise, terse, pithy, succinct, sententious. Etymology and usage: Latin prolixus, widely extended. Prolix applies to longwinded speech or writing that is tediously discursive, desultory, or protracted. 2. APOCRYPHAL (uh-PAHK-ruh-ful) Not genuine, counterfeit, illegitimate; specifically, of doubtful authenticity or authorship. Synonyms: spurious (Level 8, Word 18), unauthorized, unauthenticated, fabricated, fraudulent, supposititious. Antonyms: genuine, authentic, valid, bona fide. Etymology and related words: The Apocrypha are fourteen books of an early translation of the Old Testament into Greek called the Septuagint. The authenticity of these books was called into question. Today, apocrypha, spelled with a small a, refers to any writings of doubtful authenticity or authorship. 3. CUPIDITY (kyoo-PID-i-tee) Greed, a strong desire for wealth or material things. Synonyms: avarice, acquisitiveness, covetousness, venality. Etymology: Latin cupidus, desirous, longing, eager; also, eager for power or money, avaricious. The corresponding Latin noun cupido, desire, is the source of Cupid, the cherubic god of love in Roman mythology.

Verbal Advantage Level Nine

4. VERNAL (VUR-nul) Pertaining to spring, occurring in the spring; also, having the qualities of spring: fresh, warm, and mild. Antonyms: hibernal, hiemal (pertaining to winter, wintry). Additional useful words: Hibernia, poetic name for Ireland; estival, pertaining, like, or belonging to summer; estivate, to pass the summer (the opposite of hibernate, to pass the winter). Additional useful information: The vernal equinox, which occurs in March and marks the beginning of spring, and the autumnal equinox, which occurs in September and marks the beginning of fall, are the times during the year ` when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are approximately the same length. 5. TEMERITY (tuh-MER-i-tee) Recklessness, rashness, foolhardiness; reckless disregard for danger, risk, or consequences. Synonyms: nerve, cheek, gall, audacity, heedlessness, imprudence, impetuosity, presumptuousness, effrontery. Antonyms: timidity, bashfulness, faintheartedness, sheepishness, apprehension, diffidence, timorousness. Corresponding adjective: temerarious. Etymology: Latin temere, rashly, blindly, heedlessly. 6. RAPPROCHEMENT (rap-rohsh-MAH(N)) Reconciliation, a reestablishing of friendly relations. Etymology: Rapprochement comes from a French verb meaning to bring together, and means literally to approach again. 7. DISQUISITION (DIS-kwi-ZISH-un) A formal discussion of or inquiry into a subject; a discourse. Synonyms: (general) treatise, critique, commentary; (specific) lecture, thesis, oration, homily, tract, monograph, dissertation. N.B. This discussion distinguishes the words discourse, dissertation, and disquisition.

Verbal Advantage Level Nine

8. PROSCRIBE (proh-SKRYB) To prohibit, forbid, outlaw. Synonyms: ban, denounce, disallow, condemn, censure, ostracize, expatriate, interdict. Antonyms: permit, tolerate, legalize, authorize, sanction. Etymology: Latin proscribere, to post or publish the name of an outlaw or a person to be banished or put to death. Usage tip: Be careful to distinguish the verbs to proscribe and to prescribe, which are opposite in meaning. 9. MUNIFICENCE (myoo-NIF-i-sins) Great generosity, lavish giving. Synonyms: philanthropy, liberality, benevolence, bountifulness, bounteousness, beneficence, largess. Antonyms: stinginess, miserliness, closefistedness, penuriousness, parsimony. Corresponding adjective: munificent. Etymology: Latin munificus, generous, liberal, bountiful, from munus, a gift, present', or favor. 10. PROBITY (PROH-bi-tee) Honesty, integrity; fairness, straightforwardness. and sincerity in one's dealings with others. Synonyms: uprightness, trustworthiness, scrupulousness, veracity, rectitude. Antonyms: improbity, dishonesty, deceitfulness unscrupulousness, duplicity, malfeasance, perfidy.

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At this point in the program there is a discussion of the distinction between the verbs to convince and to persuade.

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Verbal Advantage Level Nine

11. PUISSANT (PYOO-i-sint; also, PWIS-int and pyoo-IS-int) Powerful, mighty, strong, forceful. Synonyms: vigorous, potent, dynamic, stalwart. Antonyms: weak, feeble, infirm, debilitated, enervated, flaccid, valetudinarian. Corresponding noun: puissance, power, strength, might. 12. PECULATE (PEK-yuh-layt) To steal, embezzle; specifically, to steal or misuse money or property entrusted to one's care. N.B. This discussion distinguishes the verbs to peculate and to defalcate. Corresponding noun: peculation. 13. DIFFIDENT (DIF-i-dint) Shy, timid, bashful, lacking in self-confidence, hesitant to speak or act. Etymology: Latin dis-, not, and fidere, to trust, put confidence in. 14. VENAL (VEE-nal) Corruptible, bribable, capable of being bribed or bought off, able to be obtained for a price. Synonym: mercenary (Level 3, Word 14). Etymology: Latin venalis, for sale. Usage tip: The words venal and venial are often confused. Venial, means excusable, forgivable, minor, as a venial sin, offense, or error. 15. PARSIMONIOUS (PAHR-si-MOH-nee-us) Stingy, miserly, extremely tight with money. Synonyms: grasping, money-grubbing, pennypinching, close-fisted, penurious, niggardly. Antonyms: generous, liberal, open-handed, bountiful, beneficent, magnanimous, munificent. Corresponding noun: parsimony, excessive or unnecessary economy or frugality.

Verbal Advantage Level Nine

16. PUSILLANIMOUS (PYOO-si-LAN-i-mus) Cowardly, lacking courage, timid, fainthearted, irresolute. Corresponding noun: pusillanimity. 17. EXTANT (EK-stint) Existing, still in existence, not extinct, not lost oi destroyed. Etymology: Latin exstare, to stand out, from ex, out, and stare, to stand. 18. MERETRICIOUS (MER-i-TRISH-is) Tawdry, gaudy; attractive in a flashy or cheap way; falsely alluring; deceptively enticing. Etymology: By derivation, meretricious means pertaining to or like a meretrix, a prostitute. Usage tip: The words meretricious and meritor ous are often confused, but they are nearly opposite in meaning. Meritorious means worth! of merit, deserving praise. 19. XENOPHOBIA (ZEN-uh-FOH-bee-uh) Fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners, or of anything strange or foreign. Antonyms: xenomania, an inordinate attachment to anything or anyone foreign; xenophilia means love for or attraction to foreigners, foreign cultures, or foreign customs. Etymology: (Greek) prefix xeno-, alien, strange, and suffix -phobia, fear. Related words: xenophobe, a person who fears or hates strangers; xenophobic, affected with xenophobia. Pronunciation tip: In the words xenophobia, xenophobe, and xenophobic, the prefix xeno- should be pronounced ZEN-uh, not ZEE-nuh. 20. QUOTIDIAN (kwoh-TID-ee-in) (1) Daily, recurring every day or pertaining to every day. (2) Of an everyday nature; ordinary, commonplace, trivial. Synonym: diurnal (Level 2, Word 49).

Verbal Advantage Level Nine

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Here there is a discussion of various foreign words and phrases that have been taken into English. Expressions covered: (French) faux pas; bte noire; bon mot; lan; qui vive; coup d tat; coup de grce; (Yiddish) chutzpah; (Latin) ad infinitum; pro tempore; sine qua non; quid pro quo; caveat emptor; pro bono publico.

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21. EXIGENCY (EKS-i-jin-see) An urgency, pressing need; a situation demanding immediate attention or action. Etymology: Latin exigere, to demand, force or drive out. N.B. This discussion distinguishes the words exigency, emergency, and crisis. 22. PULCHRITUDE (PUHL-kri-t(y)ood) Beauty, loveliness, attractiveness. Corresponding adjective: pulchritudinous. 23. DENOUEMENT (DAY-noo-MAH(N)) The unraveling or resolution of a plot, as of a novel or a drama; the outcome or resolution of any complex situation. 24. FUGACIOUS (fyoo-GAY-shus) Fleeting, passing quickly away. Synonyms: transient (Level 2, Word 31 ), ephemeral (Level 4, Word 12), transitory (Level 5, Word 4), evanescent. Etymology: Fugacious and fugitive come from the Latin fugere, to flee, fly away.

Verbal Advantage Level Nine

25. TURBID (TUR-bid) Literally, muddy, clouded, roiled, murky, as if from stirred-up sediment; figuratively, muddled, obscure, confused, not lucid. Usage tip: Turbid sometimes is confused with turgid and tumid, which mean swollen, inflated. Tumid usually is used literally to mean swollen or distended; turgid usually is used figuratively of language or style that is inflated pompous, pretentious, bombastic. Turbid never suggests swelling or inflation, but rather muddiness, cloudiness, disturbance, or confusion. 26. INDEFEASIBLE (in-de-FEEZ-uh-buul) Not capable of being undone, taken away, annulled, or rendered void. Related words: defeasance, the annulment or voiding of a deed or contract, or a clause within a deed or contract that provides a means for annulling it or rendering it void; defeasible, capable of being invalidated, undone, or rendered void. N.B. This discussion distinguishes the words . inalienable and indefeasible. 27. DISINGENUOUS (DIS-in-JEN-yoo-us) Insincere, crafty, sly, not straightforward or frank. Synonyms: wily, subtle, slippery, deceptive, hypocritical, fraudulent, mendacious. Antonyms: ingenuous, truthful, frank, candid, unselfconscious, unaffected, guileless. Corresponding noun: disingenuousness. Etymology and related word: Disingenuous combines the prefix dis-, meaning "not," with the Latin ingenuus, freeborn, of free birth; hence, noble, honorable, upright. From the Latin ingenuus, by way of French, English has also acquired the word ingnue, which the Century Dictionary defines as "a woman or girl who displays innocent candor or simplicity; specifically, such a character represented on the stage, or the actress who plays it." 28. SCURRILOUS (SKUHR-i-lus) Foul-mouthed, obscene; using or expressed in language that is coarse, vulgar, and abusive. Synonyms: shameless, indelicate, lewd, smutty, ribald (Level 7, Word 42), irreverent, insolent, disparaging, derisive, contumelious. Antonyms: polite, refined, tasteful, cultured, sophisticated, cultivated, decorous, urbane. Etymology: Latin scurrilis, mocking, jesting, or jeering like a buffoon. Corresponding nouns: scurrility and scurrilousness.

Verbal Advantage Level Nine

29. RECRUDESCENCE (REE-kroo-DES-ints) A revival, renewal, fresh outbreak after a period of inactivity or quiescence. Etymology and usage: Recrudescence comes from the Latin recrudescere, to become raw again, break out again, open afresh. In medicine, recrudescence is used of a wound or sore that partially heals and then reopens, or of a fever that abates and then breaks out again. Corresponding verb: recrudesce, to break out again, show renewed activity after an inactive period. Corresponding adjective: recrudescent, breaking out afresh (a recrudescent epidemic, a recrudescent revolt). 30. DEFENESTRATE (dee-FEN-i-strayt) To throw something or someone out of a window. Etymology: prefix de-, out, and Latin fenestra, a window. Corresponding noun: defenestration, the act of throwing something or someone out of a window. 31. DILATORY (DIL-uh-for-ee) Delaying, causing or intended to cause delay; also, slow, tardy, characterized by delay or procrastination. 32. VILIFY (VIL-uh-fy) To defame, slander, attack with vicious, abusive language. Synonyms: disparage, denigrate, stigmatize, malign, revile, vituperate, calumniate, traduce. Antonyms: praise, commend, laud, extol, glorify, eulogize, venerate. Etymology: Latin vilis, cheap, worthless. Corresponding noun: vilification.

Verbal Advantage Level Nine

33. PHLEGMATIC (fleg-MAT-ik) Calm and unemotional; having a sluggish, apathetic temperament; difficult to move to emotion or action. Etymology: Phlegmatic comes from the Greek phlegmatikos, pertaining to the humor phlegm. In ancient and medieval physiology, there were four humors, or bodily fluids, thought to determine a person's health or disposition: blood, also known as the sanguine humor, which made you upbeat, cheerful, and confident; choler, also known as yellow bile, which made you passionate or irascible; melancholy, also known as black bile, which made you gloomy or dejected; and phlegm, which made you either cool and indifferent or dull and sluggish. From this medieval humor phlegm we inherit the adjective phlegmatic, which by derivation means full of phlegm; hence, having a sluggish, apathetic temperament, calm and unemotional, difficult to move to emotion or action. 34. ADVENTITIOUS (AD-ven-TISH-us) Accidentally or casually acquired, not belonging naturally to something, associated by chance, not inherent or integral. Synonyms: foreign, extrinsic, incidental, extraneous, fortuitous, supervenient. 35. DESICCATED (DES-i-kay-tid) Dried or dried up, dehydrated, deprived of moisture. Corresponding verb: desiccate, to dry thoroughly. Corresponding noun: desiccation, the act of drying or dehydrating. Etymology: Latin desiccare, to dry completely. 36. COMITY (KAHM-i-tee) Courtesy, civility, politeness, respectful and considerate behavior. Etymology: Latin comitas, courtesy, friendliness, from comis, courteous, kind, polite. Comity of nations: courteous and friendly relations between nations involving recognition and respect for each other's laws and institutions.

Verbal Advantage Level Nine

37. SPECIOUS (SPEE-shus) Appearing to be true, genuine, or correct but actually false or deceptive; superficially reasonable or just but not so in reality. Etymology: Latin speciosus, beautiful, splendid, handsome, from species, outward appearance, and specere, to look at. By derivation, something specious has an outward appearance that is beautiful, splendid, or handsome to look upon but that underneath is false, deceptive, or flawed. N.B. This discussion distinguishes the words specious and plausible. 38. NOISOME (NOY-sum) (1) Harmful to health or well-being, unwholesome, dangerous, destructive. Synonyms: injurious, ruinous, deleterious, noxious, baneful, malign, pernicious. (2) Foul-smelling, offensive, disgusting. Synonyms: rank, rancid, putrid, fetid, malodorous, mephitic. Antonyms: salutary, salubrious. 39. CALUMNY (KAL-um-nee) Defamation of character, slander, a false and malicious statement or accusation meant to injure a person's reputation. Synonyms: backbiting, denigration, obloquy, vilification. Corresponding adjective: calumnious. Corresponding verb: calumniate. Etymology: Latin calumniare, to accuse falsely, from calumnia, a trick. 40. EXCORIATE (ek-SKOR-ee-ayt) (1) To strip, scrape, or tear off the skin. Synonyms: abrade, chafe, scalp, gall, flay. (2) To rebuke or denounce harshly and severely. Synonyms: censure, castigate, vituperate. N.B. This discussion distinguishes the verbs to flay and to excoriate. Corresponding noun: excoriation.

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Verbal Advantage Level Nine

41. LASSITUDE (LAS-i-t(y)ood) Weariness, fatigue; a weak or exhausted state or feeling; a sluggish relaxation of body or mind. Synonyms: listlessness, lethargy, debility, indolence, inertia, enervation, torpor, languor, oscitancy. Additional useful word: osculation, the act of kissing. N.B. This discussion distinguishes the words fatigue, weariness, and lassitude. 42. TRADUCE (truh-D(Y)OOS) To publicly disgrace or humiliate by making false and malicious statements; to make a mockery of; expose to public ridicule or contempt. Synonyms: defame, slander, denigrate, malign, vituperate, calumniate, vilify (Level 9, Word 32). Etymology: Traduce comes from the Latin traducere, to lead across or lead in front of others; hence, to exhibit as a spectacle, expose to ridicule, disgrace or humiliate in public Corresponding nouns: traducement, the act of traducing; traducer, a person who traduces, who makes false, malicious, humiliating statements. 43. DISHABILLE (DIS-uh-BEEL) (1) The state of being partly clothed; partial undress. (2) The state of being casually or carelessly dressed, as in one's night clothes or lounging attire. Additional useful word : prurient (PRUUR-ee-int), characterized by or arousing lust. 44. SATURNALIA (SAT-ur-NAY-lee-uh) An orgy, licentious merrymaking, unrestrained revelry. Etymology: Saturnalia (capital S) denotes the licentious seven-day festival of Saturn celebrated in December by the ancient Romans; from that, saturnalia (small s) has come to mean any period or occasion of unrestrained revelry.

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Verbal Advantage Level Nine

45. EXTIRPATE (EK-stur-payt) To pull or dig up by the roots, root out, exterminate, abolish or destroy completely. Etymology: Latin extirpare, to tear up by the roots, from ex-, out, and stirps, the stem and roots of a plant. Synonyms: eradicate, deracinate. Corresponding noun: extirpation. 46. FLAGITIOUS (fluh-JISH-us) Extremely wicked; shamefully and scandalously criminal, vice-ridden, or corrupt. Synonyms: atrocious, egregious, heinous, diabolical, nefarious, odious, execrable. Etymology: Latin flagitiosus, shameful, disgraceful, infamous, from flagitium, a shameful crime, disgraceful action. Usage: Flagitious may be used of persons who are grossly wicked and guilty of atrocious crimes or vices, or of actions or things to mean shamefully wicked, villainous, or evil. 47. PERIPATETIC (PER-i-puh-TET-ik) Walking about, going from place to place on foot. Synonyms: ambulating, itinerant. Usage: When spelled with a capital P, Peripatetic refers to the ancient Greek school of philosophy founded by Aristotle, who expounded his theories while strolling in the Lyceum in Athens. When spelled with a small p, peripatetic means walking about, traveling on foot. Corresponding noun: peripatetic, a pedestrian or itinerant, someone who walks or moves about on foot. 48. CACHINNATE (KAK-i-nayt) To laugh loudly and immoderately, laugh convulsively or hysterically. Corresponding noun: cachinnation, immoderate, convulsive, or hysterical laughter.

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Verbal Advantage Level Nine

49. MANUMIT (MAN-yoo-MIT) To set free, liberate, emancipate, deliver from slavery or bondage. Synonyms: unshackle, unfetter, enfranchise, disenthrall. Antonyms: enslave, enthrall, subjugate, shackle, fetter, manacle, trammel. Etymology: Latin manumittere, to free a slave, from manus, the hand, and mittere, to send, let go. N.B. This discussion distinguishes the verbs to manumit, emancipate, and enfranchise. 50. EXPIATION (EK-spee-AY-shin) Atonement; reparation for a sin, crime, or offense. Etymology: Latin expiare, to atone for, purify, engage in a ritual cleansing. Corresponding verb: expiate, to atone for, make amends for.

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Level Nine concludes with a discussion of the word effete, which has become a victim of the "sounds-like syndrome," confused with the words effeminate and elite. Traditionally, and in precise usage, effete means wom out, exhausted, barren of results, ineffective or unproductive.

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