Warm Up 2/29

PALPABLE: Able to be touched or felt.

SYNONYMS: Tangible, Touchable ANTONYMS: Imperceptible, Untouchable

EXAMPLE: His pain was almost palpable, and she couldn't help feeling, it was too raw for him to fake.

Warm Up 2/25

AMELIORATE: Make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better.

SYNONYMS: Improve, Better ANTONYMS: Deteriorate, Diminish

EXAMPLE: A centralized policy would compound, not ameliorate, the problem.

Warm Up 2/24

SOVEREIGN: A supreme ruler, especially a monarch.

SYNONYMS: Ruler, Leader ANTONYMS: Dependent, Limited

EXAMPLE: The city probably owns the beach and sovereign immunity makes that angle a waste of time.

Warm Up 2/23

BEGUILE: Charm or enchant (someone), sometimes in a deceptive way.

SYNONYMS: Charm, Attract ANTONYMS: Repel, Bore

EXAMPLE: They frequently beguile their toil with carols.

Warm Up 2/22

HARBINGER: A person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another.

SYNONYMS: Indication, Signal ANTONYMS: Unexpected, Luddite

EXAMPLE: The people seems to regard the American Flag as the harbinger of a new era.

Warm Up 2/19

GRADIENT: An inclined part of a road or railway.

SYNONYMS: Slope, Hill ANTONYMS: Line, Straight

EXAMPLE: The gradient made the drive to San Antonio a lot rougher and more expensive.

Warm Up 2/18

PLETHORA: A large or excessive amount of something.

SYNONYMS: Abundance, Excess ANTONYMS: Little, Petite

EXAMPLE: I learned recently that there are a plethora of ways to give to your community.

Warm 2/17

SAGA: A long story of heroic achievement, especially a medieval prose narrative in Old Norse or Old Icelandic. 

SYNONYMS: Legend, Epic ANTONYMS: Short story, Facts

EXAMPLE: For later versions and adaptations of the saga, see O.

Warm Up 2/16

PANORAMA: An unbroken view of the whole region surrounding an observer.

SYNONYMS: Scene, Landscape ANTONYMS: Past, Interior

EXAMPLE: In the rains the magnificent panorama of hills encircling the lake on the west and north-west is revealed.

Warm Up 2/12

PECUNIARY: Of, or relating to, or consisting of money.

SYNONYMS: Financial, Money ANTONYMS: Non-financial, Non-money

EXAMPLE: His pecuniary trouble are hopefully coming to an end because of his new job.

Warm Up 2/11

IDOLATRY: Worship of idols

SYNONYMS: Adoration, Adulation ANTONYMS: Disfavor, Dislike

EXAMPLE: The idolatry of the nation is pictured in the darkest colors.

Warm Up 2/10

AMBULATORY: Related to or adapted for walking.

SYNONYMS: Vagrant, Roving ANTONYMS: Steady, Stiff

EXAMPLE: The ambulatory appendages vary in number.

Warm Up 2/4

PREDATORY: Relating to or denoting an animal or animals preying naturally on others.
SYNONYMS: Hunting, Carnivore ANTONYMS: Vegetarian, Herbivore
EXAMPLE: The lion's gaze had turned predatory as he found a deer prancing through the open field.

Warm up 2/3

CURSORY: Hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed.

SYNONYMS: Casual, Token ANTONYMS: Careful, Detailed
EXAMPLE: She used wax to bind the partially severed ends together, just enough that a cursory glance wouldn't disclose what she had done.

Warm Up 2/1

ANCILLARY: Providing necessary support to the primary activities or operation of an organization, institution, industry, or system.

SYNONYMS: Additional, Auxiliary ANTONYMS: Needed, Primary

EXAMPLE: The function of the archdeacon are in the present day ancillary in a general way to those of the bishop diocese. 

Warm Up 1/29

"In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." - Theodore Roosevelt