Words
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10 matching synonym questions
Etymology: [incognito (Italian); from incognitus (Latin), "unknown"; from in, "not" + cognoscere, "to become acquainted with"]
without being known; under an assumed name or character
To insure privacy, the king traveled across the country incognito.
Synonyms: disguised, unidentified
Etymology: [dissimulare (Latin), "to pretend"]
to deliberately mislead or conceal; to disguise
In establishing a flat percentage tax on gross receipts, the legislature sought to remove any incentive for contractors to dissemble about the location of taxable equipment and the source of taxable revenues.
Synonyms: feign, dissimulate, mask, cloak
Antonyms: uncover, flaunt, display, evince
Etymology: [des (French prefix), "out" + voidier (old French), "to empty"; from Latin dis, "apart" + vacuus, "empty"]
empty, not in possession (usually followed by of)
The character in the story is devoid of moral principles.
Synonyms: deficient (followed by in), destitute (followed by of), lacking (followed by in), wanting
Antonyms: replete (full of), fraught (followed by with)
Etymology: [mirce (Anglo-Saxon), "dark"]
gloomy; dark
The night was of the murky kind when witches and ghosts revel.
Synonyms: dismal, fuliginous, tenebrous
Antonyms: bright, resplendent, lustrous, luminous, fulgent, coruscating, glowing
Etymology: [re (Latin), "again" + criminare (Latin), "to accuse"; from crimen, "charge, offense"]
the act of accusing an accuser in return
Although he was unjustly accused of committing the crime, the victim refused to indulge in recrimination against his accuser.
Synonyms: countercharge, counteraccusation
Etymology: [élite (French), from élire (French), "to choose"]
a select group regarded as superior, especially socially
The membership of the Arista represents the elite of the student body of our school.
Synonyms: aristocracy, gentry, upper class, nobility
Antonyms: hoi polloi (Greek — "the many"), rabble (the lowest rank of society), proletariat (the working class)
Etymology: [defunctus (Latin), "having performed fully, " hence, "dead, departed"]
dead; no longer in existence
Although Latin is a defunct language, as far as speaking it is concerned, it is still useful in a basic liberal education.
Synonyms: extinct, deceased
Antonyms: extant, animate (possessing life)
Etymology: [derived through French from the same Latin verb as apprehend]
inform; give notice to
Paul was apprised of the possibility that he might be selected to represent his class at the assembly program.
Synonyms: acquaint, notify
NOTE: There is another verb apprise, which is a variant of apprize, meaning "to appraise, to set a value on." The verb apprise with this meaning is derived from pretium (Latin), "a price," and is therefore related to words like appreciate and precious.
Etymology: [fiasco (Italian), "a flask"; relation to English word doubtful]
a ludicrous and complete failure
His ill-advised attempt to play Hamlet ended in a fiasco.
Synonyms: failure, disaster, debacle
Etymology: [dirige, "direct, lead," the opening word in the Latin funeral service]
a funeral song or mournful poetical composition
To the soft strains of a dirge played by the organist, the monarch was laid to rest in the cathedral.
Synonyms: elegy (poem of lamentation), lament
A DIRGE
Rough wind, that moanest loud
Grief too sad for song;
Wild wind, when sullen cloud
Knells all the night long;
Sad storm, whose tears are vain,
Bare woods, whose branches strain,
Deep caves and dreary main,
Wail for the world's wrong!
— Percy Bysshe Shelley
Rough wind, that moanest loud
Grief too sad for song;
Wild wind, when sullen cloud
Knells all the night long;
Sad storm, whose tears are vain,
Bare woods, whose branches strain,
Deep caves and dreary main,
Wail for the world's wrong!
— Percy Bysshe Shelley