1. ANTAGONISM Teenagers sometimes show antagonism toward parental suggestions that they clean up their rooms. Terry’s antagonism was displayed by his refusal to be objective about our proposal. The manager’s antagonism toward my plan vanished as soon as he saw our increase in profits.

noun Hostility, active opposition. Think of literature…and antagonist shows opposition to the protagonist.

2. ANTITHESIS  Surprisingly, Donna is the antithesis of her twin, Debby.  The Democrats’ election platform was the antithesis of the Republicans’.  What Shana did was the antithesis of what she had promised to do.

noun Direct opposite. Anti = Against Thesis = Main Point

3. APOCRYPHAL  Her apocryphal tears fooled no one.  The story of George Washington and the cherry tree is apocryphal, no doubt.  Despite our suspicions that the incident was apocryphal, we embraced it eagerly as being truthful.

Adjective Of doubtful authenticity; counterfeit Think the boy who “CRY”ed wolf.

4. ARDUOUS  Climbing Mt. Everest is an arduous undertaking.  Until Hercules accomplished it, cleaning the Augean Stables was considered an arduous task.  We ended our basic training with an arduous forced march through the swamp.

adjective Hard to do; strenuous Climbing Mt. Whitney was a “harduous” task.

5. ARTICULATE  Being articulate, Ellyn was able to do well on her job interviews.  Mr. Montero hardly expected the kindergartner to be so articulate.  Try to articulate clearly when you read the poem aloud.

adjective Able to put one’s thoughts into words easily and clearly Verb To speak distinctly Like art, it paints a clear picture

6. ASSUAGE  Mother hastened to the bedroom to assuage Beth’s fears.  Dr. Zilka was able to assuage the nervous patient with an optimistic diagnosis.  Many athletes drink Gatorade to assuage their thirst.

verb To calm or soothe; to satisfy. Sometimes sage (soothing herb) can help you assuage your fears.

7. ATROPHY  Failure to exercise your muscles may cause them to atrophy.  Our teacher was fond of saying that one’s commonsense could atrophy if it’s not used.  Tracy expected her leg to atrophy after it had been in a cast for two months.

Verb To waste away Remember, you w on’t get a trophy if you have weak muscles.

8. AUGMENT  If we augment our arms stockpile, our enemies will do the same.  The factory plans to augment the basic workforce with some part-time employees.  You can augment your income by working overtime.

verb To increase or enlarge; to become greater in size.

9. AUSTERE  Their household, governed by an austere father, was a humorless and unhappy place.  When the austere lifestyle proved to be too arduous to maintain, Alberto left the monastery.  Expecting that our week with an Amish family would be an austere experience, we were pleasantly surprised by the lavish meals.

adjective Stern in manner or appearance; strict in morals

10. AUTHORITARIAN  The rebel colonel claimed to have an affinity for democracy, but we knew that he was an authoritarian through and through.  As the family authoritarian, my eldest brother succeeded in alienating the rest of us.  The permissive Ms. Sharett is the antithesis of the authoritarian Ms. Robins.

Noun A person who supports the principle of subjection to authority instead of individual freedom (can also be used as an adjective).