1. BLANDISHMENT (NOUN): flattery
Synonyms: adulation, cajolery Antonyms: criticism
Example Sentence:
At first he used his arts of blandishment and honeyed words in order to lure Savonarola to Rome.
2. IMPERTURBABILITY (NOUN): balance
Synonyms: aplomb, coolness Antonyms: agitation, anxiety
Example Sentence:
His imperturbability always had the effect of a goad upon his father’s temper.
3. MERETRICIOUS (ADJECTIVE): gaudy, flashy
Synonyms: garish, loud Antonyms: genuine, real
Example Sentence:
Now that Laura has been revealed to be little more than a collection of notes, the debate seems silly, meretricious.
4. AUGURY (NOUN): omen
Synonyms: auspice, harbinger Antonyms: short-sighted
Example Sentence:
This incident of his infancy was accepted as an augury of his maturity, and he did not belie it.
5. GLIB (ADJECTIVE): slick, smooth-talking
Synonyms: artful, facile Antonyms: stuttering, inarticulate
Example Sentence:
She advises women with similar issues not to settle for glib explanations.
6. OSTRACISM (NOUN): banishment
Synonyms: avoidance, boycott Antonyms: acceptance, allowance
Example Sentence:
What would be the point besides at a minimum misery, isolation, ostracism, and constant behind-the-back derision?
7. REPINE (VERB): complain
Synonyms: grumble, lament Antonyms: dislike, praise
Example Sentence:
In that wish there can be no harm, for it is only wishing that you may not be tempted to repine.
8. FEINT (NOUN): pretense
Synonyms: ruse, bluff Antonyms: honesty, truth
Example Sentence:
Earl pretended to be making violent efforts to hurl Ensal off of himself, but this was merely a feint.
9. INURE (VERB): accustom
Synonyms: familiarize, habituate Antonyms: neglect, soften
Example Sentence:
A continuation of the wrongful exclusion of these Indians from their lands should not inure to the benefit of the wrongdoers.
10. RECONDITE (ADJECTIVE): mysterious, obscure
Synonyms: arcane, cabalistic Antonyms: simple, straightforward
Example Sentence:
How else to explain the popularity of a novel so free of plot, so obsessed with existential rumination and recondite philosophy?
