VOCABULARY BUILDING EXERCISE

ANTONYMS-SYNONYMS
1. ABDICATE- to formally resign/renounce,
to give up the rights, relinquish, yield,
disclaim.
Syn. Dethrone, renounce, abjure
Ant. Sieze, usurp, claim, adopt, swindle,
cut out
Hes is likely to abdicate the
chairmanship of his son.
He abdicated his right to a share in the
profits.
2. ABET- to give encouragement, to help,
to aid, assist, usually in doing some
wrong, encourage a bad act.
Syn. Aid, assist, be an accomplice, help,
support
Ant. Oppose, protest, hinder, hamper,
encumber
The law has penalties for those who aid
and abet a criminal.
To overlook an aberration is to abet it.
3. ABHOR- to tolerate, to endure, to
conform/ adhere to
Syn. Detest, hate, loathe, dislike,
despise
Ant. Adore, love, worship, esteem,
respect, admire
Abhor poverty but not the poor.
I have always abhorred the insolence in
children.
4. ABSCOND- to hide, to escape a legal
process, depart secretly/ run off in
secret
Syn. Run away, escape, flee, breakout
Ant. Reappear, be present, remain
Their servants has absconded with the
valuables.
After absconding with the money, the
thief moved frequently to avoid being
caught.

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5. ABSTINENCE- restraint from drinking or

eating
Syn. Self-denial, self- restraint, selfdiscipline, asceticism
Ant.
Treat, luxury, extravagance,
pleasure, excess
The best way to avoid alcohol was total
abstinence from the friends who were
involved into it regularly.
6. BABBLEto
talk
foolishly
or
inarticulately, to murmur continuously
Syn. Gossip, prattle
Ant. quiet, sense, wisdom
The children babbled excitedly among
themselves.
You were babbling incoherently, in your
sleep last night.
7. BADINAGE- light playful talk, banter
Syn. teasing, kidding, joking
Ant. depression, drama, sadness,
seriousness, tragedy, unhappiness
Dont be irritated by the badinage.
Avoid badinage if you want to be
accepted as serious speaker.
8. BAFFLE- to frustrate, confound,
bewilder, impede
Syn. Thwart, perplex, stymie
Ant. Aid, contribute, assist
She was completely baffled by his
strange behavior.
9. BAIT- any temptation or allurement as
part of a trap
Syn. Decoy, enticement, magnet,
allurement,
attraction,
bribe,
seducement, temptation
Ant. deter, discourage, dissuade,
prevent, repel, threaten, turn off, warn
The Indian MBAs are lured by the
MNCs baits.

VOCABULARY BUILDING EXERCISE

ANTONYMS-SYNONYMS
The snapping turtles have fleshy bait in
their mouths.
10. BANISH- to expel, to condemn, to exile
Syn. Deport, oust, relegate
Ant. Embrace, hug, accept, adopt
Unless we banish polythene bags from
everyday use, earth will transform into
a big dump of polythene.
You must try to banish all thoughts of
revenge from your mind.
11. BANTER- to tease playfully and in good
humor
Syn. ridicule, make good humored fun
of
Ant. Praise, flatter, cajole, coax
He was surprised to see the violent
reaction of his friend on his banter.
Gandhijis banter with Charlie is a
cherished page of history.
12. BARREN- incapable of bearing offspring,
infertile, arid, jejune
Syn. desert, desolate, empty, unfruitful
Ant. Fertile, ripe, productive, fecund
We drove through a barren, rocky
landscape.
Thay longed for a child, but she aws
barren.
13. BASHFUL- shy, demure, quiet
Syn. coy, diffident, nervous, selfconscious
Ant. Bold, extrovert, gregarious
Many strong persons hide their iron will
behind a bashful exterior.
She gave a bashful smile as he
complimented her on her work.
14. CAGEY- secretive, artfully shy, not frank
Syn. wary, guarded, cautious, careful,
reticent, evasive
Ant. Careless, slapdash, imprudent,
casual

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He was very cagey about what

happened at the meeting.
The secret service is cagey about the
exercise.
15. CALLOUS- hardened, cruel, insensitive
Syn. pathetic, cold, hard-boiled,
hardhearted
Ant. Sensitive, empathetic, tender
The officialdom is notorious for its
callousness.
It might sound callous, but I dont care
if hes homeless.
16. CANDID- frank, ingenuous, clear,
impartial, fair, open and honest, free of
bias,
Syn. true, veracious, scrupulous
Ant. False, untrue, dishonest, evasive
Tough a politician, he is candid.
The two presidents have had candid
talks about the current crisis.
17. CAPITULATE- to yield or surrender on
certain conditions, to give in, acquiesce
Syn. cede, succumb, yield, forfeit
Ant. Vanquish, subjugate, subdue,
overcome
The company has to capitulate to
employees demand of a wage increase.
Mike and I argued about our physics lab
result until finally I capitulated and
admitted that he was right.
18. CATCHYenchanting,
captivating,
fascinating
Syn. memorable, attractive, likable,
beguiling, haunting
Ant.
Forgettable,
unmemorable,
unremarkable, undistinguished
Catchy slogans and phrases do not fool
the educated.
Brands are launched with catchy
slogans as torpedoes.