Supplemental Vocabulary from Macbeth

brandish verb; to shake or wave a weapon as a threat or in anger or excitement; synonyms: flourish, wave, shake, wield, display, flash; antonyms: abandon, conceal, cover; The man brandished his sword in front of his enemy so his enemy would know the consequences of his opposition.
prospect noun; one’s outlook for the future, scenery, a good view of a scene, a potential or favorite candidate for something; synonyms: hope, possibility, view, vista, potential, promise; antonyms: hopelessness, impossibility, unlikelihood; There is no prospect of a compromise between the two groups, since they are so opposed. A talented college basketball player is a great prospect for the NBA team in the upcoming draft. The balcony boasted a serene prospect of the rolling hills.
rapt adjective; absorbed in or transported with emotion; synonyms: enraptured–given intense pleasure or joy from something–, fascinated, enthralled, spellbound, mesmerized; antonyms: sorrowful, unhappy, disenchanted, repulsed, turned off; The toddler watched his favorite movie in rapt attention, and was so absorbed in the movie that he didn’t hear his mother calling him.
multitudinous adjective; comprising many parts or elements, very numerous, overly crowded; synonyms: multifold, numerous, many, abundant, sundry, various, diverse, infinite, teeming; antonyms: few, limited, calculable; There were multitudinous awards presented at the ceremony, ranging from most hardworking, to most improved, to most talented.
harbinger noun; anything that foreshadows a future event; synonyms: omen, sign, signal, indication, herald; antonyms: trifle–an unimportant matter–, aftermath?; For the superstitious, a black cat is a harbinger of bad luck.
compunctious adjective; causing or feeling compunction–a feeling of guilt or moral scruple that follows the doing of something bad; synonyms: regretful, remorseful, sorry, apologetic; antonyms: compassionless, pitiless, shameless, ruthless, unapologetic; The man has many compunctious feelings for the way he treated his ex-fiancé when they broke up.
surfeit (noun) noun; an overabundance or excessive amount of something; synonyms: excess, surplus, oversupply, abundance; antonyms: lack, scarcity, want, undersupply, insufficiency; We had such a surfeit of food after Thanksgiving that we gave some to our neighbors.
surfeit (verb) verb; to bring to a state of such overabundance or satiety–the feeling of being satisfied in desire or appetite to the full; synonyms: cram, glut, sate, stuff, gorge, overindulge; antonyms: diet, fast, abstain, deprive; After a day in the mall, I am surfeited with shopping.
confound verb; to confuse, bewilder–cause someone to be perplexed and confused–or throw into disorder; synonyms: amaze, astonish, baffle, discombobulate, puzzle, startle, surprise; antonyms: bore, calm, clarify, explain; The 60-degree weather in January confounded New Yorkers. The assassination confounded the people, throwing them into chaos and conflict.
equivocate verb; to hedge–avoid making a definite decision, statement, or committment–or use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually with intent to mislead; synonyms: dodge, prevaricate, beat around the bush, lie, falsify; antonyms: confront, encounter, face, tell truth; The saleswoman went out of her way to equivocate the high prices in the store so that the customer would be more likely to buy something.
benison noun; a benediction–a blessing uttered or bestowed especially after a religious service–utterance of good wishes, or blessing; synonyms: invocation, grace, praise, sanctification, amen; antonyms: condemnation, criticism, disapproval; The priest offered a benediction to the newly married couple after the service.
parricide noun; the act of killing one’s father, any person guilty of such an act; synonyms: murderer, patricide, murder, slaying; After killing his father, the parricide fled the city. A man was charged with parricide after his father was found dead in the man’s apartment and the man had no substantial alibi.
confined adjective; restricted within certain limits of space, scope, quantity, or time, even to the point of imprisonment (or other situations in which someone is restrained from leaving a place); synonyms: arrested, captured, jailed, cramped, restrained, limited, enclosed; antonyms: free, liberated, unlimited, unrestricted; The child was confined to her house for the day because it was snowing heavily outside. The criminal was confined to a 3 by 3 cell after he disobeyed the guard’s orders in prison.
jocund adjective; jolly, cheerful, in joyful spirits; synonyms: elated, blithe, gleeful, merry, jovial; antonyms: dejected, depressed, low-spirited, downcast, glum; The jocund song on the radio lifted the spirits of everyone in the car.
pitiful adjective; deserving or evoking–bring to the conscious mind–pity, also in modern usage deserving of contempt–the feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn; synonyms: distressing, sad, piteous, pathetic, awful, poor, wretched, worthless, sorry; antonyms: cheerful, fortunate, important, excellent, superior; It was pitiful to see the shivering, homeless man on the side of the street without a jacket. His athletic skills were so pitiful that he was embarrassed to go to gym class.
sundry adjective; diverse, various, many items considered all together; synonyms: assorted, various, manifold; antonyms: same, individual, singular; Since I wasn’t sure what the weather would be like in Salt Lake City, I packed sundry items of clothing.
barren adjective; not capable of producing offspring, sterile, unproductive; synonyms: infertile, arid, desolate, empty; antonyms: productive, fertile, fruitful; Few creatures are able to survive in this barren desert. After discovering that she was barren, the woman tore down the nursery that she had decorated in her home because she knew that she would never have kids. The teacher told his student that the problem with her writing was that it was barren of emotion; she had to put some more feeling into her words.
resolute adjective; characterized by determination and firmness; synonym: purposeful, strong-willed, bold, persistent, unwavering, tenacious; antonyms: half-hearted, afraid, cowardly, timid, shy, wavering, cautious; After a major loss, the softball team was even more resolute than ever to regain their confidence and win their next big game.
vanquish verb; to conquer or defeat utterly–completely–to overpower; synonyms: conquer, crush, overpower, overcome; antonyms: lose, surrender, fail, give in, release; In movies, the superhero usually vanquishes the villain, leaving him completely defeated and helpless.
prattle (verb) verb; to chatter or talk in a nonsensical way; synonyms: chatter, jabber, babble, chitchat; antonyms: speak clearly, be quiet; The small child prattled on about how his father was still alive when both of us were sitting right there at his funeral.
prattle (noun) noun; absurd or meaningless talk; synonyms: burble, chatter, chit-chat, gibberish, jabber; antonyms: sense, articulation; She missed her child’s endless prattle about witches and princesses in made-up lands when he was younger.
laudable adjective; worthy of praise or applause; synonyms: praiseworthy, commendable, admirable, meritorious, deserving; antonyms: disrespected, unworthy, bad; The fireman saved five people from a burning building through courageous and truly laudable actions.
August 22, 2019