1. SHIFTLESS (ADJECTIVE): lazy
Synonyms: lethargic, unenergetic Antonyms: active, attentive
Example Sentence:
They do careless, indifferent, shiftless, reckless work, and then demand a living-wage.
2. FLAT-FOOTED (ADJECTIVE): unprepared
Synonyms: napping, daydreaming Antonyms: watchful, vigilant
Example Sentence:
Mining companies were caught flat-footed by cyber-attacks.
3. CAMBER (VERB): curve
Synonyms: arc, bend Antonyms: compress, condense
Example Sentence:
The camber of this playing field helps water drain off.
4. WARMED-OVER (ADJECTIVE): trite
Synonyms: banal, common Antonyms: original, desirable
Example Sentence:
“The Plan is hardly new. It is a warmed-over version of the strategy Cheney and his coauthors rolled out in 1992 as the answer.”
5. PLUMMET (VERB): fall hard and fast
Synonyms: collapse, decline Antonyms: ascend, grow
Example Sentence:
Stock prices plummeted after the news of the oil spill.
6. PALAVER (NOUN): empty talk
Synonyms: babble, cajolery Antonyms: quiet, silence
Example Sentence:
He seemed at first much pleased of the situation, but after examining the captives closely he called a palaver.
7. BRAVURA (NOUN): boldness, braveness
Synonyms: audacity, fortitude Antonyms: cowardice, meekness
Example Sentence:
She raised the piano-cover and began playing a dashing bravura that was strikingly out of place in the dismantled room, then she closed the piano-lid with a slam.
8. SOLECISM (NOUN): misuse
Synonyms: impropriety, mistake Antonyms: accuracy, certainty
Example Sentence:
I would I saw her once more, but to explain to her the solecism of which her inexperience hath rendered her guilty.
9. PROCRUSTEAN (ADJECTIVE): generous
Synonyms: ruthless, abundant Antonyms: gentle, merciful
Example Sentence:
My purposes, my views, my beliefs were the Procrustean bed upon which every act of hers was measured.
10. SOLIPSISM (NOUN): theory that only the self exists
Synonyms: egoism, self-containment Antonyms: companionship, empathy
Example Sentence:
He knew his wife’s solipsism would prevent her from regarding his injury as anything but an infringement on her freedom to do what she liked.
