- DECENCY (Noun)
Meaning: behaviour that confirms to accepted standards of respectability, the attribute of being proper.
Synonyms: morality, integrity, propriety, decorum.
Antonyms: discourtesy, impropriety, impoliteness.
Usage: When Gina became hooked on drugs, she lost all sense of decency and started to steal from her own family. - EXHORTATION (Noun)
Meaning: to strongly urge someone to do something.
Synonyms: persuasion, encouragement, urging.
Antonyms: dissuasion, arbitration.
Usage: Because I exhort my students to do well and provide them with all the necessary resources, they usually perform nicely in my classes. - CONTEMPORARY (Adjective)
Meaning: quite recent
Synonyms: current, modern, present, topical.
Antonyms: old, vintage, traditional, dated, archaic.
Usage: The art critic who was used to reviewing pieces from the 1930’s and 1940’s did not have anything positive to say about contemporary art. - LEVITATION (Noun)
Meaning: the action of rising or causing something to rise and hover in the air, typically by means of supposed magical powers.
Synonyms: lift, rise, upsurge, ascent, ascension.
Antonym: ascension
Usage: The magician was able to make himself levitate three inches off of the ground in a trick that stunned the crowd. - QUAINT (Adjective)
Meaning: attractively unusual or old-fashioned.
Synonyms: odd, strange, eccentric, unusual, peculiar.
Antonyms: ordinary, normal, common, usual.
Usage: As soon as we entered the quaint home, we noticed it was filled with charming antiques. - DOWNTURN (Noun)
Meaning: a decline in economic, business, or other activity.
Synonyms: decline, slump, recession, drop, slowdown.
Antonyms: upsurge, recovery, improvement.
Usage: Business owners are dealing with the downturn by offering discounts and deals as a way to fight the sales decline. - RETALIATION (Noun)
Meaning: counter-attack; the action of harming someone in response to something equally hurtful.
Synonyms: revenge, vengeance, reprisal.
Antonyms: mercy, forgiveness, acceptance.
Usage: Although he knew that retaliation would only lead to more pain, the victim plotted a revenge attack on the thieves that broke into his store. - SLUMP (Verb)
Meaning: undergo a sudden severe or prolonged fall in price, value, or amount.
Synonyms: decline, fall, drop.
Antonyms: surge, rise, ascent.
Usage: Sales of the phone began to slump after several caught on fire and burnt their owners. - EXTRADITE (Verb)
Meaning: hand over (a person accused or convicted of a crime) to the jurisdiction of the foreign state in which the crime was committed.
Synonyms: deliver, deport, surrender.
Antonyms: shelter, discharge, protect.
Usage: Because so many countries wanted to prosecute the woman, it was difficult to decide where to extradite her. - ORCHESTRATE (Verb)
Meaning: arrange or score (music) for orchestral performance; to organize or plan all of the details of an event.
Synonyms: arrange, harmonize, organize, score, blend.
Antonyms: ignore, disturb, disrupt.
Usage: To take responsibility away from the bride and groom, an event planner was hired to orchestrate the wedding. - IDIOMS
“Fine kettle of fish”
FOOD IDIOM
Meaning: A mess or difficult situation.
Usage: This is a fine kettle of fish. I thought I paid the electric bill but now the power has been turned off.“Packed in like sardines”
FOOD IDIOM
Meaning: Crowded.
Usage: The venue was so crowded, we were all packed in like sardines and couldn’t move.“Have bigger fish to fry”
FOOD IDIOM
Meaning: Have more important things to do.
Usage: I can’t worry about her problems since I have bigger fish to fry.
