Daily Vocabulary – 12 June 2019

Synonyms: Acerbity, Antagonism, Hostility, Pugnacity, Asperity

Antonyms: Benevolence, Cordial, Affable, Meek, Gregarious

Example: Despite his early <strong>belligerence</strong> toward haughty Britain, he lobbied hard to become the first American Ambassador to St. James's and was rewarded with not only the job but a tour of Buckingham Palace.

Synonyms: Strife, Dissension, Antagonism, Contention, Friction

Antonyms: Consensus, Unanimity, Accord, Concord, Solidarity.

Example: The coach admitted that he was to blame for fomenting some of the <strong>discord</strong> around what could have been Serie A's defining match of the season.

Synonyms: Apparently, Manifestly, Purportedly, Allegedly, Superficially

Antonyms: Improbably, Obscurely, Unlikely, Genuinely, Implausibly

Example: On Thursday, the president revived his rhetoric during a bizarre rally in Montana <strong>ostensibly</strong> intended to stoke support for the state’s Republican Senate candidate.

Synonyms: Alleviate, Mitigate, Allay, Dampen, Palliate, Attenuate, Tranquilize, Smother, Stifle.

Antonyms: Aggravate, Agitate, Exacerbate, Incite, Perturb.

Example: Speaking to journalists this week, Egypt's foreign minister, Nabil Fahmy, tried to <strong>assuage</strong> concerns about a media crackdown.

Synonyms: Bashful, Coquettish, Modest, Diffident, Reticent

Antonyms: Brazen, Bold, Presumptuous, Insolent, Blatant

Example: Many of our contemporary female stars are <strong>coy</strong> about celebrity; they give shy interviews over Cobb salads and insist that they are just like us.