Synonyms

Annihilate: demolished

Exodus: Flight

Reprimand: reproved

Stagnant: fetid

Servitude: captivity

Slapdash: sloppy

Accomplice: confederate

Succumb: expire

Catalyst: stimulus

Prattle: chattered

Paramount: foremost

Hamper: impede

Ghastly: Gruesome

Defray: pay for

Bondage: captivity

Intricate: complex

Posthumous: postmortem

Lucid: clear

Tenacious: dogged

Doleful: melancholy

Taunt: insulting remarks

Opaque: cloudy

Efface: obliterated

Brigand: bandits

Deadlock: stalemate

Salvage: rescue

Spasmodic: fitful

Dilemma: predicament

Perennial: recurring

Muddle: mess

Breach: violation

Debris: wreckage

Alien: unfamiliar

Compensate: reimburse

Expulsion: ouster

Fodder: feed

Illegible: indecipherable

Adjourn: suspend

Lucrative: gainful

Proliferate: multiply

Sully: taints

Tantalize: tempted

Unflinching: unwavering

Marauder: freebooter

Pauper: destitute person

Pilfer: filched

Condone: turn a blind eye to

Irate: enraged

Usurp: commandeered

Cherubic: angelic

Fabricate: make up

Rift: split

Surmounted: conquered

Absconded: made off

Access: admittance

Larceny: burglary

Hoodwinked: duped

Reprievment: postponement

Rectify: correct

Precipice: cliff

Antonyms:

Circumspect: reckless

Spurious: valid

Opinionated: open-minded

Relinquish: retained

Admonish: praised

Comely: plain

Fortify: undermined

Terse: verbose

Dissolute: virtuous

Mediocre: exceptional

Obscure: eminent

Dissent: harmony

Obesity: emaciation

Terminate: initiated

Trite: fresh

Pompous: unaffected

Arduous: easy

Inanimate: lively

Auspicious: ominous

Morose: cheerful

Rebut: corroborate

Latent: manifest

Facilitate: impeded

Arbitrary: rational

Diligent: lazy

Superfluous: vital

Prim: lax

Impoverished: affluent

Incessant: occasional

1. Speaker: the voice in a poem

1. Diction: a writer’s choice of words

1. Connotation: the suggested meanings of a word or phrase; the meanings and feelings that have become associated with the word, in addition to its explicit meaning

1. Imagery: words or phrases that use description to create pictures, or images, in the reader’s mind.

1. Rhyme Scheme: the pattern of rhymes in a stanza or poem

1. Couplets: a pair of successive rhymed lines of poetry

1. Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds in a group of words close together

1. Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds in a group of words close together

1. Onomatopoeia: the use of word whose sound imitates or reinforces its meaning

1. Figurative Language: language that is used to describe one thing in terms of something else; language that is not intended to be taken literally

1. Simile: a direct comparison made between two unlike things, using a word of comparison such as like or as

1. Metaphor: a comparison made between two things which are basically dissimilar, with the intent of giving added meaning to one of them

1. Personification: a figure of speech in which something nonhuman is given human characteristics or feelings

1. Symbol: something in a literary work which maintains its own meaning while at the same time standing for something broader than itself

1. Tone: the attitude a writer takes toward the subject or the reader of a work of literature

1. Theme: the main idea expressed in a literary work; the central insight that the work gives us about human life

1. Pun: a humorous play on words, using either (1) two or more different meanings of the same word, or (2) two or more words that are spelled and pronounced somewhat the same but have different meanings

1. Allusion: a reference to a work of literature or to a well-known historical event, person, or place

1. Refrain: one or more words, phrases, or lines that are repeated regularly in a poem, usually at the end of each stanza

1. Stanza: a group of related lines that forms a division of a poem or a song

1. Rhythm: in language, the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables

1. Meter: the regular pattern of rhythm—that is, of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse

1. Blank Verse: verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter—that is, with each line usually containing five iambs, which consist of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

1. Sonnet: a lyric poem having fourteen rhymed lines, usually written in iambic pentameter

1. Haiku: 17 syllable poem

1. Hyperbole: a figure of speech that uses exaggeration or overstatement for effect

1. Narrative: poetry that tells a story

1. Lyric: verse, usually brief, which focuses on the emotions or thoughts of the speaker

1. Dramatic: poetry in which one or more characters speak

1. Poetic License: a writer’s freedom to break conventional rules in order to use language playfully and creatively, usually to create mood or enhance meaning

31. Plot: the sequence of related events that make up a story or a drama

32. Climax: the moment of highest emotional intensity in a plot, when the outcome of the conflict is finally made clear to us

33. Setting: the time and place in which the events of a literary work take place

34. Flashback: a scene in a story or play that interrupts the present action to tell about events that happened at an earlier time

35. Exposition: the kind of writing that explains a subject or provides information

36. Irony: a contrast or discrepancy between what it states and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen

37. Conflict: a struggle between two opposing forces in a piece of literature. Can take many forms, may be external or internal

o        Person vs. person

o        Person vs. society

o        Person vs. nature

o        Person vs. self

38. Denouement:  a final unraveling of all complications

1. The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot.
2. The outcome of a sequence of events; the end result.

39. Atmosphere: the general mood or feeling established in a work of literature

40. Foreshadowing: the use of clues that hint at important plot developments that are to follow in a story or drama

41. Direct Characterization: read through writing, the author simply tells you what the character is like (writer explicitly tells us what they are like)

42. Indirect Characterization: you learn about the character through their actions and comments other characters make regarding them (writer makes us figure out for selves)

43. Literal Language: language that states facts or ideas directly

44. Denotation: the explicit meaning of a word, as listed in a dictionary

45. Free Verse: poetry that doesn’t have a fixed line length, stanza form, rhyme scheme, or meter

46. Resolution: the conclusion is shown and then conflict in the story is resolved

Hmmm.  That's the problem with synonyms.  The meanings are not EXACTLY the same and there are contexts in which only one is appropriate or meaningful.

Defray is a highly formal term of 'legal' language so it is only really used in contracts, legislation and other such extremely formal circumstances.  It is not appropriate to use it instead of 'pay' in any normal situation.

Lucid - ok it can mean clearer but it also has a further nuance. It suggests the antonym of very unclear and confused.  The student is actually insulting the teacher by saying the new teaching method is a lot more lucid as it suggests that previous lessons were incoherent, badly run, not explained properly. To me it would be a way of suggesting the teacher had previously taught when drunk or something!

Salvage is used in regards to objects only, and means to collect something that is lost/gone to waste so that you can use it again. Scrap metal is salvaged from old cars. You cannot salvage people.

It is rarely wise to try and use what seems to be a more complicated 'clever' word than its simple everyday alternative.