The Crucible Vocabulary

Apparitions- noun

Unexpected appearance

Syn. ghost

Ant. mortals

The apparitions or ghostly figures that appeared in the haunted house scared me to death.

Augur- verb

To predict (some future event)

Syn. foretell

Supposedly, Miss Cleo has the ability to augur the future.

Callous- adjective

Emotionally hardened; unfeeling; unsympathetic

Syn. insensitive

Ant. understanding; sensitive

The callous individual didn’t appear to have any sympathy whatsoever, and he was always bullying the other kids at school.

Conjure- verb

To call or bring into existence by or as if by magic

Syn. summon; invoke

Ant. exorcise

People who conjure spirits often are able to contact the dead.

Contempt- noun

Strong disrespect; evaluation as worthless or mean

Syn. disdain; scorn

Ant. respect; honor; admiration

Many people think of Hitler with contempt because they view him as a horrible man who committed terrible acts.

Corroborating- verb

To make certain; confirm

Syn. verify; support; validate

Ant. refute

He corroborated my account of the accident by providing details that matched my information.

Covenanted- verb

To enter into an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified

Syn. agreed

Ant. disagreed

The rulers of each nation covenanted to end the war, and they signed an official document to make it legal.

Crucible- noun

A severe, searching test or trial

Syn. Test

Rebecca Nurse faced a crucible of her faith when she was accused of witchcraft; she had to decide if she would stay true to her beliefs or give a false confession.

Defamation- noun

False or unjustified injury of the good reputation of another as by slander or libel

Syn. falsehood

Ant. truth

She sued the magazine for defamation of character because the writer of the article falsely said that she was in rehab for drug addiction.

Deposition- noun

The giving of testimony under oath

Syn. affidavit

Ant. nullification

In his court deposition, Joe told the truth about his involvement in the robbery.

Diametrically- adv.

Directly opposite

Syn. contrarily

Ant. similarly; identically

Sample sentence: Some Democrats are diametrically opposed to the ideas of the Republicans because their ideas are completely opposite.