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HOSPITABLE = (adjective) 1. welcoming and kind to guests; 2. pleasant and favorable; 3. open-minded and receptive

Synonyms: welcoming, accommodating, cordial, generous, open, accessible, receptive

Antonyms: inhospitable, hostile

Examples:
- Many plants grow in the region's hospitable climate.
- It's difficult to think of a less hospitable environment than the surface of the Moon.
- My aunt was extremely hospitable. When I showed up at her door with my friends, she invited us to stay for dinner

INFLUX = (noun) 1. a sudden or ongoing arrival of many things or of a lot of people; 2. an inward flow or movement

Synonyms: inflow, inundation, flood

Antonyms: outflow

Examples:
- The sudden influx of new clients meant lots of overtime for the employees.
- The publication had an influx of letters to the editor after it published the controversial story.
- We’ve had an influx of resumes in response to our job posting.
- South Africa is expecting an influx of several thousand refugees over the next few days.
- South Africa's border patrol has been increased to curb the influx of illegal immigrants.

PRECURSOR = (noun) 1. something which happened or existed before; 2. an indication that someone or something is approaching; 3. in chemistry, a substance from which another is formed

Synonyms: forerunner, predecessor, originator, messenger, trailblazer, ancestor, founder, prototype

Antonyms: follower

Examples:
- The precursor to SyncMyMail's current network infrastructure was slow and bulky.
-  Microsoft's business model is much more streamlined and efficient, compared to its precursor.
- During a precursory inspection of the house, I failed to notice many or its problems.
- Biological research has often been a precursor to medical breakthroughs which benefit patients.

PROSAIC = (adjective) without interest, variety, or imagination--dull

Synonyms: boring, commonplace, ordinary, monotonous, insipid, mundane, simple, dull, vapid, banal

Antonyms: exciting, fascinating, interesting, stimulating

Examples:
- I’m surprised you enjoyed that book so much; I found it to be prosaic and unimaginative.
- John's job is not as glamorous as it seems; he has many prosaic responsibilities like filling out expense reports and other mundane paperwork.
- Lisa's summer job at the TV station dealt with the much more prosaic business of cleaning the floors
- Joanne gave me some prosaic advice on how to remove common stains from clothing

ROBUST = (adjective) 1. healthy, strong, and energetic; 2. built to be sturdy and durable; 3. requiring physical strength and endurance; 4. boisterous in manner; 5. hearty, full-flavored; 6. crude or rough

Synonyms: healthy, strong, energetic, sturdy, solid, vigorous, hearty, rugged, full-bodied, flavorful, rude, rough

Antonyms: frail, weak, feeble, tasteless

Examples:
- Some people say that the host of JustVocabulary is a handsome, robust young man.
- Shell has been enjoying robust growth for the past three quarters.
- I’m never fully awake until I’ve had a cup of robust, fresh-brewed cup of Joe.
- Some of his colleagues felt Marc could have defended himself more robustly.

If you do something robustly, you do it in a determined way:

REITERATE = (verb) to say, state, or perform again, sometimes with a wearying effect

Synonyms: repeat, restate, recapitulate, rephrase, rehash

Examples:
- Even though Marc knew his students heard him the first time, he reiterated the importance of making our deadline.
- Let me reiterate the fact that our company’s success is dependent on winning this account.
- Joanne reiterated that she had never seen him before.
- He reiterated his view that it was time to withdraw from Southeast Asia.

PREVARICATE = (verb)  be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information, get out of telling truth: to avoid giving a direct and honest answer or opinion, or a clear and truthful account of a situation, especially by quibbling or being deliberately ambiguous or misleading

Synonyms: equivocate, deceive, distort, evade, fabricate, falsify, mislead, stretch, misrepresent, lie

Antonyms: tell the truth, be honest

Examples:
- Even under oath, George continued to prevaricate about what exactly had happened.
- I knew that when I confronted Lisa she would prevaricate about who started the rumor.
- The lawyer accused George of prevaricating even though he tried hard to look honest and candid.

RATIONALIZE = (verb) 1. to defend or make excuses for something; 2. apply reason or logic to something. to give the reason for or cause of. to try to find reasons to explain your behaviour, decisions, etc:

Synonyms: justify, excuse, reason, think, clarify, explain.

Antonyms: complicate, puzzle, confuse

Examples:
- We rationalized the production system so that one operator could control all three machines.
- The recession is forcing the company to rationalize.
- Lisa didn't understand how anyone could rationalize such an extravagant purchase.
- You can rationalize your way out of anything.
- Phil tried to rationalize George's behavior, but it was completely illogical and unjustifiable.

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OBVIATE = (verb) 1. to prevent or overcome a problem by anticipating the problem in advance; 2. to make something unnecessary, to remove a difficulty, especially so that action to deal with it becomes unnecessary

Synonyms: remove, prevent, hinder, forestall, preclude, avert

Antonyms: cause, allow   

Examples:
- Your company should consider me for the position because I'm known for obviating potential losses of revenue for firms like yours.
- Is there any way to obviate this potential crisis?
- Regular tooth-brushing should obviate the need for frequent trips to the dentist
- A peaceful solution would obviate the need to use military force.
- Addressing any potential problems before they occur will obviate the need for later crisis management.   

PLUMB = (verb, adjective, adverb, noun) (v.) 1. to measure the depth of something; 2. to fully understand something; 3. to experience something to the fullest; 4. to make something vertical; (adj.) 1. completely vertical;

Synonyms: (v.) measure, gauge, examine, probe, fathom, explore, sound, (adj.) vertical, perpendicular, total, complete, full, deep, utter, absolute, (adv.) vertically, exactly, directly, fully, completely, (n.) weight, sinker

Antonyms: (adj.) horizontal, imprecise, inexact, incomplete, (adv.) horizontally, indirectly

Examples:
- They plumbed the uncharted ocean floor near the islands to make sure it was deep enough for the freighter to pass.
- When hanging a door, you need to make sure that it is both level and plumb or it will not shut completely.
- I have to plumb the depths of my patience each time I hear Lisa's annoying voice.
- I'm so sorry; I plumb forgot to attend your bacherlor's party. 

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SLUGGARD = (noun) a slothful, lazy person, somebody who avoids work or physical exertion ( archaic )

Synonyms: slouch, loafer, laggard

Antonyms: go-getter, dynamo

Examples:
- I was a sluggard all day Sunday and did nothing but lay around watching TV.
- Frank's a sluggard who can't hold down a steady job because he's always missing work.
- On the weekends, Marc prefers to be a sluggard, since he works so hard during the week.
- John was fired because he was a sluggard who took too long to finish his tasks. 

MOLLYCODDLE = (verb, noun) (v.) to treat with extra care or indulgence; (n.) someone spoiled and overprotected, especially a boy, INFORMAL MAINLY DISAPPROVING to give someone too much care or protection. a person without strength of character

Synonyms: (v.) spoil, pamper, coddle, baby, overprotect

Examples:
- If you mollycoddle your children they won't grow up to be responsible, self-sufficient adults.
- Lisa was so mollycoddled as a child, she grew up to be a selfish adult.
- Joanne broke up with Phil because he was too much of a mollycoddle and needed to talk to his mother every day.
- I can work independently, and I don't need to be mollycoddled.

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HAVEN = (noun) . safe place, refuge or shelter; 2. an ideal spot for something.

Synonyms: refuge, shelter, sanctuary, haven, anchorage, port, marina

Examples:
- The new, beach-front hotel was a perfect haven for tourists.
- We hoped desperately to find a cave, as a haven from the blizzard
- South Africa was not a safe havens for refugees from Zimbabwe.
- As long as the UN soldiers were present, the city was regarded as a safe haven for the refugees.

PROVISIONAL =
1. under terms that have not been finalized; 2. for the time-being only

Synonyms: conditional, temporary, transitional

Antonyms: permanent, conclusive, concrete

Examples:
- After days of negotiations, the union finally reached a provisional agreement with management.
- Even though it was a provisional contract, Lisa was still happy to be hired by the school district.
- When John arrived for the conference he was provided with a provisional meeting agenda.
- Frank was provisionally accepted at Stanford.

WAX = 1. to grow larger or more intense; 2. to take on a state or quality

Synonyms: grow, increase, expand, broaden, intensify, become

Antonyms: wane

Examples:
- I sat on the shore and watched the waves wax and wane.
- My friend started to wax philosophical after a couple glasses of wine.
- As the moon waxes toward its full state, it becomes rounder each day.
- Milton Friedman waxed eloquent on the subject of free enterprise.
- I am always captivated to see Carl Sagan waxed eloquent about the Cosmos.  “The Cosmos is all that has ever been, all that is, and all that ever will be.” 

TREPIDATION =
a feeling of fear or dread about the future

Synonyms: alarm, fear, agitation, perturbation, uneasiness, consternation, dread

Antonyms: ease, calm

Examples:
- Francis's trepidation about having to deliver a speech to the company board was evident on her face as a small bead of sweat ran down her forehead.
- Bill's trepidation about being fired seemed unwarranted, since he was a top performer for the company.
- It was John's trepidation about flying that caused him to cancel her European vacation.
- I have some trepidation about starting a new job, but once I get past my fear, I'm sure everything will be fine.

MORATORIUM = (noun) suspension of activity for an agreed amount of time.

Synonyms: suspension, freeze, halt, pause, stop, standstill

Antonyms: beginning, commencement, continuation

Examples:
- The Financial Director issued a spending moratorium until the company received a second round of funding.
- It's been four years now since John self-imposed a moratorium on flying, and he still refuses to step foot in a plane.
- I am all in favor for a five-year worldwide moratorium on nuclear weapons testing.
- Norway is proposing a five-year moratorium on whale-hunting.

TEMPERATE = moderate or mild, not extreme, especially said of climate and behavior

Synonyms: calm, agreeable, constant, mild, moderate, even-tempered, reasonable, steady, stable, dispassionate

Antonyms: extreme, immoderate, severe, unrestrained, excessive

Examples:
- I moved from the Netherlands to Cape Town because of its temperate climate.
- Lisa describes herself as having a temperate personality, but most of her friends think she is a little moody.
- It is not a bad idea to exercise temperance when drinking alcohol.
- Her response to the news was temperate, though I expected her to be more excited.