Menial

Word: Menial 

Part of Speech: Adjective. 

Definition: Servile or lowly. 

Synonyms: Obsequious.

Antonyms: Skilled.

Sentences: 

It's common for new hires to be forced to do menial tasks. 

Because of the hard times, Bob was willing to take even the most menial job. 

"There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes." -William J. Brennan, Jr. 

Alacrity

Word: Alacrity 

Part of Speech: Noun.

Definition: Readiness to do something or something that is done with speed.

Synonyms: Eagerness, promptness. 

Antonyms: Reluctance.

Sentences: 

The young agreed to the dangerous quest with the alacrity only a child could possess. 

The best thing a butler can do is perform his tasks with alacrity. 

“He had a uniform jacket with one button off, and seeing a white man on the path, hoisted his weapon to his shoulder with alacrity.”

“It should be done with the same degree of alacrity and nonchalance that you would display in authorizing a highly intelligent trained bear to remove your appendix.”

Prosaic

Word: Prosaic 

Part of Speech: Adjective.

Definition: Dull, or like prose.

Synonyms: Ordinary.

Antonyms: Exciting, unusual. 

Helpful hints to remember:

Sentences: 

The shopkeeper knew such rhythm-less, prosaic poetry wouldn't sell.

Nobody wants to listen to a prosaic speech. 

“France is not poetic; she even feels, in fact, a congenital horror of poetry. Among the writers who use verse, those whom she will always prefer are the most prosaic.”

Gaunt

Word: Gaunt

Part of Speech: Adjective

Definition: Extremely thin (for people) or barren (for places, things). 

Synonyms: Scrawny.

Antonyms: Plump.

Sentences: 

The monster was horrifically gaunt and gangly. 

In some parts of the world it's common to see gaunt children begging in the streets.

“When I see a woman who is all gaunt and emaciated, I don't think she's beautiful. She reminds me of a Chihuahua that's freezing and shaking.” -Rosario Dawson

Asylum

Word: Asylum

Part of Speech: Noun. 

Definition: Traditionally “asylum” refers to any refuge. 

Synonyms: Haven, sanctuary.

Antonyms: N/a.

Helpful hints to remember: “Insane” asylums were originally intended to be refuges for the mentally ill. Also consider “right of asylum”. 

Sentences: 

Although border security believed the man trying to enter the country illegally was a terrorist, he pleaded that he was actually just trying to seek asylum. 

For the little birds, the thick, thorny bush served as an asylum from the hungry fox.

"Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty." -Samuel Adams 

Cornucopia

Word: Cornucopia

Part of Speech: Noun.

Definition: Traditionally a horn filled with an endless supply of food (“Horn of Plenty”), but also refers to any abundant supply. 

Synonyms: Bounty, plenty.

Antonyms: Dearth.

Helpful hints to remember: The Cornucopia is a common Thanksgiving motif. 

Sentences: 

There was a cornucopia of offerings from agents after the amateur model suffered a wardrobe malfunction onstage. 

The tome was a cornucopia of information about ancient beasts. 

Dowdy

Word: Dowdy

Part of Speech: Adjective.

Definition: Plain, disorganized, or not in style. 

Synonyms: Shabby, tacky. 

Antonyms: Chic.

Note: As a noun this word refers to a woman who is dowdy, or in other words, unattractive.

Sentences: 

Nobody wanted to date Frank's dowdy sister. 

Paul was horrified when his blind date turned out to be a dowdy. 

"You don't have to be dowdy to be a Christian." - Tammy Faye Bakker

Phrenic

Word: Phrenic

Part of Speech: Adjective

Definition: Relating to the mind or the diaphragm.

Synonyms: Cerebral

Antonyms: Ignorant

Helpful hints to remember: Your phrenic nerve reaches from your neck (think mind) to your diaphram. “Phren” is also the ancient Greek word for mind, which is where we get the word “phrenology” from, which is a psudoscientific field of study that predates modern psychology. 

Note: This word is rather rare, and is more likely to show up on the MCAT verbal section. 

Sentences: 

There are many websites that offer computers games to increase your phrenic capabilities. 

At first, the mother was most concerned about the horrible bruise on her son's head, but once he started slurring his speech, she began to fear that his injury might be more phrenic in nature. 

Banal

Word: Banal

Part of Speech: Adjective

Definition: Cliché, trite, or unoriginal. 

Synonyms: Hackneyed.

Antonyms: Fresh.

Sentences: 

The film critic mused to himself that he was not going to sit through another banal film at the festival, or else he would go mad. 

“You can control and censor a child's reading, but you can't control her interpretations; no one can guess how a message that to adults seems banal or ridiculous or outmoded will alter itself and evolve inside the darkness of a child's heart.”

Every patient hated the banal “smooth jazz” that pervaded the physician's waiting room.

Canard

Word: Canard

Part of Speech:

Definition: A rumor with no basis or “hoax” that is often meant to be damaging.

Synonyms: Sham

Antonyms: Fact

Helpful hints to remember: This is another French word that literally means “duck”. I am not sure why calling something a duck would equate to a hoax, 

Sentences: 

Rosie's rumor about her best friend being a slut was intended to make everyone hate Julia, but the canard ultimately worked against her when she was revealed to the lie's source.

"It has been my policy not to respond to each of the many canards which have been part of the campaign to discredit my investigation, nor to waste time trying to...”

Seminal

Word: Seminal

Part of Speech: Adjective.

Definition: Pertaining to seed or semen; able to create; or an original and influential forerunner that provides a basis for some form of future work.

Synonyms: Germinal.

Antonyms: Banal.

Helpful hints to remember: Germ cells are to germinal as semen is to seminal. 

Sentences: 

Andy Warhol is considered to be a seminal artist. 

“The seminal elements of what makes a story great - challenge, struggle, resolution - are the same whether we're talking about story content for a movie such as 'Rain Man,' or telling a purposeful story to forge new business relationships or conclude a fruitful transaction, such as acquiring an NBA franchise.”

The seminal fluid was the core piece of evidence in the rape case. 

Wax

Word: Wax

Part of Speech: Verb

Definition: To grow or increase 

Synonyms: Mount

Antonyms: Wane

Warning: I cannot stress enough how common this word is.  

Sentences: 

“Look, I don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you're not alive.”

Even though the old woman was quite surely, her grandchildren were always able to wax her kindness.

Note: The rising moon is to wax as the setting moon to wane.