atone, raze, connive, portend, envenom: meanings and examples

Learn these 5 words from Proficient Plus set 14. Each entry includes a definition, example sentence, pronunciation, and synonyms. Use the interactive cards above to practice them.

1. atone · verb/əˈtoʊn/

   to make amends or reparation for a wrongdoing

   She tried to atone for her mistake by helping those she had hurt.

   Synonyms: make up, amend, repay

   Origin: Middle English 'atonen', meaning 'to be at one (with)', from 'at one' (meaning in harmony)

2. raze · verb/reɪz/

   to completely destroy or demolish something, especially a building

   The city decided to raze the old building to make room for a park.

   Synonyms: demolish, destroy, level

   Origin: from Middle French 'raser', meaning 'to scrape or shave off', from 'raser' meaning 'to scrape'.

3. connive · verb/kəˈnaɪv/

   to secretly plan or agree to something wrong or illegal

   The workers decided to connive at the theft of tools from the construction site.

   Synonyms: collude, conspire, plot

   Origin: from Latin 'connivere', meaning 'to close the eyes to, wink' or 'to overlook'

4. portend · verb/pɔrˈtɛnd/

   to indicate or warn of a future event

   Dark clouds can portend a storm approaching quickly.

   Synonyms: foretell, predict, signify

   Origin: From Latin 'portendere', meaning 'to stretch out, indicate, or foretell'

5. envenom · verb/ɪnˈvɛnəm/

   to make poisonous or harmful

   The snake can envenom its prey with a single bite.

   Synonyms: poison, harm, contaminate

   Origin: from the prefix 'in-' meaning 'into' and 'venom' derived from Latin 'venenum' meaning 'poison'