Spine-tingling Vocabulary Words
Vocabulary Flashcard Requirements: For each vocabulary word, create a flashcard. 18 TOTAL
Side 1 - word, part of speech & picture
Side 2 - definition & your own sentence using the word correctly with CONTEXT CLUES –underline or highlight the
context clues
1. Dilapidated – (adj) in disrepair , partly ruined or decayed
The barn was situated toward the back of the house and was a dilapidated, crumbling building that we were
forbidden to enter.
2. Ambiance – (noun) the mood or atmosphere of a place
Why this caused us such fascination is unknown to me, but we were thoroughly enjoying the spooky, musty ambience
that was the old barn.
3. Congenial – (adj) agreeable, friendly
Billy thought a pub would be more congenial than a boarding house because a pub would have drinks, games and
more people to socialize with.
4. Rapacious – (adj) grasping or covetous, voracious
Billy was a bit of afraid of boarding houses because the name conjured up images of rapacious landladies who were
so lonely they would not leave him alone.
5. Threshold – (noun) gate door or boundary
I have a very high threshold for pain; I never get Novocain at the dentist
6. Tantalizing – (adj) possessing a quality that causes interest or desire
“There is nothing more tantalizing than a thing like this that lingers just outside the borders of one’s memory. He
hated to give it up.” (Dahl, p.18)
7. Emanate –(verb) to emit, come out from
“Now and again, he caught a whiff of a peculiar smell that seemed to emanate directly from her person.” (Dahl, p.18)
8. Compensated – (verb) reimbursed, paid back
After my neighbor fixed my fence, I compensated him with homemade oatmeal cookies.
9. Dapper – (adj) neat and stylish in appearance
I complimented Mr. Hoffman on his dapper attire; he looks like he stepped out of a J. Crew catalog.
10. Boisterous – (adj) noisy, rowdy
The school cafeteria at lunchtime is quite a boisterous place.
11. Beckoned – (verb) summoned or signaled
My friend beckoned me to follow him into the haunted house by giving me the all clear sign.
12. Brandishing – (verb) shaking or waving in a threatening manner
Brandishing a stick at the circling wolves, the wounded man shook and waved it with all his might because he knew
his life depended on it.
13. Dingy – (adj) dirty, unclean
The dingy cellar emanated a foul odor.
14. Unearthed – (verb) dug up or discovered
We unearthed some troubling information about the hermit’s background in some old newspapers.
15. Reclusive – (adj) solitary, hidden from society
The hermit led a reclusive life. People never saw him; they only heard stories of the man who lived in the woods.
16. Unseemly –(adj) inappropriate
Mrs. Sullivan does not put up with any unseemly behavior. On the contrary, she expects mature, polite, and
responsible behavior from her students.
17. Tenuously – (adv) weakly
After holding the wolves at bay for hours, the man tenuously clung to the stick he had been brandishing.
18. Contorted – (adj) violently twisted
During the killer whale attack, the seal’s contorted body escaped the predator’s jaws by a mere half inch.
A VOCABULARY WORD
WITHOUT CONTEXT CLUES:
Example: The barn was dilapidated.
If you did not know what dilapidated means,
HOW WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT THE BARN
LOOKED LIKE???
That’s WHY we need
CONTEXT CLUES – hints/clues
within the sentence and/or in sentences
nearby, that help the reader understand the
meaning of a word they may not be familiar
with.
A VOCABULARY WORD
WITH CONTEXT CLUES:
The barn was situated toward the back of the house and
was a dilapidated, crumbling building that we were
forbidden to enter.
The barn was situated toward the back of the house and was a dilapidated, crumbling building that we were
forbidden to enter.