• Word: Benevolent
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: buh-nev-uh-luh nt
• Origins:
Latin “bene” (well; good) + “vol” (wish)
• Related Forms: Benevolence (n); benevolently (adv)
• Sentence: Although she ruled absolutely, the benevolent monarch
made sure that all of her subjects had plenty of food, warm places to
live, and safety from danger.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
--1. intending or showing goodwill; kindly; friendly
--2. doing good or giving aid to others, rather than making profit;
charitable (The Red Cross is a benevolent organization)
• Word: Adversary
• Part of speech: Noun
• Pronunciation: ad-ver-ser-ee
• Origins:
Latin “ad” (to, towards) + “vertere” (to turn)
• Related Forms: Adversarial (adj); adverse (adj)
• Sentence: When she heard about another serial killer hunting in her
territory, Umkulthoum vowed to track down this new adversary and
disembowel him or her.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
a person, group, or force that opposes or attacks; opponent; enemy;
foe; a person, group, etc., that is an opponent in a contest.
• Word: Omniscient
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: Ŏm-nĭsh-ĕnt
• Origins:
Latin “Omni” (all) + “Scire” (to know)
• Related Forms: Omniscience (n); Omnisciently (adv)
• Sentence: The Christmas carols tell of an omniscient Santa Clause: “He
sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows
when you’ve been bad or good….”
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
Having or possessing unlimited (or seemingly unlimited) knowledge or
understanding
• Word: Altruistic
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: al-troo-is-tik
• Origins:
Latin “alter” (other)
• Related Forms: Altruism (n); Altruistically (adv)
• Sentence: The altruistic hostage stayed behind to fight off
Umkulthoum while allowing the other hostages to escape from the
basement dungeon.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others (opposed
to egoistic )
• Word: Benefactor
• Part of speech: Noun
• Pronunciation: ben-uh-fak-ter
• Origins:
Latin: “bene” (good/well) + “fac” (to make) + “or” (one who does)
• Related Forms:
• Sentence: As she wrote them a very generous check, Umkulthoum
laughed to think how shocked the Society for the Advancement of
Amputees would be if they knew how many amputees their secret
benefactor had created.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
1 -- a person who confers a benefit; kindly helper.
2 -- a person who supports or helps a person, institution, etc, esp by
giving money; patron
•
Word: Chivalrous
•
Part of speech: Adjective
•
Pronunciation: shiv-uh l-ruh s
•
Origins:
Latin: “caballārius” (man on horseback (from “caball” (horse)))
•
Related Forms: Chivalry (n)
•
Sentence: Umkulthoum was impressed by the chivalrous behavior of her
neighbor when he rescued her during a mugging, even though she was
disappointed that she wouldn’t get to kill her muggers.
•
Predicted Definition:
•
Definition:
1. having the qualities of chivalry, as courage, courtesy, and loyalty.
2. considerate and courteous to women; gallant.
3. gracious and honorable toward an enemy, especially a defeated one, and
toward the weak or poor.
• Word: Embark
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: em-bahrk
• Origins:
Latin “em” (to cause to be in; on all sides, completely) + “barca” (barge) (derived from
Coptic, to Egyptian, to Greek, to Latin)
• Related Forms: Embarkation (n); disembark (v)
• Sentence: Moments after she embarked on the cruise ship, Umkulthoum embarked on her career
as a sociopathic killer, strangling a cabin boy with the straps of a life preserver.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
1. to board a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle, as for a journey.
2. to start an enterprise, business, etc.
• Word: Stately
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: steyt-lee
• Origins:
Latin: “Stare” (To Stand)
• Related Forms: Stateliness (n);
• Sentence: Throughout time, kings and queens have maintained a stately
throne room in order to impress and intimidate the petitioners who come
before them.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
majestic; imposing in magnificence, elegance, etc.; dignified.
• Word: Ambidextrous
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: am-bi-dek-struh s
• Origins:
Latin: “ambi” (Both) + “dexter” (on the right (right as in “direction”
(left/right) as well as right as in “correct; favorable”))
• Related Forms: Ambidextrously (adv); ambidextrousness (n)
• Sentence: One advantage that she had over her sister was that the
ambidextrous Umkulthoum could throw knives equally well with both
hands.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
Able to use both hands equally well
• Word: Deploy
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: dih-ploi
• Origins:
Latin “de” (separate, removal, un, negative) + “Plicare” (to fold) (“To
unfold))
• Related Forms: Deployment (n); deployable (adj); deployabitlity (n)
• Sentence: President Kennedy instituted a naval blockade when
Khrushchev and the Soviet Union tried to deploy nuclear missles on
Cuba.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
1 -- to arrange or spread out in a position of readiness, or to move
strategically or appropriately
2 -- to come into a position ready for use: the plane can't land unless
the landing gear deploys.
• Word: Condolence
• Part of speech: Noun
• Pronunciation: kuh n-doh-luh ns
• Origins:
Latin: “con” (with) + “dolor” (to feel pain) + “ence” (state or condition
or quality)
• Related Forms: Condole (v)
• Sentence: Umkulthoum surprised her sister by extending
condolences to Trevor’s mother at Trevor’s funeral.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
Often, “condolences.” expression of sympathy with a person who is
suffering sorrow, misfortune, or grief.
• Word: Implicate
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: im-pli-keyt
• Origins:
Latin: “Im” (in) + “Plicare” (to fold)
• Related Forms: Imply (v); implication (n); implicit (adj)
• Sentence: Umkulthoum had such a bad reputation in high school
that just sitting next to her in class was enough to implicate someone
in being involved in her activities.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
To show to be also involved, usually in an incriminating manner: to be
implicated in a crime.
• Word: Scrutinize
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: skroot-n-ahyz
• Origins:
Latin: Scrūtārī (to search) + “ize” (to subject to (as a process))
• Related Forms: Scrutiny (n); scrutinizer (n); scrutinization (n)
• Sentence: The forensic accountant took seven months to scrutinize
Umkulthoum’s bank accounts, looking for any evidence he could find
that may tell where she was hiding the money.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
To examine in detail with careful or critical attention.
• Word: Reprehensible
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: rep-ri-hen-suh-buh l
• Origins:
Latin: “re” (again) + “prehendere” (to seize/grab) + “ible” (capable of,
susceptible of, fit for, tending to, given to)
• Related Forms: Reprehensibly (adv); reprehensibility (n);
reprehensibleness (n)
• Sentence: As he watched his two-year-old foster son play basketball,
he pondered how reprehensible it was that someone had blackened
the boy’s eye and covered his body with burns and abrasions.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
Open to criticism or rebuke; blameworthy
• Word: Placate
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: pley-keyt
• Origins:
Latin: “placare” (to quiet, calm, appease) + “ate” (cause to
become)
• Related Forms: Placatingly (adv), implacable (adj)
• Sentence: When Umkulthoum was a fussy infant, her mother
would often give her a plush toy shaped like a baseball bat in
order to placate the screaming child.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
to appease or pacify, especially by concessions or conciliatory
gestures
• Word: Animosity
• Part of speech: Noun
• Pronunciation: an-uh-mos-i-tee
• Origins:
Latin: “animus” (mind, spirit, courage, passion, wrath) + “ity”
(condition or quality of being _____)
• Related Forms:
• Sentence: Umkulthoum’s mother constantly telling Umkulthoum to
be more like her sister fed the animosity between the girls.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
a feeling of strong dislike, ill will, or enmity that tends to display
itself in action
• Word: Vivacious
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: vi-vey-shuh s
• Origins:
Latin: “Viv” (alive (“Vit” life)) + “-ous” (full of, or possessing)
• Related Forms: Vivaciousness (n); vivaciously (adv)
• Sentence: Although Umkulthoum was prettier, her sister’s vivacious
soul and obvious love of life made her far more attractive to Trevor.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
full of high spirits and animation; lively or vital
• Word: Pretext
• Part of speech: Noun
• Pronunciation: pree-tekst
• Origins:
Latin: “pre” (in front)
Sanskrit: “Tek” (to make)  Latin: “Texura” (web (from “texere” (to
weave)))
• Related Forms:
• Sentence: Umkulthoum posed her sister in front of the Federal
Building downtown as a pretext to allow Umkulthoum to take
pictures of the security measures at the front entrance.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
a fictitious reason given in order to conceal the real one
• Word: Protrude
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: proh-trood
• Origins:
Latin: “pro” (forward; out) + “trudere” (thrust)
• Related Forms: Protrusion (n); protruding (adj)
• Sentence: As the tumor grew in Nigel’s abdomen, it
caused his stomach to protrude over his belt.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
To push or thrust outward
• Word: Apathy
• Part of speech: Noun
• Pronunciation: ap-uh-thee
• Origins:
Greek: “a” (without; un) + “pathos” (emotion; feeling; suffering)
• Related Forms: apathetic (adj); apathetically (adv)
• Sentence: People who thought she was normal and didn’t realize that
she was a sociopath were always surprised by Umkulthoum’s dry-eyed
apathy at funerals.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
absence of interest in or enthusiasm for things generally considered
interesting or moving; absence of emotion
• Word: Deviate
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: dee-vee-eyt
• Origins:
Latin “de” (separate, removal, un, negative) + “vi” (road, way)
• Related Forms: Deviation (n); deviant (n/adj); deviate (n)
• Sentence: Once Umkulthoum had decided on a victim, nothing could
make her deviate from that choice, not even her sister’s pleading or
the threat of police intervention.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
1. to turn aside, as from a route, way, course, etc.
2. to depart or swerve, as from a procedure, course of action, or
acceptable norm.
3. to digress, as from a line of thought or reasoning.
• Word: Affiliated
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: uh-fil-ee-ey-tid
• Origins:
Latin: “af” (toward) + “fil” (son) + “ate” (suffix to make a verb from a
noun or adjective) + “ed” (suffix that makes an adjective indicating a
condition or quality resulting from the action of a verb) (In Latin
meant “Adopted as a son.”)
• Related Forms: Affiliation (n); Affiliate (v)
• Sentence: When the mayor was brought up on corruption charges,
everyone who was affiliated with him, whether a friend or a family
member, was made the subject of a thorough investigation.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
being in close formal or informal association; related
• Word: Indelible
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: in-del-uh-buh l
• Origins:
Latin: “in” (not; negative) + “del” (destroy) “-ble” (capable of
being)
• Related Forms: Indelibly (adv);
• Sentence: The horrific crime scene the investigators found in
Umkulthoum’s basement left an indelible memory that haunted
them for the rest of their lives.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
1. making marks that cannot be erased, removed, or the like
2. that cannot be eliminated, forgotten, changed, or the like
• Word: Magnanimous
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: mag-nan-uh-muh s
• Origins:
Latin: “Magn” (Large; great) + “anim” (soul) + “ous” (having, full of, or
characterized by)
• Related Forms: Magnanimously (adv); magnanimousness (n)
• Sentence: In a magnanimous gesture, after the Tigers lost to the Red
Sox, the Tigers players all pitched in to buy a full-page ad in the news
paper wishing the Red Sox good luck in the world series.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty
resentfulness or vindictiveness; high-minded; noble
• Word: Finite
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: fahy-nahyt
• Origins:
Latin: “Finis” (End)
• Related Forms: Infinite (adj); infinity (n)
• Sentence: Umkulthoum’s sister knew that Umkulthoum’s patience
was finite, so Umkulthoum’s sister made sure never to annoy
Umkulthoum for too long, lest there be trouble
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
Having bounds or limits; not infinite; measurable; subject to
limitations or conditions, as of space, time, circumstances, or the
laws of nature
• Word: Augment
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: awg-ment
• Origins:
Latin: “augere” (to increase/make large/enrich)
• Related Forms: Augmented (adj); augmentation (n)
• Sentence: Seeking to augment the already large volume of
evidence against Umkulthoum, Trevor went to a judge to get
permission to tap her phones and intercept all of her emails.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
to make larger; enlarge in size, number, strength, or extent;
increase
• Word: Belligerent
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: buh-lij-er-uh nt
• Origins:
Latin: “Bellum” (war) + “gerere” (to conduct, to bear, to carry) + “ant(-ent)” (causing or performing an action or existing in a certain
condition)
• Related Forms: Belligerently (adv); belligerence (n)
• Sentence: Given the horrific, violent crimes of which Umkulthoum
was accused, Trevor thought she would be more belligerent, but she
was surprisingly passive and peaceful during questioning.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
warlike; given to waging war; of warlike character; aggressively
hostile;
•
Word: Duplicity
•
Part of speech: Noun
•
Pronunciation: doo-plis-i-tee
•
Origins:
Latin: “Du” (two) + “plex” (having parts or units) + “-ity” (having the condition
or quality of being ______)
•
Related Forms: Duplicate (v/n); duplicitous (adj);
•
Sentence: Tired of Umkulthoum’s duplicity, her sister and Trevor both
confronted her so she would finally have to tell them the same story.
•
Predicted Definition:
•
Definition:
1. Deceitfulness in speech or conduct, as by speaking or acting in two
different ways to different people concerning the same matter; doubledealing.
2. The state or quality of having two elements or parts; being twofold or
double.
•
Word: Impervious
•
Part of speech: Adjective
•
Pronunciation: im-pur-vee-uh s
•
Origins:
Latin: “im” (not) + “per” (through, utterly, very) + “vi(a)” (road) + “ous” (having,
full of, characterized by)
•
Related Forms: Imperviousness (adj); imperviously (adv)
•
Sentence: The woman thought her husband was impervious to emotional
pain, so she was surprised to see him break down when the dog died.
•
Predicted Definition:
•
Definition:
1. not permitting penetration or passage; impenetrable.
2. incapable of being injured or impaired.
3. incapable of being influenced, persuaded, or affected.
• Word: Coerce
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: koh-urs
• Origins:
Latin: “co” (with; together; jointly) + “arcere” (to keep in; to keep
away (from “arca” (“ark”…think Noah or Indiana Jones)))
• Related Forms: Coercion (n); Coerced (adj)
• Sentence: Don Corleone would coerce people to sign contracts by
telling them that in 30 seconds, either their brains or their signatures
would be on a piece of paper.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
to compel by force, intimidation, or authority, especially without
regard for individual desire or volition
• Word: Bequeath
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: bih-kweeth
• Origins:
Old English: “be-” (cause to be); Old High German: “quidan” (to say)
• Related Forms: Bequest (n)
• Sentence: Umkulthoum and her sister knew that when their parents
died they would bequeath to the girls 500 acres of swampland filled
with shallow graves.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
To dispose of (personal property, especially money) by last will; to
hand down; pass on; to leave to
• Word: Inopportune
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: in-op-er-toon
• Origins:
Latin: “in” (not) + “op” (toward, to) + “portus” (harbor, haven)
• Related Forms: Opportune (adj); opportunistic (adj)
• Sentence: Sebastian hoped his girlfriend wouldn’t call at an
inopportune moment while he was out for the night on a date
with his wife.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
not opportune; inappropriate; inconvenient; untimely or
unseasonable
• Word: Ominous
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: om-uh-nuh s
• Origins:
Latin: “omen” (sign or portent) + “ous” (having, full of, or
characterized by)
• Related Forms: Ominously (adv);
• Sentence: The bloodstains on the front porch of the house were an
ominous sign of what the FBI would find inside.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
1. portending evil or harm; foreboding; threatening; inauspicious
2. indicating the nature of a future event, for good or evil; having
the significance of an omen; being a portent
• Word: Premeditated
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: pri-med-i-tey-tid
• Origins:
Latin: “pre” (before) + “meditari” (to ponder/think)
• Related Forms: Premeditation (n);
• Sentence: Because she stalked Sebastian for months and laid in wait
for him in his own basement, Umkulthoum was charged with
premeditated murder, even though she claimed it was an impulse
killing
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
done deliberately; planned in advance
• Word: Rampant
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: ram-puh nt
• Origins:
Old French: “ramper” (to creep, climb, or rear)
• Related Forms: Rampantly (adv); Rampage (n)
• Sentence: When their teachers were locked in the classroom, the
three-year-olds ran rampant through the building, tearing everything
off the walls and coloring on every available surface.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
1. violent in action or spirit; raging; furious: a rampant leopard.
2. growing luxuriantly, as weeds.
3. in full sway; prevailing or unchecked: a rampant rumor.
• Word: Defamation
• Part of speech: Noun
• Pronunciation: def-uh-mey-shuh n
• Origins:
Latin: “de-” (apart, away, negative) + “fama” (talk, public opinion,
repute) + “-ion” (a condition of being)
• Related Forms: Defame (v); Defamatory (adj)
• Sentence: When Trevor spread the false rumor that Umkulthoum
was a meth dealer, Umkulthoum successfully sued him for
defamation.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
false or unjustified injury of the good reputation of another, as by
slander (spoken word) or libel (printed word)
• Word: Renounce
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: ri-nouns
• Origins:
Latin: “re” (again…but also back) + “nuntiare” (to announce/report)
• Related Forms: Renunciation (n);
• Sentence: After it was clear she had an addiction, Umkulthoum
renounced her life of crime and swore that never again would she
harm another human…other than Trevor…and Sebastian.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
to give up or put aside voluntarily; to give up by formal declaration;
to repudiate; disown
• Word: Vehement
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: vee-uh-muh nt
• Origins:
Latin: “vehere” (to carry) OR (“vehe” (lacking or wanting) + “mens”
(mind))
• Related Forms: Vehemently (adv); vehemence (n)
• Sentence: When accused of being unfaithful to Trevor,
Umkulthoum’s sister immediately began to shout vehement denials of
her infidelity.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
strongly emotional; intense or passionate; zealous; ardent;
impassioned; characterized by rancor or anger; violent
• Word: Zealous
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: zel-uh s
• Origins:
Greek: “zelos” (zeal, ardor, jealousy)
• Related Forms: Zealot (n); zealotry (n); zealously (adv)
• Sentence: Sebastian was a zealous collector of comic books,
frequently paying thousands of dollars for a rare issue and
travelling thousands of miles to personally retrieve them.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
filled with or inspired by intense enthusiasm or zeal; ardent;
fervent
• Word: Disparage
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: dih-spar-ij
• Origins:
Latin: “dis” (apart/away/”negative”) + “par” (equal) +
“-age” (a process or action or result of an action)
• Related Forms: disparagement (n); disparaging (adj); disparagingly (adv)
• Sentence: Many people are hesitant to speak truthfully about the
deceased when at a funeral, because it is usually considered poor
manners to disparage the dead.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
1. to speak of or treat slightingly; depreciate; belittle
2. to bring reproach or discredit upon; lower the estimation of
• Word: August
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: aw-guhst
• Origins:
Latin: “augere” (that which is increased)
• Related Forms: Augustness (n); augustly (adv)
• Sentence: Part of Umkulthoum’s power was that she was as
comfortable with august personages like diplomats and statesmen
as she was with commoners like dock workers and truckers.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur;
majestic; venerable; eminent
• Word: Implacable
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: im-plak-uh-buh l
• Origins:
Latin: “in-” (not/negative/without) + “placare” (to quiet, calm,
appease) + “able” (capable of/susceptible to)
• Related Forms: Implacably (adv); Implacableness (n)
• Sentence: Despite Sebastian begging her to stop, Umkulthoum’s
sister was implacable when she found out he had cheated her of 15
cents in the poker game, and she set about methodically shredding
each of his 7500 comic books, one at a time.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
not to be appeased, mollified, or pacified; inexorable
• Word: Ultimatum
• Part of speech: Noun
• Pronunciation: uhl-tuh-mey-tuh m
• Origins:
Latin: “ultimare” (to come to an end)/ “ultim” (last)
• Related Forms:
• Sentence: Don Corleone gave the man an ultimatum: in 30
seconds, either his brains or his signature would be on that piece
of paper.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
a final, uncompromising demand or set of terms issued by a party
to a dispute, the rejection of which may lead to a severance of
relations or to the use of force.
• Word: Omnipotent
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: om-nip-uh-tuh nt
• Origins:
Latin: “Omni” (all) + “Potis” (powerful, able, capable (from Sanskrit
(“Patih” meaning master, husband) and Greek (“Posis” meaning
husband)) + “-ent” (existing in a certain condition)
• Related Forms: Omnipotence (n); omnipotently (adv)
• Sentence: Crouched over the anthill, clutching a magnifying glass
and a pitcher of water, the three-year-old Umkulthoum felt
omnipotent, knowing she held the lives of the ants below in her
hands.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
almighty or infinite in power, as God; having very great or unlimited
authority or power.
• Word: Profess
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: pruh-fes
• Origins:
Latin: “pro” (forth) + “fateri” (acknowledge; confess)
• Related Forms: professed (adj); profession (n.)
• Sentence: Trevor was still trying to profess his love for
Umkulthoum’s sister, even when she found him in a hotel room with
Sebastian’s wife.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
1. to lay claim to, often insincerely; pretend to
2. to declare openly; announce or affirm; avow or acknowledge
3. to declare oneself skilled or expert in; claim to have knowledge of;
make (a thing) one's profession or business.
• Word: Guile
• Part of speech: Noun
• Pronunciation: gahyl
• Origins:
Old Norse/German: “vel” (artifice)
• Related Forms: Guileless (adj);
• Sentence: Umkulthoum was such a skilled hunter of people
because her guile allowed her to convince them to enter her
van.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
Cunning trickery in attaining a goal; crafty or skilled
deception; duplicity
•
Word: Covet
•
Part of speech: Verb
•
Pronunciation: kuhv-it
•
Origins:
Latin: “cupere” (to long for or desire)
•
Related Forms: Covetous (adj); covetousness (n); covetously (adv)
•
Sentence: From the moment Umkulthoum’s sister opened her new set of
butchering cutlery, Umkulthoum began to covet the shiny, razor-sharp
knives.
•
Predicted Definition:
•
Definition:
1. to desire wrongfully, extraordinarily, or without due regard for the rights
of others
2. to wish for, especially eagerly
• Word: Turbulent
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: tur-byuh-luh nt
• Origins:
Latin: “turba” (turmoil/confusion) + “-ulent” (full
of/characterized by having much of)
• Related Forms: Turbulence (n); turbulently (adv);
• Sentence: During feeding time, the surface of the alligator
pond at Gatorland was turbulent, thanks to all the thrashing,
snapping gators.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
being in a state of agitation or tumult; disturbed
• Word: Chastise
• Part of speech: Verb
• Pronunciation: chas-tahyz
• Origins:
Latin: From “castigate” (“cast” (pure) + “agere” (to drive or incite))
• Related Forms: chastisement (n.) ; chastiser (n.)
• Sentence: Umkulthoum’s mother would constantly chastise her when
the girl was young, screaming about how disappointing Umkulthoum
was to the family whenever Umkulthoum let her knives get too dull.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
1. to discipline, especially by corporal (physical) punishment.
2. to criticize severely.
• Word: Lamentable
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: lam-uh n-tuh- buh l
• Origins:
Latin: “lamentari” (A wailing/moaning) + “-ble” (to be capable of)
• Related Forms: Lamentation (n); lament (v); lamentably (adv)
• Sentence: The loss of Sebastian’s wife was lamentable, but when the
group was trapped in the blizzard, they had to eat something to
survive.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
Regrettable; unfortunate; wretched; deplorable; distressing; sad
• Word: Malevolent
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Pronunciation: muh-lev-uh-luh nt
• Origins:
Latin: “mal” (bad, wrongful, ill) + “volent” (to want, wish for,
desire)
• Related Forms: Malevolence (n); malevolently (adv)
• Sentence: While it would be easy to view Brutus as malevolent
since he killed Caesar, he would say he was being benevolent since
he was just trying to do something good for the people of Rome.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
Wishing evil or harm to another or others; showing ill will; illdisposed; malicious
• Word: Antithesis
• Part of speech: Noun
• Pronunciation: an-tith-uh-sis
• Origins:
Sanskrit: “anti” (against/opposite of) + GreeK: “tithenai” (to set
down; to put down)
• Related Forms: Antithetical (adj); antithetically (adv)
• Sentence: Raised by his uncle who was a pacifist, Umkulthoum’s
youngest brother was the antithesis of his sister Umkulthoum,
becoming a police officer when he grew up and helping the
victims of crimes.
• Predicted Definition:
• Definition:
the direct opposite (usually followed by of or to)