120 Vocabulary Words
List 1
abhor, ambiguous, appalled, besiege, comprehensive, conviction, demeanor, diligent.
Write down the word, part of speech (verb, adjective, noun, etc.)
and the definition of each word in your notes. You will use these
notes to practice your vocabulary words each week. At the end of
the semester, we will have learned roughly 120 new words.
You can use your notes on your assignments, so be sure to take good notes!
abhor
Other forms: abhorred; abhors; abhorring
verb find repugnant (gross, distasteful, appalling, horrible, bad)
“She abhors cats”
If you abhor something, it gives you a feeling of complete hatred. Chances are you abhor that kid who used to
torture the frogs in biology class.
Examples from books:
How they would, each and all, abhor me and hunt me from the world, did they know my unhallowed acts and the crimes which had
their source in me!
Frankenstein
“I abhor that girl! I abhorred her all my life and I do not know how to stop to abhor her.”
Black Swan Green
Although many abhorred the killings, others favored these deaths, especially in cases of severely mentally ill or disabled children.
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
ambiguous
adjective having more than one possible meaning
adjective open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead
adjective having no intrinsic or objective meaning; not organized in conventional patterns
Look to the adjective ambiguous when you need to describe something that's open to more than one
interpretation, like the headline "Squad helps dog bite victim."
Examples from books:
Others have concluded the planet is lifeless because a preliminary search for a particular manifestation of life has been unsuccessful or
ambiguous.
Cosmos
His connection to the Church was always somewhat ambiguous.
Endgame
Gottman has taught his staff how to read every emotional nuance in people’s facial expressions and how to interpret seemingly ambiguous
bits of dialogue.
Blink
appalled
adjective struck with fear, dread, or consternation
Appalled is an adjective that describes feeling shocked and disappointed. Being appalled happens suddenly,
like when you find out your little sister has been blogging about your family, telling embarrassing stories.
Examples from books:
Grace is staring past me at the wall: there are not just one or two foul pictures to be appalled by, there are many.
Cat's Eye
M. Dupont said something briefly which I did not catch, then Mr Lewis said again: 'Let me tell you, sir, I was appalled.
The Remains of the Day
They brought no lasting pleasure, particularly since he knew that if he told his wife about them she would be appalled by his
mistreatment of the other woman but not by his infidelity to her.
The House of the Spirits: A Novel
besiege
Other forms: besieged; besieging; besieges
verb surround so as to force to give up
verb harass, as with questions or requests
To besiege means to attack with an army, or to pester with many requests. When all your teachers ask you to
hand in assignments on the same day, you can end up feeling besieged.
Examples from books:
Within weeks the end of the semester is upon them, and they are besieged by exams and papers and hundreds of pages of reading.
The Namesake
The social atmosphere is that of a besieged city, where the possession of a lump of horseflesh makes the difference between wealth and
poverty.
1984
Almost 150 years before Columbus set sail, a Tartar army besieged the Genoese city of Kaffa.
1491
comprehensive
Other forms: comprehensives
adjective including all or everything
adjective broad in scope
noun an intensive examination testing a student's proficiency in some special field of knowledge
When you want to describe something that includes all or most details, you can use the adjective
comprehensive. If you get the comprehensive treatment at a spa, it might include massage, manicure and a
facial.
Examples from books:
In the wake of these incidents, Congress passed a series of New Deal reforms that gave the federal government its first
comprehensive criminal code and the bureau a sweeping mission.
Killers of the Flower Moon
In the absence of a truly egalitarian racial consensus, these predictable cycles inevitably give rise to new, extraordinarily
comprehensive systems of racialized social control.
The New Jim Crow
conviction
Other forms: convictions
noun an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence
noun (criminal law) a final judgment of guilty in a criminal case and the punishment that is imposed
A conviction is something certain: a judgment of guilty in court and a strong belief are both convictions.
Examples from books:
Remarkably, the penalty would apply to people with no prior criminal convictions.
The New Jim Crow
There was doubt written on it, then wonder and hatred mixed, and then conviction.
Rebecca
I saw myself speaking with intensity and conviction and never letting up.
Becoming
demeanor
Other forms: demeanors
noun (behavioral attributes) the way a person behaves toward other people
Your demeanor is defined as being either your facial appearance or your behavior. When playing poker, don't
let your demeanor give away how good your cards are.
Examples from books:
The scythe’s demeanor, so cordial a moment before, took a turn toward tombstone.
Scythe
Mother’s shyness and ladylike demeanor had a quieting effect on him, and he was displaying his most genteel behavior.
Cheaper by the Dozen
He opens his mouth to reply—but then the song switches, and his whole demeanor changes.
Leah on the Offbeat
diligent
adjective quietly and steadily persevering especially in detail or exactness
adjective characterized by care and perseverance in carrying out tasks
Someone who is diligent works hard and carefully. If you want to write the epic history of your family, you'll
have to be very diligent in tracking down and interviewing all of your relatives.
Examples from books:
He had learned these three arts and nothing else during the diligent, assiduous years of his youth.
Siddhartha
But I stay diligent, with my eyes narrowed on anything but him.
Dumplin'
Even in that last battle, he had been well served by what he called the “honest, sensible and diligent men” of Americas first
intelligence service.
George Washington, Spymaster