Vocabulary Words: Week of September 16th
Biodegradable (adjective): When something is capable of being broken down by
bacteria or other living things over time
 Most plastic bags are not biodegradable; they remain as they are, as litter,
for years.
 More and more schools are using biodegradable food trays and forks and
spoons so that they will not harm the environment.
Contaminated (adjective): unsafe or unhealthy to touch because it is polluted or
poisoned
 Often while traveling on the Oregon Trail, pioneers would drink
contaminated water and die from the poison in the water.
 When the mercury spilled all over the lab, the scientists were worried that
the rats cages were contaminated.
Modest (adjective): humble; not taking credit for your ideas; small; not too
noticeable
 Even though she had done most of the work on the project, she was too
modest to take all the credit.
 His house was a modest house unlike the other huge mansions on his
street.
Sanitation (noun): process of keeping something clean and free of disease
 Diseases can spread quickly in areas of poor sanitation.
 Garbage workers are now called sanitation workers because their job is to
pick up trash and sewage and keep neighborhoods clean.
Tackle (verb): taking on a large job or responsibility; stopping a player who has
possession of the ball
 With the Redskins losing to Green Bay 38-20, it seems that our defense was
unable to effectively tackle far too many Packers.
 My teacher would not have asked me to tackle the job of speaking with the
parents if she didn’t believe I would give a great speech.
Transform (verb): to make a dramatic change in appearance, attitude or
character
 Email and texting has transformed the way people communicate.
 When she dyed her hair red it seemed to transform her from a quiet, wallflower to a confident social butterfly.
Biodegradable
Contaminated
Modest
Sanitation
Tackle
Transformation