English 215
Ms. Becker
Things Fall Apart Vocab 2
Part I
The words for this term's vocab all appear, in some form, in the novel Things Fall Apart. Use a
dictionary and the context clues in the sentences below to define the word. Be sure to include
the part of speech (as indicated by the example sentence).
1. feint
n. a fake
"Fooled by his opponent's feint, the boxer dropped his guard and was knocked down."
2. ferm ent
n. chaos; trouble
"During the Civil War, much of the country was in a state of ferment."
3. fero city
n. the quality of being savage
"A tiger is an animal that has ferocity."
4. flourish
v. to succeed
"The company flourished after a new board of directors took control."
5. grie vou s
adj. serious; grave
"You made a grievous error when you spoke to your parents in such a horrible fashion."
6. har bing ers n. omens
"Thick fur on a wool worm is a harbinger of a cold winter."
7. idol atry
n. excessive devotion
"The idolatry of rock stars by some teenagers can be dangerous."
8. impr ovid en ce n. unwise decision
"The improvidence of immediately spending one's paycheck could be costly in an emergency."
9. impu de nt
adj. rude; ill-advised
"The student's impudent act of using profanity toward the teacher caused him to be expelled."
10. in cipie nt adj. beginning to grow or appear
"He is not able to recognize his own incipient drug problem."
11. lu xuria nt adj. rich; prosperous
"The luxuriant farmland of Iowa provides an abundant amount of food."
12. male vol enc e n. ill will; cruelty
"The old man's malevolence was obvious when he removed the girl from his will."
13. malicio us
adj. ill-intended; cruel
"The malicious boy spread rumors about a friend behind his back."
14. mirth
n. joy
"The party was a source of mirth and merriment."
15. omin ous
adj. foreboding
"The ominous clouds were harbingers of the tornado."
16. per petu ate
v. to prolong the existence of
"The Audobon Society works to perpetuate the species of many threatened birds."
17. plaintiv e adj. sorrowful
"The dog moaned in a plaintive manner when her puppies were taken."
18. poig nant adj. moving; touching
"The man's poignant words struck at the very heart of the matter."
19. r esilie nt
adj. able to recover readily
"There is a need for more resilient bumpers on cars that can't withstand minor accidents."
20. r es olute
adj. determined
"The business was run by a resolute man who set his mind on a goal and followed through with
it."
Part II. Choose 5 words from the above list to use in a paragraph about something you would
like to change (and why you’d like to change it). (Yes, another paragraph thinking about your
sophomore speech topic.