Jargon - noun
The specialized language of people in the same
profession.
•“Bernice was puzzled by all the jargon in the cookbook.
What did braise mean? Or sauté? Or mince?”
Skirmish - noun
a minor battle in war
After this battle, he was forced back into
Virginia in a series of bloody skirmishes.
Billowing - verb
curling or rolling; rising in big waves
The clouds were billowing in the sky.
Plausible
having an appearance of
truth or reason;credible; believable.
(adjective)
Jack had a plausible excuse
for not doing his homework last night.
SENTENCE:
Haughty adjective
DEF: excessively proud or arrogant
Harry gave Hermoine a thunderous glare as
he stalked haughtily past her.
Trick:
If you’re a hottie, you might be
haughty
Pliable – adjective
Definition:
easily bent, flexible; easily influenced
When you're a silver-lining guy, dreams
are pliable.
Trick: You can use PLIers to
help you BEND things like
this copper wire
OBLIVIOUS – adjective
unmindful; unconscious; unaware
(usually followed by ‘of’ or ‘to’)
She was oblivious of his admiration.
Braggart - noun
Definition: a loud
arrogant boaster
There's a kid at school who is an
unbearable braggart.
Obliterate - verb
Definition: to remove or destroy all traces of; do
away with
The lab explosion obliterated the
classroom.
broach
–verb (used with object)
1. to mention or suggest for the first time <to broach
a subject>
Because we feared his reaction, we did not broach the
subject of moving our father to a nursing home.
Riddled – verb
Definition:
holes
1. To pierce with numerous
2. To spread throughout
“The jeep was riddled with gunfire”.
Lethargic - adjective
•Tired, weak, groggy
“If you don’t eat breakfast and get enough sleep,
don’t be surprised if you feel lethargic during the
school day.”
SPARSE
(adj) - not thick or dense; thin
Sometimes men use the “comb over”
technique to mask the sparse amount
of hair they have.
Ludicrous Definition:
adjective
Ridiculous, laughable, absurd.
Sentence: At the rodeo, the ludicrous antics
of the clown distract the angry bull.
Desist. verb.
To stop; discontinue
The Grasshopper refused to
desist, and chirped louder and
louder.
Predicament – noun
A difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation.
I was in quite the
predicament, as I
had locked my
keys in the car
with my baby
still in its car
seat.
caustic
Adjective
Able
to dissolve from chemical action; sharp
and biting
Synonyms:
corrosive, stinging, pungent,
venomous
The caustic substance must be handled very
carefully in the lab
Inclination - noun
A person's natural tendency to act or feel in a
particular way; an interest in or liking for.
I have an inclination for desserts that use
chocolate.
Pristine (adjective)
– uncorrupted, pure, original
The lake was a pristine shade of blue.
Sensuous
adj.- gratifying to senses
Synonyms: luxurious, lush,
passionate, attractive
The music was so sensuous; it was almost
overwhelming.
precedent (noun)
•Definition:
any act or decision that acts
as guide for future similar events
•Synonyms: example, model, pattern, standard
Mrs. Hummel set a
precedent for cell phone
usage in the class.
mar (verb): to spoil; damage
Caleb’s basketball
shooting reputation
was marred when he
lost three games of
“Horse” to Granny
Anita.
Usurp
•(v.) to seize and hold a position by force or
without right
•To take power that does not belong to you
•In some countries power is transferred by
usurping the position rather than in a
democratic election.
Discern - verb
•To see clearly, to recognize, to detect.
Sue’s hair
extension looked
so real that it
was difficult to
discern which
parts were her
real hair.
Finesse- noun
a delicate skill, or cleverness
•To become a champion, a
tennis player needs to
combine power with finesse.
Apprehensive – adj.
Uneasy or fearful about something that might
happen.
He was very
about his upcoming
apprehensive
audition.
“He Said- She Said”
discrepancy
2 different stories that have
DISCREPANCIES
DEF = (n.) a difference, a
lack of agreement
SYN = disagreement,
divergence, inconsistency
ANT = agreement,
convergence, consistency
WORD CONNECTION:
DIS = negative prefix
DISagreement
There is a
DISCREPANCY on
this tree. Some of the
apples have been
eaten and some
haven’t.
infallible
DEF = (adj.) free from
error; absolutely
dependable
The English
teacher was
infallible
WORD CONNECTION:
Infallible
An infallible person will never
fall.
An infallible person will never
fail.
100%
A+
Good JOB!
Definition: to show off (something)
Part of Speech: verb
Sentence: The ghost had to flaunt how well he
could haunt the old mansion.
Solicit – verb
Definition: Ask for something from someone
Synonyms: beg, implore, ask, request
Peter tried to solicit the
answer from the teacher.
Disdain
•Contempt, Intense
dislike.
P.O.S- Noun, Verb.
•Some people disdain
pets, but I love them.
•The judgmental elderly
lady looked at the
teenagers with disdain.
COERCE
•verb
•to compel by force,
intimidation, or
authority
•Ex: The police
coerced the innocent
man into signing the
document.
Fraudulent – adjective
Definition: Obtained, done by, or
involving deception, esp. criminal
deception
She used fraudulent means in
obtaining a driver’s license.
To Collate (Verb)
DEF: To assemble in a proper sequence
The hardest part of writing an essay is researching
and collating all of the evidence in support of the
thesis.
Instigate - verb
•to urge on; to stir up, provoke, start, incite.
•The man instigated the fight.
Stoke - verb
Definition: Encourage or incite (a strong
emotion or tendency)
•His composure had the effect of stoking her
anger.
•I’m so stoked!
Wary –
adjective
•Definition: careful, cautious
•Syn: watchful, alert, suspicious
•Ant: careless, reckless
You would be wary walking
down a scary street!
Belligerent - adjective
Definition: Inclined or eager to
fight; hostile or aggressive.
The teacher sent the
belligerent child to a
time out room.
Rescind
Definition
(verb) to take back,
repeal
Example
The company rescinded its offer of
employment after discovering that Jane’s
resume was full of lies.
Bolster - verb
1 : to support with: reinforce
2 : to give a boost to <news that
bolstered his spirits>
You can bolster your grade
by doing some extra credit.
THWART – (VERB)
TO PREVENT FROM TAKING PLACE, TO
STOP
—“But no, the gods thwart his
passage. Yet I tell you the great
Odysseus is not dead(83).
Portend - verb
1. A sign or warning that
is likely to happen.
Synonym: foreshadow
The high winds, black
clouds and distant
thunder portend a
storm.
obstreperous
•Adj.-to resist control;
unruly and boisterous
•The substitute could
not handle the
obstreperous class.
Hypochondriac - noun
A person who is abnormally anxious about
their health.
Wow, Kelly is such a
hypochondriac it's just a
little paper cut!