VOCABULARY REVIEW
A picture is worth a
thousand words!
oppress
Why you gotta be like that?
• To keep someone down
by means of authority
(verb)
• Oppression (noun)
oppressive (adjective)
• Slavery was perhaps the
most oppressive act in
American history as
thousands of Africans
were forced into service.
calamity
• A disaster, event that
causes destruction (n.)
• Just when I thought the
party couldn’t be more
of a calamity, it started
raining and the tent
caved in on all the
guests!
genial
• Friendly and cheerful
(adjective)
• Genially (adverb)
• The old woman smiled
so genially, it was
hard for Snow White
to distrust her.
vicarious
• Experience in the imagination
through the feelings/actions of
others (adjective)
• Vicariously (adverb)
• Origin – vicar (Person who
stands in for the bishop – the
substitute)
• While his days of playing were
long gone, Bob experienced the
love of baseball vicariously
through his son, Timmy.
dogged
I think I can. I think I can.
• Showing tenacity and
persistence (adjective)
• Doggedly (adverb)
• The little blue engine wasn’t
sure she could make it over the
mountain, but her dogged
determination was what
enabled her to succeed in the
end.
cynical
• Distrustful of the motives of
other people (adjective)
• Cynicism (noun), cynic (noun),
cynically (adverb)
• Although I would like to
believe that most politicians
have the good of society first in
their minds, there are many
cynical people who believe
politicians are out for their own
personal gain.
irreverent
• Showing lack of respect for
people/things that are generally
taken seriously (adjective)
• Irreverence (noun), irreverently
(adverb)
• Reverence  opposite (means
showing respect) ir- meaning
not
• I couldn’t believe the
irreverence of Fred when he
passed gas during Great Granny
Matilda’s funeral service!
zealous
• Showing great
enthusiasm (adjective)
• Zeal / zealot (noun)
• Greek myth Zelos, son
of Zeus representing
enthusiasm (sibling of
Nike)
• The antiwar
demonstrators were
peaceful, yet zealous,
throughout the protest.
fickle
• Changing frequently,
often referring to
interests and loyalties
(adjective)
• Fickleness (noun)
• Adolescent relationships
can be very fickle. A
person can like one
person one day and
another the next.
conceited
• Vain, overly proud of oneself
(adjective)
• Conceit (noun), conceitedly
(adverb)
• I’m not sure if there are any
people on the planet more
conceited than the
Kardashians. I’m still not
completely sure why they
are well known in the first
OMG, we are like so totally cool, ya know?
place!
rash
• Showing lack of
consideration for one’s
actions (adjective)
• Rashly (adverb), rashness
(noun)
• It may have been a rash
decision, but if SpiderMan had paused to
consider the danger, Mary
Jane would have perished
from the fall.
candor
• Honesty, frankness,
open in expression
(noun)
• Candid (adjective)
• I wished my teacher
wouldn’t have spoken
with such candor when
I asked him what he
thought of my essay.
ecstasy
• Overwhelming feeling
of happiness (noun)
• ecstatic (adjective)
• It was pure ecstasy
when the Philadelphia
Phillies won the
championship in 2008.
morose
• Bad-tempered and sulky
(adjective)
• Morosely (adverb)
• Squidward is the
complete opposite of his
neighbor Spongebob.
While Spongebob is
happy and exuberant,
Squidward remains a
morose companion.
I’m ready!
callow
• Inexperienced &
immature (adjective)
• Callowness (noun)
• Although there are high
hopes for the 76ers
rookie Nerlens Noel,
experts believe he is too
callow to make a true
impact in his first year.
callous
• Unfeeling, showing a
disregard for others
(adjective)
• Callus (noun – hardened
blister on skin)
• Callousness (noun), callously
(adverb)
• After taking control of the
pride, Scar remained callous
to the suffering of the other
animals in the valley.
imperious
• Assuming power or
authority / arrogant &
dominating (adjective)
• imperial (adj)
• Imperiously (adverb)
• The rule of the Imperial
Empire was dominated by
the iron hand of Darth
Vader.
superfluous
• Unnecessary due to being
more than enough
(adjective)
• The irrigation canals
helped control
superfluous water to
insure that the crops
would not become flooded
during heavy rain.
salient
• Noticeable or prominent
(adjective)
• Salience/saliency (noun),
saliently (adverb)
• His bizarre half-beard
was clearly the most
salient aspect of his facial
features.
pertinacity
• The act of holding firmly
to a belief or action
(noun)
• Pertinacious (adj.)
• The pertinacity that the
mule showed indicated
that he was not about
to be moved.
prudence
• Wisdom or good
judgment for the future
(noun)
• Prudent (adjective)
• I wanted to ask Kimmy
to the dance, but I
didn’t think it would be
prudent since she just
broke her legs.
iridescent
• Showing luminous colors that
seem to change at different
angles (adjective)
• Iridescence (noun), iridescently
(adverb)
• Origin – mythology Iris –
goddess of the rainbow
• I marveled at the iridescent
quality of the early evening sky.
It was if a rainbow had
unfolded like a sleeping bag
across the heavens.
avarice
• Extreme greed for
material wealth (noun)
• Avaricious (adjective)
• His avarice was apparent
as he constantly looked to
acquire new properties at
the expense of others’
misfortunes.
quagmire
• A soft, boggy marsh area swamp (noun)
• Mix-up, mess, or difficult
predicament (noun)
• My guests were in quite a
quagmire when my
graduation party fell on
the same day as Game 7
of the Flyers game for the
Stanley Cup.
apathy
• Lack of
interest/concern
(noun)
• Apathetic (adjective)
• “A” – No, “pathos” –
feeling
• If you want to see
apathy, walk into an
8th grade classroom.