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CISVA Study List 2014-2015
*Primary Students* Please study the words in RED for next week’s verbal bee on pages
1-2. Words will be selected from those in RED. You do not need to know the definitions;
the definitions are written for intermediate students. 
*Intermediate students* Please study the words in RED and BLUE on pages 1-2. I’ve
provided definitions for most words. You will need to look up the rest in your paper
dictionary if you do not know what the word means.
Aboriginal (First Nations
people)
Abstruse (hard to
understand)
Annihilation (total
destruction)
Arraignment (calling of
someone to court)
Anonymity (state of being
unknown)
Arrow
Another
Astonish (surprised,
amazed)
Anthropomorphic
(resembling human form
that is not human)
Asylum (hospital for people
who have impaired thought
processes)
Anticipatory (waiting for
something)
Attitude
Accoutrement/accouterment
Acrylics (type of paint)
Actress (female actor)
Adroitly (very skillful)
Aerodynamic (study of
movement of air)
Affluent (abundance of
wealth, goods)
Aficionado/aficionado
(person who is enthusiastic,
fan)
Agitation (feeling troubled,
nervous)
Antipathy (strong feeling of
dislike)
Aphasia (loss of ability to
speak/understand language
due to injury)
Apiary (place where bees
are keptS)
Agitprop (political
propaganda-art work)
Appellate (having power to
review decisions made in
court)
Ailment (minor illness)
Aren’t
Alpha (first letter of Greek
alphabet)
Armistice (calling truce
between opposing parties)
Attribute (quality,
characteristics)
Aubergine (French for
eggplant)
Aura (atmosphere that
radiates from a
person/thing)
Avenge (cause harm on
someone)
Award (overflowing with
water)
Barge (rudely walk in,
interrupt)
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Basically
Catechumen (person
learning religious studies)
Bassoon (wind instrument)
Bazooka (weapon used in
war)
Caucasian (person of
European descent)
Cavalier (knight)
Cohesive (sticking together)
Collegiate (belonging to
college)
Comedienne (female
comedian)
Bebop (style of jazz)
Betrothal (promise to marry
someone)
Bloviate (talking for a long
time in a self-centered
manner)
Bodega (small grocery,
wine cellar)
Bolide (large meteor)
Bombard (attack
continuously with bombs)
Celsius (measure of
temperature)
Comma
Complacency(self-satisified)
Cephalopod (family of
marine animal of octopus,
squid)
Composer
Confess
Chancellor (government
official of Austria or
Germany)
Charioteer (one who drives
chariot, a horse drawn
vehicle)
Congressional (national
body of assembly)
Consternation (feeling
anxious)
Corduroy (fabric, thick)
Cheapskate (stingy person)
Bonsai (small potted plant)
Bountiful (abundant)
Bourgeois (middle-class)
Bric-a-brac (French for
trinkets)
Broccoli
Correct
Chicle (latex of sapodilla
tree, used to make gum)
Correlation
Chiffonade (finely cut
veggies used to garnish)
Courtier (royal advisor to
king/queen)
Chimera/chimaera (firebreathing female monster,
or hoping for something that
is impossible to achieve)
Cowlick
Chimney
Cursive
Cinematic (relating to
cinema, movies)
Dawdle
Deaf
Circadian (recurring
naturally on 24 hour cycle)
Depict
Cumbersome (heavy to use
or carry)
Bucket
Bulbous (round, bulging)
Bulwark (defensive wall)
Bumpy
Carcinogen (substance that
can cause cancer)
Carriage
Derivative
Circumstantial (indirect
facts, depending on
situation)
Detective
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Diadem
Gangster
Eternity
Dictate
Genetic
Evangelize
Dirndl
Genoise
Evince
Disarray
Glitter
Exorcism
Dissemble
Gluttonous
Experiment
Divine
Gorgon
Expunge
Divvy
Government
Extinguish
Dodecahedron
Grace
Extracted
Domain
Gradual
Fait accompli
Dragnet
Grouse
Famished
Duplicity
Guineas
Feng shui
Eggplant
Gustatory
Flung
Elegiac
Hackamore
Focaccia
Elude
Halloween
Follicle
Emblazoned
Hankering
Foray
Empower
Herculean
Forbidden
Encryption
Hermitage
Fouled
Endure
Historical
Freeze
Entrance
Histrionics
Freight
Enviable
Hoi polloi
Freudian
Epizootic
Equation
Holiness
Friction
Frump
Equinox
Hollow
Honeybee
Fuel
Equivalent
Honour
Galoot
Erstwhile
Hooligan
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Lanai
Humourist
Merge
Landslide
Hydra
Millilitre/ milliliter
Lasso
Illustrious
Million
Launch
Imagination
Minority
Laureate
Imbibe
Mollify
Lawyer
Immigration
Monochrome
Ledge
Imperious
Morale
Leeway
Importunate
Mortal
Legacy
Incentive
Motion
Leonine
Inched
Moustache/mustache
Levity
Infamous
Moviegoer
Lingua franca
Infant
Mugwump
Logical
Infringe
Mysterious
Lolled
Injurious
Netiquette
Lucrative
Insight
Nigh
Lumberjack
Insinuate
Nineteen
Macrocosm
Introverted
Obsidian
Malaise
Isochronous
Occipital
Mammalian
Issue
Ombudsman
Manufacture
Joust
Omnibus
Market
Juxtapose
Ostracism
Matriculation
Kinsman
Knock
Owner
Maunder
Mechanical
Lambasted
Member
Panache
Pariah
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Pastel
Princely
Roustabout
Prognosticate
Sapphire
Property
Satiety
Propulsion
Schism
Publish
Science
Pulitzer
Scintillation
Pyrotechnics
Scorpion
Quadrillion
Sedentary
Qualms
Seraphic
Quaver
Shiatsu
Querulous
Shortfall
Queue
Shrimp
Quorum
Situation
Ragamuffin
Sketch
Rappelled
Smithereens
Rebuff
Smoothie/smoothy
Recoup
So-called
Regnal
Software
Rejuvenate
Sororal
Renewable
Sotto voce
Respiratory
Sought
Retire
Spreadsheet
Revanche
Stewardship
Rosin
Stridency
Pavlovian
Payment
Peddle
Perceived
Permafrost
Permission
Petroglyphs
Photogenic
Physical
Piety
Piracy
Plagiarism
Pliant
Pluck
Podium
Pontiff
Porosity
Portmanteau
Possible
Predict
Prefix
Premium
Presence
Presumptuous
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Travesty
Stubble
Vivacious
Trifle
Suasion
Vouch
Tuesday
Sustainability
Wattage
Turmoil
Swagger
Wheedle
Unctuous
Talisman
Whimper
Uppity
Tangible
Wildebeest
Urban
Taught
Wildlife
Velociraptor
Thawed
Winnow
Ventriloquy
Theater/theatre
Wren
Verdure
Thousandths
Yeast
Vestigial
Tomahawk
Yonder
Vice versa
Torsion
Virtue
Transform
Vitriolic
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