Vocabulary Lesson 6

1. Vocabulary Lesson 6 Antiquated to Vivid

2. antiquated Obsolete; out-of-fashion; no longer usable These days sending out mail by “snail mail” is antiquated; most people use e-mail.

3. arable Fit for plowing; tillable The world has lost nearly one-third of its arable land over the past 40 years, largely because farming and other human activities have dramatically accelerated soil erosion.

4. ascendancy Domination; growing power His ascendancy to the presidency surprised many who thought a one-term senator would not be able to win.

5. atrophy To waste away; to wither Verb: If you do not exercise your bones are likely to atrophy from lack of use. Noun: The atrophy of her knees caused her to walk with difficulty.

6. clandestine Secret; furtive He had a clandestine plan in motion to surprise his wife for his birthday.

7. conciliate To reconcile; pacify; to renew a friendship I made my mom cookies as a conciliatory gesture after our argument.

8. cursory Superficial; casual; hastily done To save time when you are on the critical reading section of the SAT, first give a cursory glance to the questions before reading the passage.

9. derision Scoffing at; mockery; ridicule The teen was distraught by the derision she was receiving from her former friends and decided to go to her counselor.

10. enmity Absolute hatred It is unhealthy to hold enmity toward someone; it is wiser to try to forgive and forget.

11. extricate To free; to disentangle Our military commanders are finding it difficult to extricate our country from the Iraq/Afghanistan wars.

12. forbearance Patience; lenience Americans are not known for their forbearance; we are a nation who likes immediate results.

13. frivolous Lacking in seriousness or importance Do not be angry at your sister for such a frivolous reason as her eating the last of the cereal.

14. garrulous Talkative; rambling You need to be garrulous to be an effective sales spokesperson on an inf0mercial.

15. impetuous Violent, hasty, rash, impulsive Sometimes talk radio hosts and announcers get fired for being too impetuous and saying something controversial.

16. industrious Skillfully busy or occupied We were industrious during the holiday break and did all of our holiday shopping.

17. infamous Having a reputation of the worst kind, vicious, notoriously bad Lindsay Lohan is an infamous celebrity, known now more for her drinking than her acting.

18. insolence Insulting or contemptuous behavior I will not put up with your insolence; go to your room!

19. levity Excessive frivolity; flippancy A little levity in the classroom is all right; but too much can be a classroom management nightmare.

20. oblivion State of being forgotten Old family cemeteries are beginning to fade into oblivion; it is much more common for people to be buried in large, public cemeteries.

21. paradoxical Something that appears contradictory or false but is actually true For thirteen years, in the late nineteenth century, Clarence King lived a paradoxical double life, one as a bachelor white man and one as a married black man.

22. perjury False testimony under oath The witness could not remember the details, but did not want to be accused of perjury.

23. rancor Deep-seated hatred; ill-will; enmity The terrorists’ rancor for American culture is hard to understand.

24. sycophant A self-serving flatterer; a brown-noser I know you want an A, but don’t be such a sycophant; you are making us look bad.

25. vacillating Changing; fluctuating I wish I wasn’t so indecisive; I vacillate between choices all the time—even at the grocery store.

26. vivid Bright, distinct, clear The colors in the painting were so vivid I thought it was a photograph.