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WORD POWER. VOCABULARY For the High School Student HAROLD LEVINE. WORD POWER YEAH!. CENTRAL IDEAS 1-5. 1. SKILL. 1. adroit. Adjective ( adj ) Expert in using the hands or mind; skillful; clever; deft; dexterous Our adroit passing enabled us to score four touchdowns. 2. ambidextrous.
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WORD POWER VOCABULARY For the High School Student HAROLD LEVINE
1. adroit • Adjective (adj) • Expert in using the hands or mind; skillful; clever; deft; dexterous • Our adroit passing enabled us to score four touchdowns.
2. ambidextrous • adjective • Able to use both hands equally well • Ruth is an ambidextrous hitter; she can bat right-handed or left-handed.
3. apprentice • noun • Person learning an art or trade under a skilled worker; learner; beginner; novice; tyro • Young Ben Franklin learned the printing trade by serving as an apprentice to his half-brother James.
4. aptitude • noun • Natural tendency to learn or understand; bent; talent • Cindy is not clumsy with tools; she has mechanical aptitude.
5. craftsperson • Skilled worker; artisan • To build a house, you need the services of carpenters, bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, and several other craftspersons.
6. dexterity • Noun • Skill in using the hands or mind; deftness; adroitness; expertise • You can’t expect an apprentice to have same dexterity as a skilled worker.
7. maladroit • adjective • Clumsy; inept; awkward • A maladroit worker banged his thumb with a hammer.
8. versatile • adjective • Capable of doing many things well; many-sided; all-around • Leonardo da Vinci was remarkably versatile. He was a painter, scultor, architect, musician, engineer, and scientist.
1. destitute • adjective • Not possessing the necessities of life such as food, shelter, and clothing; needy; indigent • The severe earthquake killed hundreds of persons and left thousands destitute.
2. economize • verb • Reduce expenses; be frugal • Consumers can economize by buying their milk in gallon containers.
3. frugal • Adjective • Barely enough; scanty • The old man had nothing to eat but bread and cheese; yet he offered to share this frugal meal with his visitor. • Avoiding waste; economical; sparing; saving; thrifty • My weekly allowance for lunches and fares isn’t much, but I can get by on it if I am frugal.
4. impoverish • Verb • Make very poor; reduce to poverty; bankrupt; ruin; pauperize • The increase in dues of only a dollar a year will not impoverish anyone.
5. indigence • noun • Poverty; penury • By hard work, countless thousands of Americans have raised themselves from indigence to wealth.
1. affluent • adjective • Very wealthy; rich; opulent • The new wing to the hospital is a gift from an affluent humanitarian.
2. avarice • Noun • Excessive desire for wealth; greediness; cupidity • If manufacturers were to raise prices without justification, they could be accused of avarice.
3. avaricious • adjective • Greedy; grasping; covetous • An avaricious person likes to get and keep, but not to give or share.
4. covet • verb • Desire; long for; crave especially something belonging to another • Chicot coveted his neighbor’s farm but could not get her to sell it.
5. dowry • noun • Money, property, etc., that a bride brings to her husband • The dowry that his wife brought him enabled the Italian engraver Piranesi to devote himself completely to art.
6.financial • adjective • Having to do with money matters; monetary; pecuniary; fiscal • People who keep spending more than they earn usually get into financial difficulties.
7. fleece • verb • (literally, to remove the wool from a sheep or similar animal) deprive or strip of money or belongings by fraud; charge excessively for goods or services; rob; cheat; swindle • If your sister paid $3000 for that car, she was fleeced. The mechanic says it is worth $800.
8. hoard • verb • Save and conceal; accumulate; amass • Mother Magloire had a reputation as a miser who hoarded every penny she could get her hands on.
9. lavish • Adjective • Too free in giving, using, or spending; profuse; prodigal • The young heir was warned that he would soon have nothing left if he continued to be lavish with money. • Given or spent too freely; very abundant; extravagant; profuse • Vera’s composition is good, but it doesn’t deserve the lavish praise that Linda gave it.
10. lucrative • adjective • Profitable; moneymaking • Because the gift shop did not produce a sufficient profit, the owner decided to go into a more lucrative business.
11. means • Noun plural • Wealth; property; resources • To own an expensive home, a yacht, and a limousine, you have to be a person of means.
12. opulence • noun • Wealth; riches; affluence • Dickens contrasts the opulence of France’s nobility with the indigence of her peasants.
13. sumptuous • adjective • Involving large expense; luxurious; costly • The car with the leather upholstery and thick rugs is beautiful but a bit sumptuous for my simple tastes.
1. apprehensive • Adjective • expecting something unfavorable; afraid; anxious • Apprehensive parents telephones the school when the class was late in getting home from the museum.
2. cower • Verb • Draw back tremblingly; shrink or crouch in fear; cringe; recoil • If you stand up to your bullying sister instead of cowering before her, she may back down.
3. dastardly • Adjective • cowardly and mean • It was dastardly of the captain to desert the sinking vessel and leave the passengers to fend for themselves.
4. intimidate • verb • Make fearful or timid; frighten; force by fear; cow; bully • The younger children would not have given up the playing field so quickly if the older ones hadn’t intimidated them.
5. poltroon • noun • Thorough coward; dastard; craven • Like poltroon that he was, Tonseten hid under a bed when he saw a fight coming.
6. timid • adjective • Lacking courage or self-confidence; fearful; timorous; shy • If the other team challenges us, we should accept. Let’s not be so timid!
7. trepidation • Adjective • nervous agitation; fear; fright; trembling • I thought Carol would be nervous when she made her speech, but she delivered it without trepidation.
1. audacious • Adjective • bold; fearlessly daring • Risking serious injury, the outfielder made an audacious leap against the concrete wall and caught the powerfully hit ball. • too bold; insolent; impudent • After we had waited for about twenty minutes, an audacious latecomer strolled up and tried to get in at the head of our line.
2. audacity • noun • Nerve; rashness; temerity • Oliver Twist, nine-year-old poorhouse inmate, was put into solitary confinement when he had the audacity to ask for a second helping of porridge.
3. dauntless • Adjective • Fearless; intrepid; very brave; valiant • The frightened sailors wanted to turn back, but their dauntless captain urged them to sail on.
4. exploit • Noun • heroic act; daring deed; feat • Amelia Earhart won worldwide fame for her exploits as an aviator.
5. fortitude • Noun • courage in facing danger, hardship, or pain; endurance; bravery; pluck; backbone; valor • The officer showed remarkable fortitude in remaining on duty despite a painful wound.
6. indomitable • Adjective • Incapable of being subdued; unconquerable; invincible • The bronco that would not be broken threw all its riders It had an indomitable will to be free.
7. plucky • Adjective • courageous; brave; valiant; valorous • After two days on a life raft, the plucky survivors were rescued by a helicopter.
8. rash • Adjective • Overhasty; foolhardy; reckless; impetuous; taking too much risk • When you lose your temper, you may say or do something rash and regret it afterward.
