More Vocabra

1. More Vocabra Lesson 7

2. decisive • Adele won the student council election by a decisive margin. • The school principal gives no second chances. She takes decisive action against all students who break the rules. • Definition: firm; clear; unmistakable

3. apathetic • The teacher sighed at the apathetic students who were yawning, doodling on their notepads and staring out the window. • The voters were so apathetic about the candidates that only 10 percent of them voted in the election. • Definition: uninterested; lacking in strong feeling.

4. manipulate • Dori can manipulate almost anyone. All she has to do is cry and she usually gets what she wants. • By picking and choosing which facts he presented, the speaker was able to manipulate the audience members into agreeing with him. • Definition: to manage or control shrewdly or unfairly; to act a certain way to get others to behave in ways that are beneficial to you.

5. exempt • Mrs. Ramsey didn’t have to pay taxes on the paper plates because the church she was buying them for was exempt from paying taxes. • Just because Priscilla is the principal’s daughter doesn’t mean she is exempt from the rules. • Definition: excused; not subject to the rules

6. revoke • Boyd’s parents revoked his driving privileges when he ran their car into a telephone pole. • When the teacher found out Gordon cheated on the exam, she revoked the “A” she had given him. • Definition: to take back

7. defer • The president had to defer the scheduled meeting because of a family emergency. • Luke and Holly deferred the announcement of their engagement until Holly’s father returned from his business trip. • Definition: to postpone or delay

8. literally • “When I said ‘Go jump in a lake,’ I didn’t mean it literally,” Kyle said to her little brother, who was soaking wet. • When Kelly said the grass was greener on the other side, she meant it literally. On this side, the grass was brown and dying. • Definition: really; actually; word for word

9. capacity • Because the room soon filled to capacity, some people had to be turned away. • Since Ms. Thurman’s class was at capacity, the new student had to be assigned to Mr. Hanson’s class. • Definition: volume; the amount of space that can be filled

10. fundamental • One of the fundamental rules of this school is that you respect other people. • Gabriella didn’t want any really hard classes, so she took “Fundamentals of Basket Weaving” instead of “Acid Solutions and Organic Chemical Compounds.” • Definition: basic

11. psychosomatic • John’s illness was diagnosed as psychosomatic response to the stress of losing his job. • Melissa’s nervousness about first dates always gave her a psychosomatic fit of vomiting right before her dates picked her up. • Definition: having to do with physical symptoms caused by a person’s thoughts or emotions.

12. ***semblance • The principal had a hard time regaining some semblance of order after the demonstrators left the auditorium. • There wasn’t even a semblance of understanding on the faces of the puzzled students as the teacher went on and on about participial phrases. • Definition: outward appearance

13. ***hierarchy • In the hierarchy of the feudal system, noblemen ranked higher than serfs. • High school seniors usually receive more privileges than freshmen because they are at the top of the student hierarchy. • Definition: a group arranged in order of rank from highest in power to lowest in power