VoCaB Lesson 2:

1. VoCaBLesson 2: Directions: Complete the vocab chart.

2. Adroit • Def: (adj) skillful, expert in the use • of the hands or mind • Syn: clever, deft, dexterous, slick • Ant: clumsy, inept, all thumbs • Ex: Although he she could sing beautifully, • he was much less adroit with her violin.

3. Amicable • Def: (adj) peacable; friendly • Syn: congenial, neighborly, cordial • Ant: hostile, antagonistic • Ex: Despite the divorce, the couple • remained amicable for the sake of • their kids.

4. Averse • Def: (adj.) having a deep-seated distaste; opposed, unwilling • Syn: disinclined • Ant: favorably disposed, eager, keen • Ex: Although he was averse to exercise, his dad insisted he try out for the track team.

5. Belligerent • Def 1: (adj) given to fighting, warlike, combative, aggressive • Def 2: (noun) one at war, one engaged in war • Syn: assertive, truculent, pugnacious • Ant: peaceful, conciliatory, placid • Ex 1: The customer became belligerent when she was told that the store did not sell the bargain laptop from their advertisement. • Ex 2: While the belligerent countries have not used ground forces yet, they have already bombed one another’s major territories.

6. Benevolent • Def: (adj) kindly, charitable • Syn: benign, well-meaning • Ant: malicious, spiteful, malevolent • Ex: Although most of his friends wanted • to be zombies or vampires for Halloween, • he decided to be a benevolent ghost.

7. Cursory • Def: (adj) hasty, not thorough • Syn: quick, superficial, perfunctory • Ant: thorough, painstaking, careful • Ex: Instead of actually reading the • history chapter, he only took a few • cursory glances at his notes, deciding • he would wing it on the test.

8. Duplicity • Def: (n) treachery, deceitfulness • Syn: fraud, double-dealing, chicanery • Ex: As it turned out, her mother was correct—Mary was engaging in duplicity, making her a poor choice of friend.

9. Extol • Def: (v) to praise extravagantly • Syn: glorify, applaud, acclaim, hail • Ant: criticize, belittle, disparage • Ex: Because she hoped to improve her students’ writing ability, the teacher extolled the virtues of the complex sentence.

10. Feasible • Def: (adj) possible, able to be done • Syn: workable, practicable, viable • Ant: unworkable, impractical • Ex: Although he doubted that it was feasible, he came up with an intricate plan to win back his ex-girlfriend.

11. Grimace • Def 1: (n) a wry face, facial distortion • Def 2: (v) to make a wry face • (Note: wry=crooked, devious) • Syn: pained expression, facial contortion • Ant: smile grin; beam • Ex: When the uncomfortable woman was • told to smile for the picture, she awkwardly • plastered a grimace on het face instead.

12. Holocaust • Def: (n) a large-scale destruction, especially by fire; a vast slaughter; a burnt offering (GENOSIDE) • Syn: conflagration, devastation, annihilation • Ant: deluge, inundation • Ex 1: The dictators were responsible for humanitarian abuses that led to holocausts of hundreds due to starvation. • Ex 2: The Holocaust in Europe during the 1940s was a systematic extermination of more than six million people on the basis of their religion, race or ethnicity. • Ex 3: Half the city was destroyed in a holocaust begun by a single kitchen fire.

13. Impervious • Def: (adj) not affected or hurt by; admitting no passage or entrance • Syn: impenetrable, resistant, proof against • Ant: porous, permeable, vulnerable • Ex (literal): When cleaning with bleach, one ought to wear gloves impervious to the chemical. • Ex (figurative): Because he was so thin-skinned, people often suggested that he become more impervious to what people think of him.

14. Impetus • Def: (n) a moving force, impulse, stimulus • Syn: impulse, incentive, spur • Ant: curb, hindrance, impediment, constraint • Ex: After stepping on the scale and reaching a new heavier milestone, dad now had impetus to begin another diet.

15. Jeopardy • Def: (n) danger • Syn: risk, hazard, peril • Ant: safety, security • Ex: Every time I cross that rickety bridge, • I feel like I am putting my life in • jeopardy.

16. Meticulous • Def: (adj) extremely careful; particular about the details • Syn: fastidious, painstaking, fussy • Ant: careless, negligent, sloppy • Ex: Although his book bag and locker were sloppy, he kept his precious video game collection in meticulous alphabetical order.

17. Nostalgia • Def: (n) longing for the past; homesickness • Ex: We felt a sense of nostalgia when we • viewed the home movies from childhood.

18. Quintessence • Def: (n) the purest essence or form of something; the most typical example • Syn: paragon, exemplar • Ex: Selfless desire to help others without reward is the quintessence of charity.

19. Retrogress • Def: (v) to move backward, to return to an earlier condition • Syn: revert, degenerate, decline • Ant: advance, evolve, progress • Ex: Although the teens just used the playground as a shortcut to get home, they retrogressed into childhood play and took a few swings on the monkey bars.

20. Scrutinize • Def: (v) to examine closely • Syn: inspect, pore over • Ant: skim, scan, glance over • Ex: Before you sign any documents, • make sure to scrutinize the fine • print carefully!

21. Tepid • Def: (adj) lukewarm, unenthusiastic, marked by an absence of interest • Syn: insipid, halfhearted, wishy-washy • Ant: heated, excited, enthusiastic • Ex (literal): I had been so busy that morning that I had to rewarm my tepid coffee at ten o’clock. • Ex (figurative): Although their fist date was tepid, after spending more time together they realized that they had quite a bit of romantic chemistry.