English II Vocabulary

Vocabulary - Words of the Day
 
Remember, you need 1) part of speech, 2) definition and 3) your own original sentence for each word. Words are added each "B" Day with a quiz at the end of the six weeks.
1.  Contention:  The contention between the two boys increased when Juliet finally chose one to date.
2.  Apex:  Getting all A's would be the apex of my school year.
3.  Stalemate:  Jacob and Ryan reached a stalemate when they realized that neither would win the tic-tac-toe game.
4.  Nuance:  The nuances between the candidates' speeches show a lot about their character.
5.  Obscure:  The obscure rock could have been a meteor or a fossil;  no one knows for sure.
6.  Disconcert:  The dog was disconcerted when the cat continually ran up the tree;  the dog just wanted to play.
7.  Compulsory:  Many sports have athletes who attend compulsory practice sessions, or those students risk getting in trouble.
8.  Profound:  Einstein is often quoted as making profound statements that changed the world. 
9.  Cathartic:  Exercise often has a cathartic effect on someone who is upset or angry; however, singing loudly in my car always makes me feel better.
10.  Expound:  When you're on trial, you should never expound your answers, always state a simple "yes" or "no".
11.  Altruistic:  Steve shows his altruistic side every time he pays for lunch and volunteers his time at the state orphanage.
12.  Cynic:  Only a cynic would not believe a preacher who wishes him good luck.
13.  Palpable: A palpable fear ran through the crowd as the earthquake shook the building.
14.  Benevolent: Her benevolent attitude put everyone to shame; she always thought of other people first.
15.  Exaltation: His exaltation when she said yes to his proposal was very loud; everyone heard him scream for joy.
16.  Debase: The group wanted to debase the kids by teaching them the wrong character traits.
 
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2nd Six Weeks:
1.  Transcend:  She wanted to transcend the expectations of the committee and be the best class officer in the history of the school.
2.  Feeble:  Jess's friends often laughed with her when she called herself feeble minded, especially when she put a pen into the pencil sharpener.
3.  Encumber:  Sally didn't want to encumber her parents when she moved back in after graduating college, so she did all the chores and took some odd jobs until she could move out.
4.  Abominable:  The child's abominable behavior caused her to be grounded for a month.
5.  Blandishment:  The student hoped that his blandishments toward his teacher would get him an extra ten points.
6.  Unremitting:  She finally said yes to his unremitting request for a date since she didn't think she could listen to him ask one more time.
7.  Prudent:  In these times, many people consider it prudent to stop investing money in the stock market.
8.  Untenable:  There are some students who hold to the untenable position that they can do whatever they want.
9.  Anecdote:  I like visiting my grandpa because he likes to tell lots of interesting anecdotes about his life.
10.  Avid:  Maggie is an avid snowboarder; she hops on a plane every time she hears about fresh powder falling somewhere.
11.  Bestow:  A lot of war veterans are bestowed with medals when they return home.
12.  Oblivion:  Some politicians would like the memory of their actions to fall into oblivion, but the press won't let that happen.
13.  Lucid:  When coming out of surgery, people do not have many lucid thoughts.
14.  Convulse:  A fish out of water will often convulse while trying to survive.
15.  Conscientious:  Only those students who are conscientious will look up words in order to spell them correctly.
16.  Imperceptible:  Scientists state that stars fade at such an imperceptible amount only astronomers really notice.
17.  Summarily:  Students who are summarily summoned to the office appear on edge because they don't know why.
18.  Emaciated:  Many pictures of the concentration camps show emaciated victims who can barely sit up.
19.  Congeal: Milk left in a glass for a week will congeal to a different form and make it harder to clean.
20.  Devoid: Murderers are said to be devoid of any caring or kind emotion.
 
 
Last Modified: Thursday, Dec. 03, 2009
 
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