REA 0002 Vocabulary Chapters 1 and 2

facetious Funny Humorous Playful Joking He was being facetious when he said he loved me!

gregarious Outgoing Sociable Enjoying the company of other Jerry is a very gregarious person.

detriment Disadvantage Something that can cause harm or damage Damage or loss Damaging Smoking can be a detriment to your health.

vicarious Experienced indirectly Experienced through the imagination Not experienced directly Reading about a place can give you a vicarious experience.

optimum Ideal Best possible Most favorable or desirable Getting 8 hours of sleep a night is optimum.

dexterous Skilled in using the hands or body skillful Amy was very dexterous when it came to using chopsticks to eat.

sensory Of the senses Having to do with seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, smelling Entering the bakery had become a sensory experience.

ostentatious Showy Meant to impress others Flashy The 10 carat diamond was very ostentatious.

discretion Good sense Good judgment or tact in actions or speaking Mary didn’t use much discretion when she blurted out her comment about Sandy’s hair.

scrupulous Ethical Careful about moral standards Conscientious Sarah was very scrupulous about the way she dealt with the customers.

collaborate To team up To work together on a project Cooperate on a project I wanted the students to collaborate on their assignments.

retrospect Looking back Reviewing the past Considering past events In retrospect I could see the errors of my ways.

zealot An extremist A person totally devoted to a purpose or cause Jane was a zealot when it came to eating properly.

rudimentary Basic Fundamental Necessary to learn first Elementary Learning the letter sounds is a rudimentary part of learning to read.

despondent Depressed Downhearted Hopeless Overwhelmed with sadness He was despondent after his best friend died.

venerate To honor To respect deeply Revere We should venerate our elders.

scoff To ridicule To make fun of Mock Refuse to take seriously Why would I scoff at your good ideas?

instigate To cause To bring about by moving others to action Stir up…into action He wanted to instigate a response to the political situation.

squelch To hold back To silence or suppress Crush It is hard to squelch a sneeze.

resilient Quick to recover Able to recover quickly from harm, illness, or misfortune. After the hurricane, the area seemed to be very resilent.