VOCABULARY CHAPTER 3

ANIMATED (ADJ) (PART.)  Full of life, lively, alive; moved to action.  Syn: energetic, vigorous  Ant: lifeless, dead, flat  The animated child ran around the classroom for hours without getting tired.

BROOD (N) (V)  A family of young animals, especially birds; any group having the same nature and origin; to think over in a worried, unhappy way.  Syn: ponder, mediate, worry, agonize  The mother bird fed her brood that was waiting for her in the nest.  When the child did not get his way, he ended up brooding in the corner for over an hour!

CONSTITUENT (N)  An essential part; a voter who elects a representative  Syn: element, component  The NY constituents are determined to vote for what is best for the state.

CULMINATE (V)  To reach a high point of development; to end, climax  Syn: conclude, terminate  Ant: begin, initiate, kick off  Our work with the book culminated in a project that asked us to discuss the important aspects of each chapter.

DOWNRIGHT (ADJ) (ADV)  thoroughly; absolute, complete; frank, blunt  Syn: total, out-and-out  When the man knocked over his neighbor’s fence on purpose, the action can only be described as downright mean.

DRONE (N) (V)  A loafer, idler; a buzzing or humming sound; a remote-control device; a male bee; to make a buzzing sound; to speak in a dull tone of voice.  Syn: burn, do-nothing, hum, buzz, purr  Ant: hard worker  The man was such a light sleeper that even the drone of the washing machine would wake him up.

GOAD (V) (N)  To drive or urge on; something used to drive or urge on  Syn: prod, spur on  Ant: curb, check, restrain  The teacher had to goad the reluctant students to finish the essay.

HANKER (V)  To long (for), to desire  Syn: yearn  For Christmas, I’m really hankering for new boots and an iPad.

INDULGE (V)  To give in to a wish or desire, give oneself up to  Syn: oblige, humor, coddle, pamper  Ant: deny, refuse  After a long day, I like to indulge with a piece of chocolate and some cookies.

LITERATE (ADJ)  Able to read and write; showing an excellent educational background; having knowledge or training  Syn: educated  Ant: unlettered, ignorant  The Harvard educated woman was considered very literate by members of her family that did not attend college.

LOOM (V) (N)  To come into view; to appear in exaggerated form.  A machine for weaving.  Syn: emerge, surface, hover, tower  The heavy sky loomed above us, signaling a storm to come.

LUSTER (N)  The quality of giving off light, brightness, glitter  Syn: gloss, sheen, shine  Ant: tarnish, dullness  The gold bracelet sparkled with its metallic luster.

MISCELLANEOUS (ADJ)  Mixed, of different kinds  Syn: varied, assorted, motley  Ant: identical, uniform, homogeneous  When cleaning the basement, we put all of the miscellaneous items, the ones that did not fit into a single category, into a red bin.

ORATION (N)  A public speech for a formal occasion.  Syn: Address  The president is known for his articulate orations that address the country.

PEEVISH (ADJ)  Cross, complaining, irritable; contrary  Syn: crabby, testy, stubborn  Ant: agreeable, amiable, even-tempered, pleasant  The students became peevish after the teacher assigned five hours of homework.

SEETHE (V)  To boil or foam; to be excited or disturbed.  Syn: churn, simmer, stew  The angry parent seethed with rage when the child refused to pick up the crayons on the floor.

SINGE (V) (N)  To burn slightly  A burn at the ends or edges.  Syn: Scorch, char  Ant: incinerate  The book was singed when the pages touched the candle.

UNIQUE (ADJ)  One of a kind; unequaled; unusual; found only in a given class, place or situation.  Syn: unparalleled, distinctive  Ant: ordinary, commonplace, run-of-the-mill  The gemstone was so unique that the jeweler had never seen anything like it.

UPRIGHT (ADJ)  Vertical, straight; good, honest.  In a vertical position.  Syn: perpendicular, virtuous  Ant: horizontal, prone, dishonest, corrupt.  One of the goals of the Boy Scouts is to raise upright citizens.

VERIFY (V)  To establish the truth or accuracy of, confirm.  Syn: prove, validate, substantiate  Ant: disprove, discredit  It was the detective’s job to verify the suspect’s story.