Vocabulary Chapter 1 GR. 8 MS. GIBBONS

Adage (N)  A proverb, wise saying  Syn: maxim, aphorism  Have you ever heard the old adage that the early bird catches the worm?

Bonanza (N)  A rich mass of ore in a mine; something very valuable, profitable, or rewarding; a source of wealth or prosperity; a very large amount; sudden profit or gain  Syn: windfall  An unexpected increase in tourism could create a bonanza for shop owners.

Churlish (adj)  Lacking politeness or good manners; lacking sensitivity; difficult to work with or deal with; rude  Syn: surly, ill-tempered  Ant: courteous, civil, well-mannered  The students who continued to call out in class showed their truly churlish behavior.

Citadel (N)  A fortress that overlooks and protects a city; any strong or commanding place  Syn: fort, stronghold, bulwark, bastion  Even though the enemy’s army was invading, the princess felt safe in the guarded citadel.

Collaborate (v)  To work with, work together  Syn: team up, join forces  Ant: work alone  I love Ms. Gibbons’s class, because she uses group projects that allow me to collaborate with my peers.

Decree (n) (V) (N) An order having the force of law; (V) to issue such an order; to command firmly or forcefully Syn: proclamation, edict; proclaim The emperor decreed that all subjects must eat waffles for breakfast or go to jail.

Discordant (Adj)  Disagreeable in sound, jarring; lacking in harmony.  Syn: grating, shrill, different, divergent, conflicting  Ant: harmonious, in agreement  When the beginning band played its first notes, the sound can only be described as discordant.

Evolve (V) To develop gradually; to rise to a higher level.  Syn: unfold, emerge  Ant: wither, atrophy  The artist hoped her beginning sketches would evolve into a masterpiece that could hang in a museum.

Excerpt (N)  A passage taken from a book, article, etc.; to take such a passage; to quote.  Syn: portion, section, extract  In my essay, I excerpted a quote from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

Grope (V)  To feel about hesitantly with the hands; to search blindly and uncertainly.  Syn: fumble for, cast about for When we lost power during the storm, I was forced to grope in the dark to try and find a flashlight.

Unit 1, Part 2

Hover (V)  To float or hang suspended over; to move back and forth uncertainly over or around  Syn: linger, waver, seesaw  Ant: soar  The bees hovered over the plate of juicy cantaloupe.

Jostle (V)  To make or force one’s way by pushing or elbowing; to bump, brush against; to compete for  Syn: push  The annoyed man jostled his way through the crowd so that he could have a seat on the bus.

Laggard (N) (ADJ)  A person who moves slowly or falls behind; falling behind; slow to move, act, or respond  Syn: slowpoke, straggler, sluggish  Ant: early bird, swift, speedy, prompt  When walking to art, I have to encourage the laggards at the back of the line to keep up with the rest of our class.

Plaudits (n.)  Applause; enthusiastic praise or approval  Syn: cheers, acclaim  Ant: boos, disapproval, ridicule  The famous singer accepted the endless plaudits of her fans, and then treated them to an encore performance.

Preclude (V)  Make impossible, prevent, shut out  Syn: hinder, check, stop  Ant: help, promote, facilitate  The tree in the road precluded the car from getting to the house.

Revert (V)  To return, go back  Syn: relapse, regress  Ant: progress, advance  Despite the fact that she did not eat chocolate for a year and a half, after the wedding Ms. Gibbons reverted back to her chocolate-loving ways.

Rubble (n)  Broken stone or bricks; ruins  Syn: wreckage  After the earthquake, many volunteers went to help sort through the rubble.

Servile (Adj)  Of or relating to a slave; behaving like or suitable for a slave or a servant, menial; lacking spirit or independence, abjectly submissive  Syn: slavish, groveling  Ant: masterly, overbearing  The servile job position forced the woman to act as a servant for her master.

Vigil (n)  A watch, especially at night; any period of watchful attention  The guards kept vigil during the night, watching carefully for the threat of attack.

Wrangle (V) (N)  To quarrel or argue in a noisy, angry way; to obtain by argument; to herd; a noisy quarrel  Syn: squabble, bicker  Ant: agree, concur  Yelling and screaming, the brother and sister always wrangle over the dumbest things.