Vocabulary Unit

Does anything look familiar?  Quixotic  Lassitude  Laconic  Irascible  Austere  Officious  Callous  Craven  Obtuse  Languid

Quixotic (kwik SAHT ik)  Definition: adj. unrealistic and totally impractical  Synonyms: unrealisitic, starryeyed  Link: idiotic  It is idiotic to try to walk across a freeway. It is quixotic to think that people will stop for you.  It is quixotic to think that people will send themselves to jail if they do something wrong.

Lassitude (LAS uh tood)  Definition: noun.- a state of physical or mental weariness  Synonyms: apathy, sluggishness  Link: Lazy dude  George was a lazy dude with lassitude. He never did his work and he didn’t care about the consequences.  Tim worked at the factory doing the same job for twenty years. He began to do his work with lassitude because he was tired of the routine.

Laconic (luh KAHN ik)  Definition: adj.- brief, using few words  Synonyms: terse, succinct, short  Link: Tonic  The doctor was laconic with his patients. He rudely rushed the appointments and only prescribed tonics.  The teacher was too laconic with their lectures. Without enough detail the students did not understand the concept.

Irascible (I RAS uh bul)  Definition: adj.- easily angered.  Synonyms: irritable, cranky, testy  Link: wrestle bulls  When he became irascible, the wrestler would wrestle bulls to let off some steam.  Boyfriends and girlfriends become irascible with each other when they ignore their text messages.  The toddler became irascible when his older brother took away his toy truck.

Austere (aw STEER)  Definition: adj.- serious, stern, severely simple and plain  Synonyms: cold, strict, unemotional  Link: Steer  An austere steer is no fun at a party.  Jill’s father is very austere. He never smiles and is always cold with the boys she dates.  An Amish home is very austere. It is decorated in a plain style with only necessary furniture and items.

Officious (uh FISH us)  Definition: adj.- ready to serve, offering unwanted help or advice. (Annoying)  Synonyms: pushy, interfering  Link: Office  An officious office helper will continually tell you how to do your job even when you don’t ask for help.  The officious waitress would not go away even when Jennifer told her that she only wanted a cup of coffee.

Callous (KAL uss)  Definition: adj.- insensitive, having no feelings.  Synonyms: heartless, unsympathetic  Link: Callus  Jack was so callous that he made fun of Mike’s calluses in front of everyone in the locker room.  A callous remark is a statement that does not take someone’s feelings into consideration.  It would be callous to be a millionaire and not ever donate any money to the poor.

Craven (KRA ven)  Definition: adj.- cowardly, mean-spirited.  Synonyms: a chicken, a wuss, spineless  When the company went bankrupt, the craven CEO quickly flew out of the country to avoid having to answer to his former employees.  While I was ready for the fistfight, my craven enemy started to scream for help.

Obtuse (ob tuse)  Definition: adj.- slow in comprehension, block- headed.  Synonyms: dumb, unintelligent, close-minded  If you refuse to learn new ideas or customs, you are obtuse.  When you pretend to not understand something, you are acting obtuse.  When someone tells a joke and you don’t understand it, they might call you obtuse.

Languid (LANG gwid)  Definition: adj.- lacking energy, showing little interest in anything.  Synonyms: lazy, slow  Link: Squid  A languid squid only watches TV all day.  The professor’s languid teaching style did not motivate the class.  It is languid of a student to sit in class, not do any work, and not participate.

Creating Sentences  Choose eight of the words you have been given and compose sentences using them.  Use these contexts:  1. A party  2. A dance  3. A doctor’s office  4. Passing a test  5. A college professor  6. Buying a car  7. Traveling to another country  8. Winning the lottery

Creating Sentences  Choose five of the words you have been given and compose sentences using them.  Use these contexts:  1. A party  2. A doctor’s office  3. Passing a test  4. Traveling to another country

Example  Context: Winning the lottery  After winning the lottery, the man became languid because he did not have to work anymore.