Vocabulary Workshop Unit 5: #’s 1-20 www.vocabularyworkshop.com

acute (adj.) with a sharp point; keen and alert; sharp and severe; rising quickly to a high point and lasting for a short time Synonyms: clever, penetrating One who is an acute observer of human nature may notice subtle changes in people’s behavior.

bluster (v.) to talk or act in a noisy and threatening way; to blow in stormy gusts; (n.) speech that is loud and threatening Synonyms: (v.) spout, rant, brag, swagger (n.) bravado When we saw harsh winds bluster around our tent, we decided to change our plans for the weekend.

bungle (v.) to act or work clumsily and awkwardly; to ruin something through clumsiness. Synonyms: blunder, botch, mess up If we bungle this project, we may never get another chance to prove ourselves as a worthy team.

commentary (n.) a series of notes clarifying or explaining something; an expression of opinion. Synonym: explanation, remarks, narration, description, account, review, analysis Our spiritual leader gave us a helpful commentary on the true meaning of the Ten Commandments.

duration (n.) the length of time that something continues or lasts Even though the story was hard to follow, my friends decided to stay for the duration of the opera.

eerie (adj.) causing fear because of strangeness; weird; mysterious Synonyms: frightening, spooky, creepy It is a lot of fun to tell eerie ghost stories around a campfire.

facet (n.) one aspect or side of a subject or problem; one of the cut surfaces of a gem Synonyms: angle, characteristic, factor, element, cut One important facet of problem solving is to recognize when a solution makes no sense.

fidelity (n.) the state of being faithful; accuracy in details; exactness Synonyms: loyalty, faithfulness The fidelity of scratchy old records can’t match the clarity of CDs or DVDs.

fray (n.) a brawl; a noisy quarrel (v.) to wear away by rubbing; make ragged or worn; to strain; irritate Synonyms: (n.) scuffle (v.) unravel After the two loudest students began arguing, the whole class jumped into the fray.

headstrong (adj.) willful; stubborn Synonyms: obstinate, mulish, unruly Even the most patient caregiver may feel challenged when faced with a headstrong child.

inhabitant (n.) one living permanently in a given place Synonyms: resident, native, occupant, tenant Although she enjoys traveling to exotic places, she’s is a lifelong inhabitant of this small town.

numb (adj.) having lost the power of feeling or movement; (v.) to dull the feelings of; to cause to lose feeling Synonyms: (adj.) unfeeling, insensible, dazed (v.) deaden This injection will numb the area so that the doctor can stitch the cut painlessly.

pacify (v.) to make peaceful or calm; to soothe Synonyms: mollify, placate The factory owners hope to pacify the angry protestors with promises of higher wages and shorter working hours.

ravenous (adj.) greedy; very hungry; eager for satisfaction Synonyms: starved, famished, voracious, wolfish Exercising vigorously for several hours gives me a ravenous appetite.

refute (v.) to prove incorrect Synonyms: disprove, rebut After analyzing the situation, I now know a foolproof way to refute the original claim.

remorse (n.) deep and regretful for one’s past misdeeds; pangs of conscience Synonyms: guilt When the driver realized what a terrible accident he had caused, he was overcome with remorse.

setback (n.) something that interferes with progress; a disappointment, unexpected loss or defeat; a steplike recession in a wall Synonyms: failure, reversal A broken toe can be a major setback for a skater who hopes to qualify for the Olympics.

smug (adj.) overly self-satisfied, self-righteous Synonyms: conceited, complacent Just because he got the lead in the school play doesn’t justify his irritating air of smug superiority

synopsis (n.) a brief statement giving a general view of some subject, book, etc.; summary Synonyms: outline, digest, abstract The teacher’s guide gives a synopsis of the plot of each story in the collection.

tarry (v.) to delay leaving; to linger, wait; to remain or stay for a while Synonyms: dawdle, dally He will be tempted to tarry longer if he thinks that this might be their last visit together.