Wordly Wise Lesson 8 By David Wu

Adept adj. Highly skilled; expert The man’s record of solving every case he was given showed how adept he was at his job as a detective.

Audible adj. capable of being heard My friends voice was barely audible over the static; I could barely make out what she was saying.

Azure n. And adj. The blue color of a cloudless sky The azure sky over Los Angeles is a rare sight with all the smog that blocks the view from the ground.

BANTER v. To exchange playful, teasing remarks n. Light, playful conversation The opposing sides bantered nervously before the baseball game. The banter among the students in the classroom ended immediately as the principal entered the room.

Capacious adj. Able to hold a large amount; roomy The capacious car could hold up to eleven people.

Copious Adj. Large in quantity; abundant The 50-room mansion with both indoor and outdoor swimming pools cost a copious amount of money.

Crucial adj. Extremely important; vital in resolving something The ticket showing that he was at a theater with his wife during the murder was a crucial piece of evidence to prove his innocence.

Decelerate v. To slow down or cause to slow down The man driving to work decelerated when he saw the yellow light.

Deploy v. 1. To arrange troops or equipment in position for battle Many troops have been deployed to Iraq to fight the war. 2. To put into use An ambulance was deployed to rush the injured people back to the hospital.

Facilitate v. To make things easier Going to camps in Taiwan every summer facilitated my learning Chinese.

Fastidious adj. 1. Paying close attention to detail He was very fastidious about his new car, keeping it as clean and undamaged as possible. 2. Difficult to please My fastidious teacher has very high expectations of me and criticizes me every time I do not meet up to his standards.

Fitful adj. Not steady; irregular After a fitful sleep, I had trouble concentrating on driving.

Grapple v. 1. To struggle with in close combat; to wrestle The boy grappled with the giant snake that was trying to eat him. 2. To come to grips with David finally decided to take Seean’s offer of a million dollars in exchange for his favorite pet goldfish after grappling with the plusses and minuses of his decision for many hours. n. An iron shaft with a claw for grasping and holding things The thief threw the grapple over the wall and once it was hooked, he climbed up the rope attached to it.

Pang n. A sharp sudden pain or feeling of distress He felt a pang of regret when he sold his old house and moved to a smaller one.

Precede v. to go or come before in time, rank or position The Vikings preceded Columbus in finding America.