10th Grade Vocabulary Unit 1

Latin VINCERE, VICTUM “to conquer”

1. Invincible (adj.) unable to be conquered At this point in his career, fighter Muhammad Ali appeared to be invincible. Synonym: invulnerable Antonym: Vulnerable

2. Provincial (adj.) Limited in knowledge of the world; narrow-minded Belle didn’t like small-town life and wanted much more than a provincial life. Antonym: sophisticated

3. Evince (v.) to establish; to reflect the truth of An attorney’s job is to evince the truth of his client’s alibi.

Latin DUCERE, DUCTUM “to lead”

4. Conducive (adj.) supportive; encouraging; helping to bring about Soft music and candlelight are conducive to romance! Synonym: helpful, favorable

5. Induce (v.) to lead toward some action When a child swallows a poison, a doctor will often suggest ipecac to induce vomiting and get the poison out. Synonym: persuade antonym: discourage

6. Deduce (v.) to draw a conclusion from fact; to infer Sherlock Holmes, the super sleuth, was able to deduce the villain’s motive and his plan from the evidence. Synonym: conclude

Latin TRAHERE, TRACTUM “ to drag”

7. Protracted (adj.) Extended in time; prolonged The war on terror has been a protracted effort of the United States and its allies. Synonym: lingering Antonym: brief

8. Intractable (adj.) stubborn; obstinate; hard to move forward. A mule is an intractable animal which is difficult to persuade to do anything against its will. Synonym: immorale Antonym: malleable

9. Retract (v.) To draw back; withdraw Milly had to retract the awning before the storm blew in. Synonym: repeal

“to seek aggressively, to assail, to rush Latin PETERE, PETITUM “to seek aggressively, to assail, to rush

10. Petulant (adj.) irritable; short-tempered Maggy is a petulant child whose temper is intolerable for the adults around her.

11. Impetuous (adj.) acting passionately and without forethought Fighting is an impetuous behavior that a child must learn to control. Synonym: rash Antonym: careful

12. Impetus (n.) That which drives one; momentum Dissatisfied customers are often the impetus for change at the corporate level. Synonym: stimulus