School-wide Vocabulary Quarter 3

appall (verb) to horrify; to shock; dismay The amount of food that’s wasted in the school cafeteria appalls me!

cognizant (adj) to be aware Many people have diabetes without being cognizant of their condition.

commiserate (verb) to express sorrow or compassion; sympathize When my dog died, my friends tried to commiserate with me, but they didn’t really understand how I was feeling.

expedient (adjective) self-interested; self- serving; convenient Tom’s interest in Cindy seems expedient; he knows she has money, and he wants to marry someone wealthy who can support him.

hindrance (noun) a barrier; an obstacle Her tendency to faint at the sight of blood will be a hindrance to Natalie’s plan to become a nurse.

kindle (verb) to inspire, stir up, arouse; to set fire or ignite The Smiths hope that letting their children have a puppy will kindle the children’s sense of responsibility and respect for animals.

lavish (adjective) extravagant; overly luxurious; using or giving in great amounts Andy celebrated his victory by taking his friends out for a lavish dinner.

ludicrous (adjective) ridiculous; laughable; laughter because of absurdity Articles like “Florida Floating Out to Sea” and “Diet Tips from Space Aliens” prove that no idea seems too ludicrous for tabloids.

negligent (adjective) careless; irresponsible; paying little or no attention to; disregard It’s not surprising that Nick flunked out of college; his attitude toward studying has always been negligent.

scrutinize (verb) to examine carefully; to inspect; to examine with careful and critical attention The detective scrutinized the crime scene for fingerprints and other clues.

clamor (noun) a loud noise or uproar; any loud or continued noise By the time the basketball game was over, I had an awful headache from the constant clamor of the fans as they cheered for their team.

contract (verb) to become smaller; to reduce in size; to become compressed Bodily movements result when our muscles first contract and then relax.

duplicity (noun) trickery; deceitfulness in speech or conduct; double-dealing; deliberate deceptiveness “I cannot tolerate duplicity,” said the teacher. “If you did not finish your paper, just say so.”

equivocal (adjective) open to more than one interpretation and often intended to mislead; vague; questionable; suspicious When children ask a parent for something, they hate to get the equivocal answer, “We’ll see.”

irresolute (adjective) unable to decide; uncertain how to think or act; doubtful Irresolute about whether to take the subway or catch a bus, I vacillated too long and managed to miss both.

rescind (verb) to take back; to revoke; to repel The state can rescind the licenses of people arrested for drunk driving.

stagnant (adjective) not flowing; motionless; sluggish; dull The pond was stagnant, and algae and weeds were growing so thickly that they covered the still water underneath.

uniform (adjective) all or always the same; alike; without variety; identical or consistent; constant To give its series of texts a uniform appearance, the publisher designed matching covers for all the books.

untenable (adjective) unable of being defended (argument, thesis, etc,); insupportable Dave insisted that he had paid all the rent he owed, but his claim was untenable. He was unable to produce any cancelled checks.

vilify (verb) to speak evil of, slander; to make abusive statements about “I don’t think it’s fair to vilify an entire college just because one fraternity has behaved badly,” said Rick.

affable (adjective) friendly; easy to get along with; good- natured; easy to approach and talk to Pit bulls are often thought of as unfriendly dogs while golden retrievers are seen as affable.

apocryphal (adjective) false; of doubtful authenticity; not genuine; fictitious There’s a story in our family that my great, great grandfather was a train robber, but I think the story is apocryphal.

desultory (adjective) random; moving from one thing to another in an unplanned way; disconnected Sharon went to the emergency room with a severe stomachache, but the doctor gave her only a quick, desultory exam.

garbled (adjective) distorted, jumbled, mixed up to such an extent to be misleading or incomprehensible When Tim printed his essay, a computer error made it come out garbled; only symbols and numbers appeared on the page.

irascible (adjective) easily angered; bad- tempered; irritable; easily provoked to anger Jim always seems to have a chip on his shoulder, and he gets angry over the slightest thing. I don’t know what makes him so irascible.