Grade 1o Vocab Unit 9 Apathy-Unctuous 20 WORDS

Word: Apathy Definition: a lack of interest Part of Speech: noun Example Sentence: The mayor showed complete apathy for the city’s problems; as a result, he was not elected

Word: Artifice Definition: a clever trick Part of Speech: noun Example Sentence: The Trojan horse was a clever artifice that brought the soldiers inside the walls.

Word: Coup Definition: a brilliant victory or accomplishment (often in the form of a takeover) Part of Speech: noun Example Sentence: In an attempted coup, a group of rebel soldiers stormed the king’s palace; however, the overthrow was not successful.

Word: Desiccate Definition: to dry out Part of Speech: verb Example Sentence: After a week without water, the desiccated grass was completely dead

Word: Diverge Definition: to move in different directions; to branch off Part of Speech: verb Example Sentence: The two candidates seemed similar, but they diverged on the issue of how to correct the economic recession

Word: Elicit Definition: to bring out Part of Speech: verb Example Sentence: The interviewer skillfully elicited the truth about the cover-up by asking insightful questions.

Word: Extrovert Definition: an open, outgoing person Part of Speech: noun Example Sentence: Maria is an extrovert; she walked boldly into the room full of strangers and struck up a number of conversations.

Word: Grandiloquent Definition: using a lot of big, fancy words to sound impressive Part of Speech: adjective Example Sentence: The paper was grandiloquent, but the unimpressive ideas were quite the opposite.

Word: Incorrigible Definition: incapable of being reformed Part of Speech: adjective Example Sentence: The convict was incorrigible; he committed a robbery within days of being released

Word: Legacy Definition: something handed down from the past Part of Speech: noun Example Sentence: The collection of baseball cards was the legacy that was passed down in the family since the early 1930’s

Word: Mortify Definition: to humiliate Part of Speech: verb Example Sentence: Tom was mortified when his mother began showing his girlfriend pictures of Tom from middle school.

Word: Pathology Definition: the science of diseases or any deviation from a healthy, normal, or efficient condition. Part of Speech: noun Example Sentence: His obsession with neatness is so extreme that it borders on a pathology.

Word: Putative Definition: commonly accepted, reputed Part of Speech: adjective Example Sentence: The putative reason for adding grammar to the SAT is the fact that many freshmen in college have poor grammatical skills.

Word: Premise Definition: an assumption; the basis for a conclusion Part of Speech: noun Example Sentence: A good teacher works off of the premise that every student has the ability to succeed.

Word: Querulous Definition: complaining Part of Speech: adjective Example Sentence: The customer had such a reputation for being querulous that no one on the wait staff wanted to serve him.

Word: Recalcitrant Definition: stubbornly defiant of authority; disobedient Part of Speech: adjective Example Sentence: The country was in turmoil, but the recalcitrant dictator refused to listen to the pleas of the international representatives.

Word: Robust Definition: strong and healthy Part of Speech: adjective Example Sentence: The robust ninety-year-old woman runs 5 miles each morning before breakfast.

Word: Staunch Definition: firmly committed Part of Speech: adjective Example Sentence: Jen is a staunch supporter of the baseball team; she will watch the whole game even if the team is losing by many runs.

Word: Tangential Definition: only superficially related to the matter at hand; not especially relevant Part of Speech: adjective Example Sentence: The vice president’s speech only had a tangential connection to the topic that had been announced.

Word: Unctuous Definition: oily—literally and metaphorically, insincere Part of Speech: adjective Example Sentence: I felt that the salesperson was being unctuous; his compliments were insincere, and he was just trying to get me to buy the car.