Unit 1 Vocabulary Level A

besiege (v) To attack by surrounding with military forces; to cause worry or trouble

The large cat besieged the small town.

compress (v) To press together; to reduce in size or volume; (n) a folded cloth or pad applied to an injury

The woman has placed a cold compress on her forehead in hopes of diminishing her headache.

dispatch (v) To send off our out for a purpose; kill; (n) an official message; promptness, speed; the act of killing

The police use radios to dispatch important messages to one another.

(v) To plunge into a liquid, drench; to put out quickly, extinguish douse (v) To plunge into a liquid, drench; to put out quickly, extinguish

Luckily, the firefighters were able to successfully douse the flames.

(adj) suffering severely from hunger or from lack of something famished (adj) suffering severely from hunger or from lack of something

The child had not had a meal in quite some time, and was famished.

(adj) profitable; bringing in money or some special advantage gainful (adj) profitable; bringing in money or some special advantage

The child’s first business experience was quite gainful.

ingenious (adj) showing remarkable originality, inventiveness, or resourcefulness; clever

The coyote always seems to come up with ingenious plans to catch the roadrunner, but they never work!

(v) To annoy, trouble, make weary irk (v) To annoy, trouble, make weary

If you irk someone, they will not respond positively!

(n) A stupid person; a big, clumsy, slow individual oaf (n) A stupid person; a big, clumsy, slow individual

Baby Huey from the Looney Tunes cartoons is an incredibly bumbling oaf!

(v) To go or move backward; to become more distant recede (v) To go or move backward; to become more distant

The man’s hairline was beginning to recede.