Week One English II Vocabulary

Adage Noun My mom is constantly repeating the adage “the early bird gets the worm,” but I still sleep till 3 p.m. every Saturday.

A proverb or wise saying Adage A proverb or wise saying

Bonanza Noun The Avengers movie proved to be a bonanza at the box office.

A large amount of something very valuable or rewarding Bonanza A large amount of something very valuable or rewarding

Churlish Adjective I tried to be nice to him, but after his enduring his churlish attitude for two days, I gave up.

Lacking politeness or good manners; rude Churlish Lacking politeness or good manners; rude

Vacuous Adjective She thought her poem was deep and meaningful, but it seemed quite vacuous to me.

Empty; lacking ideas or intelligence Vacuous Empty; lacking ideas or intelligence

Collaborate Verb Do you like to learn alone or do you prefer to collaborate with your peers?

Collaborate To work together

Decree Noun and Verb My grandma decreed that I couldn’t go to the movies until I cleaned my room, so I grabbed the vacuum right away.

Decree An authoritative order (noun) To command or give an order (verb)

Discordant Adjective The choir began to sing, but the director stopped them when the song sounded discordant.

Disagreeable in sound; lacking in harmony Discordant Disagreeable in sound; lacking in harmony

Evolve Verb My feelings about same-sex marriage have evolved over time.

To develop or change gradually Evolve To develop or change gradually

Excerpt Noun and Verb After reading an excerpt of the new Sharon Draper book, I was excited to read the whole thing.

Excerpt A passage taken from a book, article, etc. (noun) To take a passage from a book, article, etc. (verb)

Grope Verb When I got up in the middle of the night, I had to grope to find the light switch.

To feel about uncertainly with the hands or the mind Grope To feel about uncertainly with the hands or the mind