Vocabulary Words World Literature Week 7

Precarious The poor little kitten trembled in a precarious position on top of the fence, while angry dogs barked from both sides.

Precarious Definition: adj.—unsafe: dangerously unstable, unsteady, uncertain, or insecure Synonym: shaky, dangerous, risky Antonym: safe, stable

Wane After the star quarterback suddenly quit the team, his popularity began to wane and his circle of friends became smaller every day.

Wane Definition: v.—to decrease gradually, to decline in power or size Synonym: diminish, decrease, decline, fade Antonym: wax, expand, grow

Besiege Megan was besieged by all of her friends when they discovered that she had extra tickets to the World Series.

Besiege Definition: v.—to crowd around in order to press with requests, to harass Synonym: surround, encircle, overwhelm Antonym: defend, protect

Appease Kevin appeased his thirst by drinking a glass of cool water.

Appease Definition: v.—to soothe or pacify, to satisfy Synonym: mollify, placate, settle, ease Antonym: provoke, intensify

Beguile Although Sharona was not really interested in David, she flirted with him and was finally able to beguile him into writing her history essay.

Beguile Definition: v.—to cheat or deceive, to mislead by tricking or cheating Synonym: entice, lure, mesmerize, enthrall Antonym: put off

Commodious While many of the classrooms at my old school were quite cramped, the rooms at my new school were very commodious.

Commodious Definition: adj.—roomy, pleasantly spacious Synonym: roomy, ample, sizable Antonym: cramped

Inter Garrett’s idea of a Viking burial at sea sounded interesting, but I decided to inter our poor guinea pig in a shoebox instead.

Inter Definition: v.—to bury the remains of a corpse in a grave or tomb Synonym: bury, entomb, lay to rest Antonym: exhume

Obviate While out sick, Jake tried to obviate getting behind in his school work by emailing his teachers and classmates to get homework assignments.

Obviate Definition: v.—to anticipate and prevent, to remove Synonym: avoid, avert, forestall, Antonym: retain, permit

Somber The rainy overcast day contributed to the somber mood of the memorial service.

Somber Definition: adj.—dark and gloomy Synonym: dull, drab, melancholy, sad, solemn, depressed Antonym: bright, light, cheerful

Reprehensible When everyone heard about the destructive vandalism at their school, they hoped that the vandals’ reprehensible actions would be dealt with sternly.

Reprehensible Definition: adj.—deserving blame or punishment Synonym: wrong, bad, disgraceful, inexcusable Antonym: praiseworthy, admirable