Vocabulary Unit 1 I LOVE WORDS!

Admonish (v) To scold mildly To caution against doing something

Admonish (v) The man admonished his dog for eating the couch cushions while he was out.

Breach (n and v) (n) an opening (n) a violation (v) to create an opening (v) to break through

Breach (n and v) The humpback breached in the water and the visitors on the beach cheered.

Brigand (n) a bandit

Brigand (n) During the gold rush of 1849, people were often robbed by brigands.

Circumspect (adj) Careful cautious

Circumspect (adj.) Detective Dog believed you should always be circumspect when you’re in a new city.

Commandeer (v) To seize for military or official use

Commandeer (v) The military thought It was important to commandeer Saddam Hussein’s house and his sons’ houses to show their strength in Iraq.

Cumbersome (adj) Clumsy and hard to handle

Cumbersome The early car phones were cumbersome and gigantic. They were not convienient to cart around.

Deadlock (n and v) (n) a complete standstill (v) to bring to a standstill

Deadlock Chicago traffic is the worst! During rush hour it is complete deadlock on all of the expressways.

Debris (n) Scattred fragments wreckage

Debris (n) The debris from Japan’s tsunami is overwhelming and will take years to clean up.

Diffuse (v and adj) (v) to spread or scatter freely (adj) wordy, long winded, unfocused, scattered or widely spread

Diffuse When the doctors looked at the cancer cells, they seemed to be diffusing and scattering all over the body.

Dilemma (n) A difficult situation or problem

Dilemma The Scottish man’s dilemma was figuring out which bathroom to use!