English 11 Reading Support Vocabulary Warm Ups

~Unit One~ 1. genre: a style or category of art or literature 2. rhetoric: writing or speaking that has a persuasive effect/purpose 3.tone: the author’s voice expressing a feeling towards something 4.theme: the position a work takes on a particular subject or topic 5.archetype: very typical example

~Unit One~ 6. thesis: a statement or theory put forward to be proved; the argument of an essay 7.narration: spoken or written account of connected events; a story 8.first person point of view: speaking or writing that is in the “I” perspective 9.innuendo: an indirect or inexplicit remark, typically a suggestive one 10.symbol: something that represents something else

~Unit Two~ 1.connotation: an idea or feeling which a word evokes additional to its literal meaning 2.denotation: the literal meaning of a word (definition) 3.context: the social and/or historical background of a text 4.structure: a building or other object constructed from several parts 5.figurative language: discourse which departs from a literal meaning of words; metaphorical

~Unit Two~ 6.literal language: discourse that means its exact meaning; doesn’t go outside of the obvious meaning 7.obscure: uncertain or unclear 8.inference: a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning 9.proposition: a statement expressing a judgment or an opinion 10.intrepid: fearless; adventurous

~Unit Three~ 1.acquisitive: able to get and retain ideas or information 2.arrogate: to claim or take without right 3.banal: trite; commonplace 4.belabor: to work on excessively 5.carping: tending to find fault, especially in a petty or nasty way

~Unit Three~ 6.coherent: holding or sticking together; making a logical whole 7.congeal: to change from liquid to solid; thicken 8.emulate: to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model 9.encomium: formal expression of praise 10.eschew: to avoid; shun; keep away

~Unit Four~ 1.germane: relevant; appropriate; fitting 2.insatiable: so great or demanding as not to be satisfied 3.intransigent: refusing to compromise 4.invidious: offensive; hateful 5.largesse: generosity in giving

~Unit Four~ 6.reconnaissance: any kind of preliminary inspection or examination 7.substantiate: to establish by evidence; prove 8.taciturn: habitually silent or quiet; inclined to talk very little 9.temporize: to stall or act evasively in order to gain time/avoid a confrontation/postpone a decision 10.tenable: capable or being held of defended

~Unit Five~ 1.accost: to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way 2.animadversion: a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval 3.avid: desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager 4.brackish: having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink 5.celerity: swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

~Unit Five~ 6.devious: straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way 7.gambit: in chess, an opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type 8.halcyon: a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous; affluent 9.histrionic: pertinent to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic 10.incendiary: deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion; one who deliberately sets fires, arsonist; one who causes strife

~Unit Six~ 1.maelstrom: a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction 2.myopic: nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment 3.overt: open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized 4.pejorative: tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling 5.propriety: the state of being proper, appropriateness; standards of what is proper or socially acceptable

~Unit Six~ 6.sacrilege: improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred 7.summarily: without delay or formality; briefly, concisely 8.suppliant: asking humbly and earnestly; one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor 9.talisman: an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish 10.undulate: to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form

~Unit Seven~ 1.articulate: to pronounce distinctly 2.cavort: to romp or prance about exuberantly 3.credence: belief; mental acceptance 4.decry: to condemn; express strong disapproval 5.dissemble: to disguise or conceal; deliberately give a false impression

~Unit Seven ~ 6.distraught: very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict 7.eulogy: a formal statement of commendation; high praise 8.evince: to display clearly/ make evident/ provoke 9.exhume: to remove form a grave; to bring to light 10.feckless: lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective/weak; irresponsible

~Unit Eight~ 1.murky: dark and gloomy; lacking in clarity and precision 2.nefarious: wicked/ devoid of moral standards 3.piquant: stimulating to the taste or mind; appealingly provocative 4.primordial: developed or created at the very beginning; going back to the most ancient or earliest stage; fundamental/basic 5.propinquity: nearness in place or time

~Unit Eight~ 6.unwonted: not usual or expected; not in character 7.utopian: founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world 8.verbiage: language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content; wordiness 9.verdant: green in tint or color; immature in experience or judgment 10.viscous: having a gelatinous or gluey quality; lacing in easy movement or fluidity

~Unit Nine~ 1.atrophy: to waste away 2.bastion: a fortified place; a stronghold 3.concord: a statement of agreement or harmony 4.consummate: to bring to a state of completion or perfection 5.disarray: disorder; confusion

~Unit Nine~ 6.exigency: urgency; urgent demand; pressing need; an emergency 7.flotsam: floating debris; homeless or impoverished people 8.frenetic: frenzied; highly agitated 9.glean: to gather bit by bit 10.grouse: to complain

~Unit Ten~ 1.incarcerate: to imprison 2.incumbent: required 3.jocular: joking 4.ludicrous: ridiculous 5.mordant: sharply or bitterly harsh

~Unit Ten~ 6.nettle: to arouse displeasure/impatience/anger 7.pecuniary: of or related to money; financial 8.pusillanimous: contemptibly cowardly or mean-spirited 9.recumbent: lying down 10.stratagem: a scheme to out wit or deceive an opponent or to gain an end

~Unit Eleven~ 1.acuity: sharpness in mind or senses 2.delineate: to portray/ sketch/ or describe in accurate and vivid details 3.depraved: marked by evil and corruption 4.enervate: to weaken or lessen the mental/ moral / physical vigor of 5.esoteric: intended for or understood by only a select few

~Unit Eleven~ 6.fecund: fruitful in offspring or vegetation; intellectually productive 7.fiat: a command or act of will or consciousness 8.figment: a fabrication of the mind 9.garner: to acquire as the result of effort 10.hallow: to honor greatly

~Unit Twelve~ 1.idiosyncrasy: a peculiarity that serves to distinguish or identify 2.ignominy: shame and disgrace 3.mundane: concerned with what is ordinary 4.nuance: a subtle or slight variation 5.overweening: conceited

~Unit Twelve~ 6.penchant: a strong attraction or inclination 7.reputed: having widespread acceptance and good reputation 8.sophistry: reasoning that seems plausible but is actually unsound; a fallacy 9.sumptuous: costly/ rich/ magnificent 10.ubiquitous: present or existing everywhere

~Unit Thirteen~ 1.abject: degraded 2.agnostic: one who believes nothing can be known about God; a skeptic 3.complicity: involvement in wrongdoing 4.derelict: someone or something that is abandoned or neglected 5.diatribe: a bitter and prolonged verbal attack

~Unit Thirteen~ 6.effigy: a crude image of a despised person 7.equity: the state or quality of being just/ fair/ or impartial 8.inane: silly; empty of meaning or value 9.indictment: the act of accusing; a formal accusation 10.indubitable: certain; not to be doubted or denied

~Unit Fourteen~ 1.intermittent: stopping and beginning again; sporadic 2.moot: open to discussion and debate; unresolved 3.motif: a repeated or dominant figure in a design 4.neophyte: a new convert/beginner 5.perspicacity: keenness in observing and understanding

~Unit Fourteen~ 6.plenary: complete in all aspects or essentials 7.surveillance: a watch kept over a person 8.sylvan: pertaining to or characteristic of forests; woody 9.testy: easily irritated 10.travesty: a grotesque or grossly inferior imitation

~Unit Fifteen~ 1.allay: to calm or pacify 2.bestial: brutal or beastlike 3.convivial: festive; sociable; having fun together 4.coterie: a circle of acquaintances 5.counterpart: a person or thing closely resembling or corresponding to another

~Unit Fifteen~ 6.demur: to object or take exception to 7.effrontery: shameless boldness 8.embellish: to decorate; touch up 9.ephemeral: lasting only a short time 10.felicitous: appropriate or well chosen

~Unit Sixteen~ 1.furtive: done slyly or stealthily 2.garish: tastelessly showy or over- decorated in a vulgar or offensive way 3.illusory: misleading or deceptive 4.indigent: needy; impoverished 5.inordinate: far too great; exceeding reasonable limits

~Unit Sixteen~ 6.jettison: get rid of as unnecessary or burdensome 7.misanthrope: a person who hates/despises/or distrusts mankind 8.pertinacious: very persistent 9.picayune: of little value or importance 10.raiment: clothing

~Unit Seventeen~ 1.allege- to asset without proof or confirmation 2.arrant- shameless 3.badinage: light and playful conversation 4.conciliate: to overcome the distrust of or win over 5.countermand: to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first

~Unit Seventeen~ 6.echelon: an organized military unit 7.exacerbate: to make more violent or painful 8.fatuous: stupid or foolish in a self- satisfied way 9.irrefutable: impossible to disprove 10.juggernaut: a massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path

~Unit Eighteen~ 1.lackadaisical: lacking of spirit or interested 2.litany: any repetitive chant 3.macabre: horrible 4.paucity: an inadequate quantity or scarcity 5.portend: to give advance warning of

~Unit Eighteen~ 6.raze: to tear down or destroy completely 7.recant: to withdraw a statement which one has previously committed 8.saturate: to soak thoroughly or fill to capacity 9.saturnine: of a gloomy or surly disposition 10.slough: to cast off or discard