Of Mice and Men Vocabulary Unit 1

1. Recumbent Lying down, a position of comfort I was recumbent on the couch as I watched the movie.

2. Lumbered (v) To walk in a clumsy way The giant lumbered through the crowd, trying not to bump into anyone.

3. Emerge (v) To come into existence During the band’s jam session, an actual song emerged from the noise and became a hit single.

4. Morose (adj) Depressed, gloomy The cloudy skies and rainy weather put me in a morose mood.

5. Contemplate (v) To think about something carefully I contemplated the issue before sharing my final opinion with the class.

6. Imperious (adj) Showing arrogance or superiority Jack imperiously told the new student that he was not cool enough to hang out with him and his friends.

7. Dejected (adj) Being in low spirits, depressed Tom was dejected when Sophia told him she didn’t want to go to the dance with him.

8. Anguished (adj) A feeling of great mental or physical pain When Tom was hit in the head with the baseball, he rolled around the ground in anguish.

9. Bindle (n) A small bundle of items rolled up inside a blanket, and carried over the shoulder

10. Brusquely (adv) To say or do something quickly, suddenly, almost rudely Jessica brusquely told her sister that the dress made her look fat.

11. Bucking (v) To throw large bags of grain onto a truck. The farmers were exhausted after bucking grain all day.

12. Pantomime (v) The art or technique of conveying emotions, actions, feelings, etc., by gestures without speech.

13. Cat house (n) House of prostitution Jim got in trouble with his wife after spending five hours at the cat house.

14. Ominously (adv) threateningly; in an intimidating manner The dark, pugnacious man walked ominously into the room.

15. Cesspool (n) an underground container for the temporary storage of liquid waste and sewage. a disgusting or corrupt place.

16. Elaborate (adj) Expressed in great detail Michelle made up an elaborate lie about where she had been that night, and her parents believed her.

17. Mimic (v) To copy or imitate, usually to make fun of someone Sara mimicked her teacher’s voice and actions and got detention.

18. Pugnacious (adj) aggressive, hostile The pugnacious student was given OSS after getting into a brawl with another student in the cafeteria.

19. Tramp (n) A homeless person who travels around on foot The tramp started in California and ended up with a job in Montana.

20. Wearily (adj) Physically or mentally fatigued I wearily told my children that I was too tired to take them to the park after a long day at work.

Unit 2

Scoff (n) An expression of disrespect When Nico’s mom yelled at her, she scoffed at her and ended up getting grounded for three weeks.

Ominously (adj) Menacing or threatening The thunder clouds ominously lingered over my neighborhood, so we all ran inside before it started to rain.

Plaintive (adj) Expressing sorrow John’s love letters became more and more plaintive as he realized his girlfriend was falling out of love with him.

Majesty (adj) Royal, magnificent In Wonderland, Alice had to address the Red Queen as “Your majesty” to let her know she realized how magnificent she was.

Profound (adj) Coming from a great depth Everything I say is profound and deep; people are amazed at how smart I am.

Precede (v) To introduce; to be in front of I preceded my speech with a funny remark.

Liniment (n) A liquid applied to the skin to lessen irritation Crooks applies liniment to his back to take away some of the pain.

Pugnacious (adj) Argumentative My friend Brody has a pugnacious personality that has caused countless fights.

Skeptical (adj) An attitude of doubt towards a subject My teacher was skeptical about the excuse I gave; turtles don’t eat homework.

Vicious (adj) Violent, ferocious Our neighbor’s dog had a vicious bark that would scare all of us away.

Bemuse (v) To make confused, to puzzle The statement “I know that I know nothing” bemused Ty, and he was left scratching his head.

Confident (adj) Showing or having assurance; sure of oneself I am confident that I will pass the biology test with flying colors.

Entrance (v) To put into a trance The Siren’s song entranced sailors so they lost all sense of reality.

Reprehensible (adj) Deserving blame Ron’s father saw him break the lamp; therefore, Ron was reprehensible for the act.

Conceal (v) To cover or hide Horace wears a hat to conceal his bald spot.

Sarcasm (n) A sharp remark meant to insult I wanted to get back at my sister, so I sarcastically told her that she looked beautiful.

Deliberate (v) To think slowly The jury had to deliberate before declaring the criminal guilty.

Derision (n) Disapproval; condescension There was a hint of derision in the teacher’s voice and the student blushed.

Cautious (adj) Careful I heard about the shark attacks in this area, so I was very cautious about staying close to the shore when I went swimming.

Aloof (adj) Emotionally distant Meaghan’s boyfriend was too aloof, so she dumped him.

Unit 3

1. Meager (adj) Small, inadequate The restaurant gives a meager portion of french fries with their meals.

2. Contemptuously (adv) Feeling or expressing dislike, disdainfully Gia’s ex-husband showed up to her party, and she spoke to him contemptuously, telling him to leave.

3. Lean (adj) Thin, slender I work out seven days a week so I can stay lean and mean.

4. Scowl (n, v) A facial expression of displeasure; to make a contemptuous expression Elayna scowled as the girl that cheated off her homework walked by her table at lunch.

5. Avert (v) To avoid, to turn away I couldn’t help but stare at my crush, but every time he looked in my direction, I averted my eyes so he wouldn’t catch me.

6. Maul (n) A heavy wooden hammer My dad has a maul in his toolbox that he never uses.

7. Scorn (v) To treat something or someone as being pitiful or unworthy Mrs. Harrison scorned her students for doing poorly on the spelling test.

8. Subside (v) To die down The cheering at the football subsided when the quarterback was hurt and carried off the field.

9. Confide (v) To reveal personal matters in private; to trust I confide in my sister because I know she won’t share my issues and she gives good advice.

10. Console (v) To comfort I consoled my boyfriend for days after his cat died.

11. Contort (v) To twist, bend, or flex The performers in Cirque du Soliel are masters at contorting their bodies for the sake of art.

12. Earnest (adj) Serious; determined Rose was earnest about studying and working to become a doctor.

13. Whimper (v) To cry weakly or softly Our puppy whimpers every time we leave the house for the day.

14. Craftily (adv) in tricky or sneaky manner He craftily snuck out of his house to go to the party that the whole school was attending.

15. Emphasis (n) Special importance or significance The teacher placed emphasis on good spelling so her students wouldn’t lose points on their essays.

16. Monotonous (adj) Lacking variety, repetitious Doing worksheets and taking quizzes every day can become monotonous and boring.

17. Hover (v) To be undecided about something; to hang over George hovered over whether to take a cruise or backpack across Europe.

18. Fawning (adj) Overly complimentary, attempting to win the favor of someone through flattery Bryan’s fawning words and phrases did not score him the girl; she thought he was too much.

19. Haunches (n) The upper thighs The cat rested on her haunches as she sat on the windowsill.

20. Waggle (v) To move from side to side The fish’s tail waggled as it swam around in the fishbowl.

Works Cited A/18N3/FQMXFDE4/FFA18N3FQMXFDE 4.MEDIUM.jpg