Vocabulary Week 12
Word 1: Despicable Def: So bad, nasty or cruel that he/she/it deserves to be hated and despised Sent: Johnny was a despicable person who constantly bullied his classmates.
Word 2: Discourage / Discouraging Def: Lack of hope or courage to do something, try to keep you from doing something Sent: The other 7 th graders were discouraged because no one stopped Johnny from bullying.
Word 3: Abyss Def: A hole that seems to have no bottom Sent: The 7 th graders all wished that Johnny would fall into an abyss and never come out.
Word 4: Hypocrite / Hypocritical Def: Person who says one thing but does the opposite Sent: The teachers were hypocrites as they talked of anti-bullying but laughed at Johnny teasing and bullying the 7 th grade.
Word 5: Uncanny Def: Extremely clever Sent: Sally thought of an uncanny plan to get Johnny out of their lives.
Word 6: Reassure Def: To calm someone by making them less worried about something Sent: Sally reassured the 7 th grade that she had an excellent idea to get rid of Johnny.
Word 7: Jagged Def: Having rough edges with sharp points Sent: Sally had originally thought of using a jagged knife but that was a little harsh.
Word 8: Wander Def: To go without a direction or plan Sent: The 7 th grade students grabbed Johnny as he wandered in the hall.
Word 9: Mercenary Def: Soldier who fights for money, not his country Sent: They would put Johnny in a box and ship him to Africa to be a mercenary soldier.
Word 10: Diminish Def: To become weaker and smaller Sent: The bullying and teasing quickly diminished after they sent Johnny to Africa.
Word 11:Thrifty Def: Careful about spending money Sent: The 7 th graders were quite thrifty by shipping Johnny book rate to save money.
Word 12: Hazard, Hazardous Def: A danger, potentially dangerous Sent: It was hazardous for Johnny to be boxed and shipped to Africa. No one cared.
Word 13: Humiliate Def: To lower the pride or self-respect of someone, make someone feel ashamed Sent: Johnny learned a hard lesson by being humiliated and shipped to Africa.
Word 14: Whimsical / Whim Def: Done by chance or impulse not by reason Sent: The decision to punish Johnny was not a whimsical decision but planned over months.
Word 15: Dangle / Dangling Def: To let hang or swing Sent: The 7 th graders celebrated Johnny being gone by dangling his backpack from the tree outside the classroom window.
Word 16: Criticize / Critical / Critic /Criticism Def: To point out the faults of someone or something Sent: Johnny’s parents were not critical of his classmates shipping him to Africa.
Word 17: Punctual Def: Arriving on time Sent: Students were now punctual when showing up for class since they were not scared of being bullied by Johnny.
Word 18: Urgent / Urgently / Urgency Def: A situation that needs to be dealt with quickly Sent: Johnny urgently wanted to return from Africa and apologize for everything.
Word 19: Awestruck Def: To be totally amazed, full of awe Sent: Principal Miller was awestruck when he found out a student was mailed to Africa.
Word 20: Squabble Def: To fight, noisy quarrel Sent: There was a squabble over Johnny’s things as everyone wanted a souvenir.