504 Vocabulary Lesson 3 & 4 April 2, 2013

Typical (adj): usual, common They look like the typical American tourists: bad clothes, cameras worn like jewelry, pointing at everything and being too loud.

Minimum (adj): the least possible amount of something Studies show that adults need a minimum of six hours of sleep every night.

Scarce (adj): hard to find; rare Water is very scarce in the desert.

Annual (adj): once a year; something happens yearly or lasts for a year. Last week, ESLI students went on our annual trip to Six Flags.

Persuade (v): to make someone decide to do something by giving good reasons Can you persuade him to stop being a bachelor and get married? I persuade You persuade He persuades I persuaded You persuaded She persuaded

Essential (adj): necessary; very important The essential items in a cake are flour, eggs, and butter.

Blend (v): to mix together thoroughly When making a cake, it is essential to blend everything very well.

Visible (adj): able to be seen You need a very powerful microscope to make germs visible.

Expensive (adj): costly, very high-priced Because diamonds are scarce, they are very expensive.

Talent (n): natural ability She has great talent at playing the piano.

Devise (v): think out; plan; invent He devised a way to make tiny germs visible.

Wholesale (adj): in large quantity; less than retail price. It is wise to buy things for your house wholesale, because you save money. No one likes the wholesale slaughter of innocent people.

Vapor (n): moisture in the air that can be seen; mist or fog. Clouds are just large collections of water vapor in the air.

Eliminate (v): get rid of; remove; omit Teachers do all they can to eliminate cheating. I eliminate You eliminate She/he eliminates I eliminated You eliminated He/she eliminated

Villain (n): a very wicked person; a bad guy Snidely Whiplash is a cartoon villain that many people recognize.

Dense (adj): closely packed together; thick Dense fog made it hard to see very far ahead. The dense crowd was almost impossible to move through.

Utilize (v): to make use of something The gardener was eager to utilize new flowers so he could make a dense garden.

Humid (adj): moist; damp There was so much water vapor in the air outside that our classroom felt humid and uncomfortable.

Theory (n): explanation based on thought, observation, or reasoning No one has ever come up with a good theory to explain the beginnings of writing.

Descend (v): to go down or come down from a higher place to a lower one. The plane descended quickly to escape the dense clouds.

Circulate (v): to go around, move from place to place or person to person. Fans help circulate the air in a hot room.

Enormous (adj): extremely large; huge The gallant knight drew his shining sword and killed the enormous dragon.

Predict (v): to guess or tell beforehand Weathermen can predict the weather correctly most of the time.

Vanish (v): disappear; disappear suddenly. The wicked witch vanished suddenly in a puff of smoke.