1. Unit 9
9 Honors

2. Affable Adjective Easy to talk to; friendly Synonym: welcoming
The affable student was able to make friends quickly because of his outgoing nature.

3. Aptitude Noun A capacity for learning; natural ability
Synonym: capability
Scott’s natural aptitude for math helped me to succeed in many upper-level math courses.

4. Blight
Noun
A disease in plants; anything that injures or destroys something
Synonym: affliction
The early frost was a blight on the tomato plants.

5. Coerce Verb To force someone to do or not do something
Synonym: to pressure
The police officer tried to coerce the suspect to confess his whereabouts from the previous night.

6. Covert Adjective Secret; hidden Synonym: private
Criminals often wait for dark before engaging in covert activities.

7. Discriminate
Verb
To notice or point out the difference between two or more things
Synonym: to differentiate
The wine connoisseur was able to discriminate which wines came from which area of France.

8. Exacerbate Verb To make worse Synonym: aggravate
The minor traffic accident was exacerbated when another car ran the red light and smashed into the other cars.

9. Futile Adjective Useless; hopeless Synonym: pointless
Though Harold tried to study his notes for the big exam, his efforts were futile because he had never bothered to take a single note.

10. Incisive Adjective Intelligently analytical and clear-thinking
Synonym: perceptive; discerning
During the class’s debate, Mark was quiet until the end, when he offered a series of incisive remarks that completely changed the class’s mindset.

11. Latent Adjective Present but not visible or apparent
Synonym: undiscovered
When Sally finally began to apply herself, she realized that she had a latent talent for painting with watercolors.

12. Moribund Adjective Dying Synonym: terminal
The auto industry, which used to thrive in Detroit, is now moribund, though efforts are being made to revive the auto industry in the US.

13. Patrician Noun A person of noble birth; an aristocrat
Synonym: nobleman
Monsieur the Marquis believed that, as a patrician, he was more important than the citizens of St. Antoine.

14. Prodigious Adjective Extraordinary; enormous Synonym: tremendous
The little boy caught a prodigious fish; he could barely reel it in.

15. Reproach Verb To scold, usually in disappointment; to blame
Synonym: disgrace
The police officer reproached the man for not renewing his registration.

16. Stagnation Noun Motionlessness; inactivity Synonym: sluggishness
The company suffered from stagnation, and it eventually went out of business.