1. Sophomore Vocab Unit 2B‏
Take notes
”A witty saying proves nothing.” –Voltaire

2. holocaust
(n.) a large-scale destruction, especially by fire; a vast slaughter
S: conflagration, devestation, annihilation
A: deluge, innundation
The city was lost in the holocaust of the explosion.

3. impervious
(adj.) not affected or hurt by; admitting no passage or entrance
S: impenetrable, resistant
A: porous, permeable, vulnerable
Superman is mostly impervious to physical damage.
The impervious vault door… unless you’re Superman!

4. impetus (n.) a moving force, impulse, stimulus
S: impulse, incentive, spur
A: curb, hindrance, impediment, constraint
The engine provides impetus for the jet’s motion.

5. jeopardy (n.) danger S: risk, hazard, peril A: safety, security
The Constitution protects citizens from double jeopardy so they can not be tried for the same crime twice.

6. meticulous (adj.) extremely careful; particular about details
S: fastidious, painstaking, fussy
A: careless, negligent, sloppy
The meticulous paint work on this motorcycle gas tank is impressive.

7. nostalgia
(n.) a longing for something past; homesickness

8. quintessence
(n.) the purest essence or form of something; the most typical example
Synonynms: paragon, exemplar
One-dimensional “strings” moving at different frequencies are the theoretical quintessence of all matter and mass.

9. retrogress (v.) to move backward; to return to an earlier condition
S: revert, degenerate, decline
A: advance, evolve, progress
The kids in The Lord of the Flies retrogress to a more primitive, animalistic state.

10. scrutinize (v.) to examine closely S: inspect, pore over
A: skim, scan, cursory glance
Doctors use microscopes to scrutinize blood samples.

11. tepid
(adj.) lukewarm; unenthusiastic, marked by an absence of interest
To say that my reaction to this abysmal film was tepid is stating it mildly. It totally sucked.
S: insipid, halfhearted, wishy-washy
A: heated, excited, enthusiastic

12. MEGA SENTENCE
Certainly my emotions were not impervious to the tales of the Holocaust, with its millions in mortal jeopardy, an event the Iranian president fails to meticulously scrutinize hence his tepid and retrogressive attitude towards the event which was itself the quintessence of humanity’s impetus to commit evil and for which few are nostalgic.