1. By: Miguel Hernández, Ignacio Pérez, and Eugenio González

2. Abstruse Abstruse : adjective Definition: Difficult to understand Ex: The students had trouble keeping up with the Physics class’s abstruse formulas.

3. Acumen Acumen: noun Definition: Quickness and keenness of insight or judgment Ex: Michael Jordan’s basketball acumen made him one of the best players in NBA history.

4. Ascertain Ascertain: verb Definition: To discover or to determine with certainty, especially through examination or experimentation Ex: Through the suspect’s confession, the court ascertained that he committed the crime.

5. Cerebral Cerebral: adjective Definition: a. Of or relating to the brain Ex: After the car accident, John suffered cerebral damage which left him disabled for the rest of his life. Definition: b. Appealing to or requiring the use of intellect; intellectual Ex: Completing Sudoku puzzles requires much cerebral activity.

6. Faculty Faculty: noun Definition: a. A division of a university or a group of teachers. Ex: The University of Puerto Rico’s faculty has meetings every week to discuss the progress of each class. Definition: b. Natural power or ability Ex: Since Alex didn’t wear her safety goggles while using chemicals she lost her faculty of sight.

7. Obfuscate Obfuscate: verb Definition: a. To make difficult to understand. Ex: The coffee that was spilled on the project obfuscated its contents. Definition: b. To darken, to make dim or difficult to see. Ex: The heavy pouring rain obfuscated the road for the bus driver.

8. Ruminate Ruminate: verb Definition: a. To think deeply about, to turn a matter over and over in one’s mind. Ex: The confused professor ruminated for days, deciding what assignment he would give to his AP classes. Definition: b. To chew cud, or partially digested food. Ex: Camels are known for ruminating the same chunk of grass for a long period of time.

9. Stymie Stymie: verb Definition: To prevent from making progress, to frustrate or thwart efforts. Ex: Bad weather conditions stymied the FIFA World Cup games for two days.

10. Surmise Surmise: verb Definition a. (verb) to guess; draw a conclusion without sufficient evidence Ex: The teacher surmised that the students didn’t study for the exam because they all failed. Definition b. (noun) a guess, a conclusion drawn without sufficient evidence Ex: The Big Bang Theory is a surmise because astronomers still do not have the sufficient evidence to prove how the universe was created.

11. Tenet Tenet: noun Definition: a principle or belief held by a person or an organization Ex: Freedom of speech is a central and sacred tenet of any democracy.