1. 8 th Grade Vocabulary Insertion 11 enigma, hindrance, meager, pivotal, irascible, indeterminate, sage, stupefied, vigilant, oblivion

2. Standard ELACC8W2 – Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain a topic

3. 1. enigma enigma (n): a mystery; a puzzle Sample sentence: The crossword puzzle was nothing but an enigma for the confused student. Other forms: enigmatic; enigmatically

4. 2. hindrance hindrance (n): an obstruction or difficulty; something that holds something/someone back Sample sentence: On land, the sloth’s weak hind legs provide no power and their long claws are a hindrance. Word Form: Hinder

5. 3. meager meager (adj.): small in amount, inadequate; not enough Sample Sentence: The boy thought his paycheck was meager and wanted a raise. Word Forms: meagerly; meagerness

6. 4. pivotal pivotal (adj.): of vital or critical Importance; highly important Sample Sentence: The day her father died was a pivotal moment in her life. Sample Sentence: The bombing of Pearl Harbor was a pivotal day in history. Word Forms: pivotally

7. 5. irascible irascible (adj): easily provoked to anger; very irritable Sample Sentence: My friend is a very irascible person; if you say “hi” in a wrong tone of voice, he will scream at you. Word forms: irascibility; irascibly

8. 6. indeterminate indeterminate (adj.) indefinite; vague; unknown Sample sentence: The number pi has an indeterminate amount of decimal places. Sample sentence: The tornado caused an indeterminate amount of damage. Forms: indeterminable

9. 7. sage sage (adj.) wise; especially if the wisdom is a result of age and experience Ex. Even though you think your teacher is nagging you, she might just be trying to give you some sage advice. Word forms: sagacity, sage (n) wise person

10. 8. stupefied stupefied (adj). Stunned or amazed Sample Sentence: The sudden explosion left the bystanders stupefied. Word Forms: stupefy

11. 9. vigilant vigilant (adj.) watchful; alert; especially in times of danger Sample Sentence: The vigilant watchman scanned the surroundings for intruders. Word Forms: vigilance; vigilante; vigilantly

12. 10. oblivion oblivion (n.) state of being completely forgotten Sample sentence: History prevents our past mistakes from disappearing into oblivion. Word Forms: oblivious

13. 1. enigma (n) a mystery; a puzzle 2. hindrance (n) an obstruction or difficulty 3. meager (adj.) small, inadequate; poor 4. pivotal (adj.) of vital or critical importance 5. irascible (adj.) easily provoked to anger; very irritable 6. indeterminate (adj.) indefinite; vague; subtle 7. sage (adj.) very wise, especially if the wisdom is a result of age and experience 8. stupefied (adj.) stunned; amazed 9. vigilant (adj.) watchful; alert, especially in times of danger 10. oblivion (n.) state of being completely forgotten