1. Vocabulary Week of May 23 By Deborah Andrews pd. 2

2. Perfunctory Emily sat in her Biology class, with a perfunctory expression painted upon her face, as she waited in an agonizing silence for the lesson to come to an end. Perfunctory – adj. - automatic, unthinking Synonyms: careless, boredom, unaware, unconcerned

3. Meticulous Frank’s obsessive compulsive disorder was so extreme, that he became accustomed to meticulously cutting his grass to an exact length. Meticulous- adj.- taking extreme care about minute details Synonyms: precise, thorough, exact

4. Lament After discovering her little miracle was diagnosed with cancer, Betsy lamented her five year old son, who was oblivious to what was occurring inside of his body. Lament- to express grief for or about Synonyms: mourn, hurt, wail, weep, sorrow, etc.

5. Paraphernalia While walking through The Deb shop at the mall, you can find a copious amount of paraphernalia necessary for proms, semi-formals, and other dances. Paraphernalia- noun- furnishing used in or necessary for a particular activity Synonyms: equipment, apparatus, gear

6. Despotic Adolf Hitler was considered a very racist, despotic, human being, who believed that there was a perfect race, which only contained people with blonde hair and blue eyes. Despotic- adj.- tyrannical, oppressive Synonyms: absolute

7. Tangible After Amelia was rejected by her crush and best friend, Charlie, the awkward silence was so thick in the air, it was almost tangible. Tangible- adj- capable of being touched Synonyms: actual, perceptible, real, concrete

8. Sensuous Sensuous- adj.- gratifying to senses Synonyms: luxurious, lush, passionate, attractive It was his sensuous touch, the look in his eyes, and the words he had just spoken, that made her first kiss perfect.

9. Prima Donna Prima donna- adj.- indicating the most important performer or role Synonyms: Diva, the lead Some celebrities seem very genuine, caring, and good in public; however, when out of plain sight, they are spoiled prima donnas.

10. Garrulous Garrulous- adj.- excessively talkative Synonyms: wordy, chattering, mouthy, “motor mouth”, etc. Tiffany was unable to pay any attention towards the movie because Alicia, her garrulous best friend, could not refrain from speaking about her boyfriend.

11. Syntax Syntax- the way in which words are arranged Synonyms: arrangement, order, pattern, structure, etc. Mr. Abrams, the Honors English 9 teacher, seems to become annoyed over our improper syntax errors, so he finds in them our essays and has us fix them on the spot.

12. Sagacity Sagacity- noun- wisdom Synonyms: clear thinking, common sense, enlightenment The author of the novel Animal Farm held a lot of sagacity when he stated that power creates evil in a person.

13. Ravenous The thirst for human blood that newborn vampires have is so unquenchable, that it makes each soulless leach obtain a ravenous appetite, and leads to a gruesome, horrifying bloodbath. Ravenous- adj.- extremely hungry, extremely rapacious, intensely eager for satisfaction Synonyms: famished, voracious

14. Parsimonious In the classic movie A Christmas Carol, an old, parsimonious man refuses to give his workers the holidays off, and is taken to different periods of time to show how his greed affects life. Parsimonious- adj.- penny-pinching, fugal Synonyms: stingy, greedy

15. Virulent In the famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, Romeo sacrifices his life by drinking a virulent poison, so he can join his fair maiden in the afterlife. Virulent- adj.- highly deadly Synonyms: dangerous, lethal