1. ECAC Vocabulary 2.2.12 inculcate expurgate jejune winnow gerrymander
feckless
tautology
plagiarize
acumen
churlish

2. inculcate (verb) in·cul·cate/inˈkəlkāt/
Instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction.
Synonyms: implant, instill, impress, infuse
Papa Smurf inculcates the importance of community to all smurfs in the village.

3. Expurgate (verb) ex·pur·gate/ˈekspərˌgāt/
Remove matter thought to be objectionable or unsuitable from (a book or account).
Synonyms: purge
After a close reading of the history textbook, the teacher felt that a portion of the material should be expurgated due to obvious political bias.

4. Jejune (adjective) je·june/jiˈjo͞on/
1.Naive, simplistic, and superficial.
2.(of ideas or writings) Dry and uninteresting.
Synonyms: barren - poor - arid
The jejune plot of the new novel made me question its appearance on the best seller list.

5. Winnow (verb) win·now/ˈwinō/
To separate or get rid of an undesirable part.
Synonyms: sift – eliminate
Before submitting her final essay, Chloe winnowed out all of the errors.

6. Gerrymander (verb) ger·ry·man·der/ˈjerēˌmandər/
Manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.
Synonyms: manipulate - divide
Due to rumors of gerrymandered districts, the citizens protested for weeks before the election.
Tips: Gerrymander comes from a combination of the name of former Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry and the word salamander, the shape of a district he created during his term. He manipulated the formation of his oddly shaped electoral district to ensure his reelection

7. Feckless (adjective) feck·less/ˈfeklis/
1.(of a person) Lacking in efficiency or vitality.
2.Unthinking and irresponsible.
Synonyms: powerless - ineffective - helpless
The new employee’s feckless behavior resulted in her dismissal.

8. Tautology (noun) tau·tol·o·gy/tôˈtäləjē
Needless repetition of the same sense in different words.
Example: Is this adequate enough?
Synonym: redundancy
The tautologies present throughout his writing made it less effective.

9. Plagiarize (verb) pla·gia·rize/ˈplājəˌrīz/
Take (the work or an idea of someone else) and pass it off as one's own.
Synonyms: copy, steal
Amanda was shocked to find that her original poem had been plagiarized and submitted for credit by another student.

10. Acumen (noun) a·cu·men/əˈkyo͞omən/
The ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain: "business acumen".
Synonyms: sagacity - perspicacity - acuteness - discernment
The real estate agent’s sales acumen resulted in numerous celebrity listings.

11. Churlish (adjective) churl·ish/ˈCHərliSH/
Rude in a mean-spirited and surly way.
Synonyms: rude - boorish - coarse - uncivil - uncouth - unmannerly
We had no idea that our churlish classmate who bullied everyone would one day become a guidance counselor.