1. Vocabulary for you!

2. demoralize (v) to lower the spirits/morale The coach knew that one more loss would utterly demoralize the rival team, which already had a 2-56 record. Being a heartless crone, she ordered her team to destroy the opponents by any means possible.

3. Disperse (v) to scatter Because the crowd refused to disperse, police turned on water hoses. Everybody ran away after being forcefully dampened.

4. epic (n) narrative poem about a hero The Odyssey, which tells the story of Odysseus’ journey home after the fall of Troy, is a famous Greek epic. The Greeks also had another famous poem, the Iliad, about the adventures of great heroes.

5. Extremity (n) the farthest reaches of something Although Odysseus attempts to chart a course directly home following the Trojan War, his adventures take him to the extremities of the Mediterranean world. He sailed the outskirts of the known world for many several years.

6. Inconspicuous (adj) hidden, difficult to see Because he was afraid of being caught for the infraction, the horrible, miserable, evil, wicked, naughty student tried to remain still and inconspicuous after his cell phone went off in the middle of class.

7. Fatuous (adj) silly; stupid Some misguided individuals attempted to persuade Mr. Hood that the television show Sponge Bob: Square Pants had merit and should be shown to people of all ages. Mr. Hood, however, described it as fatuous and began cursing the ridiculousness of it. Because it's a stupid show.

8. pugnacious (adj) Gets in arguments and fights easily; Combative; aggressive The basketball player was pugnacious and, as a result, frequently was thrown out of games for starting fights or picking up too many flagrant fouls.

9. fundamental (adj) basic; serving as an original source; Because she had no experience playing volleyball, Millicent had to learn all the fundamentals such as standing upright and passing the ball.

10. mitigate (v) to cause to become less harsh; to lessen (the severity of) Buffy claimed that she was possessed by a demon and that mitigated the fact that she went on a killing spree in Sunnydale. Who can blame a person who isn't in control?