Unit 1 Vocabulary

1. Unit 1 Vocabulary Level E

2. Adulterate—v. • To corrupt, make worse by the addition of something of lesser value • I was horrified when Brad adulterated his cream of crab soup with copious amounts of hot sauce.

3. Ambidextrous—adj. • Able to use both hands equally well; very skillful; deceitful, hypocritical • It is useful in many sports to be ambidextrous and able to handle the ball with both hands.

4. Augment—v. • To make larger, increase • People seek intelligent investments in order to augment the money in their portfolios.

5. Bereft—adj. • Deprived of; made unhappy because of loss • Because Sparky’s death left Victor bereft, he decided to find a way to bring back his dog.

6. Deploy—v. • To position or arrange; to utilize; to form up • In the game of Stratego, it’s very important how you deploy your game pieces.

7. Dour—adj. • Stern, unyielding, gloomy, ill-humored • When photography first came about, people did not smile for pictures, instead posing with dour looks upon their faces.

8. Fortitude—n. • Courage in facing difficulties. • In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many residents of New Orleans needed to display extreme fortitude in order to survive.

9. Gape—v. • To stare with open mouth; to open the mouth wide; to open wide • Babies often gape in amazement when they see new things.

10. Gibe • V.—To utter taunting words • The opponents of the mayor gibed him during his campaign kickoff speech. • N.—An expression of scorn • What one child might see as innocent gibes, another child might see as bullying, so it’s better not to pick on anyone at all.

11. Guise—n. • An external appearance, cover, mask • By going about the party in the guise of a waiter, the spy was able to keep the international arms dealer under surveillance.

12. Insidious—adj. • Intended to deceive or entrap; sly, treacherous • The Joker’s insidious plans are meant to cause chaos and anarchy.

13. Intimation—n. • A hint, indirect suggestion • Creepy music and dark lighting is a pretty good intimation that someone in a horror movie is gonnagit kilt.

14. Opulent—adj. • Wealthy, luxurious; ample; grandiose • When rock bands suddenly have a hit record, they often quickly adapt to an opulent lifestyle.

15. Pliable—adj. • Easily bent, flexible; easily influenced • When building a boat, it is important to choose wood that is pliable and will bend along with the frame.

16. Reiterate—v. • To say again, repeat • On a number of occasions in his “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. reiterated his vision of a county without racial barriers.

17. Stolid—adj. • Not easily moved mentally or emotionally; dull, unresponsive • Teachers find it difficult to deal with stolid students that just stare at the teacher with blank looks.

18. Tentative—adj. • Experimental in nature; uncertain, hesitant • Sometime around their first birthdays, babies begin to take their first wobbly, tentative steps.

19. unkempt—adj. • Not combed; untidy; not properly maintained; unpolished, rude • Sometimes it takes teenage boys a while to figure out that an unkempt appearance does not appeal to the ladies.

20. Verbatim—adj., adv. • Word for word; exactly as written or spoken • The DVDs were appropriately named, since they make verbatim copies of video files. • When I was in college, I had to recite the first 25 lines of Canterbury Tales verbatim—and in Middle English, no less.

21. Warily—adv. • Cautiously, with great care • If you ever feel the impulse to approach a sleeping tiger, you should do so warily.