Vocabulary Week 9

1. Vocabulary Week 9

2. Truncate (verb) • To shorten by chopping off the end • He had to truncate his speech because he went over the hour time limit. • The wood cutters truncated the logs so they would fit on the truck.

3. Baneful/Baleful (adjective) • Causing woe (sadness), destructive, deadly • The baleful fire destroyed the entire town. • People who drive fast in the snow can be baneful.

4. Circumspect (adjective) • Prudent, cautious, careful • You must be circumspect around new dogs to make sure you do not get bitten. • I was circumspect when I walked up to the scary old house.

5. Admonish (verb) • To warn or caution in counsel • My father always admonished me to not eat yellow snow. • The teacher admonished the students for not turning in their work on time.

6. Tantamount (adjective) • Of equal value or significance • For some people in PETA, wearing fur is tantamount to killing the animal yourself. • For some students, having to do homework is tantamount to torture in the dungeon.

7. Neologism (noun) • A new word or phrase, a new usage of a word • The word “totes” is a neologism of the word “totally.” • “Thanksgivukkah” is a neologism created this year because Hanukkah was on Thanksgiving.

8. Respite (noun) • A brief period of rest • The three day weekend offered me a respite. • Santa Claus needs a respite after he delivers toys on Christmas Eve.

9. Capitulate (verb) • To surrender, give up, or give in • The students finally capitulated and started turning their homework in on time. • Parents should not capitulate and buy their screaming toddlers anything they want at the store.

10. Aphorism (noun) • A concise statement of principle or truth • One aphorism my dad always says is “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” • A2 + B2 = C2 is an aphorism in math.

11. Confute (verb) • To prove wrong, to refute decisively, to point out error • It is hard to confute the fact that winter is now here. • Galileo confuted the theory that the earth was flat.