culpable

1. culpable Guilty; blameworthy Adj He was found to be culpable and was fined Picture: A boy has done something wrong and is being questioned by his mother. He swallows hard, making a “gulp” sound

2. garrulous Very talkative Adj Paul was garrulous, so he was a natural choice to be the spokesperson. Sounds like Gary Loose Think of a talkative man named Gary Loose Lips. Gary’s lips are so loose, he can’t stop talking for a second.

3. Genial Friendly; gracious; kind Adj I try to be genial, but my natural grouchiness inevitably comes through Sounds like: Genie Al Picture: A Genie named Al has just come out of his bottle. He is extremely friendly and wants to grant everyone’s wishes.

4. antithesis Opposite Noun Ignorance is the antithesis of knowledge Sounds like: anTEETHesis Picture: The teeth in your mouth. For every tooth, there is an opposite tooth.

5. erratic Unpredictable; differing from what is normal or expected Adj The sleepy man was driving erratically. Sounds like: Ear Attic Picture: The owner of a house has installed giant ears on it near the attic. The neighbors commented “He’s always been unpredictable, but this is strange, even for him.

6. pacifist Person who refuses to fight; peacemaker Noun It was hard for Einstein, a pacifist, to support the war against Germany. Sounds like: Pass a fist Picture: A bully standing with his fist raised, but the smaller guy refuses to fight and walks past the fist.

7. disparage To say negative things; belittle Adj No one likes to hear disparaging remarks. Sounds like: this asparagus Picture: Two vegetable farmers are ridiculing another farmers small asparagus. “Asparagus? One asks, “I thought it was string beans!”

8. germane Relevant; fitting Adj When writing an essay, focus on the germane points Looks like Germany Picture: In a courtroom the lawyer asks the witness “what’s the capital of Germany?” The judge interrupts “I don’t see how that is relevant to this case. It’s not germane”

9. precarious Risky; uncertain Adj Mountain climbers often find themselves in precarious, potentially deadly, situations Sounds like: please carry us Picture; Two children following their father on a hike along the edge of a cliff. “Dad,” cries one of them “We’re afraid we might fall. Please carry us.”

10. confound To mix up or to confuse Verb Magicians confound their audiences with a lot of distracting movement Sounds like: gun found Picture: A detective investigating a murder. The victim was found in a room with no windows or doors. The murder weapon, a gun, is found inside a locked cabinet. “I’m confounded,” admits the detective. “How did this happen?”

11. rampant Unrestrained; widespread Adj During the hot, dry summer, forest fires were rampant. Looks like: ramp ant Picture: Thousands of ants running up the ramp to the ark. Noah is saying, “Two! I said two!”

12. truculent Aggressive; savage; cruel Adj Pirates tend to be somewhat truculent. Sounds like: truck you lent Picture: Two men fleeing from a dump truck that’s about to run them down. One of the men lent the truck to the cruel driver.

13. bequeath Verb To leave behind or hand down through a will; transmit Many people bequeath large sums of money to their favorite charities Picture: the reading of a will “and to my son, Robert, I bequeath him something beneath him: the rug on the floor”

14. insipid Adjective Dull; flat; without sparkle or flavor Amy was surprised that her husband could enjoy such a boring, insipid movie Picture: A young child, sick with the flu. Her mother is trying to get her to drink some flat ginger ale to calm the child’s upset stomach. “In!” she says. “In! Sip it!

15. meticulous Adjective Extremely careful about details Brian was fairly neat and careful about most things, but when it came to his stamp collection, he was absolutely meticulous. Picture: A man works at a pillow factory. He has to be very careful stuffing the feathers because he is ticklish.

16. alienate Verb To push someone away, or cause him to separate from people. People who think they know everything often alienate their friends. Sounds like: alien nate Picture: Nate, a Martian, is standing apart from a group of Earthlings. They say “he’s weird, like he is from another planet or something.”

17. despondent Adjective Feeling hopeless or depressed After the fire, Sam was despondent for weeks. Picture: A man who collects spoons finds one with a dent in it. It makes him very depressed.

18. opulence Noun Luxury; wealth; riches To many people from other nations, an average American home would seem opulent. Sounds like: opal fence Picture: An amazingly beautiful home. The shrubs were even sculpted to look like dollar signs. The best part of all was the opal fence, made from the precious stone.

19. criteria Noun Requirements or standards used to make a decision There must be many criteria for selecting astronauts who will travel to Mars Sounds like: cry tearier Picture: A director telling the requirements to an actress. “you must cry tearier”

20. nostalgic Adjective Wishing for a return to the way things used to be; longing for the past; homesick Seeing the old pictures of her parents made Katie nostalgic. Sounds like: nose tell cheek Picture: A face with sylish eyeglasses. The nose tells the cheek and says “I missed the old glasses”

21. undermine Verb To weaken by wearing away the foundation; sabotage Carol tried to undermine Don’s authority by starting a rumor about him. Picture: a diamond mine was found by a hard working woman. Her jealous sister secretly has been digging a tunnel under the mine in order to weaken its foundation.

22. dogmatic Adj Sticking to widely-accepted beliefs, even when faced with contrary evidence; closed-minded Religious dogma must somehow allow for social change. Sounds like: dog medic Picture: a medic is arguing with a dog. The medic is insisting that there is no scientific proof that dogs can talk. The dog replies, “I think you’re ignoring some important evidence.”

23. obtuse Adj Dull; blunt; unintelligent; lacking sharpness His obtuse argument convinced no one. Sounds like: Hobb two’s Picture: Hobb is a young boy standing at the blackboard where he has written “2+2=97. Not exactly a genius.

24. trepidation Noun Fear Alone in the house at night for the first time, Ed was filled with trepidation. Sounds like: Trap a dachshund Picture. Several young boys have trapped a dachshund who is standing in the cage and looking very scared.