Vocab lesson 4:

1. Vocab lesson 4: Complete the vocab chart with notes and submit on the day of the vocab quiz.

2. Affiliated • Def: (adj.) associated, connected • Syn: attached, related, joined • Ant: dissociated, unconnected • Sent: She thought that becoming affiliated with a charity might make her seem less superficial and do wonders for her image.

3. Ascertain • Def: (v) to find out • Syn: Discover, determine, establish • Sent: In the technological age, one can ascertain information on almost any topic via the internet.

4. Attainment • Def: (n) an accomplishment, the act of achieving • Syn: achievement, fulfillment • Ant: failure, defeat, frustration • Sent: Although becoming a famous rock star is not probable, most musicians can achieve some degree of success even without the attainment of fame and fortune.

5. Bequeath • Def: (v) to give or pass on as an inheritance • Syn: transmit, bestow, hand down • Sent: He was shocked to discover that despite his uncle’s great wealth, the old man bequeathed to him only a few token possessions, and left the rest to charity.

6. Cogent • Def: (adj) forceful, convincing; relevant, to the point • Syn: persuasive, compelling • Ant: weak, unconvincing, ineffective, irrelevant • Sent: His mother hoped that a cogent lecture about the importance of academics would have a profound effect, but instead later found Jack texting his friends when he was supposed be studying for his midterm.

7. Converge • Def: (v) to move toward one point, approach nearer together • Syn: meet, unite, intersect, merge • Ant: diverge, separate • Sent: While waiting in line, we felt like the whole country converged at the water park on the same day we decided to go.

8. Disperse • Def: (v) to scatter, spread far and wide • Syn: break up, dispel • Ant: collect, congregate, assemble, muster • Sent: Whenever the toddler entered the room, the cats grew frightened and immediately dispersed.

9. Esteem • Def: (v) to regard highly • Def: (n) highly favorable opinion or judgment • Syn: respect, admire, honor, revere • Ant: disdain, scorn, contempt • Sent (v): In many societies, the elders are the most highly esteemed individuals. • Sent (n): A wise man once said that one acquires self-esteem by doing esteemable acts.

10. Expunge • Def: (v) erase, obliterate, destroy • Syn: delete, efface, annihilate • Ant: insert, mark, imprint, impress • Sent: He tried to expunge memories of his ex-girlfriend from his mind.

11. Finite • Def: (adj) having limits; lasting for a limited time • Syn: bounded, measurable • Ant: unlimited, immeasurable, everlasting, eternal • Sent: Because there are a finite amount of combinations for pin numbers, the scammers were able to use a simple program to hack into the store’s credit card records. • Sent: We all have only a finite amount of time here on earth.

12. Invulnerable • Def: (adj) not able to be wounded; shielded against attack • Syn: impregnable, impervious, immune • Ant: exposed, unprotected, defenseless • Sent: They thought they were invulnerable with their advanced security system and their vicious guard dog, but the criminals were stable to break in and steal many of their belongings.

13. Malevolent • Def: (adj) spiteful, showing ill will • Syn: malicious, wicked, sinister, malignant • Ant: kind, benevolent, compassionate • Sent: Although her aunt was arrogant, her uncle was even worse—downright malevolent.

14. Nonchalant • Def: (adj) cool and confident, unconcerned • Syn: composed, unruffled, indifferent, blasé • Ant: perturbed, agitated, disconnected, abashed • Sent: Even though he was a nervous wreck, he tried to act nonchalant when he approached his longtime crush to ask for her cell number.

15. Omniscient • Def: (adj) knowing everything; having unlimited awareness or understanding • Syn: wise, all-knowing • Ant: ignorant, unknowing • Sent: Unlike our modern conception of a deity, the gods of Ancient Greece were not omniscient and could be tricked.

16. Panacea • Def: (n) a remedy for all ills; cure-all; an answer to all problems • Syn: universal cure, easy solution • Sent: Grandma always reminds me when I’m sick that chicken soup is a panacea.

17. Scrupulous • Def: (adj) exact, careful, attending thoroughly to details; having high moral standards, principled • Syn: painstaking, meticulous, conscientious • Ant: careless, negligent, remiss, dishonest • Sent: His cooking required deep concentration and scrupulous attention to detail.

18. Skulk • Def: (v) to move about stealthily; to lie in hiding • Syn: lurk, slink, prowl • Sent: The raccoon skulked behind the garbage can outside the fast food restaurant, hoping for a quiet moment to hop in and have dinner.

19. Supercilious • Def: (adj) proud and contemptuous; showing scorn because of a feeling of superiority • Syn: snobbish, patronizing, overbearing • Ant: humble, meek, deferential, servile • Sent: His supercilious neighbor remarked in a supercilious tone, “I see you finally decided to repave your driveway, but you still have that awful jalopy in it.”

20. Uncanny • Def: (adj) strange, mysterious, weird, beyond explanation • Syn: eerie, inexplicable, spooky • Sent: When he grinned, the actor had an uncanny resemblance to a seal.

21. Venial • Def: (adj) easily excused; pardonable • Syn: excusable, forgivable • Ant: inexcusable, unforgivable, unpardonable • Sent: Surely, my plaid pants and striped shirt ensemble is only a venial fashion sin. • VOTE: Are sandals with socks a venial fashion sin or a mortal fashion sin that can never be forgiven?