Elements of Writing

Elements of Writing Vocabulary for Week 10 Name the person. +3 for all of them correct. +2 for 15 correct.

Verb. To pacify, soothe or mollify. This queen attempted to appease the starving denizens by giving them cake. Alas, the French peasants and bourgeoisie couldn’t be mollified by junk food. Appease

Adj. Favoring success The high winds and dangerous seas did not make an auspicious start to the assault on Normandy. This supreme commander of allied forces knew it had to be done and it had to be successful. Auspicious

Adj. happy, joyous, gay This author of Angela’s Ashes did not have a blithe childhood as he grew up in Ireland. Though there may have been pockets of happiness, there was a lot of hunger and hardships. Blithe

Noun. A parade, a military procession There was a cavalcade of friends and family who came to George Bailey’s aid that Christmas night. They paraded through the door to give him money that Uncle Billy lost. This man is a great actor! Name the actor who played George Bailey. Cavalcade

Noun. A downward slope. Just shy of reaching the zenith of Mt. Everest, this person nearly became the first man to summit the largest mountain in the world. However, he never made it back down the declivity. He died before he could descend the steep, downward slope. Declivity

Adj. Brave, courageous This doughty figure had the courage to cross the English Channel and invade England. He was successful and brought the French language with him in 1066. Doughty

Noun. Bold to the point of being rude; audacious. By putting on the play “The Murder of Gonzago,” this man showed his effrontery by insinuating that the current king killed his brother to get the crown and marry the queen. The king was insulted by the bold rudeness! Effrontery

Adj. Sheer and light; like a cobweb. This man was a famous traveler who became the confidant of Kublai Kahn. He also helped to bring silk and other light, gossamer fabrics back to Europe. Gossamer

Adj. Unable to make a mistake; unerring. Fallible: able to make a mistake This fictitious 13-year-old boy seemed infallible. His plans never seemed to be wrong as he outsmarted the LEPrecon agents. It wasn’t until books two and three that he started to make mistakes. Infallible

instead of… in place of… In lieu of violent forms of protest, this man used passive techniques to help win India’s independence from Britain. For example, he used peaceful marches instead of the guerilla warfare that was used during the American revolution. Lieu

Adj. Pertaining to the sense of smell I wonder if this man had a strong olfactory sense. He may have been able to smell very well. Combine this with his pithy sayings like, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” it’s no wonder he started the first fire department in Philadelphia. Olfactory

Noun. A champion of a cause. Lancelot was thought to be a paragon of truth, justice, and fidelity as Arthur’s champion; however, it was his son that became a true champion of Arthur’s cause, for this honorable and chivalrous man was one of three knights that quested for the Holy Grail. Paragon

Noun. compensation; payment of damages; the act of making amends This American president was one of the “big four” at the Treaty of Versailles. There was much heated debate as to how Germany should make reparations to the other countries. Belgium requested the most compensation as their goods and economy was despoiled by the Germans. Reparation

Noun. A temporary journey or trip This man sojourned to a small pond in Massachusetts. He stayed there for a while, contemplating and writing about nature and society. He stayed there for a few years, and when he did return to live in society, he was arrested for not paying his taxes; it was a form of protest. Sojourn

Adj. Messy, unkempt, disheveled This slovenly character from Peanuts is followed by a swarm of dust and—are those really flies? That kid should take a bath and look a little less messy. Slovenly

Adj. Relating to the surface This actress seems very superficial to me. She sounds like an airhead whenever she speaks, and she has had so much plastic surgery that her lips are fatter than her butt! Mulholland Falls was the only movie of hers that I liked. Superficial

Adj. An excess, more than needed 10,000 ships seemed like a superfluous number to retrieve this woman from Paris. A person might think that’s more than necessary, but as it turns out, a few more would have been helpful, since the war waged 10 years. Superfluous

Adj. Honorable, deserving respect This person was branded a traitor; however, many historians think he should be considered a venerable war hero for his efforts in capturing Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Schuyler, the march and siege on Quebec, and other impressive battle feats. Instead of being respected and honored, his name is infamous and synonymous with “traitor.” Venerable

Elements of Writing