Unit 2 Vocab

-to avoid, prevent, escape from.

ex: I had to swerve to the right to circumvent a hug pothole.

-sticking or holding together, connected, unified

ex: A family needs to be cohesive- to stay together even when stresses and strains threaten to tear it apart.

-causing grief or pain, terrible

ex: The assassination of a great leader, such as Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. often does grievous harm to a society.

- to floodm cover, overwhelm

ex: During the heavy rains the river overflowe and inundated the fields, destroying all the crops.

- unaware, failing to notice

ex: The driver continued into the intersection, apparently oblivious to the fact that the light turned red.

-quiet uncommunicative; reluctant to speak out

ex: It's od that many people who love to gossip about someone else are so reticent about their own lives.

-healthy and strong; vigorous

ex: Once energetic, robust man, Mr. Rand has been considerably weakened by illness.

-to authorize, allow, or approve

ex: The principal wouldn't sanction the use of the gym for an after school dance club, even though one of the teachers agreed to be in charge of it.

- loud, noisy

ex: The baseball player's protest was vociferous-he stamped his feet and screamed at the umpire.

- a natural loss of individuals

ex: Sport teams are constantly looking for new talent to replace players lost through attrition- those who retire, quit because of injuries, and so on.

- to hold up, strengthen, reinforce, support.

ex: The front porch was sagging so we had to bolster it with cinder blocks until it could be repaired.

- to lower in value

ex: As soon as you drive a new car off the lot, it depreciates; it's immeditally worth less than you paid for it.

-not selective; not chosen carefully

ex: Some people end up hopelessly in debt because of indiscriminate spending, so be selective about what and how much you buy.

curious, eager to learn, questioning

ex: Small children are naturally inquisitive. They wonder about the world around then, and they are constantly asking "Why?"

-vague, unclear; indefinite

ex: "A good essay cannot be nebulous," The English instructor explained. "It must contain sharp, precise details."

-to send, to assign to a less important position.

ex: At family gatherings, we kids were always relegated to the kitchen table, while the adults ate in the dining room.

- filled, plentifully supplied

ex: The show was replete with dazzling effect, including gorgeous scenery, glittering costumes, dramatic lighting, and thrilling music.

- marked by much sitting

ex: People in sedentary occupations such as bus drivers and writers, need to make a special effort to exercise.

- a belief or principle

ex: One of the basic tenets of democracy is freedom of speech.

- short; brief and clear

ex: I was hurt by Roberto's terse response to my invitation all he said was "No thanks."

-secert; kept hidden

ex: The famous "Underground Railroal" was not an actual railroad; it was a clandestine network that took escaped slaves to safety in the years before the civil war.

- a possibility

ex: Faye thought her company night transfer her to another city. With that contingency in mind, she decided to rent a house rather that buy one.

- self-centere, seeing everything in terms of oneself

ex: Denise is completely egocentric. Whatever event takes place, she thinks only of how it will affect her personally.

- to be found not guilty

ex: Saul was suspected of shoplifting, but he was exonerated when the hidden camera's photos clearly showed another man taking handfuls of DVD's from a rack and stuffing them into his backpack.

-contradictory; out of place; inconsistent.

ex: It wasn't really incongruous for former general to join the peace movement. He had seen the horrors of war.

- native

ex: Kangaroos are indigenous only to Australia. They have never been found living anywhere else in the world.

-a handicap; disadvantage; drawback

ex: My shyness with strangers would be a liability in any job that involve meeting the public, such as sales.

-fertile; creating abundantly

ex: Rabbits deserve, their reputation for being prolific. A female rabbit can produce three families each summer.

- to put back; to restore to a previous position or condition

ex: The college had canceled the course in folklore, but the demand was so great that the class had to be reinstated.

- unnecessary; extra, beyond what is needed

ex: Lately, business at the store has heen so slow that the there clerks have almost nothing to do. Two of them seem superfluous.

-very plain; severely simple

ex: Ms. Stone's appearance was austere. She wore plain, dark-colored clothing with no jewelry and she never used make up.

-difficult to understand, understoo by only a certain group.

ex: The instruction manuals that come with computer software often us such esoteric terms that they seem to be written in a foreign language.

-an accurate copy, exact copy

ex: The word fax is short for facsimile. With a fax machine, you can send a precise image of a document across the country electronically in seconds.

- strange-looking; distorte shape.

ex: Most people found the movie character E.T, adorable, but I though the little alien was grotesque, with it's weird combination of babyish features and old wrinkled skin.

to fascinate; hypnotize

ex: The intense eyes of the woman in the photograph mesmerized me. I couldn't take my eyes off the picture.

- a change in for, transformation

ex: A caterpiller's transformation into a butterfly is a well-known example of metamorphosis.

-regard negatively, ill known

ex: Batman and Robin matched wits with the Joker and The Penguin, who were notorious for their evil deeds.

-uninterested; done only as routine.

ex: the doctor's examination was perfunctory. It seeme to be just going through the motions without taking any interest in the patient.

-attention-getting; arouse interest or curiosity

ex: "A good essay is provocative," said our English teacher, "It gets the reader interested and attentive, starting with the very first paragraph.

-mockery, joking , disrespectful imitation

ex: The faternity skit, a travesty of college life, exaggerated and ridiculed many campus activities.

- an authority; expert

ex: Curtis has broad knowledge of French wines- where they are made, when they are at their best, and exactly how each one tastes. He's a true connoisseur.

- secert plot

ex: Although only Lee Harvey Oswald was arested for the assassination of Presient Kennedy. Many believe there was a conspiracy to kill the President.

- sorry

ex: Dolores was especially contrite about tearing her sister's dress, because she borrowe it without permission.

-upset; distressed, bery troubled

ex: The parents of the little girl who wandere of in the crowde mall were distraught until she was found.

-related; issue at hand, relevant

ex: Stacy went to the law library to look up information that might be germane to her client's case.

-easy to understand, clearly expressed

ex: I usually fin computer manuals horribly unclear. but this one is lucid.

-am unfortunate situation

ex: The plight of the homeless can be smoewhat relieved by decent shelters.

-slightly, not thoroughly

ex: Nina spent a full week studying for the exam. Joyce, however, reviewed superficially flipping through the pages of her text book an hour before the test.

-balanced

ex: No one's face is perfectly symmetrical. For example, one eye is usually slightly higher than the other and the left and right sides of the mouth differ.

-wordy

ex: Gabe is the most verbose person I know. He always uses ten words when one would do.