English 1 Honors, Vocabulary List (Semester 2)

Patronize

(Def) 1. To regularly visit or give business to 2. To talk down to, to condescend (Ex) 1. The Sidlowskis no longer patronized the deli 2. The college professor tried not to patronize the high school students

Metamorphosis

(Def) A change in form, a transformation (Ex) After several weeks, the tadpole's metamorphosis into a frog was complete.

Alteration

(Def) A change or modification (Ex) Any alteration in the plans at this point will force us to design an entirely new schedule.

Collapse

(Def) A complete failure and ruin (Ex) Some people fear the tax increase will bring about the collapse of the economy.

Incision

(Def) A cut made into something (Ex) A carfeul incision in the flase back of the book revealed hidden money.

Relapse

(Def) A falling back into an old illness or a bad habit (Ex) Since I decided to give up chocolate, I have not had a single relapse.

Altercation

(Def) A fight or dispute (Ex) An altercation outside the nightclub lead to the arrests of several customers.

Theocracy

(Def) A government ruled by a religious leader or figure (Ex) The theocracy in the country ended when the high priests representing the gods were caught stealing from the people.

Aristocracy

(Def) A group of the most wealthy and privileged (Ex) Members of the country's tiny aristocracy had private beaches for swimming.

Levity

(Def) A lack of seriousness; a jolly or joking manner (Ex) The speaker's levity seemed out of place at the funeral.

Matron

(Def) A married woman (Ex) A matron in colonial America would have been constantly busy with home and children.

Bureaucrat

(Def) A minor official (Ex) The councilman nominated several unqualified candidates to city positions, leading to an increase in the number of bureaucrats in the city's government.

Alias

(Def) A name that is not one's true name (Ex) Following his testimony in a high-profile murder case, Jason Ryan assumed the alias "Steven Berger".

Preamble

(Def) A passage or speech that introduces another longer passage or speech (Ex) In the preamble to the US Declaration, Jefferson states the reasons the colonies are rebelling against Britain.

Expatriate

(Def) A person living outside his or her native country (Ex) Gertrude was an expatriate who had abandoned American for France

Gradualism

(Def) A policy that involves taking slow, measured actions (Ex) When asked about how to deal with the nation's economy, the vice president recommended a kind of gradualism.

Cadence

(Def) A rhythmic rise and fall (Ex) The beautiful cadence of Jeff's voice as he read lulled us to sleep.

Semblance

(Def) A rough likeness (Ex) My mother demanded that I get my room into some semblance of order before our relatives came to visit.

Denomination

(Def) A subcategory or subgroup (Ex) Within their groups, the children broke into smaller denominations based on their backgrounds, interests, and personalities.

Antonym

(Def) A word that means the opposite of another word (Ex) Instead of using the right word in my essay, I accidentally used its antonym.

Biodegradable

(Def) Able to be broken down naturally (Ex) In order to help save the environment, many fast-food companies are finally using biodegradable packaging material.

Susceptible

(Def) Able to be influenced (Ex) Ben felt that if he were too open-minded, he would be susceptible to harmful ideas, so he lived in isolation.

Perceptible

(Def) Able to be noticed or felt (Ex) The wink that Kevin gave Laurel was so fast that it was barely perceptible.

Ambulatory

(Def) Able to walk (Ex) After months of physical therapy, the patient was ambulatory again.

Precise

(Def) Accurate, definite (Ex) Scientists have been trying to perfect their new satellite system in order to make sure that the information is records about the astreriod is precise.

Superfluous

(Def) Additional to what is necessary; extra (Ex) Ruben told me that the last paragraph in my article was superfluous because the other paragraphs already covered all the important information.

Rejoinder

(Def) An answer, a reply (Ex) The writer of the letter to the newspaper issued a rejoinder to his critics.

Precept

(Def) An idea important to a system of beliefs (Ex) One of the main precepts of the religion is kindness to other living creatures.

Nomenclature

(Def) An official system of naming (Ex) The ancient system of nomenclature was so complicated that no one could remember the official name of anything.

Injunction

(Def) An order that legally prevents something (Ex) The judge issued an injunction to stop the suspent from leaving the country

Privileged

(Def) Available only to a special few; entitled to something special (Ex) As a member of the most secret intelligence operations, Vergil was entitled to privileged information.

Cognizant

(Def) Aware (Ex) When Tasha became cognizant of a problem with the rocket, she notified the engineers.

Predominant

(Def) Being most evident or apparent (Ex) Although there are flashes of color here and there in the painting, black is the predominant shade.

Partisan

(Def) Believing and acting on the ideas of a political party or group (Ex) During a particulary close election, our town was split along the partisan lines.

Pernicious

(Def) Causing damage, harmful (Ex) Tina found that too much fertilizer was pernicious to her tomato plants.

Antibiotic

(Def) Causing the death of living organisms, especially harmful ones (Ex) The medicine's strong antibiotic properties make it useful for fighting bacterial infections.

Vivacious

(Def) Cheerful and full of life (Ex) Donna is a vivacious, fun-loving girl who enjoys going out with her friends.

Progeny

(Def) Children or descendants (Ex) at family reunions, the couple always posed for a photo with their numerous progeny.

Inclusive

(Def) Containing all, not keeping any out (Ex) I am looking for a more inclusive atlas because my current one has only a few maps.

Voracious

(Def) Devouring everything (Ex) The voracious locusts left a path of ruined crops a mile long.

Incognito

(Def) Disguised as someone other than oneself (Ex) Having been mobbed by admirers one too many times, the actor now goes incognito when he has to appear in public.

Herbivorous

(Def) Eating only plants (Ex) Early American pioneers found lots of grazing land for their herbivorous animals.

Omnivorous

(Def) Feeding on both animals and plants (Ex) My two brothers are strict vegetarians, but I consider myself omnivorous.

Consecutive

(Def) Following in order (Ex) For fourteen consecutive days, snow fell on the city.

Domineering

(Def) Forcing others to obey (Ex) Lucy's little sister is so domineering that she often orders the whole family, including her parents, around.

Rapt

(Def) Giving total attention to, captivated (Ex) As a program on birds played across the screen, the kittens sat rapt in front of the television.

Recurrent

(Def) Happening repeatedly (Ex) At the town meeting, some residents complained about the recurrent problem of reckless driving.

Noxious

(Def) Harmful to physical or moral health (Ex) The noxious fumes of toxic chemicals filled the abandoned warehouse.

Impartial

(Def) Having no bias or favor (Ex) Though Maggie claims to have impartial feelings about her two cats, she secretly likes Mittens best.

Inconsequential

(Def) Having no effect or importance (Ex) What once seemed like a major event in my life now seems entirely inconsequential.

Paternal

(Def) Having qualities of a father (Ex) Toby began to feel paternal toward the orphaned young boy.

Maternal

(Def) Having qualities of a mother, motherly (Ex) Even as a child, Bess was maternal toward the other students in her class.

Filial

(Def) Having to do with a son or daughter (Ex) Carl admitted that he felt more filial affection for his stepfather than he did for his father.

Legislative

(Def) Having to do with the law (Ex) In one particularly chaotic legislative session, a law was passed, repealed, and passed again.

Surreptitious

(Def) Hidden or secret, done without notice (Ex) With a surreptitious motion of his hand, the magician hid the coin in the scarf

Moribund

(Def) In a dying or deathlike state (Ex) Bonnie hoped the moribund old car would make it up one last hill so she could finally get home.

Nominal

(Def) In name only, not completely true (Ex) The nominal purpose of the club was to discuss ancient coins, but the members usually argued about politics.

Vivid

(Def) Making a strong impression on the senses, clear and sharp (Ex) The dream was so vivid that I still can't believe it wasn't real.

Synonymous

(Def) Meaning the same as (Ex) The pirate's name became synonymous with crime and violence.

Symbiotic

(Def) Mutually beneficial, supporting one another's life. (Ex) Although researchers once believed the two animals had a symbiotic relationship, a few scientists now think the one creature is simply scavenging off the other.

Inalienable

(Def) Not able to be taken away (Ex) Although Michelle seems to think it's her inalienable right to interrupt people, few friends agree with her.

Sophomoric

(Def) Not highly developed, crude (Ex) I found Greg's sense of humor sophomoric, but he was funny nonetheless.

Anonymous

(Def) Not revealing one's identity (Ex) An anonymous donor gave several million dollars to the homeless shelter.

Affiliate

(Def) One related to or associated with (Ex) The small business became an affiliate of a much larger corporation in New York.

Sophisticate

(Def) One well traveled and knowledgeable about culture, etiquette, and/or fashion. (Ex) Since I am unable to distinguish a salad fork from an ordinary fork, I hardly consider myself a sophisticate.

Courier

(Def) One who carries and delivers (Ex) As a courier, Tom delivered packages to many interesting places.

Decadent

(Def) Overly luxurious and lacking moral discipline; excessive (Ex) The billionaire's spoiled children wasted millions of dollars on decadent parties.

Inconclusive

(Def) Providing no clear answer or solution (Ex) The detectives were sure the DNA test would help them catch the thief, but th eresults proved inconclusive

Cognitive

(Def) Relating to the processes of thought (Ex) Learning to distinguish shapes and colors is part of a baby's cognitive.

Rapacious

(Def) Seizing everything, greedy (Ex) A rapacious group of colonists seized all the land for themselves, leaving none for the people who arrived later.

Concession

(Def) Something given up or yielded (Ex) Phil's parents have already made many concessions to their demanding son, so now, they are refusing to give him anything else.

Casualty

(Def) Something or someone injured, killed, or eliminated (Ex) Grandmother complained that politeness was just one more casualty of a world that couldn't slow down.

Mellifluous

(Def) Sweetly flowing or sounding (Ex) The mellifluous notes of Meg's song reminded Jack of a gently running brook.

Metaphorical

(Def) Symbolic rather than literal (Ex) Mr. DeMarco had a hard time explaining to his class that they were not going on a real field trip, but a metaphorical one.

Morbid

(Def) Taking an unhealthy interest in unpleasant things (Ex) Susan had a morbid imagination, and she drew several hundred pictures of cemeteries.

Revival

(Def) The act or process of bringing back to life (Ex) The revival of a play that had not been produced for decades required much study on the party of the director and cast.

Perjury

(Def) The breaking of a legal oath (Ex) The store manager swore at the trial that he had no information about the robbery; when he was caught lying, police charged him with perjury.

Progenitor

(Def) The founder of a line or race (Ex) The progenitor of the Louis family in America was a fur merchant named Jacques.

Patricide

(Def) The murder of a father (Ex) The prince was so jealous of his father that he contemplated patricide in order to take over the throne.

Metabolism

(Def) The process through which an organism changes food into energy (Ex) As Ellen's diet changed, her metabolism changed, too.

Genealogy

(Def) The study of families and descendants (Ex) After discovering an old picture of his great uncle, Phillip became interested in the genealogy of his family.

Sophistry

(Def) The use of trickery or false logic in arguments (Ex) At first, Brenda was convinced by the argument, but she later decided it was nothing but sophistry.

Execution

(Def) The way something is done (Ex) The spectators were astonished at the skater's perfect execution of a difficult jump.

Incur

(Def) To bring about (Ex) If you don't want to incur your math teacher's anger, you should finish your homework.

Conjure

(Def) To bring forth, especially through words (Ex) In the opening of the book, the author conjures up an image of his boyhood farm.

Mortify

(Def) To cause extreme embarrassment to (Ex) The scolding from his mother in front of his friends mortified Charles, and he ran out of the room.

Enjoin

(Def) To command, to formid (Ex) Niqua enjoined her sister not to tell their parents about the car accident. (Ex) The District Attorney enjoined his client from speaking about the case.

Dissemble

(Def) To conceal the truth, to deceive (Ex) Rather than dissembling when asked if he took the money, Clayton confessed to everything

Matriculate

(Def) To enroll in a degree program, especially at a college (Ex) Darnell is going to take a year off before he matriculates at the business school.

Impart

(Def) To give away, to share (Ex) Before I set out on my own, my mother imparted some helpful advide about life to me.

Legitimize

(Def) To give credit or recognition to (Ex) The police officer feared that giving the criminals any media attention at all would legitimize their group's existence.

Alternate

(Def) To go back and forth, the change from one thing to another (Ex) Teresa alternates between the two grocery stores because both have products she wants.

Regress

(Def) To go back to a less mature or less positive state (Ex) Whenever the two adult brothers got together, they seemed to regress to the age of thirteen.

Alienate

(Def) To make hostile (Ex) Alison alienated her party guests by forcing them to listen to music they didn't like.

Leaven

(Def) To make less heavy or serious (Ex) No matter how Angela tried to leaven the mood, everyone seemed determined to be miserable.

Alleviate

(Def) To make less painful or dangerous Alice has developed a home remedy that will alleviate the symptoms of a bad cold.

Simulate

(Def) To mimic, to imitate (Ex) The ride at the amusement park claims to simulate the experience of zero gravity.

Digress

(Def) To move away from the topic at hand; to ramble (Ex) The speaker started to digress from his intended subject, but he noticed the audience looking bored, so he stopped.

Recede

(Def) To move back or away from (Ex) As the ocean waves receded, the people on the shore saw a strange object lying on the sand.

Immortalize

(Def) To preserve in memory forever (Ex) The courageous stand taken by the prime minister on that day immortalized him in the eyes of his people.

Preclude

(Def) To prevent from heppening (Ex) Frank's car crash on Wednesday precluded his getting to the party on Thursday.

Elapse

(Def) To slip away; to go by (Ex) Many years had elapsed, and the farmer was eager to see his homeland again.

Cede

(Def) To surrender (Ex) The two nations fought over the land for many years before one finally ceded it to the other.

Abjure

(Def) To swear off; to renounce (Ex) After his fellow club members turned against him in the meeting, Peter abjured all contact with them.

Amble

(Def) To walk casually; to stroll (Ex) Monique ambled up to the other children on the beach and asked what they were doing.

Indecisive

(Def) Unable to make choices. (Ex) Doris was so indecisive that it took her hours to grocery shop.

Indomitable

(Def) Unbeatable, resilient (Ex) Rebecca's indomitable courage helped her survive her illness.

Affluent

(Def) Wealthy and privileged; well-to-do (Ex) In the more affluent neighborhoods of the city, it is not unusual for people to have several luxury cars.