Monday March 21, 2011

Monday February 27, 2012Vocabulary Unit 11

At a recent auto show, President Obama reminded people how his administration has financially helped the auto industry.

He alluded to Mitt Romney when he said, Its good to remember there were some folks who were willing to let this industry die.

In her college essay, Dina only alluded to her full time after school job; she wanted most of the essay to be about her dreams for the future.

Synonym: to suggestallude-(v) to mention or to hint at without discussing at length

The police sometimes use clairvoyants to help them solve difficult missing-person cases.

Synonym: insightful

clairvoyant-(adj) supernaturally perceptive; (n) one who possesses such power

When they weighed all the evidence in the case, the jury found the testimony of the expert witness to be conclusive.

Is there any conclusive evidence that UFOs exist?

Synonym: convincingconclusive-(adj) final;decisive.Supermarket tabloids frequently publish stories about the disreputable behavior of celebrities.

Polyphemus turns out to be quite a disreputable character in The Odyssey.

Synonym: disgracefuldisreputable-(adj) not respectable

Scientists have yet to identify many plant and animal species endemic to the rain forests.

Blue jeans were once endemic to the Cowboys of the American West.

Synonym: restricted toendemic-(adj) native or confined to a particular region or people

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded to U.S. civilians for exemplary contributions to national security, world peace, culture or other significant causes.

Melanie Josselyn, a 2011 Keefe Tech graduate from Health Careers, was an exemplary student; she won a 5,000 dollar scholarship to UMASS and placed in the top 3 at the National Skills USA competition.

Synonym: praiseworthyexemplary-(adj) worthy of imitation, serving as a modelParents sometimes find it difficult to fathom the motives behind their childs behavior.The great passenger liner Titanic lies buried several thousand fathoms below the oceans surface.

Synonym: grasp; comprehendfathom-(v) to understand; (n) a measure of depth in the water

Folklore has it that a serpents most outstanding trait is guile; just as a foxs is craftiness.

Guile, the street fighter, from the video game series, must have many tricks up his sleeve to be such a popular fighter.

Synonym: trickeryguile-(n) deceit

Having integrity means doing what is right, and saying what is true.

Synonym:completeness or wholenessintegrity-(n) honesty; high moral standards

We planned the itinerary for our trip to South America. It looks like this:

We spent hours planning the itinerary for our trip across the United States.

Synonym: scheduleitinerary-(n) a route of travel

Sometimes students misconstrue what their teachers say.

Well, Maria thats a good idea, but lets look at it another way.He thinks I dont know anything!

Young children sometimes misconstrue their parents motives.

Synonym: misjudgemisconstrue-(v) to interpret wrongly; mistake the meaning of

Some drivers show obnoxious behavior when they are behind the wheel; they follow too closely, honk their horns or yell at the top of their lungs.

Hitler gave speeches that were full of obnoxious language and racial slurs.

Synonym: hatefulobnoxious-(adj) highly offensive; arousing strong dislike

Many parents give their children a pacifier to placate them when they are tired or crying.

It is useless to try to placate a dissatisfied customer who enjoys being angry and making complaints.

Synonym: satisfyplacate-(v) to soothe or pacify; to make someone feel less annoyed

There was no wind to disturb the placid surface of the lake.

Canela was such a placid dog, she got adopted right away from the shelter.

Synoynm: tranquil; quietplacid-(adj) calm, peaceful

Johnny got in trouble because his teacher told him his work was full of plagiarism.

When the teacher spoke to Max about his plagiarized report, his reply was creative.

Synonym:theftplagiarism-(n) using as ones own, the writing or materials of another person

Music is a most potent force for making people forget their differences and live in harmony.

Juliet drinks a most potent potion to make her seem dead.

Synonym: forcefulpotent-(adj) powerful; highly effectiveWhats your favorite pretext for trying to get out of English class?

On the pretext of delivering a package, the burglar tried to enter the house.

Synonym:pretensepretext-(n) a false reason

Braces can correct teeth that protrude.

These unprotected steel bars are protruding from the construction site.

Synonym: project; jut outprotrude-(v) to stick out

When astronauts first walked on the moon, they discovered its surface to be stark.

During adolescence is when many teens start to face the stark realities of life.

Synonym: grimstark-(adj) harsh

Good friends are not superficial; they understand each other deeply.

A superficial wound is when the top layer of the skin is damaged.

Synonym: skin deep; not substantialsuperficial-(ad) concerned only with what is on the surface; shallow