English I CP – Final Exam Vocabulary
apprehension n. 1. fearful or uneasy anticipation of the future; dread. 2. the act of seizing or capturing; arrest. 3. the ability to apprehend; understanding. -- The students anticipated their midyear grades with apprehension since they did not feel sure of how they performed on their exams.
culminate v. intr. 1a. to reach the highest point or degree; climax. 1b. to come to the completion; end. -- The play culminated with Romeo and Juliet’s death.
depreciate v. 1. to lessen the price or value of. 2. to think or speak of as being of little worth; belittle. -- Once I drove my new car off the lot, it depreciated in value.
gracious adj. 1. marked by kindness and warm courtesy. 2. of a merciful or compassionate nature. -- The gracious girl thanked her gracious parents over and over for the new car they gave her. -- My gracious brother always takes care to hold doors for others when he enters or exits a room.
succumb v. to sink down; yield; give away; to give up ones life. -- Though I did not want to do my homework, I finally succumbed to my parents’ nagging and cracked open my book.-- During August, athletes often succumb to the heat and need to be treated for dehydration.
supercilious adj. feeling or showing haughty disdain. -- The girl was supercilious and proud towards her teammates because she ran five miles while no one else finished. -- We all laughed when the supercilious prom queen tripped on her gown and wiped out.
cogent adj. appealing forcibly to the mind or reason. -- The first draft of the paper was vague. Once she revised it, however, it was clear and cogent.
culprit n. one charged with or guilty of an offense or crime. -- Luckily, the actual culprit went to jail rather than the innocent man he tried to frame for the crime.
inordinate adj. exceeding reasonable limits; immoderate. -- Despite the inordinate amount of homework, I finished by the next day.
irascible adj. prone to outbursts of temper; easily angered. -- My irascible litter sister had a temper tantrum when I borrowed her flashlight.
lofty adj. 1. of imposing height 2. elevated in character or mission, noble. -- Some people work only for money, but others work for loftier goals like becoming famous or making the world a better place.
obstinate adj. 1. stubbornly adhering to an attitude, opinion, or course of action, obdurate. 2. difficult to manage, control, or subdue. -- The boy was obstinate in his refusal to clean his room, so it remained a pig sty.
pervade v. to be present throughout; permeate. -- A nasty smell of burning oil pervaded the school yesterday.
analogous adj. similar in such a way as to permit an analogy. 2. similar in function but not in structure and evolutionary origin. -- Though McDonald’s and Taco Bell feature different menus, they serve an analogous function: providing cheap, convenient fast food. -- The settings of Shakespeare’s plays may differ, but his stock characters and plots are often analogous. Romeo, for instance, is in some ways an early version of Hamlet.
consign v. 1. to give over to the care of another; entrust. 2. to turn over permanently to another’s charge or to a lasting condition. -- I was flattered that my boss was willing to consign such a major project to me. – She didn’t realize at first that by marrying that guy she would be consigning herself to a lifetime of boredom.
eminent adj. 1. towering or standing above others, predominant. 2. of high rank stationer quality; noteworthy. -- The eminent leader stood out among the guests of the Presidential Ball.
imminent adj. About to occur; impending -- Since the end of class was imminent, students began packing up their books.
vagary n. an extravagant or erratic notion or action – The weatherman was frustrated by storm’s vagary.
replete adj. 1. abundantly supplied -- Although we had requested only a few essential supplies, we were overjoyed that the shipment was replete with many luxury items.
vicarious adj. enjoyed or experienced by someone through his imagined participation in another’s experience: as, a vicarious thrill.
prowess n. bravery, valor; superior ability, skill, technique -- It is my guess that sport spectating involves something more than the vicarious pleasures of identifying with athletic prowess.
squalor n. foulness; filth and wretchedness. -- Baseball was an instant success during the Industrialization, and most probably it was a reaction to the squalor, the faster pace and the dreariness of the new conditions.—Many New Orleanians were living in squalid conditions even before Katrina hit.
reactionary adj. characterized by or advocating a movement back to a former condition, especially in politics; extreme conservatism – The Bush administration, like the Hoover administration, will likely be remembered for its reactionary politics, whereas the Roosevelt and Kennedy administrations are associated with progressive politics.
spectacle n. some strange or remarkable sight; unusual or grand display. -- If football is distanced from its fans by its intricacy and its “superhuman” play, it nonetheless remains and intense spectacle. – My little brother loves to create a spectacle by standing on the table in restaurants.
inert adj. without power to move or to resist an opposing force; tending to be mentally or physically inactive. -- I suddenly remembered those inert postures of the children in that welfare hotel and I thought: television.
impasse n. a situation from which there is no escape; difficulty without solution; deadlock. My friend and I both laid hands on the same prom dress—instantly we were at an impasse. -- A mutually destructive military impasse has defined recent Israeli-Palestinian political relations.
ambivalent adj./ ambivalence n. torn; unable or unwilling to favor either of two alternatives. -- Having gotten in to two prestigious schools, she was very ambivalent in making her decision about which offer to accept.
conflate v. to combine or blend together ideas, things or persons which would normally be regarded as distinct or separate. – I didn’t think it would be easy to conflate the French I and II classes so they met at the same time and place: neither class would get adequate attention.-- Different teenagers think very differently from one another; it’s not helpful to attempt to conflate their opinions.
juxtapose v. to put side by side, often to prompt contrast or comparison. --Sweet-and-sour pork is a dish based on the strong juxtaposition of opposing flavors.-- At the sixth grade dance, we laughed at the juxtaposition of tall girls paired with short boys.
exemplar n. a person or thing regarded as worthy of imitation; model; pattern or archetype. -- Working mothers weren’t feeding kids wholesome meals, they weren’t taking the kids to church, and they weren’t serving as moral exemplars.
posted by Ms. Barry | 7:49 AM
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