Title: STUDY: Vocabulary TKaM Chs 1-7
Course: English 9 (B)

Vocabulary TKaM Chs 1-7

assuage | v | to ease, make less painful or burdensome | "His generosity toward a group of young graffiti writers was, perhaps, one way to assuage his guilt" (Phoebe Hoban, Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art). See Word of the Day
taciturn | adj | habitually untalkative; habitually reserved or uncommunicative | “She is taciturn and her husband is a talker; they turn the standard male-female stereotypes on their heads.”
unsullied | adj | pure, undefiled, unmarked | “He has worked hard to keep his family's reputation unsullied.”
eccentric | adj | departing from the conventional norm; deviating from some established pattern or from accepted conduct/usage | “Thus we came to know Dill as a pocket Merlin, whose head teemed with eccentric plans, strange longings, and quaint fancies.” (Scout in TKaM)
vapid | adj | dull, uninteresting | “I found her personality to be dull and vapid; all she wished to do was gossip about others.”
malevolent | adj | wishing evil upon others; malicious, evil, harmful or injurious | “Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom.” Root: mal= bad
predilection | n | partiality; preference or tendency; tendency to think favorably of something | "He had a predilection for redheads."
morbid | adj | of, relating to, or characteristic of disease; characterized by gloomy or unwholesome ideas; focused on death | “Dead baby jokes are a morbid form of humor.” Root: mor= death
nebulous | adj | hazy, vague, indistinct or confused | Think "nebula" = clouds. “The business plan is still very nebulous, and thus may have a hard time attracting financial support.”
vexation | n | a source of irritation or annoyance | “Mosquitoes are a source of great vexation.”
fractious | adj | irritable, peevish, or quarrelsome; likely to cause trouble or be unruly | Root: fract/frag= to break or shatter
contentious | adj | tending to argue | “Don't pay no 'tention to Lula, she's contentiousbecause Reverend Sykes threatened to church her.” (Calpurnia in TKaM)
amiable | adj | friendly, cordial, agreeable, congenial | “Judge Taylor looked like most judges I had ever seen: amiable, white-haired, slightly ruddy-faced....” (Scout in TKaM) Root: am/im= to love
judicious | adj | having or exercising sound judgment; wise & sensible; prudent & discreet | "a judicious use of one's money" / "a judiciouschoice of words" Root: jud = judge
begrudge | v | to envy another's possession or enjoyment of something | In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the obedient brother at first begrudges his returning brother's warm welcome.
auspicious | adj | marked by favorable circumstances | "an auspicious time to ask for a raise in salary" / "an auspicious beginning to the campaign" Root: spic/spec= to look
melancholy | adj/n | sad, gloomy; sadness or gloom | “A deep melancholy settled on the family once they knew they would lose their home."
aloof | adj | uninvolved; at a distance (physically or emotionally) |
foray | n | a sudden, quick raid or attack, esp. for taking plunder | "our midnight foray to Taco Bell for the 4th meal…." See "We Eat Horses, Don't We?"
tacit | adj | understood without being spoken; implied | Most friends have a tacit understanding that they won't hit on each others' boy/girlfriends.
placidly | adv | calmly;serenely; tranquilly | In the movie, Lake Placid was incorrectly named!
asinine | adj | foolish, unintelligent, or silly; stupid | “It is surprising that supposedly intelligent people can make such asinine comments.” (This was the favorite word of one of Mrs. H's friends growing up, because it was a put-down that sounded even worse than it was! :)
prowess | n | exceptional valor, bravery, or ability, esp. in combat; exceptional ability or skill | prowess as a public speaker; prowess on the battlefield
unfathomable | adj | incomprehensible; difficult or impossible to understand; difficult or impossible to measure | “...there is nothing more unfathomable than the heart of man.” (Homer)