comparison (com pa ri son)n

Def. The result of a process of looking for similarities between things

Sent. When we do a comparison between characters, we find how much they have in common with each other.

contrast (con trast)v

Def. Looking for differences between things. 

Sent. People often contrast the American way of life with the way of life in many foreign countries.

propaganda (pro pa gan da)n

Def. The systematic effort to spread opinions or beliefs

Sent. In some political campaigns, both candidates engage in spreading propaganda.

flashback (flash back)n

Def. This is a section of a literary work that interrupts the sequence of events to relate an event from an earlier time. 

Sent. Often vital information is given to the reader through one or more flashbacks.

allusion (al lu sion)n

Def. This is a reference to a well known person, place, event literary work, or work of art. 

Sent.  There are many allusions to the Bible in literary works.

irony (i ro ny)n

Def. This is a name given to literary techniques that involve surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions. 

Sent. It would be an example of irony if a person who disliked the president were given a free trip to Washington to meet with him.

concrete poem n

Def. This is a poem with a shape that suggests its subject. 

Sent. There is a famous poem about a butterfly that is in the shape of a butterfly.

fable (fa ble)n

Def.  This is a brief story or poem, usually with animal characters, that teaches a lesson or a moral. 

Sentence.  People often read fables in order to be entertained.  Only later they find that they have learned something from them.

dynamic (dy na mic)adj 

Def.  This means changing. 

Sent.  A dynamic character is one that changes during the course of a story.

foreshadowing (fore sha do wing)n

Def. When hints are given about what is going to happen later in a work of literature

Sent. Foreshadowing can be very important in capturing a reader’s interest in a story.

torrent (tor rent) n

Def.  a swift-flowing flood

Sent. A mighty torrent nearly washed Ryan’s homework away!

cascade (cas cade)n

Def. a waterfall

Sent.  Logan bathed in a cascade when his shower was broken.

strive v

Def. struggle

Sent. Mr. Tatum had to continually strive with his students in the hopes that they would learn.

whimper  (whim per) v or n

Def. make low, crying sounds

Sent. Tasha began to whimper when she realized what her grade was.

corpse n

Def. dead body.

Sent.  Even though a person is dead, we still treat his corpse with respect.

cremate v

Def. to burn the dead body of someone.

Sent.  Many cultures cremate their dead.

Loathed v

Def. hated

Sent.  The teacher loathed the bullying that sometime occurred.

Arctic (arc tic) adj

Def. far northern lands near to and including the North Pole

Sent. Parts of Alaska occupy the Arctic.

sinewy (si new y) adj

Def.  tough and strong

Sent.  The sinewy arms of the towering basketball player swept the ball away from the opposing team.

Paradise (Pa ra dise) n

Def. heaven; place of unspeakable peace and joy

Sent.  Each of us hopes to fully experience Paradise someday.

conversation (con ver sa tion)n

Def.  The fact of or the art of people speaking with each other.

Sent.  A good conversation allows us to share our ideas and learn from others.

vigorous (vi go rous) adj

Def. Energetic, involving physical or mental activity

Sent. Dalton felt good after his vigorous workout.

belatedly (be la ted ly)adv

– Def. finally, after too long a delay

Sent. The boy belatedly said he was sorry, but the damage was done.

indespensible (in de spen sib le) adj

Def. absolutely necessary

Sent. The pitcher was an indispensable member of the team.

etiquette (et i quette)n

Def. formal rules for polite behavior in society or in a particular group.

Sent.  Many people are uncomfortably ignorant of proper etiquette at a formal dinner.

distinct (di stinct)adj

Def. separate and different.

Sent.  People in the mountains experience four distinct seasons.

communal (com mun al)adj

Def. shared by all

Sent.  Many Americans dislike communal living arrangements, even for short periods of time.

justifies (jus ti fies)v

Def. excuses; explains

Sent. Some students think that having a sports contest justifies not doing homework.  They are wrong.

hoard v

Def.  To acquire and save, not sharing with others.

Sent.  Some people hoard money.  They fail to realize that they can’t take it with them when they die.

promote (pro mote)v

Def. encourage; contribute to the growth of.

Sent.  I continually promote the wise use of natural resources in America.

 momentous (mo men tous)adj

Def. Important, memorable

Sent. It was a momentous occasion when Isaiah defeated the school in the game of four square.

commemorate (com mem o rate)v

Def. To preserve or honor the memory of

Sent. We had a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the first lunar landing.

callously (cal lous ly)adv

– Def. In a hardened, unfeeling manner

Sent. The girl callously told the poor boy that she didn’t really care for him at all.

desperately (des per ate ly)adv

Def. Without much hope of any success

Sent. The student desperately hoped that Mr. Tatum would forget to collect the homework.

homicidal (ho mi cid al)adj

Def. Murderous, desiring to kill a person

Sent.  The homicidal maniac was placed behind bars until his trial.

trudging (trudg ing)v

Def. Walking slowly and with much effort

Sent.  On many days in Avery County, people are seen trudging through deep snow.

appraise (ap praise)v

Def. To estimate the quality or merit of; to size-up

Sent.  Although he was no expert, he tried to appraise the approximate value of the rare baseball card.  

unwieldy (un wield y)adj

Not easily handled or managed because of size, shape, or weight; bulky and clumsy

Sent. After being shot at and hit, the unwieldy aircraft managed to land safely.

suspiciously (su spi cious ly)adv

Def.  In a manner of distrust

Sent.  The teacher looked at the students suspiciously when they both had the same wrong answers on the test.

maltreat (mal treat)v

Def. to treat badly

Anyone who will maltreat an animal should be viewed with suspicion.

revive (re vive)v

Def. To come back to consciousness

Sent. We had to revive Tyler’s mother after Tyler made a perfect score on his achievement test.

flinch v

Def. To move back, as if away from a blow

Sent. Sometimes a baseball player at bat finds it hard not to flinch when a baseball is thrown toward the plate.

consolation (con so la tion)n

Def. Something that makes a person feel better about something

Sent. Even though the Avery Panthers didn’t win the Toe River Conference championship, they took some consolation from the fact that they were far better looking than the opposition.

cunning (cun ning)adj

Def. clever

Sent. The fox is known as a cunning forest animal.

mournful (mourn ful)adj

Def. Very sad, especially in feeling sorrow for the loss of a loved one

Sent. There were many mournful people in America following the dreadful hurricane.

immense (im mense)adj

Def. Extremely large

Sent. The immense football player struck fear into the opposing team.

cultivate (cul ti vate)v

Def. To prepare for, especially to prepare for crops

Sent. This is the time of year when some people begin to think about cultivating their gardens.

peculiar (pe cu liar)adj

Def. Strange, unusual

Sent. The student had a peculiar habit of continually reciting the Gettysburg Address.

climax (cli max)n

Def. The turning point of the plot of story; the point of highest action

Sent. Suspense in a story usually becomes stronger and stronger until we reach the climax.

companion (com pa nion)n

Def. Some person (or it could be an animal) who spends time with someone else

Sent. The married couple had been companions for many years.

1. ascend (as cend)v

Def. go up, climb

Sent. Brittany wanted to be the first female to ascend Mt. Everest.

2. encourage (en cour age)v

Def. to give hope; cheer

Sent. Mrs. Calloway is known to encourage people to do their best

3.  league n

Def. A group of teams or clubs that compete against one another

Sent. The Avery baseball team found that they were in a difficult league.

4. leisure (lei sure) n

Def. Freedom from work, chores, or other responsibilities.

Sent. It is tempting for students in middle school to think that springtime is leisure time.

5. auditorium (au di to ri um)n

Def. A large room with a stage and a place for an audience

Sent.  The drama class practiced constantly to prepare for their performance in the auditorium.

6.  amateur (a ma teur)n

Def.  A person who does an art, science, sport, or study for fun and not for money

Sent. Although the college player was an amateur at baseball, he hoped one day to become a professional.

7.  aptitude (ap ti tude)n

Def. Natural talent or ability

Sent Holly demonstrated considerable aptitude in writing.

8. diversion (di ver sion)n

Def. amusement; entertainment

Sent. For Scott, reading was not only an assignment, but it was also a diversion.

9.  distraction (dis tract ion)n

Def.  Anything that draws attention from what one is doing or thinking

Sent.  For some boys in school, girls can be a major distraction.

10. harmonious (har mo ni ous)adj

Def. Arranged so that all parts go well together

Sent. The cat and the dog did not always have a very harmonious relationship.

1.  flustered (flus tered) adv

Def. Nervous; confused; unable to think clearly or act rationally

Sent. It would be easy to become flustered when first meeting the Queen of England.

2. sluggishly (slug gish ly)adv 

Def. As if lacking energy 

Sent. The baseball team responded sluggishly to having to play their first tournament game so early in the morning.

3.  assent (as sent) n

Def. Agreement; to say yes to 

Sent. Mr. Tatum gave his assent when the student asked to be excused because the student was trustworthy.

4. persistently (per sis tent ly) adv

Def. firmly and steadily; sticking with a task 

Sent. Kelly persistently did her best on every assignment, and she accomplished all her academic goals.

5. defiant (de fi ant) adj

Def. Boldly resisting; to utterly refuse to do something 

Sent.  The defiant student wound up in juvenile court, facing a daunting punishment

6.  metamorphosis (me tam or pho sis) n

Def.  A change of form 

Sent. The metamorphosis of the student from being a troublemaker to being a positive role model for others to imitate was amazing.

7.  scapegoat (scape goat) n

Def. Person or group blamed for the mistakes or crimes of others 

Sent.  Sometimes one political official becomes the scapegoat for the misdeeds of many others in government.

8. twilight (twi light)n

Def. The time between day and night; a time of some light, but not the direct light of the sun

Sent. Many automobile accidents occur at twilight because visibility is often poor at that time.

9.  dimension (di men sion) n

Def.  A measurement, usually of length, width, or depth, but it can also refer to a quality or attribute of something 

Sent.  There are many dimensions of personality that can lead one to success.

10. summit (sum mit) n

Def. The highest point; peak 

Sent. My goal is to help students to reach the summit of their ability and to achieve greater heights than any one of them could ever imagine.

1. frontier (fron tier)n

Def.  any new field of learning or exploration; as far as we have progressed so far.

Sent.  Those studying the potential of the human mind and spirit stand on the frontier of scientific research.

2.  preliminary (pre li mi na ry)adj

Def.  coming before or leading up to the main action

Sent.  We watched the preliminary match before the championship game.

3. antidote (an ti dote)n

Def.  remedy; cure; something given to counteract a poison

Sent. He swallowed the foul-tasting antidote to the rattlesnake venom.

4. impetus (im pe tus)n

Def.  driving force

Sent. Her desire to make the platinum honor roll proved to be a major impetus for her.

5.  legislation (leg is la tion)n

Def.  law (most often used with reference to the Congress of the US)

Sent. Most people like legislation that favors their point of view.

6.  tolerant (tol er ant)adj

Def. accepting; free from bigotry or prejudice

Sent. We need to learn to be tolerant of people who express opinions different than ours.

7.  fundamental (fun da ment al)adj

Def. basic; forming a foundation

Sent. The baseball player had mastered the fundamental skills necessary for success.

8.  optimist (op ti mist)n

Def.  someone who takes the most hopeful view of things