VOCABULARY – UNITS 9-12

Midterm ReviewSemester II

drudgery

work that is difficult and tiresome

drugs make your body work hard

Cinderella had all of the drudgery to do around the

house. (difficult chores)

feign

to pretendto fake

horde

a vast numberhorde of peopleherd of animals

impel

to force, drive forwardcompel – drivenUnder a spell

(you may be forced to do something)

repugnant

offensive; disagreeablepug = nose = OFFENSIVE

odorthug = disagreeable = rebellious behavior

monologue

a speech by one actor; a long talk by one person

mono=onedialogue=two people

talking

adept

(adj.) thoroughly skilled (n.) an expert

adapt and become “good at something”

diminutive

(adj.) small, smaller than most others of the same type

diminutive = mini

erroneous

(adj.) incorrect, containing mistakes erroneous = error = incorrect/mistakes

extemporaneous

(adj.) made or delivered on the spur of the moment

Extemporaneous = tiempo (Spanish for time) spur of the moment = spontaneous

No “extra time”

preamble

(n.) an introduction to a speech or a piece of writing

preamble = pre = before = amble = ramble (speech) an INTROduction to a speech

skeptical

(adj.) inclined to doubt; slow to accept something as true

skeptical = a skeptic = one who doubts One who is skeptical might look more

closely through his/her spectacles (glasses).

concise

expressing much in few wordsbrief and to the point - precise

divulge

to tell, reveal, to make publicdisclose

recoil

to spring back, shrink

coil

relentless

unyielding, harsh and without pity

The landlord is relentless when collecting the rent.

rivulet

a small stream or river

a small river

statute

a law

the Statue of Liberty = symbol of our country’s freedom = government = LAW

autocratic

Def: absolute in power or authority

auto=self (one)A dictator rules based on

his/herself.

blasphemy

Def: an act, utterance, or writing showing contempt for something sacred

Blast something sacred

humane

Def: kind, merciful

The Humane Society is kind to animals.

illustrious

very famous, distinguished

illuminate—to light up = a movie star (very famous)

laborious

Def: not easy, requiring hard work; hardworking

labor= hard work

subversive

intended to undermine or overthrow; one who advocates or attempts to overthrow

venomous

Def: poisonous; spiteful, mean

venom = poisonAll villains are venomous.