VOCABULARY UNIT 2Theme: Up

It is difficult to pilot a blimp, so the pilot must be particularly adroit.

Adroit

Skillful, expert in the use of the hands or mind

You might expect “Kevin” to be rather wild and unfriendly, but Russell found him quite amicable.

Amicable

Peaceable, friendly

Muntz, the villian of Up, has a trio of dogs that are very belligerent.

Belligerent

Given to fighting, warlike combative, aggressive

one at war, one engaged in war

When Russell first meets Mr. Frederickson, the old man seems rather grumpy and unkind. It is only later that we see just how benevolent he truly is.

Benevolent

Kindly, charitable

In his cursory attempt to earn a merit badge, Russell accidentally stows away on Carl’s “airship.”

Cursory

Hasty, not thorough

Muntz relies on duplicity to trap and kill Kevin, but the bird is too smart for him.

Duplicity

Treachery, deceitfulness

Still in love with his wife, Carl extols her many qualities whenever Ellie is mentioned.

Extol

To praise extravagantly

Before leaving for Paradise Falls, Muntz insisted that it was feasible to capture another specimen of rare bird like the skeleton he had found.

Feasible

Possible, able to be done

Carl can only grimace at the thought of moving into a retirement home and allowing his house to be demolished.

Grimace

A wry face Facial distortion

To make a wry face

Some sort of holocaust must have destroyed the rest of Kevin’s species of bird.

Holocaust

A large-scale destruction, especially by fire

A vast slaughter A burnt offering

Once Doug sees a squirrel (“Squirrel!”) he is impervious to any commands, suggestions, or other distractions.

Impervious

Not affected or hurt by Admitting no passage or entrance

Carl’s accidental injury of a construction worker is the impetus the company needs to remove him from his house.

Impetus

A moving force, impulse, stimulus

When Carl and Russell first meet Muntz, they do not suspect that they are in any jeopardy.

Jeopardy

Danger

After Carl is evicted by the judge, he meticulously constructs an “airship” from his own house.

Meticulous

Extremely careful Particular about the details

Once his wife dies, it is difficult for Carl not feel nostalgia for their younger years together.

Nostalgia

A longing for something past homesickness

In earning his final merit badge, Russell is seeking to become the quintessence of a Wilderness Explorer.

Quintessence

The purest form of something The most typical example

After Muntz captures Kevin, Carl retrogresses to his previously solitary existence, retreating into his house to look through his scrapbooks.

Retrogress

To move backward To return to an earlier condition

After scrutinizing the skeleton with which Muntz returned, experts proclaimed it a fake.

Scrutinize

To examine closely

Carl’s reaction to Russell as a traveling companion was, at best, tepid.

Tepid

Lukewarm Unenthusiastic

Marked by an absence of interest