Lesson 11

Lesson 11

Abet to Vexation

Abet--verb

To encourage or to assist (usually an offense against justice or the law)

If you do not report that your friend has broken the law, you could be accused of abetting the crime.

Agile (adj)agility (noun)

Characterized by ability to move with suppleness and grace

Football players have often done well on “Dancing with the Stars,” due to their agile and coordinated moves.

Antidote (noun)

Something that relieves the effects of poison

There was no known antidote for curing the “scorpions” in Macbeth’s mind.

Ascertain (verb)

To find out definitely; to determine The teacher had difficulty ascertaining

whether the student had plagiarized.

Benevolence (noun)benevolent (adj)

Kindness, generosity, charity King Duncan had been known for his benevolence;

consequently, his murder shocked everyone.

Desolate (adj)deolation(noun)

Deserted, without inhabitants, barren Many of the buildings on Waxpool Road are

desolate as a result of over construction in a bad economy.

Din (noun)

Loud and discordant noise; cacophony I could not hear the teacher because of the

din in the classroom.

Dissuade (verb)dissuasion (n)

To advise against; to talk out of The leaders of the political party tried to

dissuade the candidate from running.

Distend (verb)distending; distended

To expand; to swell Malnourishment can result in the appearance of

distended bellies.

Enervation (n)enervate; enervating; enervative

Weakness; lack of strength After experiencing serious bouts of

enervation, the dancer consulted her doctor.

Eulogy (n)eulogize (v)

Praise or tribute (generally following death)

The eulogy given at the funeral was poignant and deeply moving.

Fitful (adj)

Convulsive; spasmodic His guilty conscience resulted in night after

night of fitful sleep.

Indelible (adj)

Cannot be removed, washed away, effaced or erased

Permanent marker can leave indelible marks on clothing.

Malevolence (n)malevolent (adj)

Ill will or evil intentions Lady Macbeth’s malevolence paled in

comparison to her husband’s consequential acts of violence.

Obliterate (v)obliteration (n)

To remove all traces of; to do away with; to destroy or cancel

The Japanese tsunami obliterated entire villages with its 500 mph wave.

Ornate (adj)

Excessively decorated I prefer natural looking gardens to ornate,

ostentatious ones. natnatu=

Paucity (noun)

Scarcity; fewness in number; dearth We were frustrated by the paucity of good

restaurants in the area.

Piety (n)pious (adj)

Devotion and deference to God A pious person is one who shows piety by doing

good deeds for others for no other reason than to be devoted to God.

Precarious (adj)precariously (adv); precariousness (n)

Dangerous, risky, not a secure situation Texting while driving is a precarious action that

can result in catastrophe.

Prosaic (adj) Commonplace; uninspired; unimaginative;

banal While the prosaic lecture on bullying fell on deaf

ears in the auditorium; the video presentation was inspirational.

Quiescent (adj)

Inactive; dormant

Just because an ocean is quiescent, doesn’t mean we should take it for granted.

Scintillating (adj)scintillation (n); scintillate (v)

Sparkling, shining, or flashing/ animated or brilliantly clever

The reviewer described the play as “scintillating” due to its clever, quick dialogue.

The scientific name for the twinkling of stars is stellar scintillation.

Squalid (adj)squalor (n)

Filthy in appearance; sordid The houses featured in the television show

episodes of Hoarders : Buried Alive are squalid from years of neglect.

Vexation (n)vex (v)

Discomfort or distress He experienced considerable vexation when his

wife died, leaving him penniless and destitute.