Shakar Bates

Language Arts 2

Mr. Nugent

17 May 2021

Vocabulary Assignment

1. Belch

- Context: “But over there nobody will say her worth is measured by the loudness

of her husband's belch.”

- Definition: to expel gas suddenly from the stomach through the mouth

- Part of Speech: Verb

- Sentence: The guy belched loudly in his seat.

2. Touted

- Context: “ I was still some 429 points away from grand-master status, but I was

touted as the Great American Hope, a child prodigy and a girl to boot.”

- Definition: to make much of

- Part of speech: Verb

- Sentence: The company is running advertisements touting the drug's

effectiveness.

3. Acrid

- Context: “And so the stale heat still remained in the shadows behind the curtains,

heating up the acrid smells of my chamber pot, seeping into my pillow, chafing

the back of my neck and puffing up my cheeks, so that I awoke that morning with

a restless complaint”
 - Definition: sharp and harsh or unpleasantly pungent in taste or odor

- Part of speech: Adjective

- Sentence: Thick, acrid smoke rose from the factory.

4. Bazaars

- Context: “She told me about narrow streets with crowded bazaars.”

- Definition: market (as in the Middle East) consisting of rows of shops or stalls

selling miscellaneous goods

- Part of speech: Noun

- Sentence: we wandered around the bazaar looking to buy gifts

5. Bellows

- Context: “I got so bored I started counting the bellows of the foghorns out on the

bay while my mother drilled me in other areas.”

- Definition: an instrument or machine that by alternate expansion and contraction

draws in air through a valve or orifice and expels it through a tube

- Part of speech: Verb

- Sentence: This verdict will not silence the bellows of pain from communities of

color across the globe.

6. Cicadas

- Context: “It was summertime, very hot and dusty outside, and I could hear

cicadas crying in the yard.”

- Definition: any of a family of homopterous insects which have a stout body, wide

blunt head, and large transparent wings and the males of which produce a loud

buzzing noise usually by stridulation

 - Part of speech: Noun

- Sentence: This microbe is a bacterium that was once a parasite of the cicada.

7. Deftly

- Context: “Inside, the butchers with their blood-stained white smocks deftly gutted

the fish while customers cried out their orders and shouted…”

- Definition: in a way that is neatly skillful and quick in movement.

- Part of speech: Adverb

- Sentence: He caught the ball deftly and grinned.

8. Engulfed

- Context: “...pointing to another small woman completely engulfed in a tower of

presents.”

- Definition: characterized by facility and skill

- Part of speech: Adjective

- Sentence: The photographer is known for her deft use of lighting.

9. Forage

- Context: “The Meis would come out of their cave every few days and forage for

food supplies left on the road, and sometimes they would see something that they

both agreed was a tragedy to leave behind.”

- Definition: food for animals especially when taken by browsing or grazing

- Part of speech: Noun

- Sentence: The grass serves as forage for livestock.

10. Insolent
 - Context: “She looked strange, too, like the missionary ladies at our school who

were insolent and bossy in their too-tall shoes, foreign clothes, and short hair.”

- Definition: insultingly contemptuous in speech or conduct: overbearing

- Part of speech: Adjective

- Sentence: When the insolent young man yelled my name, I ignored him and

walked towards my car.

11. Chasm

- Context: “...only to immediately fall headlong into the dark chasm.”

- Definition: a deep cleft in the surface of a planet (such as the earth)

- Part of speech: Noun

- Sentence: There was nothing but a gaping chasm where the temple had been.

12. Irrevocable

- Context: “I knew at exactly what point their faces would fall when my seemingly

simple and childlike strategy would reveal itself as a devastating and irrevocable

course.”

- Definition: not possible to revoke

- Part of speech: Adjective

- Sentence: It was to be as practically irrevocable as the oath of fidelity.

13. Podiatrist

- Context: “He had just been accepted to Cal State Hayward and was planning to

become a podiatrist.”

- Definition: the medical care and treatment of the human foot

- Part of speech: Noun

 - Sentence: If you suspect you may have toe nail fungus, you should see a

podiatrist.

14. Babbling

- Context: “I would watch my mother lying in her bed, babbling to herself as she

sat on the sofa.”

- Definition: idle, foolish, or nonsensical talk or chatter

- Part of speech: noun

- Sentence: She managed not to start babbling nervously, even when his hands

traced down her arms before settling on her hips.

15. Posterity

- Context: "was worn off the slab, its meaning washed away by centuries of rain,

almost lost to posterity forever."

- Definition: the offspring of one progenitor to the furthest generation

- Part of speech: Noun

- Sentence: Let our remotest posterity recall your achievements this day with pride.

16. Exasperated

- Context: “Auntie Lin looks exasperated, as though I were a simple child…”

- Definition: having or showing strong feelings of irritation or annoyance

- Part of speech: Adjective

- Sentence: Jackson let out an exasperated sigh.

17. Preamble

- Context: “Judging by his preamble of snorts and leg slaps, I figured he must have

practiced this joke many times…”

 - Definition: having or showing strong feelings of irritation or annoyance

- Part of speech: Noun

- Sentence: He went into a long preamble before he actually told them, but that's

the case.

18. Unanimously

- Context: “After everybody votes unanimously for the Canada gold stock, I go into

the kitchen to ask Auntie An-mei why the Joy Luck Club started investing in

stocks”

- Definition: formed with or indicating unanimity: having the agreement and

consent of all

- Part of speech: Adjective

- Sentence: The Supreme Court ruled unanimously today against Internet

file-sharing services.

19. Regal

- Context: “Her hair, her clothes, they were all heavy with the cold water, but she

stood quietly, calm and regal as a mermaid queen who had just arrived out of the

sea.”

- Definition: of, relating to, or suitable for a king

- Part of speech: Adjective

- Sentence: In Italy, Gregory occupied an almost regal position.

20. Drab

- Context: “ see platforms crowded with people wearing drab Western clothes, with

spots of bright colors…”

 - Definition: any of various cloths of a dull brown or gray color

- Part of speech: noun

- Sentence: Although called blue, the colour is a slaty or drab tone.

21. Ruse

- Context: “But the couple saw through her ruse to get around rent control.”

- Definition: a wily subterfuge

- Part of speech: Noun

- Sentence: It was only a ruse to get her alone.

22. Scurried

- Context: “When the sirens cried out to warn us of bombers, my neighbors and I

jumped to our feet and scurried to the deep caves to hide like wild animals.”

- Definition: to move in or as if at a brisk pace

- Part of speech: Verb

- Sentence: Horses stomped, dogs barked, and children scurried everywhere.

23. Shabby

- Context: “And when I arrived, I realized how shabby my dreams were, how poor

my thoughts.”

- Definition: clothed with worn or seedy garments

- Part of speech: Adjective

- Sentence: Twelve dollars later I was let off at a shabby red brick building in a

section of town where no tour busses stop

24. Taut

- Context: “The line became taut and she strained to hold on tight.”
 - Definition: clothed with worn or seedy garments

- Part of speech: Adjective

- Sentence: Now that the storm had passed, her taut muscles relaxed and she felt

weak.

25. Insolent

- Context: “She looked strange, too, like the missionary ladies at our school who

were insolent and bossy in their too-tall shoes, foreign clothes, and short hair.”

- Definition: exhibiting boldness or effrontery: imprudent

- Part of speech: Adjective

- Sentence: John reproves what he perceives as the author's insolent comments and

suggests bringing his angry feelings to God in prayer.

26. Trivial

- Context: “ He asked me to decide on the most trivial matters as if he were baiting

me.”

- Definition: of little worth or importance

- Part of speech: Adjective

- Sentence: Media pundits and politicians point to trivial decreases in the headline

unemployment rate as evidence of economic recovery.

27. Vehemence

- Context: “...pits and pustules, cracks and bumps, and fissures that I was sure

erupted with the same vehemence as snails writhing in a bed of salt.”

- Definition: the quality or state of being vehement: intensity

- Part of speech: Noun

 - Sentence: Some of his material is right on the money, but he talks about other

ethnic groups with a vehemence that I can't handle.

28. Posterity

- Context: "was worn off the slab, its meaning washed away by centuries of rain,

almost lost to posterity forever.”

- Definition: all future generations

- Part of speech: Noun

- Sentence: His influence as a composer was much greater than posterity has

generally recognized.

29. Verbatim

- Context: “When he pressed me, I told him what his mother had said, verbatim,

without comment.”

- Definition: in the exact words: word for word

- Part of speech: Adverb

- Sentence: Aspiring disruptors excerpted passages of the book verbatim in their

business plans.

30. Waned

- Context: “But the excitement soon waned, and the afternoon seemed to pass like

any other at home.”

- Definition: (of the moon) have a progressively smaller part of its visible surface

illuminated, so that it appears to decrease in size.

- Part of speech: Verb

- Sentence: The scandal caused her popularity to become waned.