1. calamity
It is an understatement to call the earthquake in Chile a
tragic event; it is nothing short of a complete calamity.
an event causing great and o:en sudden
damage or distress;
disaster (n.)
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2. Immediately a:er calami>es, as countries suffer from the shocks of
inadequate resources, they are more likely to succumb to servility
as other countries come to their aid.
excessive willingness to please or
serve others;
overly submissive (adj.)
servile
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3. assiduous
“Beyonce dances very assiduously in the ‘bootylicious’
video” (wiki.answers.com).
showing great care and perseverance;
diligent, persistent, hard-working (adj.)
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4. benign
The stranger was far less malignant than he appeared, and
turned out to be rather benign.
gentle, harmless (adj.)
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5. temerity
With temerity, she swaggered up to the man on the bench,
whispered in his ear, “Could you please stop staring at me,” and
walked off.
excessive confidence or boldness;
audacity, recklessness, fearlessness
(n.)
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6. A lack of beauty and a shortage of sagacious mentors oppressed
Pecola in The Bluest Eye.
showing good judgment;
wise, shrewd (adj.)
sagacious
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7. Our illness is treated with contempt; we are made to feel guilty for
inconveniencing others with our sickness.
showing a lack of respect;
scornful, disdainful (adj.)
contemptuous
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8. Being despised by the masses makes it difficult not to succumb to
self‐abhorrence; in Pecola’s case, it was nearly impossible.
regard with disgust and hatred;
loathe, detest (v.)
abhor
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9. I try to understand the plot, but each new page bemuses me more
than the last.
to puzzle; confuse; bewilder (v.)
bemuse
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10. Pecola could have been embittered by her fatherʼs
seduction--this would be expected--but she only longed to
feel beautiful and desired.
resentful; scornful (adj.)
embittered
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11. Like a child sneaking out of the house, he left the hotel
surreptitiously, knowing what he had done was wrong.
doing something secretly because it
would be not be approved of (adv.)
surreptitiously
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12. Through pathos, Morrison gets the reader to understand
African-Americans better and to sympathize with their
experience.
an appeal to the audienceʼs emotions;
hoping to feel what the author feels (n.)
pathos
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13. Remaining unabashed, Claudia asked--or insisted--that
Frieda tell her about the experience with Mr. Henry.
not embarrassed or ashamed (adj.)
unabashed
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14. Pecolaʼs hamartia was her inability to love herself; she
could not find beauty underneath her blackness.
the flaw in character which leads to the
downfall of the protagonist (n.)
hamartia
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15. All the teachers have been forced to succumb--even the
strongest among us--to ICC week.
to give in to someone or something; fail
to resist (v.)
succumb
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16. Blinded by his hubris, he was never aware of the animosity
brewing towards him.
excessive pride or self-confidence that
leads a protagonist to disregard a
divine warning or to violate an
important moral law (n.)
hubris
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17. The Juniors were fastidious about their I.C.C. cheer;
everything had to be perfect.
very attentive to and concerned about
detail (adj.)
fastidious
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18. Example: “We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet
any hardships, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure
the survival and the success of liberty.” J. F. Kennedy,
Inaugural
the omission or absence of a
conjunction between parts of a
sentence (n.)
asyndeton
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19. Her social life flourished; at the same time, her academic
life stagnated.
become stagnant, inactive, dull; cease
developing (v.)
stagnate
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20. Example: "We lived and laughed and loved and left."
(James Joyce, Finnegans Wake, 1939)
the use of several conjunctions in close
succession, especially where some
might be omitted (n.)
polysyndeton
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21. "Let the whitefolks have their money and power and segregation and
sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets, and books, and
mostly--mostly--let them have their whiteness."
(Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969)
the use of several conjunctions in close
succession, especially where some
might be omitted (n.)
polysyndeton
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22. Vindictive as she was after her fatherʼs murder, she still
tried to maintain her sanity.
having a strong desire for revenge;
spiteful; vengeful; unforgiving (adj.)
vindictive
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23. During the 1960ʼs, an ethos developed that was anti-war
and anti-government.
beliefs or character of a group (n.)
ethos
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24. Writing--whether itʼs fiction or non-fiction--can be a
cathartic experience, and a great way to relieve stress.
cleansing or purging of the emotions
(n.)
catharsis
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25. In the midst of a deep sleep, the earthquake roused her.
to awaken; startle out of inactivity;
cause to feel angry or excited (v.)
rouse
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26. He has been keen on going to the beach--more so now as
the weather warms.
showing enthusiasm and interest in
something; quick to understand; sharp
(adj.)
keen
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27. If an author wishes to point out self-sacrifice in a novel, he
or she will often make an allusion to Jesus.
a reference to a person, place, or thing
in history or to another work of literature
(n.)
allusion
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28. Raymond Carver creates gregarious characters in his short
story, albeit with an undertone of loneliness and depression.
fond of the company of others; sociable
(adj.)
gregarious
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29. Without question, one of the most powerful motifs in The
Bluest Eye is the self-hatred among African Americans.
a recurring object, theme, idea, or
structure (n.)
motif
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30. He opened up, confessed his love, poured out his heart; and
all she could do was callously turn and walk away.
feeling or showing no sympathy for
others; insensitive (adj.)
callous
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31. “It was speculated that just as the blind man develops a
keener sense of hearing, the family must somehow
compensate for their loss” (Sedaris 5).
to make up for something; recompense
someone for injury or loss (v.)
compensate
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32. The professor was clearly sagacious, but he also patronized
his students, assuming they were below him.
to behave in a condescending manner;
to treat someone with apparent
kindness that betrays superiority (v.)
patronize
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33. As she commented on Monetʼs painting, her pretentiousness
spilled out through every word.
pretending to be important, intelligent,
or cultured (adj.)
pretentious
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34. For me, “Us and Them” by David Sedaris, subtly reveals the
haughtiness of U.S. culture.
arrogantly superior and disdainful (adj.)
haughty
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35. It wasnʼt her beauty that attracted him most, but her
vivaciousness; she loved even the most insignificant
moments.
attractively lively and animated (adj.)
vivacious
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36. Juxtaposing her vivaciousness with his melancholy,
accentuated both of their personalities even more.
to compare two things close together
for contrasting effect (v.)
juxtapose
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37. Tedʼs situation was exacerbated by the fact that his wife never
forced Bill to speak Vietnamese.
to make (a situation, a problem, or
feeling) worse (v.)
exacerbate
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38. Although the presentation was somewhat banal, there were
aspects I enjoyed.
the state of being so unoriginal that it is
boring, trite, or predictable; the quality
of being devoid of freshness (n.)
banality
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39. The expletives used in the play debased the dignity of the
dramatic performance.
to degrade someone or something; to
reduce in quality or value (v.)
debase
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40. It is lifeʼs ephemeral nature--its impermanence--that should
push us to live each moment fully.
lasting a very short time; impermanent
(adj.)
ephemeral
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41. Forlorn as he was after the death of his puppy, he managed
to go on living, one painful day at a time.
pitifully sad, abandoned, or lonely;
hopeless (adj.)
forlorn
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42. She kept insinuating that he would only be successful
because of his parentsʼ wealth, not because of anything he
would ever accomplish of his own accord.
to suggest or hint (something bad or
reprehensible) in an indirect or
unpleasant way (v.)
insinuate
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43. The crowd, boisterous and euphoric, fell silent as their team
was defeated at the last second.
enthusiastic, loud, energetic (adj.)
boisterous
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44. In order to be great, itʼs helpful to find someone worth
emulating, then do as they do.
to follow someone elseʼs example; to
imitate in order to match or surpass
someone else (v.)
emulate
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45. The explanation was anything but clear, so the students left
the class more bamboozled than ever.
to fool or to cheat someone (v.)
confused, perplexed, puzzled (adj.)
bamboozle
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46. After berating the team for their lackluster performance, the
coach hoped the players would improve.
to scold or criticize someone angrily (v.)
berate
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