English I Vocabulary List One
1. Acme; noun-peak; highest point
When she was chosen president of the company, Kerry felt she’d reached the acme of her career.
2. Allusion; noun-a reference to; a casual mention
Ann didn’t catch my allusion to Michael Jordan since she didn’t know his nickname is air.
3. Antithesis; noun-opposite or contrasting thought or idea
Katie’s thoughtless words were the antithesis of the considerate response I expected.
4. Balm; noun-something soothing to the mind, and comforting
The soft music was a balm for Billy’s aching heart.
5. Breach; noun/verb- (n) a gap; a violation; to break; (v) to break open; to break a law.
The dispute between Mike and his brother has created a breach that can never be mended.
6. Circumspect; adjective-cautions; careful
Harold is always circumspect when speaking because he is afraid of saying the wrong thing.
7. Contiguous; adjective - touching at an edge or boundary
Nell’s ranch was contiguous with the highway for five miles.
8. Defunct; adjective-inactive; not functioning; lifeless
When the rail line became defunct, the old terminal was converted into a shopping mall.
9. Diminutive; adjective/noun - (ad) small; miniature; (n) word form indicating small size.
Casey seems younger than he is because of his diminutive size.
10. Embellish; verb-to improve or expand by adding ornament or detail
Each time Becky tells the story of her victory, she embellishes it with some imaginary detail.
11. Euphemism; noun-agreeable word or phrase used in place of a harsh or distasteful one
To avoid saying she was broke, Ellie used the euphemism “economically challenged.”
12. Fidelity; noun-faithfulness; accuracy; integrity
The members swear fidelity to their leader, promising always to give her their loyalty and support.
13. Grizzled; adjective-gray or partly gray
With his grizzled hair and stooped shoulders, Gregory looks much older than eighteen.
14. Imminent; adjective-about to happen; on the verge of taking place; nearing
Thunder in the distance and sudden gusts of wind warned us that a storm was imminent.
15. Incarcerate; verb-to imprison; to lock up in a jail
I kept getting “Go to jail!” In fact, I was incarcerated for more than half the Monopoly game.
English I Vocabulary List Two
1. Inane; adjective- lacking sense or meaning; silly; foolish
These inane sentences are turning me into a blubbering idiot.
2. Introverted; adjective- withdrawn into oneself; self-absorbed; secretive
Elmer is quiet and introverted, in contrast to his outgoing and sociable twin brother Horace.
3. Legacy; noun- an inheritance; a gift made by a last will; something left behind
Mattie’s only legacy from her grandmother was the old family photo album.
4. Malaise; adjective- illness; feeling of physical or mental uneasiness or weakness
Rhoda felt overwhelmed by a terrible malaise, but the doctor found nothing wrong with her.
5. Morose; adjective- gloomy; sad; depressed; sullen; sulky
Stay away from Alex when she’s in a morose mood; she’s abrupt and rude to everyone.
6. Opulent; adjective- rich and showy; luxurious
There opulent furnishings are too luxurious for me; I’m used to simple rustic surroundings.
7. Piety; noun- devotion to God or family; dutiful respect
Marlon’s show of piety was a façade; she wasn’t nearly as devoted as she pretended to be.
8. Pretense; noun- a false show or claim; pretending something other than the truth
Charles made a pretense of being happy; but inside he was feeling miserable.
9. Recluse; noun- one who lives alone; on who leads a solitary life; a hermit
After all her friends moved away, Aunt Lillian became a recluse, rarely leaving her house.
10. Replenish; verb- to fill again; to restore or re-supply
When the jar was empty, Erica had to replenish the peanut butter; or Fred would have a fit.
11. Sardonic; adjective- scornful; mocking
Peter thought his sardonic remarks about Liz were funny, but Liz hated being mocked.
12. Squalid; adjective- dirty, filthy due to neglect; rundown, uncared for
Zeke’s house was neat and clean, unlike the squalid pig pens his neighbors called home.
13. Tactile; adjective- capable of being felt or touched; pertaining to the sense of touch
Without our tactile sense, we couldn’t have felt our way out of the pitch-black cave.
14. Turbulent; adjective- violently disturbed; agitated; unruly
After Jane was mugged, her feelings were in such a turbulent state that she could barely speak.
15. Vilify; verb- to make less valuable; to denounce
The candidates tried to vilify each other with accusations of lying to the voters.
English I Vocabulary List Three
1. Affirmation; noun- a positive statement or declaration of a truth or belief
Pat gave Chris a silver ring as an affirmation of their friendship.
2. Amorphous; adjective- shapeless; undefined; vague; indistinct; unformed
Ray’s amorphous idea for an essay didn’t take shape until he wrote an outline on
paper.
3. Astute; adjective- quick to understand; keen; shrewd
It took an astute mind to solve the mystery so quickly.
4. Bland; adjective- mild; pleasantly smooth or soothing; lackluster
The speaker had exciting ideas, but his speech was so bland that hardly anyone
took notice.
5. Candor; noun- frankness; sincerity
Her candor is refreshing; unlike most politicians, Sue gives you hones and
straight answers.
6. Condone; verb- to forgive or excuse; to tolerate
By not penalizing the truant students, Ms. Roy appeared to condone cutting
classes.
7. Cryptic; adjective- secret; hidden; mysterious
The language in the poem is so cryptic that I’m baffled about what the poet is
trying to say.
8. Diabolical; adjective- wicked; devilish; cruel
Satan himself couldn’t have invented a more diabolical scheme to steal the old
man’s fortune.
9. Eccentric; adjective/noun- (adj.) odd; peculiar; not customary; (n) one who acts
in odd ways.
People think Guy is eccentric because he wears weird clothes and ignores most
social customs.
10. Ennui; noun- boredom and discontent
You can imagine Jen’s ennui after doing the same boring job for twenty years.
11. Façade; noun- the front of a building; a false front or mask
Lynn’s loud mouth is nothing but a façade to cover her fear and insecurity.
12. Gist; noun- the main point; the essential part
It took Ed an hour to tell us his story, but the gist of it is that he will be leaving next week.
13. Gratis; adverb- free; without charge or payment
The hotel provided champagne and flowers gratis to the newlyweds.
14. Homogeneous; adjective- unvarying; uniform, of a single type or nature
Do you find it boring to live in a homogeneous place, where everyone is pretty much the same?
15. Impotent; adjective- powerless; helpless; weak
Despite his outrage, Mr. Todd felt impotent in the face of the powerful authorities.
Sat Vocabulary List Four
1. Infirmity; noun-a physical weakness; feebleness
George’s infirmity prevented him from climbing the stairs.
2. Interment; noun-burial
At the interment, each person threw a handful of dirt into the grave.
3. Labyrinth; noun-maze; a structure with complex, hard- to follow passageways
She got lost in a labyrinth of corridors and stairways before finding the principal’s office.
4. Lucrative; adjective-profitable; producing wealth or gain
When the $60,000 check arrived in the mail, Susan knew she’d made a lucrative investment.
5. Mitigate; verb-to make milder; to become less severe
Deb hoped that her doctor’s note would mitigate the penalty for coming late to class.
6. Omnipotent; adjective-all-powerful; having unlimited power; uncontrollable
The omnipotent flood swept across the valley destroying everything in its path.
7. Peruse; verb-to read attentively; to study rather carefully
The judge refused to decide until she had a chance to peruse all the documents related to the case.
8. Precursor; noun-that which came before; that which precedes another
The Wright brothers’ plane was the precursor of today’s jetliners.
9. Rapport; noun-harmonious relationship; mutual understanding or agreement
Julie and Melissa like each other right away; there was a rapport between them.
10. Reticent; adjective-quiet and withdrawn; reserved; reluctant to speak
Mary is reticent, unlike her twin sister, Terry, who will talk to anyone who will listen.
11. Somber; adjective-gloomy; dark and depressing; depressed
A week of rainy days created a somber mood that lifted only after the sun reappeared.
12. Sullen; adjective-withdrawn and moody; ill-humored
Bill is sullen when he doesn’t get his way; he grows irritable and moody, like a spoiled brat.
13. Toxic; adjective-poisonous
Be careful with wild mushrooms; some contain toxic substance that can make you sick.
14. Versatile; adjective-multitalented; competent in many things; well-rounded
Versatile Vinny can fix cars, write poetry, and cook, all equally well.
15. Zenith; noun-peak; highest point
Jessica reached the zenith of her basketball career when she scored 44 points in a single game.
English I Vocabulary List Five
1. Heterogeneous; adjective- varied; mixed; consisting of different kinds or types Instead of putting similar students together, the school created heterogeneous classes.
2. Indelible; adjective- unable to erase or remove; permanent
Mr. Kim’s words left an indelible impression on Ken, who never forgot his counselor’s advice.
3. Inequity; noun- unfairness; injustice
It is an inequity when Jim chops wood for two dollars, and Al gets five dollars for the same work.
4. Intercede; verb- to act or make a request in behalf of another person; interfere Mr. Green interceded on her behalf by asking the principal to give the girl one more chance.
5. Juxtapose; verb- to put side by side to compare and contrast
If you juxtapose the two sculptures, you can see that one is larger than the other.
6. Loquacious; adjective- very talkative
In that loquacious class the teacher can hardly get a word in edgewise.
7. Malign; verb- to speak ill of; to damage the reputation of; to slander
Bill was maligned by his enemies, who spread vicious stories about his addiction to gambling.
8. Mortify; verb- to shame; to humiliate; to destroy the self respect of; to disgrace
Christina was mortified when her little brother read her secret diary aloud to her friends.
9. Ostracize; verb- to shut out; to exclude from a society or group; to banish
When the gang ostracizes a member, no one is allowed to speak to him.
10. Plausible; adjective- possible; seemingly try but possibly untrue; likely; probable
Penny’s story about who dented the fender seems plausible, but we still have our doubts
11. Pristine; adjective- pure; unspoiled; original
Pristine wilderness is hard to find theses days most of the land has been alerted in some way.
12. Recoil; noun/verb-(n) kickback; reaction; (v) to draw back in fear or surprise
Startled by the huge grizzly bear on the road in front of her, Jessica recoiled in fear.
13. Meticulous; adjective- very careful and precise about details
Cal is meticulous in every detail, unlike his sloppy and careless sister Sal.
14. Nullify; verb- to negate; to undo; to void; to cancel out
The SAT scores didn’t count; they were nullified after a report of widespread cheating on the exam.
15. Perforate; verb- to make holes in; to pierce or puncture
Deedee perforated the top of the shoebox wit a fork to make air holes for her pet lizard.
English I Vocabulary List Six
1. Admonish; verb- to warn gently; to caution; to urge strongly
The teacher admonished Hank for being late to class; next time Hank would get detention.
2. Altercation; noun- an angry dispute; a quarrel; an argument
The shouting next door told me that Mr. and Mrs. Stutz were having their nightly altercation.
3. Appease; verb- to calm down; to pacify; to satisfy
Hoping to appease his other for his wretched report card, Mort did the dishes for a week.
4. Banal; adjective- commonplace; trivial; trite
The panelists’ comments were awfully banal; my kid brother could have been more original.
5. Brigand; noun- bandit; outlaw; lawbreaker
Bands of brigands roamed the countryside, stealing whatever they pleased.
6. Clandestine; adjective- secret; hidden; undercover
Peg swore not to tell anyone, not even her pet cat, Mitzi, about the clandestine mission.
7. Corpulent; adjective- fat and fleshy; obese; stout; plump
Uncle Eddie has grown so corpulent that he can’t fit into any of our chairs.
8. Deplore; verb- to disapprove; to regret; to be sorry about
We deplore the school’s rundown condition, but there are no funds for repairs.
9. Discredit; verb- to damage the reputation of; to disgrace or dishonor
One candidate tried to discredit the other by accusing him of having failed to pay income taxes.
10. Emissary; noun- a representative; a person sent on a mission; a message carrier
Too bashful to tell her in person, Lee sent an emissary to Sharon to say that he loved her.
11. Excise; verb- to cut out; to delete; to remove or eliminate
While shortening Susan’s essay, George excised so many words that the meaning was lost.
12. Filial; adjective- pertaining to relationships within a family, especially child to parent
Rick’s filial devotion was apparent in the loving care he gave his sick father.
13. Genre; noun- type; kind; sort; category of
Mal’s taste in literature is pretty narrow; he won’t read any genre other than sci-fi.
14. Implicit; adjective- suggested; not plainly expressed but only implied
My counselor didn’t say so directly, but her implicit message was that I need to work harder.
15. Infallible; adjective- never wrong; incapable of error
Ms. Adams likes to think she infallible, but she can be wrong, just like anyone else.
English I Vocabulary List Seven
1. Intermediary; noun- a go-between, someone acting between two persons/entities
Meg tried to act as an intermediary to resolve the labor dispute, but neither side listened to her.
2. Kindle; verb- to light a fire; to light up; to excite; to arouse
After “Star Trek” kindled Eddie’s interest in space travel, he wanted to be an astronaut.
3. Lucid; adjective- understandable; clear; rational; sane
Gail’s lucid prose is a pleasure to read, but Emmy’s garbled words are unreadable
4. Mandatory; adjective- required or commanded by authority
You have no choice in the matter; in this school getting to class is mandatory
5. Nemesis; noun- that which persistently destroys or harms; strong rival or opponent.