Words

(Updated 5/10/01)
Words of the Week

The Counseling Department introduces one English word each week to help build students' vocabulary. The English words come from a list of SAT Vocabulary words which have been found to be difficult for students.

Students: These words will be listed weekly in the Daily Bulletin. Keep track of them in a notebook throughout the year and use them in your writing and conversation.

WEEK WORD MEANING EXAMPLE
5/6-5/8 innate Adj. - present in an individual from birth. Sentence: Athletic ability can be enhanced by training but is mostly innate.

4/30-5/1 fallible Adj. - prone to making errors Sentence: Human beings are fallible, which is why forgiveness is so important.

4/23 ineffable Adj. - incapable of being expressed; indescribable Sentence: The music was hauntingly beautiful, with an ineffable quality about it that left him totally awed.

4/15-4/19 amenable Adj. - willing to agree; responsive; cooperative Sentence: Josh was amenable to Jim's idea to go hiking in the crater over the weekend.

4/2-4/4 demystify Verb - to make clear and thus less baffling Sentence: His purpose was to demystify the confusing stories and beliefs regarding the Loch Ness Monster.

3/19-3/20 staid Adj. - marked by self-restraint; sober; grave Sentence: The children knew that their doctor was very warmhearted in spite of his staid demeanor.

3/11-3/12 irrevocable Adj.- not possible to revoke; unalterable; unable to be called back Sentence: The moment after he shouted his hurtful words at her, he realized that what he had done was irrevocable . . . he would never be able to take back what he had said

3/4-3/5 paragon Noun - a model of excellence Sentence- Kimberly was often mentioned as being a paragon of virtue because of her goodness and strong faith.

2/26-2/27 spurious Adj. - falsified, fake, and thus not genuine Sentence: The Smiths were very disappointed when they discovered that the generous offer to buy their house turned out to be spurious.

2/26-2/27 incontrovertible Adj. - cannot be disproved Sentence: Because of the incontrovertible evidence presented to the jury, the accused thief was found guilty.

2/11-2/12 idiosyncrasy Noun - any personal peculiarity or eccentricity Sentence: Shirley's idiosyncrasy is funny .... she likes to wear a fur coat while cleaning the house.

2/4-2/5 rebuke Verb - to criticize sharply; reprimand; berate Sentence: After being rebuked for swearing at his mother, the little boy was sent to his room for the rest of the afternoon.

1/28-1/29 sporadic Adj. - occurring occasionally; infrequent; not regular Sentence: Unfortunately, the appearance of 'A's on my report card is so sporadic that I'll never make the honor roll.

1/23-1/24 disparage Verb - to run down; belittle; speak poorly of Sentence: Sheila is such a wonderful person; I can't understand why she is constantly disparaging herself.

1/14-1/15 approbation Noun - approval Sentence: His father's approbation was very important to Joe, but unfortunately very hard to get.

1/7-1/8 strident Adj. - loud; harsh Sentence: My big sister's strident voice is extremely irritating to me.

1/3-1/4 levity Noun - light-hearted humor Sentence: The levity of the Christmas party was heightened when celebrants attempted to do the limbo.

12/17-12/18 ostentatious Adj. - fond of conspicuous display; pompous; pretentious Sentence: The male peacock's ostentatious strutting around did nothing to impress the female peacock who was busy looking for food nearby.

12/10 exasperate Verb - to cause irritation or annoyance Sentence: "If you exasperate me one more time, we will just forget about going to the beach," said the frustrated mother to her defiant child.

12/4- 12/5 gullible Adj. - easily fooled or tricked Sentence: The gullible youth eagerly paid the fast-talking salesman only $300 for the Brooklyn Bridge.

11/16-11/27 incipient Adj. - in the early stages; just beginning; embryonic Sentence: The incipient signs of prisoner unrest were quashed when the warden ordered a complete shakedown.

11/5-11/6 vacuous Adj. - empty; having or showing a lack of intelligence or insight. Sentence - Mr. Clark could tell by Marie's vacuous look that she was not following the lesson at all.

10/30 emulate Adj. - to imitate; copy Sentence: To emulate Michael Jordan as a player and as a human being was Joe's big dream.

10/23 capacious Adj. - spacious; roomy Sentence: Their family room was capacious, to say the least. We had room to play ping-pong, shuffleboard, and practice our dance routine as well!

10/15-10/16 gratuitous Adj. - not called for by the circumstances Sentence: Many movies nowadays are flawed by gratuitous violence.

10/8-10/9 precipitous
/pre-cip'-i-tous/ Adj. - acting with undue haste Sentence: His precipitous reaction to the crisis only caused it to get worse.

10/2-10/3 incandescent Adj. - giving off light; gleaming; brilliantly shining The sun's reflection on the early morning waves was incandescent

9/24-9/25 sporadic occuring occasionally, infrequently; not regular The number of times I get 'A's on my report card are very sporadic, unfortunately.

9/18 ubiquitous
/you-bik'-wi-tes/ Adj. Being or seeming to be everywhere ar the same time; omnipresent. The American flag is ubiquitous because of the recent tragedy caused by terrorism.

9/14 disparage Verb - to run down, belittle, speak poorly of Sentence: Sue doesn't like it when her best friend disparages herself all the time.

9/5 demonstrative (adj.) very open with a display of feelings "Pete was embarrassed by his auntie's demonstrative ways - always kissing and hugging him whenever she saw him."

8/27-8/29 amenable (adj.) willing to agree; responsive; cooperative "Joe was amenable to the change i his schedule which decreased his hours of work, as long as it was a temporary thing."

WEEK	WORD	MEANING	EXAMPLE
5/6-5/8	innate	Adj. - present in an individual from birth.	Sentence: Athletic ability can be enhanced by training but is mostly innate.
4/30-5/1	fallible	Adj. - prone to making errors	Sentence: Human beings are fallible, which is why forgiveness is so important.
4/23	ineffable	Adj. - incapable of being expressed; indescribable	Sentence: The music was hauntingly beautiful, with an ineffable quality about it that left him totally awed.
4/15-4/19	amenable	Adj. - willing to agree; responsive; cooperative	Sentence: Josh was amenable to Jim's idea to go hiking in the crater over the weekend.
4/2-4/4	demystify	Verb - to make clear and thus less baffling	Sentence: His purpose was to demystify the confusing stories and beliefs regarding the Loch Ness Monster.
3/19-3/20	staid	Adj. - marked by self-restraint; sober; grave	Sentence: The children knew that their doctor was very warmhearted in spite of his staid demeanor.
3/11-3/12	irrevocable	Adj.- not possible to revoke; unalterable; unable to be called back	Sentence: The moment after he shouted his hurtful words at her, he realized that what he had done was irrevocable . . . he would never be able to take back what he had said
3/4-3/5	paragon	Noun - a model of excellence	Sentence- Kimberly was often mentioned as being a paragon of virtue because of her goodness and strong faith.
2/26-2/27	spurious	Adj. - falsified, fake, and thus not genuine	Sentence: The Smiths were very disappointed when they discovered that the generous offer to buy their house turned out to be spurious.
2/26-2/27	incontrovertible	Adj. - cannot be disproved	Sentence: Because of the incontrovertible evidence presented to the jury, the accused thief was found guilty.
2/11-2/12	idiosyncrasy	Noun - any personal peculiarity or eccentricity	Sentence: Shirley's idiosyncrasy is funny .... she likes to wear a fur coat while cleaning the house.
2/4-2/5	rebuke	Verb - to criticize sharply; reprimand; berate	Sentence: After being rebuked for swearing at his mother, the little boy was sent to his room for the rest of the afternoon.
1/28-1/29	sporadic	Adj. - occurring occasionally; infrequent; not regular	Sentence: Unfortunately, the appearance of 'A's on my report card is so sporadic that I'll never make the honor roll.
1/23-1/24	disparage	Verb - to run down; belittle; speak poorly of	Sentence: Sheila is such a wonderful person; I can't understand why she is constantly disparaging herself.
1/14-1/15	approbation	Noun - approval	Sentence: His father's approbation was very important to Joe, but unfortunately very hard to get.
1/7-1/8	strident	Adj. - loud; harsh	Sentence: My big sister's strident voice is extremely irritating to me.
1/3-1/4	levity	Noun - light-hearted humor	Sentence: The levity of the Christmas party was heightened when celebrants attempted to do the limbo.
12/17-12/18	ostentatious	Adj. - fond of conspicuous display; pompous; pretentious	Sentence: The male peacock's ostentatious strutting around did nothing to impress the female peacock who was busy looking for food nearby.
12/10	exasperate	Verb - to cause irritation or annoyance	Sentence: "If you exasperate me one more time, we will just forget about going to the beach," said the frustrated mother to her defiant child.
12/4- 12/5	gullible	Adj. - easily fooled or tricked	Sentence: The gullible youth eagerly paid the fast-talking salesman only $300 for the Brooklyn Bridge.
11/16-11/27	incipient	Adj. - in the early stages; just beginning; embryonic	Sentence: The incipient signs of prisoner unrest were quashed when the warden ordered a complete shakedown.
11/5-11/6	vacuous	Adj. - empty; having or showing a lack of intelligence or insight.	Sentence - Mr. Clark could tell by Marie's vacuous look that she was not following the lesson at all.
10/30	emulate	Adj. - to imitate; copy	Sentence: To emulate Michael Jordan as a player and as a human being was Joe's big dream.
10/23	capacious	Adj. - spacious; roomy	Sentence: Their family room was capacious, to say the least. We had room to play ping-pong, shuffleboard, and practice our dance routine as well!
10/15-10/16	gratuitous	Adj. - not called for by the circumstances	Sentence: Many movies nowadays are flawed by gratuitous violence.
10/8-10/9	precipitous /pre-cip'-i-tous/	Adj. - acting with undue haste	Sentence: His precipitous reaction to the crisis only caused it to get worse.
10/2-10/3	incandescent	Adj. - giving off light; gleaming; brilliantly shining	The sun's reflection on the early morning waves was incandescent
9/24-9/25	sporadic	occuring occasionally, infrequently; not regular	The number of times I get 'A's on my report card are very sporadic, unfortunately.
9/18	ubiquitous /you-bik'-wi-tes/	Adj. Being or seeming to be everywhere ar the same time; omnipresent.	The American flag is ubiquitous because of the recent tragedy caused by terrorism.
9/14	disparage	Verb - to run down, belittle, speak poorly of	Sentence: Sue doesn't like it when her best friend disparages herself all the time.
9/5	demonstrative	(adj.) very open with a display of feelings	"Pete was embarrassed by his auntie's demonstrative ways - always kissing and hugging him whenever she saw him."
8/27-8/29	amenable	(adj.) willing to agree; responsive; cooperative	"Joe was amenable to the change i his schedule which decreased his hours of work, as long as it was a temporary thing."