Vocabulary

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Vocabulary

• Unit 11

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Abrogate (v.)

• To repeal, cancel, declare null and void
• Often with no legal or moral grounds, the U. S.
  government would abrogate treaties made with
  Native Americans.
• Synonyms annul, revoke
• Antonyms reaffirm, renew, ratify

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Abrogate (v.)

• The key to this word is realizing that it is a
  verb. It is something that people DO.
• For example, Beowulf becomes King of the Geats
  later in life. If he were to give up this title
  so that he could go back to playing the part of
  the hero/warrior, he would be abrogating his
  title.

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Ambient (adj.)

• Completely surrounding, encompassing
• The new filtering system is capable of cleaning
  and deodorizing the ambient air.

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Ambient (adj.)

• Ambient is an adjective, so it is used to
  describe. The noun form of this word is
  ambience, which you have probably heard of.
• In Beowulf, Grendel is upset because the noise
  from Herot is ambient it seems to be completely
  surrounding him, and it bothers him.

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Asperity (n.)

• Roughness, severity, bitterness or tartness
• The asperity of the drama critics statements
  undermined the young actors confidence.
• Synonyms rigor, harshness
• Antonyms mildness, blandness, softness,
  lenience

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Asperity (n.)

• Asperity means roughness, severity, bitterness or
  tartness, which makes it seem like a descriptive
  word, or adjective, but be careful, it is really
  a noun. It is a characteristic of a person or
  action.
• Grendels asperity in killing so many innocent
  men caused the Danes to desire revenge.

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Burnish (v)

• (v.) To make smooth or glossy by rubbing, polish
• The hotel manager ordered the waiters to burnish
  all the brass candlesticks before the formal
  banquet.
• Synonyms shine, buff
• Antonyms tarnish, dull, abrade

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Burnish (n.)

• (n.) gloss, brightness, luster
• The burnish on the metal frame had faded with age
  and neglect.

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Burnish (n./v.)

• Burnish is tricky because it can be either a noun
  or a verb. A person can burnish a sword, which
  would be like polishing it, or a person can
  admire the burnish on a sword, which is the gloss
  and shine itself. Dont confuse this with
  brandish, which is the actual act of waving the
  sword around.
• Beowulfs men burnished their swords until their
  burnish glimmered in the morning sun.

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Cabal (n)

• A small group working in secret
• The members of the cabal met at an unknown
  location for the purpose of fixing prices and
  stifling competition.
• Synonyms clique, ring, gang, plot, conspiracy

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Cabal (n)

• Cabal is a noun. It is the group itself and is
  NOT used as an adjective to describe the group.
• Beowulfs men were members of a cabal dedicated
  to following their leader and slaying the evil
  Grendel.

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Delectable (adj.)

• Delightful, highly enjoyable, deliciously
  flavored, savory
• The banquet ended with a truly delectable
  dessert made of peaches, raspberries, and ice
  cream.
• Synonyms delicious, scrumptious
• Antonyms repugnant, repulsive, distasteful

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Delectable (n.)

• An appealing or appetizing food or dish
• The eatery attracted customers with a
  mouth-watering display of delectables in its
  front window.

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Delectable (adj./n.)

• Delectable is an adjective that is used to
  describe something that is wonderful,
  particularly delicious food. It can also be a
  noun talking about the food itself.
• The food offered at Hrothgars feasts in Herot
  was much more delectable than the food in the
  home of the average peasant.
• Grammatically, you could say that the delectable
  was delectable, although stylistically the
  sentence would be terrible.

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Deprecate (v.)

• To express mild disapproval to belittle
• The administration deprecated such foolish
  practices as the hazing of new students but did
  not ban them outright.
• Synonyms deplore, frown upon
• Antonyms smile on, countenance, approve

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Deprecate (v.)

• Deprecate is a verb that means mild disapproval.
  It is the type of thing your parents would frown
  at you for, but not spank you over.
• Beowulf would deprecate fear from his men because
  every soldier is afraid sometimes, but he would
  be completely angry if his men disobeyed direct
  orders.

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Detritus (n.)

• Loose bits and pieces of material resulting from
  disintegration or wearing away fragments that
  result from any destruction
• Pieces of peoples homes, furniture, and toys
  could be seen in the detritus of the landslide.
• Synonyms debris, wreckage, ruins, rubble

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Detritus (n.)

• Its important to remember that detritus is a
  noun. It is the fragments and bits themselves,
  not a description of them.
• The detritus left in the hall after Grendels
  attack was gory and disgusting.

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Ebullient (adj.)

• Overflowing with enthusiasm and excitement
  boiling bubbling
• After a string of very favorable reviews, the
  dance company was in an ebullient mood for weeks.
• Synonyms exhilarated, elated, exuberant
• Antonyms gloomy, morose, sullen, apathetic,
  blasé

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Ebullient (adj.)

• This one is easy. Its an adjective describing
  those people who are really happy and joyful.
• Beowulfs men are ebullient after he rises from
  the depths of the fire lake carrying Grendels
  severed head.

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Eclectic (adj.)

• Drawn from different sources
• Stanford White developed an eclectic style of
  architecture that made use of classic and modern
  elements.
• Synonyms selective, synthetic, pick-and-choose
• Antonyms uniform, monolithic

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Eclectic (n.)

• One whose beliefs are drawn from various sources.
• The critics accused the composer of being a mere
  eclectic with no original style of her own.

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Eclectic (n./adj.)

• Careful! This is another one of those words that
  can be an adjective OR a noun. A person can be an
  eclectic or have an eclectic collection of
  something.
• At the end of Beowulfs many battles, he has an
  eclectic collection of severed limbs and defeated
  weapons.

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Flaccid (adj.)

• Limp, not firm, lacking vigor or effectiveness
• Because the injured bodybuilder had not worked
  out for weeks, his muscles grew flaccid.
• Synonyms soft, flabby
• Antonyms hard, firm, solid

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Flaccid (adj.)

• This adjective describes soft and flabby muscles.
• As a young man, Beowulf faced many physical
  challenges and was in great shape. However, when
  he became older and was king and no longer
  required to fight, he became flaccid. This made
  is final battle with the dragon much more
  difficult.

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Impecunious (adj.)

• Having little or no money
• In my present impecunious state, I will not be
  able to pay for dinner.
• Synonyms penniless, impoverished, indigent
• Antonyms affluent, wealthy, prosperous, rich

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Impecunious (adj.)

• This adjective describes somebody who has little
  or no money.
• Many Geats were impecunious after the dragon
  stole their fortunes and added them to his own
  treasure.

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Inexorable (adj.)

• Inflexible, beyond influence, relentless,
  unyielding
• In the Greek tragedies, nothing could save
  characters like Oedipus Rex from their inexorable
  fates.
• Synonyms inescapable, ineluctable, obdurate
• Antonyms avoidable, yielding, pliant

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Inexorable (adj.)

• This is an adjective that describes somebody who
  is unyielding or inflexible.
• Beowulf was inexorable in his demand that ONLY he
  and his men would be able to try to kill Grendel
  he did not want any of Hrothgars Danes to be
  able to earn that glory.

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Moribund (adj.)

• Dying, on the way out
• In the age of electronic communication, writing
  letters by hand seems to be a moribund custom.
• Synonym obsolescent
• Antonym flourishing, thriving

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Moribund (adj.)

• This is an adjective used to describe something
  that is dying out or is becoming outdated. For
  example, CDs and DVDs have replaced audio and
  video tapes, which are now moribund.
• Heroes like Beowulf who solve other peoples
  problems just to have a fun challenge are now
  moribund.

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Necromancer (n.)

• One who claims to reveal or influence the future
  through magic, especially communication with the
  dead in general, a magician or wizard.
• When the stock market began to tumble, some
  desperate financial investors resorted to
  necromancers for advice.
• Synonyms sorcerer, conjurer

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Necromancer (n.)

• This is a nounliterally a person who claims to
  have contact with the dead.
• The only thing that the story of Beowulf is
  missing is a good necromancer. Can you imagine
  an extra chapter in which a character
  communicates with the dead monsters to find out
  more about their opinions of Beowulf or their
  prophecies about his future?

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Onerous (adj.)

• Burdensome involving hardship or difficulty
• Informing patients of bad news is an onerous duty
  that every doctor has to perform.
• Synonyms oppressive, weighty
• Antonyms light, easy, undemanding, untaxing

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Onerous (adj.)

• This is an adjective that describes something
  difficult. It could be a task you dont want to
  do or a conversation that you dont want to have.
• Hrothgar had the onerous task of telling Beowulf
  that he couldnt stop with just killing Grendel,
  but that he would have to kill Grendels mother
  also.

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Rife (adj.)

• Common, prevalent, widespread, happening often
  full, abounding, plentiful, abundant, replete
• Since rumors were rife, the president announced
  that the company had been bought out by its major
  competitor.
• Antonyms devoid of, lacking

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Rife (adj.)

• This adjective describes things that are common
  and can be found everywhere.
• Beowulfs world was rife with evil sea monsters
  and dragons.

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Rudiments (n. pl.)

• The parts of any subject or discipline that are
  learned first the earliest stages of anything
• At a very young age, the girl learned the
  rudiments of chess from her father, a
  professional player.
• Synonyms fundamentals, basics

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Rudiments (n. pl.)

• Rudiments is a noun which is generally found in
  the plural form.
• Beowulf understood much more than just the
  rudiments of fighting other men may have only
  understood the basics, but he was advanced.

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Sequester (v.)

• To set apart, separate for a special purpose to
  take possession of and hold in custody
• The parties agreed to sequester the disputed
  funds pending a decision by the court.
• Synonyms seclude, segregate, isolate, closet

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Sequester (v.)

• Sequester is a verb. One of its most common uses
  applies to juries. If a jury is sent to a hotel
  and not allowed to read newspapers or watch the
  news until the end of the trial, then they have
  been sequestered.
• On the night of the battle with Grendel, Beowulf
  sequestered his men away from Hrothgars men so
  they would receive all of the glory.

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Winnow (v.)

• To get rid of something unwanted, delete to sift
  through to obtain what is desirable to remove
  the chaff from the wheat by blowing air on it to
  blow on, fan
• Spelling and grammar software programs are
  designed to help writers winnow inaccuracies from
  their documents.
• Synonyms sift, strain, filter, sort

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Winnow (v.)

• Winnow is a verb that describes the act of
  getting rid of things that are unwanted so that
  only the good parts remain.
• Beowulf winnowed the land of monsters until only
  good men remained.