Vocabulary 4A

1. Detritus2. Effervesce3. Myriad4. Insidious5. Invidious6. Intransigent7. Ineffable

8. Sophisticated9. Encourage10.Fascinate11.Derive12.vibrating

Detritus

• Noun• Loose material; miscellaneous

remnants; odds and ends• A detritus of rock and dirt

rumbled down the hillside and into the lake, where it splashed into the water.

Effervesce

• Verb• To bubble or hiss; to show

liveliness or exhilaration• The Alka-Seltzer tablet

effervesced in the glass, and sent up a million bubbles of relief to the top.

Myriad

• Noun• Ten thousand; great or vast number• The box contained a myriad of yarn,

buttons, sequins, and other sewing supplies – enough for a lifetime of crafting!

Insidious

• Adjective• Awaiting a chance to entrap; treacherous; sly• The insidious spider waited for a fly to enter

into its carefully constructed web.

Invidious

• Adjective• Tending to cause discontent, envy, animosity

or ill will• The political movie was invidious, and she

refused to stand a minute longer in the theatre watching it.

Intransigent

• Adjective• Characterized by a refusal to abandon a

position; very stubborn• The intransigent cat refused to get off my lap,

pawing in deep with its needle like claws.

ineffable

• Adjective• Unable to be expressed in words• The boy stood in ineffable silence, unable to

speak about what had happened to him in the camp.

sophisticated

• Adjective• Highly complicated or quite complex; having a

refined knowledge of the ways of the world• Sam’s cousin has a highly sophisticated

understanding of an engine; he can take one look under the hood and tell Sam just what is wrong with his car.

encourage

• Verb• To foster; to develop; to inspire with hope• My mother encouraged me to be a great chef

by showing me secrets to her favorite recipes and helping me study spices and extracts.

Fascinate

• Verb• To transfix with wonder; to hold spellbound• The book fascinated me with its vivid

characters and story of the war in Vietnam.

derive

• Verb• To infer; to take from a specified source• The word “giant” is derived from the Greek

root “gigas”.

vibrating

• Verb/Adj. • Oscillating; fluctuating; moving to and fro• The fan vibrated as it gave out cool, refreshing

air to the room.