VocabularyUnit 3B

Marauder

• (n.) a raider, plunderer

Sentence

• In cowboy films marauders are often shown as men with bandanas over their faces.

Obesity

• (n.) excessive fatness

Sentence

• Obesity is considered the biggest cause of heart disease in the United States.

Pauper

• (n.) an extremely poor person

Sentence

• In the Prince and the Pauper a poor young man from the streets looked amazingly like the Prince.

Pilfer

• (v.) to steal in small quantities

Sentence

• Mr. Smith did not think that his company would notice his pilfering, but over time the small amounts of money added to a noticeable figure.

Rift

• (n.) a split, break, breach

• Usually refers to a relationship

Sentence

• My friend was afraid that if the rift between her parents wasn’t healed, her parents would get a divorce.

Semblance

• (n.) a likeness, an outward appearance

• A semblance of _____________

Sentence

• Despite his grief during his wife’s funeral, he maintained a semblance of calm throughout the service.

Surmount

• (v.) to overcome, rise above

• Usually to rise above a difficulty

Sentence

• Sometimes the heroes we value the most are those that had to surmount many obstacles in their past to get where they are today.

Terminate

• (v.) to bring to an end

• Hint: remember the Terminator who brought the bad guy to an end

Sentence

• In this economy many jobs have been terminated.

Trite

• (adj.) commonplace, overused, stale

Sentence

• The other day my daughter had to explain the meaning of several trite expressions. Her explanation of “don’t cry over spilt milk” was very funny.

Usurp

• (v.) to seize and hold a position by force or without right

• To take power that doesn’t belong to you

Sentence

• In some countries power is transferred by usurping the position rather than in a democratic election.