Vocabulary

Unit 10A

Adept

• (adj.) thoroughly skilled; an expert• Hint: when someone is bad as something we

say they are inept, when they are skilled we say they are adept

Sentence

Despite being an amateur mechanic, Mr. Williams decided to bring his car to a man he knew was adept at repairing transmissions.

Aspire

• (v.) to have ambitious hopes or plans,

strive toward a higher goal, desire

earnestly to ascend

• Hint: a spire is the tall point at the top of a building, you have to try very hard to reach it

Sentence

• After achieving some success in high school plays, Patty aspired to act on Broadway.

Bleak

• (adj.) bare, dreary, dismal

• Hint: Bleak and Black are both dark and dreary

Sentence

• Many people are looking for a job at this time; the situation is bleak as more companies are laying off employees.

Chide

• (v.) to blame; scold

• Hint: Children are often chided

Sentence

• The mom chided the little girl for running with a lollypop in her mouth.

Despicable

• (adj.) worthy of scorn, contemptible• Hint: “despise someone who is despicable”

Sentence

• Martin’s behavior was despicable; he was engaged to one woman and dating another.

Diminutive

• (adj.) small, smaller than most others of the same type

• Hint: think “mini” for de”min”utive

Sentence

• The diminutive size of Adam’s car earned it the nickname of “the clown car”.

Emancipate

• (v.) to free from slavery; to release or liberate

• Hint: Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves, or think “Free-man-cipate”

Sentence

• Abraham Lincoln made a famous speech in which he promised to emancipate all slaves, north and south.

Erroneous

• (adj.) incorrect, containing mistakes• Hint: ERROneous = ERROR

Sentence

• Due to their erroneous conclusion, the professor had them repeat their experiments after class.

Exploit

• (v.) to make use of, develop; to make improper use of for personal profit; a deed

• Hint: “her “ex” plotted to take advantage of her”

Sentence

• Many actresses are accused of exploiting their beauty rather than relying on their talent to get acting roles.

Extemporaneous

• (adj.) made or delivered on the spur of the moment

• Hint: extemporaneous = spontaneous

Sentence

• When my son found out he had a presentation to deliver on “What is Important” to him, he pulled out his medical insurance card and provided the class with an extemporaneous speech on the importance of good health.