Welcome to Decent Exposure, Middle School Volume II

wary: Slide 2recollect: Slide 3ingenious: Slide 4shrewd: Slide 5listless: Slide 6wane: Slide 7deluge: Slide 8belittle: Slide 9agony: Slide 10wrath: Slide 11grandeur: Slide 12appalling: Slide 13cordial: Slide 14grisly: Slide 15illustrious: Slide 16grotesque: Slide 17saunter: Slide 18tempest: Slide 19prodigy: Slide 20junction: Slide 21massacre: Slide 22

ailment: Slide 23laceration: Slide 24havoc: Slide 25

Wary: careful and suspicioussynonyms: leery, cautiousantonyms: impulsive, careless, heedless, unwary,

forms: Noun: wariness Verb: OO Adjective: wary Adverb: warilyrelated words: beware, warn

wary,

reluctant.

Stephenie Meyer, Twilight

Her eyes were

warily,

expecting more of

Stephenie Meyer, New Moon

I watched his reaction

the fury that I had seen at his house.

wary

Robert Cormier, I am the Cheese

again, on guard, and mistrustful.He was

wary, and dangerous.John Steinbeck, The Pearl

cautious, and

Some animal thing was moving in him so that he was

Any form of the word wary will appear once in every 603 pages of text.

recollect remembersynonyms: recallantonyms: forget

forms: Noun: recollection, recollections Verb: recollect, recollects, recollected,recollecting

Adjective: 00 Adverb: 00related words: collect recollections.

Alexander Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

She would invoke the past, recall old recollected

law practice.Robert Penn Warren, All the King’s Men

how he had done quite well in his Then I recollections of her face

Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

and person are correct.

She was pretty, too, if my

recollection flashed into his mind.Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Idiot

A painful

Any form of the word recollect will appear once in every 140 pages of text.

Ingenious: brilliantsynonyms: inventiveantonyms: dull, ignorant

forms: Noun: ingenuity, ingeniousness Verb: OO Adjective: ingenious Adverb: ingeniouslyrelated words: genious

Ingenious,

J.K. Rowling, HP and the Chamber of Secrets

of getting along without magic.

really,l how many ways Muggles have found

ingenious devices for

JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit

troubled the world, especially the

The invented some of the machines that have since

killing large numbers of people at once.

ingenious

Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees

method of ridding the house of roaches– cracker crumbs and marshmallows.

I thought about explaining to her my mother’s ingenious

Edgar Allan Poe, The Purloined Letterthan bold.

The method of theft was not less

Any form of the word ingenious will appear once in every 265 pages of text.

Shrewd: having a sharp mind, able to see into people’s motivations, being able to make carefuland thoughtful decisions in one’s own interests,not likely to be fooledsynonyms: keen, astute, sharp, perceptive,calculatingantonyms: foolish, gullible, naïve, obtuse, denseForms: Noun: shrewdness Verb: 00 Adjective: shrewd Adverb: shrewdly

shrewd My boys are young, but they are very

Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

eyes

suddenly sharper.

“Hold on, Wanda,” Jeb said, his

Stephenie Meyer, The Host

shrewd. his eyes clear and

I glanced at him saw him looking at me with utter focus,

Jodi Piccault, Change of Heart

shrewd

eye.

“Now Max,” said Nix, peering at him with a

Henry H. Neff, The Fiend and the Forge

Any form of the word shrewd will appear once in every 326 pages of text.

Listless: having no energysynonyms: enervated, washed out, lazyantonyms: energetic, alert, livelyForms: Noun: listlessness Verb: 00 Adjective: listless Adverb: listlessly

listless and distracted.

You smell like cigarettes when you come home, you’re

Sarah Dessen, Someone Like You

listlessly.

The muddy waters in the after-the-flood churned

Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me Ultima

listless body and

carried her away from the goddess.

Luke gathered up Annabeth’s

Rick Riordan, The Titan’s Curse

listlessly.“I don’t feel up to it,” said Dorian,

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Any form of the word listless will appear once in every 1,990 pages of text.

Wane: fade out; become lesssynonyms: diminish, weaken, wither, recedeantonyms: intensify, grow, waxForms: Noun: 00 Verb: wane, wanes, waning waned Adjective: 00 Adverb: 00

waning gray light.

It was dusk, and there were only a few minutes in the

Nicholas Sparks, Message in a Bottle

waning light, Julie’s features took on a In the

pale glow.Nicholas Sparks, Guardian

waned now and then, for mostadmit my attention

Allie was unable to recognize me at any time, and I

Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

of my thoughts were of that day we had just met.

waned away.feeling between us had

Fewer tears had been shed because the intensity of

Nicholas Sparks, Dear John

Any form of the word wane will appear once in every 886 pages of text.

Deluge: flood Forms: Noun: deluge Verb: 00

Synonym: inundation Adjective: deluged (by)Antonym: drought Adverb: 00

deluge The continues as if the Gamemakers are

intent on washing us all away. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

deluge of saliva in my mouth.behind my eyes and a

The mere thought of the word provoked a shot of pain

Yann Martel, Life of Pi

deluge of memories of the night, and I feltwith it a

The sound of his voice, serious and husky, brought

Stephenie Meyer, Breaking Dawn

a blush color my face and neck.

deluges

of mud.

In autumn, on the other hand, we have

Albert Camus, The Plague

Any form of the word deluge will appear once in every 1,018 pages of text.

Belittle: make someone feel small and worthlesssynonyms: berate, insult, discourageantonyms: flatter, boost, fawn over, compliment, praise, encourageForms: Noun: 00 Verb: belittle, belittles, belittling, belittled Adjective: 00 Adverb: 00

belittlingsighs that could be so

steely narrowing of her eyes, the heavy, enunciated

You just knew, by the expression of her face, by the

Sara Dessen, Just Listen

You just knew, by the expression of her face, by the

that words, any words,

seemed preferable to him.

belittled his freckles and jacket, when she

She had known all along, when she criticized the mink

Amy Tan, The Joy-Luck Club

complained about his drinking habits.

belittled

their partners.

Others were so full of themselves that they

Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

belittle the place where they were born.People often

Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Any form of the word belittle will appear once in every 4,482 pages of text.

Agony: severe, prolonged painForms: Noun: agony, agonies Verb: agonize, agonizes, agonized

agonizing Adjective: 00 Adverb: 00

agony.a yell of pain and a scream of

Everybody in the game knew the difference between

Darren Shan, A Vampire’s Assistant

agony, and sweat streamed

down his face.

His face contracted in

S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders

agony.He groaned and twisted in

David Almond, Skelleg

agony of pain was more than I could bear.The

Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me Ultima

Any form of the word agony will appear once in every 193 pages of text.

Wrath: angersynonyms: rage, fury

Forms: Noun: wrath Verb: 00 Adjective: wrathful Adverb: wrathfully

wrath yourself.Do it, or feel my

J.K. Rowling, HP and the Deathly Hollows

wrath.

wrath of the dragons yet again?

If you were to try, would that not yet again incur the

James A. Owen, Here There Be Dragonswrath.

She stood shivering beneath the torrent of her mother’s

Stephen Crane, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

Any form of the word wrath will appear once in every 215 pages of text.

Gray Beaver’s

Jack London, White Fang

was terrible; likewise was

White Fang’s wrath.

Grandeur: great beauty and majesty, eithernatural or man-madesynonyms: ostentation, glory, magnificenceantonyms: simplicity, ordinarinessForms: Noun: grandeur Verb: 00 Adjective: grand Adverb: grandly

grandeur

of the great fish.

We watched in silence the beauty and

Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me Ultima

grandeur. aspirations of

How maddening it was to be born in a cotton field with

Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

grandeur-- and yet the littlest things make such a

My days are consumed by war--its awful scale and

Henry H. Neff, The Maelstromdifference.

grandeur. The great hall was a sight, stunning in its

James A. Owen, Here There Be Dragons

Any form of the word grandeur will appear once in every 502 pages of text.

Appalling: shocking, horrifyingsynonyms: mortifying, shameful, disgracefulantonyms: soothing, reassuring, gratifyingForms: Noun: 00 Verb: appall, appalls,

appalled, appalling Adjective: 00 Adverb: appallingly

appalling liar.And then you’re such an

Stephenie Meyer, The Host

appalled,

Axe.

completely shocked, and so wasHe was

Marcus Luttrell, Lone Survivor

appalled.I stared at him, confused and

Stephenie Meyer, New Moon

appalling

far below.

crash as they struck waterThere was an

Henry H. Neff, The Maelstrom

Any form of the word appall will appear once in every 531 pages of text.

Cordial: politesynonyms: courteous, friendly, warmantonyms: rude, boorish, uncouth, aloofForms: Noun: cordiality Verb: 00 Adjective: cordial Adverb: cordiallyOrigin: cord: heart

cordial our meeting will be anything less than

There is, of course, no reason at all to suppose that

Kazuo Ishiguro, Remains of the Day

cordial to everybody—

a sophisticated and ultimately false front.

He learned to be

David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedarscordial distance would be best.

I did not want any of that kind of trouble, and to keep a

Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace

cordial,

professional handling of this situation.

And thank you so much for your

Sarah Dessen, The Lullaby

Any form of the word cordial will appear once in every 280 pages of text.

The word grisly will appear once in every 3,296 pages of text.

Grisly: horrifyingly bloody,sickeningly violentsynonym: gruesome, macabreantonyms: pleasant, gentle, soft

grisly

that I couldn’t bear it.

The pictures in my head had turned so

The Host, Stephenie Meyer

grisly sights, the ward was peaceful.Despite such

The Maelstrom, Henry H. Neff

grisliest kind.

It was understandably a nightmare, a monster of the

The Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer

grisly The murders--”I turned away from the

Kiss the Girls, James Patterson

TV coverage and I had to sigh out loud.

The word illustrious appears once in every in 427 pages of text.

Illustrious: famous and repected; highly accomplishedsynonym: reveredantonym: disgraced, lowly

Etymology: from lustr-, meaning light or shine

And here is our

Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Ultimatum

relative from Boston…illustrious

illustrious Your

J.D. Robb, Glory in Death

associate Morse is drooling down

my neck.

illustrious

I knew he was feeling that this was just more

The Ultimate Gift, Jim Stovall

father’s expectations?

time failed to live up to his illustrious

That was probably true, for my husband was of

Not Without My Daughter, Betty Mahmoody

implicit even in his name.

lineage in his homeland, a fact

The word grotesque will appear once in every 640 pages of text.

Grotesque: horribly abnormalsynonym: distortedantonym: normal, beautiful

Forms: Noun: 00 Verb: 00Adjective: grotesqueAdverb: grotesquely

Holes, Louis Sachar

face.No one even dared to look at his grotesque grotesque

The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom

shade, a fading blueberry.His skin was a grotesque

HP and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling

face, his mouth saggingMalfoy made a

open and his eye rolling.

grotesque

The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks

now, and they throb during most of my waking hours.

My hands are misshapen and

Any form of the word saunter will appear once in every 1,004 pages of text.

Saunter: walk in a slow, casual, leisurely waysynonym: amble, strollantonym: march

Forms: Noun: OO Verb: saunter, saunters, sauntered sauntering Adjective: 00 Adverb: 00

Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll

by them, with his hands in his pockets.

At this moment the Unicorn sauntered saunter

Identical, Ellen Hopkins

up the stage steps.Totally guilt free, Isaunters

Inherit the Wind, Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence

on, chewing on an apple.HORNBECK

sauntered

Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer

out to the car, mutteringCharlie

about impatience.

Any form of the word tempest will appear once in every 374 pages of text.

Tempest: storm

Forms: Noun: tempest, tempests Verb: 00 Adjective: 00 Adverb: 00

tempest

Christopher Paolini, Brisingr

roared: a whirlwind ofIn his mind a

flashing blades and severed limbs .tempest

Dune, Frank Herbert

Paul took a deep breath, trying to still the

within him.

tempest’s

Eragon, Christopher Paolini

As they watched, the

wrath struck him like a hammer blow.

tempest

Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny

We were

as the poets say.

-tossed and storm-torn,

Any form of the word prodigy will appear once in every 474 pages of text.

Prodigy: a a child with extraordinary talent in a specific area, usuallythe arts, mathematics, science, or sports

Related to: produce, prodigious (fruitful, producing a great amount)

prodigy

Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny

and a weapons master.

You were a mechanical prodigy

Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Piccault

must have been a child

Is that my cue to say something like, you

?prodigy,

The Joy-Luck Club, Amy Tan

And when I lost, I was filled with growing dread, and

then terror that I was no longer a

lost the gift and had turned into something ordinary.

that I had

A Living Nightmare, Darren Shan

remarkable child, a true

I said to myself, ‘Larten, there goes a most

prodigy.

Any form of the word junction will appear once in every 718 pages of text.

Junction: point of intersectionRelated words: juncture, conjunctionEtymology: junct, meaning joining

junction

and tail brush.

was shaded by a row of treesThe trial

Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried

junction He paused as a of two paths and

looked around for some sign of Fleur.

J.K. Rowling, HP and the Goblet of Fire

junction. marking a

The truck headed toward an intersection that had signs

James Patterson, The Angel Experimentjunction of the stairs.

feel the ache of true exhaustion in her legs and arms

She limped down the corridor--she was beginning to

Cassandra Clare, City of Bones

Massacre: an event in which multiple people are brutally murdered

near-synonym: slaughter

And Billy had seen the greatest massacre in human history, which was thebombing of Dresden.Kurt Vonnegut, Slaugherhouse-Five

Any form of the word massacre will appear once in 477 pages of text.

massacre And Billy had seen the greatest

in human history, which was the bombing of Dresden.Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

massacre. It was nothing less than aMarcus Lutrell, Lone Survivor

massacres, wars, executions.It explains any number of

Don Delillo, White Noise

massacre!” this

Janice shouted through her hands, “Someone stop

Chang-Rae Lee, Native Speaker

Ailment: sickness, disease, painSynonym: maladyForms: Noun: ailment, ailments Verb: ail, ails, ailed, ailing Adjective: 00 Adverb: 00

Any form of the word ailment will appear once in 1,438 pages of text.

?Next, she offered: What herb cures all

Christopher Paolinni, Eldestailments. about their

The benches are always packed with people talking

Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes

ailments like measles or tenanus or TB.died of

Not surprisingly, they tended to shrug when patients

Tracy Kidder, Mountains Beyond Mountains

ailments

ailment

but it was unsightly, to say the least.

A benign cyst, it was not a life-threatening

Nicholas Sparks, Nights in Rodanthe

Any form of the word laceration will appear once in every 2,928 pages.

Laceration: cut in the skin; woundForms: Noun: laceration, lacerations Verb: lacerate, lacerates, lacerated, lacerating Adjective: 00 Adverb: 00

lacerated knuckles.

There were three splotches of blood below the

keyhole from his

Stephen King, The Shining

laceration twice as deep as the others.jagged

The knife swerved as a result, leaving her with a long,

Chrisopher Paolini, Brisingr

lacerated kidney, and I’ll stillfractured skull, a

You suffered thirteen wounds, a broken shoulder, a

Henry H. Neff, The Maelstrom

wager that you recover within a week.

laceration was on your upper lip.The worst

Khalid Hosseini, Kite Runner

The word havoc will appear once in every 1,324 pages of text.

Havoc: a state of massive violence and confusionSynonym: mayhemAntonym: tranquility, peace, serenityExpression: to wreak (reek) havoc

havoc menace who lived to cause

Peeves was the school poltergeist, a grinning, airborne

J.K. Rowling, HP and the Chamber of Secrets

and distress.havoc, and then died somewhere overland on the Gulf.

The storms have always raged across Florida, wreaking

David Eggers, Zeitoun

havoc in the world.they were wreaking

The folk he’d made were evil, they’d gone all wrong,

David Almond, Clay

havoc.wreaking

Since they have moved into the open, they have been

J.K. Rowling, HP and the Half-Blood Prince