Word List 5

1. Acumen: keenness of mind

“Studying will increase your acumen.”

2. Atone: to make amends

“Apologizing will atone for my mistake.”

3. Bucolic: pastoral

“The artist painted a beautiful bucolic landscape.”

4. Codicil: addition to a will

The millionaire added a codicil that left his nephew out of his will.

5. Dissension: quarreling

The “He said, She said” game always leads to dissension.”

6. Egress: way out; exit.

When someone yelled “Fire!”, I headed for the egress.

7. Emolument: salary

An education is a safe bet for a good emolument for the rest of your life.”

8. Equity: fairness

“The judge was known for his equitable manner.”

9. Exegesis: critical interpretation

After reading 1984, we discussed our exegesis of the novel.

10. Fetish: 1. object believed to have magical properties; 2. excessive devotion

A lucky rabbit’s foot is a fetish ( but not for the rabbit).

11. Incursion: sudden invasion

The rebels fought off the incursion of the foreign army.

12. Itinerant: traveling

The itinerant salesman knocked on our door.

13. Libation: poured offering

The natives offered a libation to their gods.

14. Nuptial: wedding

The couple wrote their own nuptial vows.

15. Patrimony: estate inherited from one’s father

The patrimony made the son very wealthy.

16. Precedent: act used to justify a later one; earlier

George Washington established the precedent that a president only serve two terms of office.

17. Sobriquet: assumed name

The witness was given a sobriquet to protect him from the mob.

18. Yaw: to swing off course

The advancing waves caused the ship to yaw in the storm.

Assignment

Show mastery of each vocabulary word by writing a sentence that demonstrates its meaning.

Underline the vocabulary word in the sentence.

Skip lines between sentences.