Monday, April 22, 2013

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
Helen Keller (1880-1968)
For all my 12th graders:

The following is a list of the new vocabulary words from allege to substantive:

allege (v):  to assert without proof or confirmation
arrant (adj):  downright, thorough, blatant (as in arrant knaves)
badinage (n):  light and playful conversation
conciliate (v):  to overcome the distrust of; win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile
countermand (v):  to cancel or reverse one order or command with another that is contrary to the first
echelon (n):  one of a series of levels or grades in an organization or field of activity
exacerbate (v):  to make worse; to make more violent, severe, or painful
fatuous (adj):  stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way
irrefutable (adj):  that cannot be disproved; beyond argument
juggernaut (n):  a massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path
lackadaisical (adj):  lacking spirit or interest; halfhearted
litany (n):  a prayer consisting of short appeals to God; any repetitive chant; a long list (as in a litany of    complaints
macabre (adj):  grisly, gruesome, horrible, distressing, having death as a subject
melange (n):  a mixture, a medley
paucity (n):  an inadequate quantity; scarcity
portend (v):  to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of
raze (v):  to tear down, destroy completely
recant (v):  to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed; retract
saturate (v):  to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity, to satisfy fully
saturnine (adj):  of gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood
slough (v):  to cast off, discard; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary
substantive (adj):  pertaining to the essence or substance of something; existing in its own right; real, solid, of major importance

There will be a quiz on these 22 words at the beginning of next week.

Keep practicing your senior presentations!  And don't forget to submit your reflective essays to RIEPS.

Have a great night.  I hope to see you all tomorrow.