Collection 5: Genesis of the Tenement

As you read Jacob Riis's "Genesis of the Tenement" from "How the Other Half Lives," learn this word list. Here are links to lists for texts in Grade 11's Collection 5: To Build a Fire, The Jungle, Food Product Design, The Lowest Animal, Genesis of the Tenement, The Story of an Hour, The Fish
20 words 632 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. mark of Cain
    the mark that God set upon Cain now refers to a person's sinful nature
  2. promiscuous
    not selective of a single class or person
  3. engender
    call forth
  4. garret
    floor consisting of open space at the top of a house
  5. improvident
    not supplying something useful for the future
  6. squalid
    foul and run-down and repulsive
  7. depravity
    moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles
  8. slovenliness
    habitual uncleanliness
  9. stolid
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
  10. burgher
    a member of the middle class
  11. pro rata
    in proportion
  12. allotment
    distribution according to a plan
  13. scavenger
    someone who collects things discarded by others
  14. rookery
    a breeding ground for gregarious birds (such as rooks)
  15. pile
    a collection of objects laid on top of each other
  16. stable
    a farm building for housing horses or other livestock
  17. habitation
    housing that someone is living in
  18. vagrant
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
  19. vagabond
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
  20. philanthropy
    the act of donating money or time to promote human welfare
Created on Thu Jul 17 16:08:11 EDT 2014 (updated Thu Jul 24 11:21:43 EDT 2014)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.