Unit 4: Vocabulary from Readings

This list covers "Made You Laugh," "I’ve Got a Few Pet Peeves about Sea Creatures," "Underfunded Schools Forced to Cut Past Tense from Language Programs," "The Open Window," The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, "Mooses," "Is Traffic Jam Delectable?," A Midsummer Night’s Dream, "Fear Busters—10 Tips to Overcome Stage Fright," and "9 Public Speaking Tips to Get Over Stage Fright."
28 words 118 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. juxtaposition
    a side-by-side arrangement
    “Sometimes it’s a keen observation about something you thought you lived through. Sometimes it’s a juxtaposition of words. Sometimes it’s a gesture or a sound. An encyclopedia couldn’t do this question justice.”
  2. persona
    an actor's portrayal of someone in a play, film, etc...
    Some comedians exploited this theory by building a routine—or even a persona—around the idea that they were losers who couldn’t catch a break.
  3. unbeknownst
    occurring or existing without the knowledge of
    Fortunately, we have a beetle-intensive patio, so, unbeknownst to Sophie, we were able to replace Marvin with a parade of stand-ins of various sizes (“Look! Marvin has grown bigger!” “Wow! Today Marvin has grown smaller!”).
  4. tedious
    so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
    But it gets to be tedious, going out early every morning to wrangle patio beetles. So we decided to go with fish.
  5. pacifist
    opposed to war
    But getting back to my daughter's fish: After much thought, the aquarium guy was able to find me three totally pacifist fish—Barney Fife fish, fish so nonviolent that, in the wild, worms routinely beat them up and steal their lunch money.
  6. transpire
    come about, happen, or occur
    Faced with ongoing budget crises, underfunded schools nationwide are increasingly left with no option but to cut the past tense—a grammatical construction traditionally used to relate all actions and states that have transpired at an earlier point in time—from their standard English and language arts programs.
  7. outmoded
    no longer in fashion
    Nevertheless, a number of educators are coming out against the cuts, claiming that the embattled verb tense, while outmoded, still plays an important role in the development of today’s youth.
  8. duly
    in an appropriate or proper manner
    Framton Nuttel endeavoured to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come.
  9. rectory
    housing that a church provides for its clergy
    My sister was staying here, at the rectory, you know, some four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here.”
  10. moor
    open land with peaty soil covered with heather and moss
    They never came back. In crossing the moor to their favourite snipe-shooting ground they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog.
  11. scarcity
    a small and inadequate amount
    She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the prospects for duck in the winter.
  12. delusion
    a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea
    “The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental
    excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical exercise,” announced Framton, who laboured under the tolerably wide-spread delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least detail of one's ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure.
  13. mackintosh
    a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
    “Here we are, my dear,” said the bearer of the white mackintosh, coming in through the window; “fairly muddy, but most of it's dry. Who was that who bolted out as we came up?”
  14. vigor
    forceful exertion
    In another moment he was flying down the street with his pail and a tingling rear, Tom was whitewashing with vigor, and Aunt Polly was retiring from the field with a slipper in her hand and triumph in her eye.
  15. straiten
    bring into difficulties, especially financial hardship
    He got out his worldly wealth and examined it—bits of toys, marbles, and trash; enough to buy an exchange of WORK, maybe, but not half enough to buy so much as half an hour of pure freedom. So he returned his straitened means to his pocket, and gave up the idea of trying to buy the boys.
  16. alacrity
    liveliness and eagerness
    Tom gave up the brush with reluctance in his face, but alacrity in his heart.
  17. dilapidated
    in a state of decay, ruin, or deterioration
    He had besides the things before mentioned, twelve marbles, a piece of blue bottle-glass to look through, a spool cannon, a key that wouldn’t unlock anything, a fragment of chalk, a glass stopper of a decanter, a tin soldier, a couple of tadpoles, six fire-crackers, a kitten with only one eye, a brass door-knob, a dog-collar—but no dog—the handle of a knife, four pieces of orange-peel, and a dilapidated old window sash.
  18. lectern
    desk or stand with a slanted top used to hold a text
    Reaching out palm upwards, to catch whatever might be
    falling from heaven—
    He tries to think,
    Leaning their huge weight
    On the lectern of his front legs.
  19. delectable
    extremely pleasing to the sense of taste
    Is traffic jam delectable,
    does jelly fish in lakes,
    does tree bark make a racket,
    does the clamor rattle snakes?
  20. debonair
    having a sophisticated charm
    I like to use piano keys
    to open locks of hair,

    then put a pair of brake shoes on
    and dance on debonair.
  21. forsooth
    certainly; indeed (now often used ironically)
    Now, I perceive that she hath made compare
    Between our statures; she hath urged her height;
    And with her personage, her tall personage,
    Her height, forsooth, she hath prevaild with him.
  22. dissipate
    go away, scatter, or disappear
    Your character will at some point move and gesture. Use the times when your character can move and react as opportunities to dissipate your nervous energy.
  23. regulate
    fix or adjust the time, amount, degree, or rate of
    Take deep breaths and regulate your breathing. Let the breathing regulate and calm your heart rate.
  24. sabotage
    destroy property or hinder normal operations
    Understand that the audience is here to see you succeed. They know how it feels to perform, and they’re not here to sabotage you, or poke fun at you...they’re here to learn from you, to laugh, and to be entertained.
  25. orator
    a person who delivers a speech
    You may not have been born a proficient orator, but you can certainly get there.
  26. envision
    imagine, conceive of, or see in one's mind
    “The day of the speech, I start to envision myself onstage and the audience members,” she says. “I envision how I will deliver my lines, how the audience will respond, and how I will feel giving a great speech. Doing this gives me confidence to deliver just as I envisioned.”
  27. podium
    a platform raised above the surrounding level
    A podium certainly looks official, but using one may do you a disservice. “Podiums can act as barriers from the audience, not allowing you to connect with them,” Yana says.
  28. adrenaline
    hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress
    “Even after 5 years of public speaking, I still get nervous,” Josephine says. “But it’s not about getting rid of your nerves; it’s about learning how to convert [them] to excitement and using the adrenaline to your advantage.”
Created on Fri Nov 12 14:05:20 EST 2021 (updated Wed Dec 01 09:01:24 EST 2021)

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