Unit Four Vocabulary Grade Seven

1. alliance (n) a joining together for some common purpose syn: pact, league, coalition ant: rift, split Ex. The companies formed an alliance to go green and protect the environment.

2. bewilder (v) to puzzle completely, to confuse syn: baffle, perplex ant: set straight, enlighten Ex. The Sudoku bewildered the student.

3. buffoon (n) a clown; a coarse, stupid person syn: jester, fool Ex. A buffoon may be entertaining at a circus but would be out of place at a funeral.

4. controversial (adj) arousing argument, dispute, or disagreement syn: arguable, debatable Ex. The candidates discuss controversial subjects at a debate.

5. dishearten (v) to discourage syn: dismay, demoralize, dispirit ant: encourage, hearten Ex. Do not be disheartened if you do not make the team. Try again next year.

6. fruitless (adj) not producing the desired result; unsuccessful syn: useless, vain, unproductive, futile ant: productive, effective Ex. The fruitless attempt to make the squad left the young player disheartened.

7. hostile (adj) unfriendly; unfavorable; warlike, aggressive ant: friendly, cordial, peaceful Ex. Opposing candidates appear hostile to each other.

8. inflammable (adj) easily set on fire; easily angered or aroused syn: combustible, flammable, excitable ant: fireproof, fire-resistant, calm Ex. The crowd of protestors was inflammable. It took little to get them angry.

9.inflict (v) to give or cause something unpleasant; impose syn: deal out, visit upon ant: suffer, undergo, sustain Ex. When the girl accidentally touched the hot frying pan, pain was immediately inflicted on her hand.

10. malignant (adj) deadly, extremely harmful, evil; spiteful, malicious syn: lethal, wicked ant: wholesome, beneficial, benign Ex. Holes in the ozone are having a malignant effect on the world.

11. mortify (v)to hurt someone’s feelings deeply; to cause embarrassment or humiliation; to subdue or discipline by self-denial or suffering syn: humiliate, embarrass, abash Ex. The boy was mortified when he shot his first basket of the game in the wrong hoop.

12. orthodox (adj) in agreement with established or generally accepted beliefs or ways of doing things syn: traditional, standard, customary ant: unusual, unconventional, heretical Ex. I will never drop in uninvited to someone’s home. I have an orthodox view that one must be invited before appearing at someone’s door.

13. procure (v) to obtain through special effort; to bring about syn: gain, acquire, achieve Ex. The Drama Club procures funding for each show from the profits from the previous show.

14. scurry (v) to run quickly, scamper, hurry syn: rush, dash, scramble ant: trudge, plod, creep, crawl Ex. When playing dodge ball, players scurry out of the way of a flying dodge ball.

15. sodden (adj) soaked with liquid or moisture; expressionless; dull; spiritless, listless syn: drenched, waterlogged, saturated ant: parched, arid Ex. I became sodden quickly during the deluge.

16. spirited (adj) full of life and vigor; courageous syn: lively, animated, gallant ant: lifeless, dull, lackluster Ex. The cheerleader was spirited and motivated the team into a second effort to win the game.

17. virtual (adj) having a certain force or effect in fact but not in name; so close as to be equivalent to the real thing syn: functioning as, equivalent to Ex. Although he had not been officially elected as class president, he ran everything already and was virtually the leader.

18. void (adj) completely empty; having no legal force or effect (n) empty or unfilled space (v) to cancel or nullify syn: (adj) invalid, vacant, bare ant: (adj) in effect, teeming with (v) confirm Ex. The Milky Way is not void; six planets reside there.

19. wayward (adj) disobedient, willful; unpredictable, capricious syn: perverse ant: docile, well-behaved, predictable Ex. The untrained puppy was wayward and chewed through many things.

20. wince (v) to draw back suddenly, as though in pain or fear (n) the act of drawing back in this way syn: (v) flinch, shudder, recoil Ex. The girl winced when she accidentally touched the hot frying pan.