1. Unit 1 Vocabulary Level A

2. besiege
(v) To attack by surrounding with military forces; to cause worry or trouble

3. The large cat besieged the small town.

4. compress
(v) To press together; to reduce in size or volume; (n) a folded cloth or pad applied to an injury

5. The woman has placed a cold compress on her forehead in hopes of diminishing her headache.

6. dispatch
(v) To send off our out for a purpose; kill; (n) an official message; promptness, speed; the act of killing

7. The police use radios to dispatch important messages to one another.

8. (v) To plunge into a liquid, drench; to put out quickly, extinguish
douse
(v) To plunge into a liquid, drench; to put out quickly, extinguish

9. Luckily, the firefighters were able to successfully douse the flames.

10. (adj) suffering severely from hunger or from lack of something
famished
(adj) suffering severely from hunger or from lack of something

11. The child had not had a meal in quite some time, and was famished.

12. (adj) profitable; bringing in money or some special advantage
gainful
(adj) profitable; bringing in money or some special advantage

13. The child’s first business experience was quite gainful.

14. ingenious
(adj) showing remarkable originality, inventiveness, or resourcefulness; clever

15. The coyote always seems to come up with ingenious plans to catch the roadrunner, but they never work!

16. (v) To annoy, trouble, make weary
irk
(v) To annoy, trouble, make weary

17. If you irk someone, they will not respond positively!

18. (n) A stupid person; a big, clumsy, slow individual
oaf
(n) A stupid person; a big, clumsy, slow individual

19. Baby Huey from the Looney Tunes cartoons is an incredibly bumbling oaf!

20. (v) To go or move backward; to become more distant
recede
(v) To go or move backward; to become more distant

21. The man’s hairline was beginning to recede.