Vocabulary List #5

Vocabulary List #5

Cordial: warm and friendly

• Heidi was cordial to Mr. Fugi when he was introduced as the new principal.

• Leonard was nervous about meeting the president, but she greeted him with such a cordial handshake that he soon felt very comfortable.

acquitted: found not guilty

• Bud's friends were all relieved when he was acquitted of the charges against him.

• Because Gina was acquitted of shoplifting, she did not have to go to jail.

Virtue: goodness; moral excellence; a good quality or feature

• Beths parents can't wait for her to discover the virtue of keeping her bedroom clean.

• The senator was a man of great virtue and was never once involved in a scandal of any kind.

Significant: full of meaning; having great impact

• The strange weather patterns are significant because they may suggest an overall change in world climates.

• The gold locket that Denise wears is significant to her because it once belonged to her grandmother.

dignity: self respect and honor

• Mr. Santini told his four children to behave with dignity at their grandfathers funeral.

• "If you behave with dignity in this classroom, you will do well and have my respect," said the new chemistry teacher.

melodramatic: overly emotional

• The actors were so melodramatic that it was hard to take the play seriously.

• Midge was being melodramatic when she accidentally dumped a slice of pizza in her lap and then shouted, "That does it! I'm never eating again for as long as I live!

List #5 continued

Eternal: existing always, without beginning or end

• "My love for you is eternal," Romeo whispered. "I will never love another."

• Harvey was eternally grateful to his father for letting him drive his Corvette to the prom. He never forgot the favor.

Paranoid: overly suspicious

• My sister is paranoid. She's convinced that someone is spying on her.

• When Brooke saw that her locker door was ajar, she became paranoid and thought everyone in school was trying to steal her stuff.

Emerge: to rise from; to become visible or known

The excited crowd held up banners as the football team emerged from the locker room and ran onto the field.

The very Saturday that Melody was supposed to go out with Gabe, a pimple emerged on her forehead.

Chaos: extreme confusion or disorder

• The earthquake and power outage threw the city into chaos. The police, fire department and ambulances couldn't keep up with all the calls.

• The halls were chaotic when the students burst out of the classrooms at the last bell on the last day of school.

Bonus Words

Impeccable: faultless; free of error

Walter's reading of the poem was impeccable. He didn't stumble once, and everyone could hear him clearly.

JoAnn's taste in clothing was impeccable. That's why she was voted "Best Dressed."

Grovel: to humble yourself in a degrading way before someone

"I guess I'm going to forgive Tim for breaking our date," said Julia, "but I'm going to make him grovel first."

No matter how she groveled, Ericka could not persuade her sister to loan her the beautiful black sweater.