theist, noun - a person who denies the existence of God.

*When the judge asked the witness to swear that she would tell the truth, the witness replied that she could not, since she was an atheist.

Avid, adjective – extremely eager, enthusiastic.

* The candidate was accused of having an avid desire for personal power.

Belligerent, adjective – a fighting attitude; war like

*A truce was arranged between the two belligerent nations.

(Can also be use as a noun)

Emulate, verb – to copy or imitate.

*The basketball player admired his coach so much that he emulated his manner of speaking, walking and dressing.

Eulogy, noun – a speech or writing of high praise.

*At her inauguration the newly elected governor’s eulogy listed the accomplishments of the previous governor.

Sinister, adjective – evil; wicked; dishonest; frightening.

*When the bank guard spied the sinister-looking customer, he drew his gun.

Tempt, verb – try to get someone to do something; test; invite.

*A banana split can tempt me to break my diet.

Wager, noun - bet

*We made a wager that he would win.

(Can also be used as a verb)

Typical, adjective – usual; of a kind.

*The horse ran it’s typical race, a slow start and a slower finish, and my uncle lost his wager.

Minimum, adjective - the least possible amount; the lowest amount.

*Congress has set a minimum wage for all workers

(Can also be used as a noun)

Poet, noun – A person who writes poems.

*My friend is a well-known poet.

Whisper, verb – to speak very softly.

*You’ll have to whisper or she’ll hear you.

Stare, verb – to look hard at someone.

*They stared at her clothes in amazement.

Century, noun – a period of one hundred years.

*Some turtles can live for over a century.

Improve, verb – to get better and better.

*They study hard to improve their English skill.

Aegis, noun – defence; sponsorship; a shield

*Freedom of speech is sheltered by the aegis of the Constitution’s first amendment.

Affluent, adjective – rich; having material wealth.

*He is becoming more and more affluent.

(Can also be used as a noun.)

Alleviate, verb – relieve; lessen; make more bearable.

*The doctor prescribed her a drug that could alleviate her pain.

Altercation, noun – a noisy angry argument or controversy.

*The judge cited the two lawyers with contempt after their lengthy altercation in the court room.

Volatile, adjective – explosive, changeable.

*Jenny’s family was fearful of her volatile mood.

(Can also be used as a noun.)

Vicious, adjective – evil; wicked; cruel; likely to attack or cause harm.

*Keep away from that dog - it’s vicious!

Whirling, verb – turning or swinging round and round; spinning.

*The dancer whirled across the stage.

(Can also be used as a noun)

Underdog, noun – a person having the worst of any trouble; one who is expected to lose.

*He always likes to help the underdog.

Thrust, verb – push with force.

*He thrust his spade in the ground.

Bewildered, adjective.- confused completely; puzzled.

*The twists and turns in the cave soon bewildered us.

Depart, verb – to go away; leave.

*She departed from Paris today.

Tenant, noun – a person who pays rent to another for the use of a room, house, building, land etc.

*The man is a tenant of that expensive apartment.

(Can also be used as a verb or adjective.)

Ancient, adjective – very old; aged; antique.

*We are studying ancient history.

(Can also be used as a noun.)

Enormous, adjective – very great in size, number or degree; huge; big

*the new building is enormous.

Roam, verb – to walk around without purpose or direction; wander.

*He roamed from town to town.

(Can also be used as a noun.)

Abate, verb – to decrease in force, intensity, value or amount; lessen.

*The pain in his shoulder finally abated

Adage, noun – a traditional saying; a proverb.

*If you want to get rich, remember the adage “a penny saved is a penny earned.”

Abhor, verb - to regard with extreme distaste.

*Many people abhor handling snakes, but most snakes are quite harmless.

Acclimate, verb –to be accustomed to a new climate or environment; adapt; adjust.

*It is difficult for the human body to acclimate to abrupt changes in temperature.

Egotist, noun – a person who talks too much about himself; a conceited person.

*Egoists rarely listen to advice from friends or family because they feel certain that they know everything.

Numb, adjective – without the power of feeling; deadened.

*When the nurse stuck a pin in my numb leg, I felt nothing.

Shriek, verb – a loud, sharp, shrill cry; scream

*The maid shrieked when she discovered a corpse.

Corpse, noun – the dead body of a human being.

*The end of the police search was the discovery of a corpse.

Essential, adjective – necessary; very important.

*It is essential that we follow the road map.

Wrath, noun – very great anger; rage.

*After Anne’s wrath subsided, we were able to tell her what happened.

Appear, verb – to come into sight, to become visible.

*A plane appearing in the sky.

Cobbler, noun – a person who mends or makes shoes and boots.

*Nadine is bringing her broken shoes to a cobbler.

Author, noun – the writer of a book, article, play etc.

* Who is the author of this book?

(can also be used as a verb)

Thrifty, adjective - using money carefully and wisely

* My mother is a thrifty shopper.

Carefully, adverb – taking care or paying attention.

*The students answered the questions carefully.

Advanced

Ambivalent, adjective – having conflicting feelings toward a person or thing such as love and hate.

* The newly married couple were ambivalent about having children.

Loquacious, adjective - talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling; garrulous.

* With a few drinks under his belt, my normally quiet cousin can become quite loquacious

Pretentious, adjective –making claim to some distinctions ;creating an appearance to attract notice and impress others.

*Don’t encourage Anita’s pretentious pose of being related to Danish royalty.

Sedulous, adjective – busy; working hard; diligent.

* Through sedulous study, Joshua was able to get his degree in three years.

Minutiae, noun - small or trivial details; trifling matters.

* A thorough knowledge of the minutiae of his craft earned the artist an international reputation.

Intermediate

Tenants, noun - people who rent a room or house. <

* The tenants are complaining to the increase of their rental fee.

Mighty, adjective - having superior power or strength:

* The wind gave a mighty blow.

Drown, verb - to die by suffocating in water or another liquid.

* He drowned in the river.

Courage, noun- the quality that makes a person able to meet dangers without fear; bravery

* It took courage to sail the Atlantic single-handed.

Single-handed, adverb - by oneself; alone; without aid.

* He built the garage single-handedly.

(can also be used as an adjective)

Beginner

Parents, noun – father and mother, mommy and daddy

Acorn - noun – The fruit of an oak, consisting of a single-seeded, thick-walled nut set in a woody, cuplike base.

* Squirrels start collecting acorns in the fall in preparation for the winter.

Scarecrow - noun – An object usually suggesting a human figure that is set up to frighten birds away from crops

Thanksgiving day – noun, A holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in which people give thanks for everything they have.

Feast, noun– (banquet) A large fancy meal often accompanied by a ceremony or entertainment.

Celebration, noun – (festival) A time or program of special events and entertainment in honor of something.

Harvest, verb – (reap) To catch or collect (a crop or natural resource) for human use

Blessing , noun – (benediction) A prayer calling for divine care, protection, or favor

Custom, noun – (tradition) An inherited or established way of thinking, feeling, or doing.

Origin, noun – (ancestry) the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended

Drought, noun – A period of dryness especially when prolonged that causes extensive damage to crops or prevents their successful growth.

Designate, verb (appoint) - To decide upon (the time or date for an event) usually from a position of authority

This week I have put together vocabulary related to American Thanksgiving, an American holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. For more information on American Thanksgiving visit our western culture page at http://www.complimentaryenglish.com/westernculture.htm