Grade 6 College Vocabulary, Week 16

Definition: having to do with the home and family; (also) belonging to one's own country rather than a foreign one.

From the reading: "...then hung about the chimney-corner as its own domestic Heaven..." (the steam of the singing kettle).

Synonyms:

household, family, homely; (second sense) native, internal

Antonyms:

public, foreign, external

Root:Latin domesticus, "of the house," from domus, "house" (as in dome and domicile).

Definition: lively, cheerful and full of energy.

From the reading: "Next moment she was down upon her knees before the basket, speaking in a sprightly voice, and busy with the parcels."

Synonyms:

lively, spirited, vivacious

Antonyms:

sluggish, listless, dull

Root:English spright, an old spelling of sprite (a spirit), from Latin spiritus, "breath, spirit," + -ly.

Definition: odd or old-fashioned in a pleasing way.

From the reading: "His garb was very quaint and odd..." (the mysterious old Stranger).

Synonyms:

old-fashioned, curious, picturesque

Antonyms:

modern, ordinary, up-to-date

Root:Old French cointe, "clever, neat," from Latin cognitus, "known." The meaning drifted from "skillfully made" to "pleasingly odd."

Definition: going on without stopping; never ceasing.

From the reading: "There were little tumblers in red breeches, incessantly swarming up high obstacles of red-tape..." (the toys in Caleb's workshop).

Synonyms:

ceaseless, constant, unending

Antonyms:

occasional, intermittent, brief

Root:Latin in- (not) + cessare (to stop, cease): not stopping.

Definition: calm and slow to show feeling; solid and hard to excite.

From the reading: "...so dull without, so quick within; so stolid, but so good!" (Dickens on John Peerybingle, the honest Carrier).

Synonyms:

impassive, steady, unemotional

Antonyms:

excitable, emotional, volatile

Root:Latin stolidus, "dull, slow, unmovable."

Definition: using bitter, mocking words, often saying the opposite of what one means, in order to wound.

From the reading: "...and his whole sarcastic ill-conditioned self peering out of one little corner of one little eye..." (Tackleton the toy merchant).

Synonyms:

mocking, sneering, scornful

Antonyms:

sincere, kind, earnest

Root:Greek sarkazein, "to tear flesh," from sarx, "flesh": words that bite.

Definition: given or done unwillingly, as if it hurts to give it.

From the reading: "'Well! and being there,—how are you?' said Tackleton, in his grudging way."

Synonyms:

reluctant, unwilling, stingy

Antonyms:

generous, wholehearted, ungrudging

Root:Middle English grucchen, "to grumble, complain," from Old French grouchier.

Definition: kind in a way that shows one thinks oneself better than others; talking down to someone.

From the reading: "...was very genteel and patronising indeed." (Mrs. Fielding at the party).

Synonyms:

condescending, superior, haughty

Antonyms:

humble, respectful, gracious

Root:Latin patronus, "protector, patron," from pater, "father": treating others like children.

Definition: a feeling, without proof, that something is wrong or that someone is guilty.

From the reading: "'I confess to having had my suspicions always,' said Tackleton."

Synonyms:

distrust, doubt, mistrust

Antonyms:

trust, confidence, faith

Root:Latin suspicio, from suspicere, "to look up at, look at secretly" (sub- "under" + specere "to look").

Definition: the state of being puzzled and unsure what something means.

From the reading: "The Carrier and his wife exchanged a look of perplexity."

KJV: "Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed" (Luke 9:7).

Synonyms:

confusion, puzzlement, bafflement

Antonyms:

clarity, understanding, certainty

Root:Latin perplexus, "entangled," from per- (thoroughly) + plectere (to weave, twist).

Definition: deep confusion, like that of someone who is lost.

From the reading: "But I think Caleb's vague bewilderment of manner may have half originated in his having confused himself about himself..."

Synonyms:

confusion, befuddlement, disorientation

Antonyms:

clarity, composure, understanding

Root:be- (thoroughly) + wilder (to lead astray, as in a wilderness): to be lost in the wilds.

Definition: sudden alarm and dismay that leaves a person unsure what to do.

From the reading: "Whenever it appeared, the Fairies uttered a general cry of consternation, and plied their little arms and legs, with inconceivable activity, to rub it out."

Synonyms:

dismay, alarm, panic

Antonyms:

calm, composure, assurance

Root:Latin consternare, "to throw into confusion, terrify."

Definition: the act of making someone believe what is not true.

From the reading: "...with his own lips he had forged the innocent deception which should help to keep her from suspecting how much, how very much, he every day, denied himself, that she might be the happier."

KJV: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7).

Note: Caleb meant his deception kindly, but the story shows that even loving lies must at last give way to the truth.

Synonyms:

trickery, falsehood, pretense

Antonyms:

honesty, truthfulness, openness

Root:Latin decipere, "to ensnare, cheat" (de- + capere, "to take").

Definition: open, honest and direct in speech. (In the KJV, frankly means freely, without charge.)

From the reading: "There was a frank boy once..." (the Carrier to Edward, who had come home in disguise).

KJV: "And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both" (Luke 7:42).

Synonyms:

candid, plain-spoken, forthright

Antonyms:

secretive, evasive, guarded

Root:Old French franc, "free," from the Franks, the free people of Gaul.

Definition: serious and sincere in purpose or feeling.

From the reading: "...a heart so single and so earnest in its Truth, so strong in right, so weak in wrong..." (John's heart on his night of trial).

KJV: "...also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 5:5). Here the noun means a pledge: a first payment that promises the rest.

Synonyms:

sincere, serious, wholehearted

Antonyms:

flippant, insincere, frivolous

Root:Old English eornoste, "seriousness, zeal."

Definition: wildly unreasonable or silly; making no sense.

From the reading: "...grotesque figures that were ever ready to commit all sorts of absurdities on the turning of a handle..."

Synonyms:

ridiculous, preposterous, ludicrous

Antonyms:

reasonable, sensible, logical

Root:Latin absurdus, "out of tune," from ab- (away from) + surdus (dull-sounding, deaf).

Definition: in a story, the strain of not knowing how a conflict will end; (in general) the state of being stretched tight, whether a rope or a person's feelings.

From the reading: "Which part has the highest tension?" (a lesson practice question; the answer is the climax).

Synonyms:

suspense, strain, stress

Antonyms:

ease, calm, relaxation

Root:Latin tensio, from tendere, "to stretch."

Definition: the turning point of a story, the moment of highest tension and decision; (in general) the highest or most intense point of anything.

From the reading: "Up the left side climbs the rising action; the peak is the climax..."

Context: In "The Late Ferry" the climax is Ben's choice when he turns for the reeds. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the climax comes when the son comes to himself and decides to go home.

Synonyms:

peak, high point, turning point

Antonyms:

anticlimax, low point, nadir

Root:Greek klimax, "ladder": the top rung of the ladder.

Definition: a loud, confused uproar; (also) a storm of mixed feelings in the heart.

From the reading: "Amid the tumult of emotions in his breast, the honest Carrier had stood, confounded."

KJV: "When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands" (Matthew 27:24).

Synonyms:

uproar, commotion, turmoil

Antonyms:

peace, calm, tranquility

Root:Latin tumultus, "uproar," related to tumere, "to swell."

Definition: in a story, the ending, where the conflict is settled; (in general) a firm decision, or the solving of a problem.

From the reading: "What happens because of the climax, and how things settle." (the lesson's definition of falling action and resolution)

Context: In Dickens's story the resolution comes when the truth about the Stranger is told, the Carrier's trust is rewarded, and the whole household keeps a merry Christmas by the hearth. As Romans 8:28 teaches, God's providence works even the hardest climax toward a good resolution for His children.

Synonyms:

settlement, conclusion, outcome; (second sense) determination

Antonyms:

complication, conflict; (second sense) indecision

Root:Latin resolutio, from resolvere, "to loosen, untie" (re- + solvere): the knot of the plot is untied.