Grade 6 College Vocabulary, Week 22

Definition: to stop; to bring or come to an end.

From the reading: "a day came when I began to cease from noting the glories and the charms which the moon and the sun and the twilight wrought upon the river's face"

KJV: "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ" (Acts 5:42).

Synonyms:

stop, halt, discontinue

Antonyms:

begin, continue, persist

Root:Latin cessare, "to delay, stop," from cedere, "to go, yield."

Definition: having great dignity, beauty, or grandeur; stately and impressive.

From the reading: "All the grace, the beauty, the poetry had gone out of the majestic river!"

KJV link: The word in Scripture is the noun majesty: "The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty" (Psalm 93:1). Every majestic river points to the One who made it.

Synonyms:

grand, stately, magnificent

Antonyms:

lowly, humble, unimpressive

Root:Latin maiestas, "greatness, dignity," from maior, "greater."

Definition: To melt or break up into a liquid; to break apart or bring to an end (to dissolve a partnership).

From the reading: "those tumbling 'boils' show a dissolving bar and a changing channel there"

Synonyms:

melt, disintegrate; (second sense) disband, end

Antonyms:

solidify, harden; (second sense) form, establish

Root:Latin dissolvere, "to loosen apart" (dis- "apart" + solvere "to loosen").

Definition: An object that is easy to see and helps people find their way; an event or discovery that marks an important turning point.

From the reading: "how is a body ever going to get through this blind place at night without the friendly old landmark."

KJV: "Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set" (Proverbs 22:28).

Synonyms:

marker, guidepost; (second sense) milestone, turning point

Antonyms:

(none exact) a trifle, a nonevent

Root:Old English landmearc, "a boundary mark": a sign set in the land.

Definition: a conclusion reached by reasoning from facts or evidence.

From the reading: "Treating an inference as if it were certain." (one of the lesson's common mistakes)

Context: The floating log is a fact. Twain's inference is that the river is rising.

Synonyms:

conclusion, deduction, reasoning

Antonyms:

observation, (raw) fact

Root:Latin inferre, "to bring in" (in- "in" + ferre "to carry"): a conclusion carried in from the facts.

Definition: An opinion about what is good, right, or wise, which may be well or poorly supported; the ability to decide wisely.

From the reading: "Some opinions are judgments that can be supported"

KJV: "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).

Synonyms:

assessment, verdict; (second sense) discernment, wisdom

Antonyms:

(second sense) foolishness, rashness

Root:Latin iudicare, "to judge," from ius, "law, right," + dicere, "to say."

Definition: based on personal feelings, tastes, or opinions rather than on facts that can be checked.

Context: "That sunset is beautiful" is a subjective statement. "The sun sets in the west" is not.

Synonyms:

personal, individual, opinion-based

Antonyms:

objective, factual, impartial

Root:Latin subiectivus, from subicere, "to place under." It came to mean "belonging to the thinking person (the subject)" rather than to the thing observed.

Definition: not yet certain or final; done or held with caution, open to change.

Context: A wise pilot holds his first inference about a strange mark on the water as tentative until he has seen more.

KJV link: "He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him" (Proverbs 18:17). Hold your first conclusion tentatively until you have heard the other side.

Synonyms:

provisional, uncertain, hesitant

Antonyms:

definite, certain, final

Root:Latin tentare, "to try, test": a conclusion still being tested.

Definition: to reach a conclusion by careful reasoning from known facts.

Context: From the lines and circles in the slick water, the pilot could deduce that the channel was growing shallow.

Synonyms:

infer, conclude, reason out

Antonyms:

guess, assume

Root:Latin deducere, "to lead down" (de- "down" + ducere "to lead"): the facts lead you down to the conclusion.

Definition: To form ideas or guesses without firm evidence; to take a risk in business in hope of a large gain.

Context: A passenger may speculate about the river for fun, but the pilot must know it.

Synonyms:

guess, theorize, conjecture

Antonyms:

know, prove, verify

Root:Latin speculari, "to watch, observe," from specula, "a watchtower."

Definition: belief or acceptance that something is true; (in the phrase "lend credence") support that makes a claim more believable.

Context: Before you give credence to a rumor, ask what facts support it.

KJV link: "The simple believeth every word" (Proverbs 14:15). The simple man gives credence to everything he hears; the prudent man checks first.

Synonyms:

belief, trust, acceptance

Antonyms:

disbelief, doubt, distrust

Root:Latin credentia, from credere, "to believe" (as in creed and credible).

Definition: plain to see or understand; clearly shown.

Context: The muddy boots by the door made it evident that someone had come in from the field.

KJV: "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith" (Galatians 3:11).

Synonyms:

obvious, plain, apparent

Antonyms:

hidden, obscure, doubtful

Root:Latin evidens, "clear," from e- "out" + videre "to see": something that stands out to be seen.

Definition: a valuable object handed down in a family from one generation to the next.

Context: In The Trumpeter of Krakow, Joseph's family has guarded the Great Tarnov Crystal for generations, keeping a family oath about what is to be done with it. For them it is a sacred trust, not just an heirloom to sell.

Synonyms:

treasure, legacy, keepsake

Antonyms:

(none exact) trinket, castoff

Root:Middle English heir + lome, "tool, implement": a possession that passes to the heir.

Definition: the medieval practice that tried to turn common metals into gold and find hidden powers in matter. Some of its careful work with substances later grew into chemistry.

Context: The scholar Kreutz in Kelly's story studies alchemy. The story sets patient, honest study of God's world against superstition and the greedy hope of quick gold.

Synonyms:

(loosely) wizardry, transmutation

Antonyms:

(none exact) science, chemistry

Root:Arabic al-kimiya, probably from Greek chemeia, "the art of mixing metals."

Definition: a false belief held firmly even when the facts show it is wrong.

Context: Under the dark influence of a false student, the alchemist falls into a delusion about the crystal's power, and his confused mind puts the city in danger.

KJV: Scripture warns of a "strong delusion, that they should believe a lie" (2 Thessalonians 2:11).

Synonyms:

illusion, deception, false belief

Antonyms:

truth, reality, clear sight

Root:Latin deludere, "to mock, deceive" (de- + ludere "to play"): to play false with someone.

Definition: to frighten someone in order to make him do what you want.

Context: The villain tries to intimidate Joseph's family into giving up the crystal, but they keep their word.

Synonyms:

threaten, bully, cow

Antonyms:

encourage, reassure, embolden

Root:Latin in- + timidus, "fearful": to make someone timid.

Definition: (noun) a manner or way of doing something; (verb) to shape or make, often by hand.

From the reading: "I should have looked upon it without rapture, and should have commented upon it, inwardly, after this fashion"

KJV: "for the fashion of this world passeth away" (1 Corinthians 7:31).

Synonyms:

(noun) manner, way, mode; (verb) shape, form, craft

Antonyms:

(verb) destroy, unmake

Root:Old French facon, from Latin factio, "a making," from facere, "to make."

Definition: a danger or risk; (verb) to put at risk, or to venture.

From the reading: "a bluff reef which is going to kill somebody's steamboat one of these nights"

Context: To Twain the pilot, the reef was not a pretty mark on the water but a hazard.

KJV: "Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 15:26).

Synonyms:

danger, peril, risk; (verb) venture, gamble

Antonyms:

safety, security

Root:Old French hasard, a game of dice, probably from Arabic az-zahr, "the die."

Definition: to put or go under water; (also) to cover over or hide completely.

From the reading: "that silver streak in the shadow of the forest is the 'break' from a new snag"

Context: A snag is a submerged tree. Only its "break" on the surface warns the pilot.

Synonyms:

sink, immerse, plunge

Antonyms:

surface, emerge, float

Root:Latin sub- "under" + mergere "to dip, plunge."

Definition: a person who learns a trade by working under a skilled master.

Context: Twain began as a cub pilot, an apprentice under Horace Bixby, before he earned his license. The river's facts had to be learned one bend at a time.

Synonyms:

trainee, learner, novice

Antonyms:

master, expert, veteran

Root:Old French aprentis, from apprendre, "to learn," from Latin apprehendere, "to grasp."