Grade 6 College Vocabulary, Week 26

Definition: a color or shade of color; (also) a kind or type.

From the reading: "...in the middle distance the red hue brightened into gold..."

Synonyms:

color, shade, tint

Antonyms:

colorlessness, (none exact)

Root:Old English hiw, "form, appearance, color."

Definition: having a healthy reddish color; (also) red or reddish.

From the reading: "...where the ruddy flush was faintest, was a smooth spot..."

KJV: When Samuel came to anoint the young shepherd David: "Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to" (1 Samuel 16:12).

Synonyms:

rosy, reddish, florid

Antonyms:

pale, pallid, wan

Root:Old English rudig, from rudu, "redness."

Definition: To spread out from a center, like spokes from a hub; to send out light, heat or a feeling.

From the reading: "...a smooth spot that was covered with graceful circles and radiating lines, ever so delicately traced..."

Synonyms:

spread, branch out; (second sense) emit, give off, beam

Antonyms:

converge; (second sense) absorb

Root:Latin radiare, "to shine," from radius, "ray, spoke of a wheel."

Definition: not blocked; clear and open.

From the reading: "...a single leafy bough that glowed like a flame in the unobstructed splendor that was flowing from the sun."

Synonyms:

clear, open, unhindered

Antonyms:

blocked, obstructed, hindered

Root:un- (not) + Latin obstruere, "to build against" (ob- "against" + struere "to pile up").

Definition: To put under a spell; to charm or delight so strongly that one cannot look away (the common modern sense).

From the reading: "I stood like one bewitched."

Synonyms:

enchant, captivate, entrance

Antonyms:

repel, bore, disgust

Root:be- (thoroughly) + witch: in modern use the word means only "to hold someone's attention completely."

Definition: (noun) a wonderful or astonishing thing; (verb) to be filled with wonder.

From the reading: "...enriching it, every passing moment, with new marvels of coloring."

KJV: "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well" (Psalm 139:14).

Synonyms:

wonder, miracle, phenomenon; (verb) wonder, gape

Antonyms:

commonplace, trifle; (verb) shrug off, ignore

Root:Old French merveille, from Latin mirabilia, "wonderful things," from mirari, "to wonder at."

Definition: to make richer, fuller or better in quality.

From the reading: "...the dissolving lights drifted steadily, enriching it, every passing moment, with new marvels of coloring."

KJV: "Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water" (Psalm 65:9).

Synonyms:

improve, enhance, fertilize

Antonyms:

impoverish, deplete, diminish

Root:Old French enrichir, from en- (make) + riche (rich).

Definition: closely packed together; thick.

From the reading: "...the shore on our left was densely wooded..."

Synonyms:

thick, compact, crowded

Antonyms:

sparse, thin, scattered

Root:Latin densus, "thick, crowded."

Definition: able to produce many crops or much growth; (also) rich in ideas, as in "a fertile mind."

From the reading: "We turned a little to the left, and entered a beautiful and fertile plain..."

KJV link: The Robinsons find their island full of good gifts: "O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches" (Psalm 104:24).

Synonyms:

fruitful, productive, rich

Antonyms:

barren, sterile, arid

Root:Latin fertilis, from ferre, "to bear, carry": land that bears fruit.

Definition: growing thickly and richly; lush. (Do not confuse it with luxurious, "very comfortable and costly.")

From the reading: "...it was flourishing in luxuriant beauty."

Synonyms:

lush, abundant, flourishing

Antonyms:

sparse, withered, scanty

Root:Latin luxuriare, "to grow too much," from luxus, "excess."

Definition: having a sweet or pleasant smell.

From the reading: "...the fragrant vanilla, throwing round its graceful festoons."

Synonyms:

sweet-smelling, aromatic, perfumed

Antonyms:

foul, rank, malodorous

Root:Latin fragrare, "to smell sweet."

Definition: (noun) a taste or smell, especially a pleasant one; (verb) to taste or enjoy something slowly and fully.

From the reading: "...from which arose the savoury odour of a good soup."

KJV: "Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?" (Luke 14:34). After the Flood, Noah offered a sacrifice, "And the LORD smelled a sweet savour" (Genesis 8:21).

Synonyms:

relish, flavor; (verb) relish, enjoy, appreciate

Antonyms:

(verb) gulp, bolt, dislike

Root:Latin sapor, "taste," from sapere, "to taste, to be wise." The same root gives sapient, "wise": a wise man has good taste in what matters.

Definition: (noun) a quick, practical means to an end; (adjective) useful for a purpose, sometimes convenient rather than right (tests often check this second shade).

From the reading: "This expedient succeeded admirably." (Ernest ties a stone to packthread, throws it across the river, and measures the width for the bridge.)

Synonyms:

(noun) device, means, resource; (adjective) convenient, practical, advantageous

Antonyms:

(adjective) impractical, inconvenient; principled (when expediency is opposed to what is right)

Root:Latin expedire, "to free the feet, make ready" (ex- "out" + pes, pedis "foot").

Definition: to obtain or get, especially with care or effort.

From the reading: "I must trouble you to return and procure us some."

KJV: "He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him" (Proverbs 11:27).

Synonyms:

obtain, acquire, secure

Antonyms:

lose, forfeit, relinquish

Root:Latin procurare, "to take care of," from pro- (for) + curare (to care for).

Definition: hard physical or mental effort.

From the reading: "Remember, that intellect has always more power than mere bodily exertion." (The mother, about to catch the fowls with a handful of grain.)

Synonyms:

effort, labor, strain

Antonyms:

rest, ease, idleness

Root:Latin exserere, "to thrust out," from ex- (out) + serere (to join, put).

Definition: so plentiful that it cannot be used up; (also) tireless.

From the reading: "...my wife came in haste with her inexhaustible bag..."

Synonyms:

limitless, endless, unfailing

Antonyms:

limited, finite, scanty

Root:in- (not) + Latin exhaurire, "to draw out, drain" (ex- "out" + haurire "to draw water"): a well that cannot be drawn dry.

Definition: annoyance, frustration or worry; (also) something that causes it.

From the reading: "Fritz struck his forehead with vexation."

KJV: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit" (Ecclesiastes 1:14).

Synonyms:

annoyance, irritation, exasperation

Antonyms:

contentment, pleasure, calm

Root:Latin vexare, "to shake, disturb."

Definition: (noun) sudden fear or discouragement; (verb) to fill with alarm or disappointment.

From the reading: "Poor little Francis was in great dismay when he saw the terrible monster we brought..."

Synonyms:

alarm, consternation, distress

Antonyms:

confidence, assurance, delight

Root:Old French desmaier, "to take away one's strength," from des- (away) + a Germanic root meaning "to be able."

Definition: having to do with the senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste.

Context: Twain's sunset is full of sensory detail, almost all of it sight. In your revision, add a sound or a smell the way Wyss gives us the smell of the soup on the fire.

Synonyms:

sensual (in its old, neutral meaning), perceptual

Antonyms:

abstract, conceptual

Root:Latin sensus, "feeling, perception," from sentire, "to feel."

Definition: exact and particular; naming one thing clearly, not things in general.

Context: Twain does not write "something floated by"; he names a specific thing: a solitary black log.

Synonyms:

exact, precise, particular

Antonyms:

vague, general, indefinite

Root:Late Latin specificus, from species (kind) + facere (to make): marking out one kind.