6 • Lesson 13 Word List

adapt*

(v) 1. To change to fit new conditions.
Whales were once land animals but adapted well to life in the ocean.

2. To make changes in something to make it useful.
The students adapted the unused closet into a small library.

adaptation (n) 1. A changing to fit new conditions.
Adaptation to a full school day takes a while for some first graders.

2. Something that is changed from something else.
The musical Annie is an adaptation of an old-fashioned comic strip.

deplete

(v) To use up.
Unless we are frugal, we will deplete our savings by the end of March.

efficient

(adj) Producing results without waste.
Tube lights are more efficient than light bulbs.

fatigue

(n) A feeling of tiredness from work or exercise.
Although overcome with fatigue, the runner persevered to the finish line.

(v) To make or become tired.
Since my illness, even light work fatigues me.

gait

(n) The way a person or animal moves on foot.
A horse?s gait changes as it goes from a walk to a trot.

glare

(v) 1. To shine with a strong, harsh light.
The bright sun glared off the icy snowbanks, making it difficult to see.

2. To stare angrily at.
The store manager glared at me when I toppled the stack of books.

(n) 1. A strong, blinding light.
The glare from oncoming cars is diminished if drivers dim their headlights.

2. An angry stare.
I ignored my adversary?s glare, which I interpreted as an attempt to scare me.

glaring (adj) 1. Shining with a harsh, brilliant light.
There was no shade from the glaring summer sun in the open fields.

2. Very obvious.
The teacher detected a glaring error in the math problem.

habitat

(n) The place or type of place where a plant or animal is normally found.
The habitat of the saguaro cactus is the desert of southwest Arizona.

oblivious

(adj) Not aware of.
The audience was oblivious to everything except the actor?s inspired performance.

oblivion (n) A state of forgetting or being forgotten.
These songs sank into oblivion after the band that recorded them broke up.

outmoded

(adj) No longer needed or fashionable.
The coming of the railroad made the stagecoach an outmoded way to travel.

prominent

(adj) 1. Projecting; standing out.
Mount Rushmore is a prominent feature of the Black Hills in South Dakota.

2. Very easy to see; easily noticed.
Pinocchio?s prominent nose grew even longer every time he told a lie.

3. Famous; well known.
The accident victim asked a prominent lawyer for advice.

quench

(v) 1. To put out; to extinguish.
Not even reading three books on the subject could quench his interest in the mysterious stories about the haunted house.

2. To satisfy with a liquid.
Water quenches a thirst better than a sweetened soda drink.

rigor

(n) (often plural) 1. A condition that makes life difficult.
The orange tree couldn?t survive the rigors of a Canadian winter.

2. Strictness or severity.
The police chief enforced the law with rigor.

rigorous (adj) 1. Severe; extreme.
The team was put through a rigorous exercise program that included a daily eight-mile run.

2. Thorough; complete.
This rigorous thirty-day course of study has students speaking Italian effortlessly.

sear

(v) 1. To wither; to dry up.
A long drought, as well as heat, can sear grass.

2. To burn the surface of with sudden heat.
Cooks sear steak to help retain the juices.

transport*

(v) To carry or move from one place to another.
A large truck transports sets and costumes for the acting company.

(n) The act of carrying from one place to another.
The company will arrange for the transport of the goods by rail.

wend

(v) To travel; to go on one?s way.
It took two weeks to wend our way over the mountain pass.