(v) To make speechless with amazement.
The announcement that my cat Patch had won ?best in show? dumbfounded me.
dumbfounded (adj) Speechless with amazement.
The dumbfounded tenants stared at the eviction notice in disbelief.
(v) To follow; to come as a result of or at a later time.
When the principal declared the next day a holiday, shouting and clapping ensued.
(n) A particular period in history.
The era of space exploration began in the 1950s.
(v) 1. To thrive or prosper.
Plants flourish in a greenhouse.
2. To wave in the air.
The softball player flourished her hat above her head to acknowledge the crowd?s cheers.
(n) 1. A sweeping motion.
The star of the show made her first entrance with a flourish.
2. A showy burst of music.
The opera begins with a flourish of trumpets.
3. A fancy line or curve added to something written.
His artistic nature was expressed in the flourish with which he signed his name.
(n) 1. Soldiers stationed in a place to protect it.
The garrison held off the enemy for four days before capitulating.
2. A military place of protection, together with its soldiers and weapons.
The garrison controlled the only passage through the mountain range.
(v) To provide soldiers with a place to live.
The commander had to garrison the troops in an old schoolhouse.
(v) To save and put away, especially secretly.
Squirrels hoard acorns for the winter.
(n) Anything put away in such a manner.
My hoard of comic books includes several authentic 1930s Superman comics.
(v) 1. To cover, as with water from a flood.
The valley was inundated when the dam burst.
2. To load with an excessive amount or number of something.
Fans inundated radio stations with requests to play the new album.
(adj) Impossible to defeat.
When the Yankees had a fifteen-game winning streak, we began to think they were invincible.
(n) A member of a group that settles briefly in one place and then moves on to another.
The Bedouins of the Sahara and Arabian deserts were nomads.
nomadic (adj) Having the characteristics of a nomad.
After acquiring horses in the 1760s, the Cheyenne became nomadic buffalo hunters on the Great Plains.
(v) To stop from being angry; to calm.
I was able to placate my friend when I explained my reason for being late.
(adj) Most important.
The administration?s principal objective is to reduce the school dropout rate.
(n) 1. A person or thing that is of the greatest importance.
The club owners and the players? agent are the principals in the dispute over baseball players? salaries.
2. The head of a school.
The principal has the authority to hire extra teachers if student enrollment increases.
3. The sum of money owed, not including the interest.
My parents would need $8,479 to pay off the principal on the car loan.
(v) 1. To move back or to drop to a lower level.
The tide receded and exposed the rocks near the shore.
2. To become fainter.
The blare of music from the car?s radio receded as it disappeared into the night.
(adj) Showing no mercy; pitiless.
Disease and inadequate supplies finally terminated the ruthless invader Attila the Hun in fifth-century Europe.
(n) 1. Something given up for the sake of another.
The parents made many sacrifices so that their children could go to college.
2. An offering to a god.
In the Incan culture, sacrifices were often made during or after an earthquake, drought, or epidemic.
(v) 1. To give up something for another.
I sacrificed my privacy by sharing my room with my sister.
2. To offer something of value to a god.
Goats and dogs were sacrificed at the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia.