8 • Lesson 1 Word List

(adj) 1. Having a strong desire for, to the point of greed.
Avid for the attention of their babysitter, the children shouted and tumbled about on the floor.

2. Eager; enthusiastic.
Kiara is an avid skateboarder who spends each weekend at the park.

(adj) Abrupt in manner or speech; gruff.
The coach?s brusque speech at halftime showed how unhappy he was with the players.

brusqueness (n) The quality or state of being brusque.
With a brusqueness unlike her, Melanie ended the phone conversation.

(adj) Short and to the point.
?No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service? is a concise way of explaining a dress code.

(v) To cause a lowering of self-esteem; to lower in reputation or character.
Don?t demean yourself by trying to act like those bullies.

demeaning (adj) Degrading.
June felt that being scolded in front of her friends was demeaning.

(adj) Deserving contempt or scorn.
Stealing from the class treasury was a despicable thing to do.

(v) To try to equal; to imitate.
Musicians around the world have tried to emulate Louis Armstrong?s soulful trumpet playing.

(v) 1. To call forth; to produce.
The mayor?s appeal for volunteers to clean up the park evoked a huge response from people in my neighborhood.

2. To bring to mind, often by suggestion.
The tinkling notes from the music box evoked for me the carefree joys of childhood.

evocative (adj) Creating something again, especially through the imagination.
The costumes and music of the film were evocative of Paris in the 1920s.

(adj) Very painful.
The ointment soothed the excruciating burn on Dalip?s arm.

(v) 1. To install in office with a formal ceremony.
Presidents of the United States are inaugurated in January following the November election.

2. To begin officially or mark the opening of.
On Tuesday, Mayor Ovalles inaugurated a new program to help the homeless.

inauguration (n) The act of installing in office.
Governor Maitland was at her desk within hours of her inauguration.

(v) To spread throughout.
Laughter pervades the house whenever Aunt Sara visits us.

pervasive (adj) Spreading throughout.
Long after the fire was extinguished, the pervasive odor of smoke remained in every room.

(n) An owner of a store or other business.
The proprietors of the downtown shops planned a sidewalk sale for the first weekend in June.

(n) A fictitious name used by an author; a pen name.
Female British authors of the nineteenth century often had to use a male pseudonym in order to get their books published.

(v) 1. To reject bluntly.
Our teacher rebuffed all our requests to change the deadline for the project.

2. To drive back.
Although the men in the Alamo were determined to rebuff Santa Anna?s forces, in the end they were defeated.

(n) 1. A blunt rejection.
Caroline?s offer to Frida to patch up their quarrel met with a rebuff.

2. An abrupt setback in progress.
After a storm delayed their start, the climbers experienced another rebuff when a rock slide shut down one of the trails.

(adj) 1. Capable of recovering quickly from misfortune.
After she lost her job, my mom was so resilient, she went out and found another one.

2. Returning quickly to an original shape or condition.
A wool sweater is more resilient after washing than a cotton one.

resilience (n) 1. The ability to recover.
Stefano showed great resilience after he caught the flu.

2. The ability to spring back.
Tennis balls lose resilience after three or four sets of vigorous play.

(adj) 1. Chaotic; unruly.
My brother and I tried our best to stay calm during the turbulent period of our parents? divorce.

2. Stormy; tempestuous.
Such a turbulent sea prevented all boats from leaving the harbor.

turbulence (n) 1. Great disturbance or agitation.
The turbulence of the 1960s included peace marches, civil rights protests, and assassinations.

2. Rapid changes in wind speed and direction in the atmosphere.
The ?Fasten Your Seatbelts? sign flashed on when the plane encountered turbulence.