WORD LISTS

100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know

Fri Dec 12 11:34:49 EST 2014

American Heritage Dictionaries normally feature about 70,000 entries. From that multitude, the editors have chosen 100 words that are neither obscure nor outlandish that could give middle schoolers more aplomb and aptitude in their verbal encounters. If you're not sure whether that is something you need, study this list.
Words selected by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionaries. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

adversary

The students are united by shared suffering, and by a common adversary.

aplomb

I wish I had handled it with aplomb.

apprehensive

Virga still feels apprehensive when visiting an unfamiliar zoo.

aptitude

I was recently asked in an interview, what is more valued by companies – aptitude or attitude?

attentive

You make sure to be extra attentive to your friend.

banish

Napoleon loses so big that he is banished to an island.

barricade

The Secret Service ordered nearby streets and parking lots barricaded for security.

bluff

Sporting a pith helmet, Nixon observed that “whoever is talking the loudest is pretty sure to be bluffing.”

brackish

Brackish water can be used, but freshwater is easier and less costly.

brandish

Hart brandished a “Free Hugs” sign as he stood alone in front of a police barricade.

circumference

That's almost 10 times the circumference of the Earth, which is a surprisingly small 24,859.82 miles.

commotion

Moments later came commotion, followed by shouts of “Stop pushing me!”

concoction

There are some food combos that blend beautifully with each other to create truly tasty concoctions.

conspicuous

Today, the link is more conspicuous: highlighted in blue, it appears directly beneath the site’s login form.

contortion

There was tumbling, human pyramids and bodies stretched into extraordinary contortions.

counter

The seller can then accept, counter or reject the offer.

cunning

Moreover, it was no secret that Cleopatra had ruthless cunning and superior intelligence.

debris

The blast rattled their homes and sent debris flying onto nearby properties, they said.

defiance

Schools still could expel students for violating school rules or laws and could suspend students for willful defiance of authorities in grades 4 through 12.

deft

To make it work requires a deft hand.

destination

Airports get stacked up with planes that can’t take off for their destinations.

diminish

By Friday morning, most of the heavy rain is expected to diminish.

disdain

In the visage of Grumpy Cat, it seems, her fans found the perfect holy expression of indifferent disdain for all things.

dismal

It’s been a pretty dismal month, as far as world events go, but the news wasn’t all bad thanks to some very entertaining on-air mishaps.

dispel

For most of us, dispelling the darkness is as simple as turning on a light.

eavesdrop

They eavesdrop on the noises that other birds make while hiding food in order to steal the stash later, new research shows.

egregious

Prosecutors questioned him about killings and other egregious human rights abuses perpetrated by his regime.

ember

“Every hot spot is an ember that, if not contained, can become a new fire,” Obama said.

emerge

They say that program has helped them emerge from the shadows, making possible a work permit, a Social Security number and enhanced self-respect.

engross

I don’t know how long I was reading; I was so engrossed in the paper that I did not hear any footsteps.

exasperation

Like many a teenager on his school holidays, Parys is in bed, his mother explains with exasperation.

exhilarate

“To see Yosemite Falls coming to life this morning is truly exhilarating,” Park Superintendent Don Neubacher said in a statement.

falter

“The rocket has faltered, but it won’t crash,” he said.

foresight

But nobody had the wherewithal or foresight to think that day would actually happen.

fragrance

After 30 minutes in the oven, what hits you first is the enticing, warm fragrance that fills your kitchen.

furtive

What muffled whispers do they share, what furtive games are they playing?

grueling

As of Dec. 19, 22 students will have made it through a grueling curriculum that requires about 700 hours of computer code.

gusto

They each approach their tasks with gusto that can only be admired, even if the results can’t.

habitation

Although the area is not fit for human habitation, many poor people who work in the coal mines live here.

hasten

Rather than wait for that day, he set out to hasten its arrival.

headway

At times, you feel like you’re struggling to run forward, going through the motions but making no headway, frozen in place.

ignite

Firefighters say the blaze started when stain-soaked rags ignited on the front porch.

illuminate

The problem is that for illuminating answers, you need to ask the right questions.

impending

First, he gives the enemy 12 days of warning about impending air attacks.

imperious

It was a little scary how quickly he flipped from friendly to imperious.

jabber

A parrot jabbered atop its cage and a monkey squealed and battered at its bronze ring, until its owner brought bananas.

jargon

Steer clear of jargon, me-too claims, and statements without substance.

jostle

In Jerusalem, great religions have crowded and jostled their way down through millenniums.

jut

From its long beak juts a fearsome tooth.

kindle

Recently in class I saw the fire of an idea flicker in a first-year student’s eyes—and so to kindle it I cold-called him.

knoll

The home, set on a quarter-acre knoll, has views of the city, the Hollywood Reservoir and the Hollywood sign.

luminous

It was briefly one of the most luminous stars in the galaxy.

malleable

“Memory is so malleable or volatile that each time we see something, the memory is actually influenced and re-created.”

materialize

By the time people reach their 70s, they’re beginning to look back at the plans they made and dreams they had that never materialized.

meander

Instead of straight paths and noisy throngs, the new park will have meandering walkways and quiet places for picnicking nestled in gently sloping "lawn valleys."

meticulous

It's a six-page scene and very meticulous, step by step.

misgiving

Quite a few said they had come despite the misgivings of parents who wanted them to focus on studying.

momentum

Mitchell believed that a song’s momentum should always push upward, ascending like the slope of a mountain into the unknown.

monotonous

Unfortunately, their monotonous verbiage reminds me of Charlie Brown’s teacher in the “Peanuts” TV shows.

multitude

They surround you in their multitudes - hundreds, maybe thousands of them, swooping and stinging and injecting venom into your flesh.

muster

Fans chanted and hollered and enriched the arena with as much life as they could possibly muster.

narrate

Standing amid bags of garbage, he starts sorting, tearing open plastic bags and narrating his finds.

obscure

The book contains little plot, an abundance of obscure poetry and the untimely death of three protagonists.

ominous

“Evil forces around the world want to harm Americans every day,” an ominous voiceover states.

outlandish

Not everything in the show is outlandish; some events are all too realistic.

persistent

It says, “together, if we face obstacles and counter the negative with a persistent positive, we might just change the world.”

pertinent

You write about things that feel pertinent and urgent to you, and that varies depending on what stage of life you are going through.

plenteous

"The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few."

potential

What potential global threat should policymakers pay more attention to?

precipice

"Every minute of every day, we were on the precipice of failure, which is an exciting place to be," Marsh says.

pristine

Back at the jail, Snow White is getting under Anna's skin a bit -- shaking her once pristine view of the princess.

quell

The White House has tried to quell anxieties about the danger of Ebola spreading in the United States.

recluse

Long before his days as the world’s most famous recluse, Howard Hughes flew planes fast and far.

recuperate

Sleep is the time when your body recuperates and rebuilds from the day’s stress.

replenish

They bring in dredged sand to replenish the beach.

repugnant

The truth is that we need only look at recent human history to find real, live, utterly repugnant evil.

restitution

While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to a crime victims’ fund.

sabotage

“We want at least a district that won’t sabotage the dreams of its youths.”

scarcity

Water—its scarcity, quality and the regulations affecting it—is becoming a new corporate headache.

scurry

Ever wonder how cockroaches scurry around in the dark while you fumble to switch on the kitchen light?

serenity

The surrounding waters and beautiful pools that surround the hotel create a real sense of calm and luxurious serenity.

sociable

Running with others is really sociable and great fun.

somber

It was also the day before one of the most somber of American anniversaries: Pearl Harbor was bombed 73 years ago Sunday.

specimen

The researchers detected it in older starfish samples, museum specimens from as early as 1942.

stamina

A 6-year-old might not want to walk the mile into Petra, but teenagers have enough physical and intellectual stamina to appreciate going to these places.

subside

The virus has a history of subsiding, then flaring up again.

swagger

The Giants had arrived here with the swagger of a team that had won two of the last four World Series titles.

swarm

In “Swarm” mode, the robots instead follow one another, like children chasing a soccer ball.

tactic

Technology has been used as a crime-fighting tactic, but not as a tool to determine what happens during a police action.

terse

It’s a request to which Dipper responds, with terse eloquence, “Weird.”

translucent

It comes in several colors, including attractive translucent ones.

uncanny

The Dark Sky App tells you the weather where you are with an uncanny accuracy.

unsightly

But that’s just a quibble, an unsightly pimple on what is a greater problem.

versatile

Eggs are among the most versatile foods and the proteins change when you heat them, beat them or mix them with other ingredients.

vigilant

Because there are so many scammers out there, banks are vigilant about verifying that you are who you say you are.

vulnerable

Second, older cells are more vulnerable to this damage—or less able to repair themselves.

waft

The birds were chirping, and a warm breeze wafted through the screens.

waver

He is tough as nails, never wavers, speaks the truth and stays focused.

weather

You even get subjected to ridicule, and you have to weather that storm.

zeal

The enthusiasm has caught on among his regulars, who come often, linger and talk about pumpkins with the zeal of converts.

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100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know

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