Unit 1 Vocabulary

tedious (tee-dee-us)•POS: Adj.•Definition -long and tiresome

•Knitting that sweater was a tedious task.

•Synonyms: endless, exhausting, dragging

nestled•POS: V.•Definition -to lie close and snug

•The cottage lay nestled between the trees.

•The puppy nestled by its mother.

•Synonyms: nuzzled, snuggled, cuddled

verdant•POS: Adj.•Definition- green with

vegetation (plants, vegetables, flowers, etc..)

•My verdant lawn died over winter with the harsh weather.

•Synonyms: leafy, grassy, lush

shrilled•POS: V•Definition- to scream in a high-

pitched way.

•She shrilled when her brother jumped out of the closet to scare her.

•Synonyms: yell, shout

ingenuous (in-jen-u-ous)•POS: Adj.

•Definition - innocent and naïve

•The ingenuous girl sat there silently.

•Synonyms: honest, childlike

auburn•POS: Adj.•Definition- a reddish-brown

color

•The baby was born with auburn hair.

•Synonyms: chestnut, copper

insipid•POS: Adj.•Definition-without distinguishing

or interesting qualities.

•The child’s personality was insipid.

•The soup was rather insipid.•Synonyms: dull, uninteresting

waggish•POS: Adj.•Definition- good humored,

funny, humorous

•My dad is always waggish when he sees me in the afternoon.

•Synonyms: playful, amusing

Sagacious (sa-gay-shus)•POS: Adj.

•Definition- have practical sense; knowledgeable

•My first hour seems to be very sagacious when it comes to reading.

•Synonyms: clever, smart

otiose (oh-shee-ohs)•POS: Adj.•Definition-lazy and ineffective

•We are very otiose on Sunday afternoons.

• Synonyms: idle, slothful

retorted•POS: V.•Definition- to reply to or answer,

usually in a sharp way.

•When the mother told her child to pick up his toys, he retorted, “No!”

•Synonyms: snap back, talk back

fey•POS: Adj.•Definition- whimsical, strange, or

enchanted.

•When Alice went to Wonderland she thought it was a very fey place.

•Synonyms: elflike, fairylike magical

meager•POS: Adj.•Definition- lacking in quantity or

quality

•The salary was meager, but I had to take the job.

•Synonyms: insufficient, small, poor

Awry (uh-ry)•POS: Adj.•Definition-away from the expected

direction.•Our plans to go to the mall went

awry when there was traffic.•The student looked awry when the

teacher gave her a mean look.•Synonyms: off course, amiss