Vocabulary ListVocabulary List#1#1

77thth Grade Language Arts Grade Language Arts

alternativealternative• There are many alternatives to eating

peanut butter and banana sandwiches every day for lunch, but Donnie doesn’t want to know about them.

• Magda had trouble deciding which career alternative was best for her – being a brain surgeon or being a mime.

• a choice or possibilitya choice or possibility

utopiautopia• After sound-proofing the walls so he

could escape his older brother’s daily tuba practice, John considered his room a utopia.

• Mel has his own idea of utopia: an unlimited supply of teriyaki-flavored beef jerky.

• a perfect place or ideal situationa perfect place or ideal situation

ashenashen• After he was attacked by angry

flamingos on his safari, Leon’s face was ashen.

• Wanda looked ashen after the ice cream truck nearly ran over Snuggles, her pet python.

• the gray color of ashes; often used the gray color of ashes; often used to describe the complexion of to describe the complexion of someone who has experienced someone who has experienced something upsetting or traumatic.something upsetting or traumatic.

affableaffable• Lester found the secretary much more

affable than Mr. Sower, the president.

• Rich was always affable during television interviews, even when talking to Ty Mondragon, the meanest wrestling champion in the state.

• friendly and easy to speak tofriendly and easy to speak to

barterbarter• “The secret to a good relationship with your

younger brother is learning to barter candy for silence,” Rocky told his girlfriend.

• The pastry chef next door often barters with Mabel for the use of her riding lawn-mower, so her kitchen is always stocked with gourmet cheesecakes and other fine desserts.

• to trade one thing for another without to trade one thing for another without using moneyusing money

exposéexposé• The exposé contained shocking

details about golf pro “Squeaky Clean” Jones.

• The new reporter had written an exposé about Mr. Earl, the fur coat salesman.

• revealed information that may revealed information that may damage someone’s reputation.damage someone’s reputation.

irreverentirreverent• Some kids may seem irreverent

when they yell in public, but often they just don’t know any better.

• Charlie Chase, the top disc jockey in the city, is often irreverent about topics that his guests take very seriously.

• disrespectfuldisrespectful

galagala• The gala honoring Miss Howard for

her donation to the art gallery was held on the large lawn behind the museum.

• Betsy was invited to a gala marking the new opera’s opening night, but she raised eyebrows by wearing an awful green polyester dress from the 1970s.

• a fancy celebrationa fancy celebration

ostracizeostracize• Kevin wanted to take up tap

dancing, but he was afraid of being ostracized by his football buddies.

• Marie knew what it felt like to be ostracized, so she made a point to talk to the new girl in school when nobody else would.

• to shut out or banishto shut out or banish

scapegoatscapegoat• Instead of realistically dealing with the

issues at hand, the city council members liked to make the mayor the scapegoat for the city’s problems.

• Colin, the goalie, became the scapegoat when the soccer team lost the game.

• a person who is forced to take the a person who is forced to take the blame for the mistakes or crimes of blame for the mistakes or crimes of othersothers

*parody*parody• Animal House is film parody of life

in a college fraternity house.• As soon as Mr. Johnson left the

room, Billy had the other students laughing with his skillful parody of the teacher’s mannerisms.

• a funny or exaggerated a funny or exaggerated imitation of somethingimitation of something

*behemoth*behemoth• “That Great Dane looked like a

behemoth next to my Chihuahua,” Miss Gordon observed.

• The largest animal on earth, the blue whale, is definitely a behemoth.

• something enormous in sizesomething enormous in size