Ms. Miller/ Eng 9R
Name:______________________________ Per.______
To Kill a Mockingbird Vocabulary List 1 (from Chapters 1-11)
Homework Due Date: Monday, November 19th
Test Date: To be Announced
PAY ATTENTION TO THE PART OF SPEECH!
Assuage (v) to calm’ to lesson
Syn: soothe, reduce, mitigate, soften, alleviate
Crazy?
Ant: aggravate, enhance, vex, upset (as a verb), intensify
Sentence: I assuaged my parents’ anger by cleaning my room after they yelled at me.
1.
Predilection (n) a preference
Syn:
bias, fondness, tendency, like, choice, partiality
2.
Ant: dislike, disinterest, mandate
Sentence: I have a predilection for seafood over steak for dinner.
3.
Amble (v) to walk in a leisurely way
Syn:
stroll, drift, wander, mosey, meander, saunter, hike
Ant:
4.
To amble is to walk.
Use it to replace the
verb, walk.
rush, run, sprint, march
Sentence: We ambled to school because we still had plenty of time; we wanted to enjoy the fresh air.
Taciturn (adj) almost always silent; not liking to talk
Syn: quiet, peaceful, shy, uncommunicative, inexpressive
Ant: loud, talkative, outgoing, expressive,
Sentence: The taciturn child sat in the corner alone during the party because she didn’t know anyone
and was afraid to approach them.
5.
Ms. Miller does not like when her students do not participate and pretend they are taciturn in class, and
then she hears them in the hallway chatting loudly and laughing with their friends. 
Phantom (n) an apparition; an illusion
6.
Real?
Syn:
spirit, dream, hallucination, ghost
Ant: reality, actuality, fact, truth
Sentence: The children were scared of the phantom from the ghost story.
Another example of how it’s used: A number of ballots from phantom voters had to be thrown out.
Fractious (adj) unruly; rebellious; defiant
Syn:
reckless, wild, disorderly, quarrelsome
Ant: agreeable, patient, compliant, obedient
Sentence: My fractious brother is always getting in trouble with the principal.
The Patriots were fractious against the British king’s laws.
7.
8.
Inequity (n) something not fair or impartial
9.
Syn: injustice, inequality; unfairness
Ant: justice, equity, fairness
Sentence: The disease of racism has caused many people to be treated with inequity.
Most people consider it an inequity that some millionaires pay less taxes than citizens who make less
money.
Guile (n) slyness and cunning in dealing with others
Ant: honesty, sincerity, openness
Sentence: The criminal lawyer was known for his guile in getting many dishonest people out of jail.
This is an inequity!
Mortification (n) humiliation; shame
Syn: embarrassment, disgrace
Some words can be
used as different
parts of speech.
“She was mortified
when her mother
caught her cheating
in Monopoly.”
Ant: pride, honor, grace
Sentence:
Not remembering my lines during the middle of the show was mortifying.
Not remembering my lines during the middle of the show caused me much mortification.
I was so mortified when I couldn’t remember my lines during the show.
Vexation (n) a disturbance; annoyance
Syn: irritation, aggravation, bother, anger
Ant: pleasantry, happiness, comfort, joy, pleasure
Sentence: There was a vexation in the classroom when the children screamed.
Sitting in traffic when I am already late causes me much vexation.
I burst into tears, filled with anger and vexation.
The word "inequity"
means a state of
unequal treatment,
usually applied to a
disparity, injustice,
or unfair practice,
either actual or
perceived.
Guile is a NOUN.
It’s a characteristic
that one has. It’s a
trait.
For example,
integrity or pizzazz
or beauty.
Syn: sneakiness, cunning (used as a noun), craftiness, cleverness, trickery, manipulation
10.
Unfair? Why not?
11.
Can be used that I
have vexation
Or that someone is
a vexation. The
meanings are
different.
12.
16.
Auspicious (adj) favorable; successful
Syn:
advantageous, optimistic, hopeful, bright, promising
Ant: bleak, unpromising, hopeless, discouraging, unlikely
Sentence: His acclaimed first novel was an auspicious debut.
An auspicious student with great grades received many scholarships for college during her senior
year.
Derek Jeter and Lady Gaga are very auspicious because of their hard work.
Edification (n) instruction to improve or uplift morally
Syn:
enlightenment, guidance, betterment, nurture, enhancement
Ant: degradation, destruction, worsening
Sentence: We look to our counselors for edification when times are confusing.
Perplexity (n) uncertainty; doubt; confusion
Syn: puzzlement, conundrum
13.
14.
Ant: understanding, confidence, clarification
15.
Sentence: The crossword filled Carol with perplexity.
She took her test with great perplexity because she didn’t study.
Aberration (n) a deviation from what is right, true or normal
Syn:
quirk, peculiarity, strangeness, abnormality, oddity
17.
Ant: regularity, sameness, normality
Sentence: The cow born with zebra stripes was an aberration to science.
One day, when all of Ms. Miller’s 9th grade students raised their hands, shared their opinions and had
much to say in class discussion, she exclaimed with joy, “What an aberration!”
Can be used as:
I have perplexity over
something
confusing.
Or a person, place
thing or event is a
perplexity.
Rectitude (n) strict honesty, uprightness of character
Syn: Integrity, decency, morality
Ant: indecency, immorality
Sentence: The child a strong sense of rectitude when she found $500.00 on the floor of the store
and brought it up to the manager behind the counter.
Her rectitude in making business decisions reflects on our company’s reputation.
Articulate (adj) able to speak, expressing oneself clearly
Syn:
expressive, coherent, comprehensible, understandable
Ant: unclear, unintelligible, misrepresented
Sentence:
Obstreperous (adj) noisy or unruly
Syn: chaotic, uncontrolled, loud, rowdy
Ant: peaceful, calm, orderly
Sentence: The obstreperous student kept disturbing the class from concentrating on the discussion.
Disapprobation (n) disapproval
Syn: allowance, objection
Ant: acceptance
Sentence: Atticus subtly showed his disapprobation of the children’s Boo Radley game.
Mausoleum (n) a large tomb; grave
Syn: crypt, vault, sepulchar
Ant:
Sentence:
Cantankerous (adj) bad-tempered; quarrelsome
Syn: difficult, obstinate, disagreeable
Ant: easygoing, good-natured,agreeable
Sentence: The mob of protestors was so cantankerous that the police had to come to assuage
them.
Remember:
Synonyms and antonyms must be the same part of speech as THE WORD.
Avoid MNA sentences.
Start paying attention to spelling. It counts.
Aggravate
Talkative
Humiliate
Synonyms cannot be a word in the definition. That defeats the purpose of them.
Note: articulate can
be used as a verb or
an adjective.