Quandary (n.) a state of perplexity or uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation.

“Lolene wrote her Laws of Life essay about a quandary she faced at the beginning of the school year.”

Loquacious (adj.) talkative; chatty

“The students were loquacious during the word of the day.”

Introspection (n.) The examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes

“The students outlined their laws of life essays which required quiet introspection.”

Precipitous (adj.) dangerously high or steep; (of a change for the worse) sudden and dramatic

“The students experienced a precipitous decline in stress during the second semester.”

Laconic (adj.) Using very few words

“Harnella could tell that Pernicus was mad at her by the laconic response she got to her text.”

Belie (v.) (of an appearance) fail to give a true notion or impression of (something); disguise or contradict.

“His calm demeanor belied his inner turmoil.”

Voracious (adj.) having a very eager approach to an activity; devouring great quantities of food.

“The A.P. students were voracious learners and read constantly outside of class.”

Tumult (n.) a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people.

“The smart students did not contribute to the tumult in the commons area.”

Superfluous (adj.) unnecessary

“The students emphasized pertinent details in the essays, but edited out superfluous ones.”

Derision (n.) ridicule; contempt

“Yalo’s new hairstyle was a source of derision amongst family and neighbors.”

Ethereal (adj.) not earthly; spiritual

“As Jathaline spotted the shark horse running across the field, she noticed its

ethereal, otherworldly beauty.”

Dissent (v.) hold or express opinions that are at variance with those previously, commonly, or officially expressed.

(n.) the holding of opinions in variance with those previously, commonly, or officially

expressed.“The students expressed dissent when the

school officially required uniforms.”

Paradigm (n.) A typical example or pattern of something; a model

“In order for congress to pass a law forbidding sugary sodas, there would have to be a major paradigm shift in the U.S.”

Tempestuous (adj.) characterized by strong and turbulent or conflicting emotion

“Wanda had a tempestuous disposition, so her coworkers did not think she deserved a

promotion.”

Facetious (adj.) treating serious issues with (sometimes) inappropriate humor; flippant.

Theobold was being facetious when he told Heleny to “walk it off” after she broke her

leg in a car accident.

Epiphany (n) a sudden insight or revelation

“After Heleny’s leg got better, she had an epiphany and realized she liked walking

everywhere instead of driving.”

Omnipotent (adj.) having unlimited power and knowledge

“The transcendentalists believed in an omnipotent being, but did not belong to an

organized church.”

Supercilious (adj.) behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others

“Although the new student appeared supercilious at first, she turned out to be

very self-conscious.”

Reciprocal (adj.) given, felt, or done in return

“The man and the chicken had a reciprocal relationship; the chicken gave him eggs, and

he gave the chicken feed.”

Incognito (adj. & adv.) (of a person) having one's true identity concealed.

“Blairitha went incognito at the Dragon convention to avoid being recognized by all

of her fans.”

Diffident

modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence

Obsequious (adj.) obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.

“Johnaven researched cultures in which women are expected to be obsequious, such

as North Korea.”

Acumen (n.) the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, typically in

a particular domain

“Stacelene’s linguistic acumen helped her score very well on the A.P. exam.”

Recapitulate (v.) summarize and state again the main points of

“The students recapitulated their arguments in the conclusions of their essays.”

Unctuous (adj.) (of a person) excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily

“When Jernica got pulled over, she was unctuous toward the cop to try and avoid a

ticket.”

Egalitarian (adj.) of, relating to, or believing in the principle that all people are equal and

deserve equal rights and opportunities.

“This classroom is egalitarian.”

Lexicon (n.) the vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge

“The A.P. students expanded their lexicon by learning about determinism.”

Gauche (adj.) lacking ease or grace; unsophisticated and socially awkward

“Before Laonin went to the Queen’s tea party, she studied etiquette because she did

not want to be perceived as gauche.”

Xenophobe (noun) a person unduly fearful of what is foreign and especially of people

of foreign origin

“Munfia, the most xenophobic person I know, refused to try the sauerkraut, eintopf,

and spätzle I served.”

Vacuous (adj.) having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless.

“The A.P. students did not write vacuous statements in their letters.”

Metamorphosis (n.) A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely

different one

“After a rough sophomore year, Adelissa went through a metamorphosis and became

class president.”

Malign

Didactic (adj.) intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior

motive“Klevin found the didactic nature of the

short story especially interesting.”

Feckless (adj.) lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible

“The feckless teacher showed Storylords videos every day in class.”

Lugubrious (adj.) looking or sounding sad and dismal.

“The students were lugubrious when they were told they would take two tests in one

day.”

Caveat (n.) a warning about specific conditions or limitations

“Stofia agreed to read aloud to the class, but with one caveat— she could not say the

letter “j” without laughing.”

Exult (v.) show or feel elation or jubilation, especially as the result of a success

“Hunnah was ready to exult in her achievement on the A.P. exam.”

Virtuoso (n.) A person highly skilled in an artistic pursuit

“Bickmaela was a mouth harp virtuoso; she earned a scholarship to play in college.”

Tranquility (n.) the quality or state of being calm.

“The tranquility outside on this sunny day is a stark contrast to the setting of the short

story we are reading.”

Repose (n.) a state of rest, sleep, or tranquility

“Lerg was looking forward to an evening of repose after working hard all day.”

Homogeneous (adj.) of the same kind; alike

“The homogeneous terrain made it easy for the cross country team to win the race.”

Apocryphal (adj.) (of a story or statement) of doubtful authenticity, although widely

circulated as being true

“Ms. Herman told apocryphal stories about her fiancé.”

Pejorative (adj.) expressing contempt or disapproval

“The cat’s owners used many pejorative terms after discovering his head stuck in

their dinner.”

Salient (adj.) most noticeable or important

“The most salient aspect of multicultural week is doing door decorations.”

Puerile (adj.) childishly silly and trivial.

“While some teachers think door decorations are puerile, Ms. Herman knows

door decorations are a learning opportunity.”

Mores (n.) the essential or characteristic customs and conventions of a community.

“The students were careful not to violate the social mores of The Southern Republic of Brobdingnag when they visited over the

summer.”

Ostentatious (adj.) characterized by vulgar or pretentious display; designed to impress

or attract notice

“Some of the wealthy students from Ridgemarion High

School dressed ostentatiously at prom.”

Cynical (adj.) believing that people are motivated by self-interest; distrustful of

human sincerity or integrity“Alloisious was very cynical toward others after his friends stole his fried carrot juice.”

Intransigent (adj.) refusing to compromise, often to an extreme opinion

“The intransigent child said he would bang his head against the wall if he couldn’t have 12 scoops of ice cream.”

What word is this?Loquacious (adj.) talkative; chatty

Fill in the blank“The students were lugubrious when they were told they would take two tests in one day.”