Vocabulary #5

Introduction

This is the real life story of Wesley Autrey, the “Subway Superman.”

Subway Superman

Admonish

1. admonish (verb) 1. to warn against something 2. to scold someone

1. Mr. Paddington admonished us not to throw food in the cafeteria. 2. After the food fight, the principal admonished us for having participated.

Synonyms: 1. advise, forewarn 2. reprimand

Anonymous

2. anonymous (adj) 1. unknown or unnamed 2. lacking individuality or character

1. The author of the book remained anonymous even after the book won countless awards.

2. My block was a long row of boring, anonymous houses.

Synonyms: 1. incognito, secret

Antonyms: 1. known, recognized

Other forms: The actor tried to maintain his anonymity (noun) in the crowd, but he was soon recognized.

Astute

3. astute (adj) smart and perceptive

Young Jordan made the astute comment that bullies often have problems at home.

Synonyms: bright, insightful

Antonyms: ignorant, idiotic

Bystander

4. bystander (noun) one who looks on or observes; a person present but not taking part

Among all the bystanders at the parade, I was the shortest so I had the worst view.

Synonym: witness, spectator

Antonym: participant

Casualty

5. casualty (noun) a person killed or injured in a war or accident

During the American Civil War there were 360,222 Union casualties and 258,000 Confederate casualties, making it by far the deadliest war in American history.

Deceased

6. deceased (adj) dead

The deceased soldier was given a full military funeral.

Antonyms: alive

Other forms: Deceased can also be a noun meaning “a dead person or people,” as in: Some people believe that the deceased watch down over us.

Downright

7. downright thoroughly, totally

Camille is just a downright nice girl.

Other forms: Downright can also be an adjective meaning “total”: That is a downright lie!

Grimy

8. grimy (adj) very dirty, covered with dirt or soot

Acey’s house was on the north side of town, among the grimy industrial buildings and smokestacks.

Antonyms: clean, pure

Other forms: When was the last time you cleaned your room? There’s grime (noun) and dirt everywhere!

Homage

9. homage (noun) honor or respect shown publicly

The mayor paid homage to the students who had helped build the new skate park.

Synonyms: praise

Antonyms: dishonor

Hurtle

10. hurtle (verb) to move with great speed; to rush violently

The out-of-control truck hurtled down the freeway.

legitimate

11. legitimate (adj) 1. lawful; according to the laws or rules 2. genuine or justifiable

1. In soccer, hitting the ball with your hand is not a legitimate shot. 2. I felt that my complaint about the heat in our classroom was legitimate, but the custodian wouldn’t listen to me.

Synonyms: accepted, customary, rightful

Antonyms: illegal, invalid, illegitimate

Other forms: If you are famous, you are renowned (adj).

Lethal

12. lethal (adj) causing death or made to cause death

Socrates was forced to swallow a lethal dose of poison.

Synonyms: fatal, deadly

Magnitude

13. magnitude (noun) the great size or importance of something

The magnitude of electing the first African-American president will be felt for generations.

Synonyms: greatness, significance

Antonyms: insignificance, unimportance

Stodgy

14. stodgy (adj) heavy, dull, or boring; old-fashioned

Chris likes reading comic books, not stodgy old novels from the 19th century.

Synonyms: dreary, formal

Antonyms: exciting

Other forms: The stodginess (noun) of Leah’s plain clothes make her seem older than she actually is.

Utmost

15. utmost (adj) greatest, highest, farthest

Respecting people who are different from you is of the utmost importance.

Synonyms: absolute, maximum

Antonyms: little, slightest

Other forms: Utmost can also be a noun meaning “the extreme limit or greatest possible,” as in: My patience was tested to the utmost.

Muhammad Ali

In the 1960s, a young boxer named Cassius Clay came out of Kentucky, winning lots of fights. He even won the gold medal at the Olympics in Rome when he was only 18 years old. Still, most sports experts didn’t think much of Cassius Clay. First, he had the nerve to call himself “the greatest.” Second, he had a very strange boxing style, in which he dodged more than he blocked. Third, he would rhyme before a fight – clever freestyles that would later lead people to call him the first rapper ever. He went on to live up to his self-proclaimed “greatest” title. After switching his name to Muhammad Ali and converting to Islam, the boxer was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. He refused, arguing that the war was immoral. This got him banned from boxing in the United States for three years, until the Supreme Court decided that Ali should have the right to box. Ali came back in grand style, at an enormous fight, called the Rumble in the Jungle.

Agile

1. agile (adj) able to move quickly and easily; flexible

Cheerleaders are very agile as evidenced by their fancy stunts and dance moves.

Synonyms: nimble, spry

Other forms: Chimpanzees have a lot of agility (noun) since they are able to swing freely and easily from limb to limb without ever falling to the ground.

Audacious

2. audacious (adj) bold, daring or uninhibited

The audacious young baseball player was eager to work his way up from the minor leagues.

Synonyms: courageous, nervy

Antonyms: timid, cowardly

Crusade

3. crusade (noun) a military expedition; a campaign for a cause

The king led the crusade across the country to take over more land and people.

Other forms: Crusade can also be a verb meaning “to fight for a cause,” as in: The sixth graders

crusade all year long to be able to attend the seventh and eighth grade dances. A crusader is one who crusades.

Dub

4. dub (verb) to choose; to name

The English teacher announced that she was going to dub Lawrence the best speller in the entire class.

Synonyms: designate, label

Era

5. era (noun) a period of time marked by distinct events

The invention of the Ford Model T marked a new era in travel.

Exceptional

6. exceptional (adj) unusual, extraordinary

Brittney was such an exceptional speller that even our English teacher asked her how to spell words.

Synonyms: atypical, phenomenal, peculiar

Grapple

7. grapple (verb) to struggle with physically or mentally

Steven grappled with the idea of losing both his mom and his brother in the car accident.

Heritage

8. heritage (noun) legacy or tradition

The family had been located in the town for over one hundred years and were very proud of their heritage.

Legendary

9. legendary (adj) well-known or famous

Wild Bill, the outlaw, was legendary for his bank robbery hold-ups and gun fights.

Antonyms: obscure, unknown

Other form

Mien

10. mien (noun) manner or appearance

The king was a man of honorable mien, so the townspeople did not fear him.

Muse

11. muse (verb) to think about or ponder something

My dad told me that my problem wasn’t that I mused too much and that an idle mind was the devil’s

playground.

Muster

12. muster (verb) to gather or to summon

Like many teenage students, Gloria has to muster a lot of courage to stand in front of her peers and

deliver a speech.

Antonyms: disperse, scatter

Pivotal

13. pivotal (adj) important, vital

A pivotal moment in the football game occurred when the opposing team’s quarterback fell and broke his arm.

Antonyms: insignificant, minor, incidental

Other forms: A pivotal event is like a pivot (noun), a pin in the ground around which other things turn.

Stamina

14. stamina (noun) endurance

Most marathon runners have a lot of stamina to run long distances.

Synonyms: staying power, endurance

Stance

15. stance (noun) 1. an intellectual or emotional attitude toward something 2. the position of one’s feet.

1. Gavin’s mom took a negative stance on taking drugs because her father had died from a drug addiction.

2. The baseball player’s stance was awkward, yet he consistently hit home runs when he was at bat.