American Dream & Vision of the Future Vocabulary

Vocabulary practice flashcards generated from textbook sections on 'The American Dream' and 'A Vision of the Future'.

to accumulate

To collect, gather together

to judge

To form an opinion about someone

birth

The opposite of death

achievable

Able to be reached

to breathe down sb's neck

To watch someone very closely

unattainability

Impossible to get

to attend sth

To go to something

prospect

Future possibility

vocational college

A school to learn skills for work

vocation

Profession, job

(social) safety net

A program to support poor or vulnerable people

to starve

To die from not having enough food

aspiration

Hope and ambition

to prize

To appreciate

desperation

The opposite of hopefulness

angle

A geometric shape; e.g., a square has four $90^\text{o}$ angles

to aspire

To want to be something

predictability

Being able to guess what will happen

penitentiary

Prison

Ivy League

The eight elite universities in the USA (e.g., Harvard, Yale, Princeton)

obstacle

Something that stops progress

STEM, STEAM

Acronyms for Science, Technology, Engineering, (Arts), and Mathematics

degree

Qualification when you leave university

vacancy

An open position, e.g., a job vacancy

dawn

Beginning of the day when the sun rises

successor

The opposite of predecessor

to compose

To write music, poetry

gaze

Long look

one another

Each other; e.g., At Christmas, people give presents to one another

to grieve

To feel sad after someone has died

to tie together

To join, link, connect

victorious

Being the winner

defeat

Losing a competition or battle

to envision sth

To imagine something

blade

The sharp edge of a knife, sword

faith

Strong religious belief

era

A period of history

just

Fair

heir

Someone who will inherit something

terrifying

Very scary

chapter

Part of a book

intimidation

Scaring, terrorizing

inaction

Doing nothing

inheritance

Wealth and property received by someone from someone who has died

to merge sth with sth

To combine two or more things to make one thing

mercy

Compassion, forgiveness

might

Power

wounded

Injured, hurt

forefather

Ancestor

to realize sth

To achieve something

lake

Body of freshwater e.g. Loch Ness in Scotland

to rebuild

To reconstruct something after it has been damaged

dutiful

Doing what someone is supposed to do

to bloom

To produce flowers; e.g., flowers bloom in the spring

occasional poem

Poetry written for a special occasion

narration

Storytelling (formal)

credibility

The quality of being believable

entity

Something which exists

royalty-free

Free from ongoing payments

purpose

Intention

intriguing

Fascinating

to edit sth

To cut out or rewrite text

to resettle

To go to live in a different place

wealth

The state of being rich; adjective: wealthy

outlawed

Illegal; opposite of legal

emancipation

Liberation, setting free

ancestry

Background, origins