Freshman English Vocab Unit 3

Abridge

To make shorter,

The law must not abridge our freedom of speech.

Adherent

A follower, supporter; attached, sticking to,

She is a loyal adherent of the new political party.

Altercation

An angry argument,

The two drivers had a brief altercation over the parking spot.

Cherubic

resembling an angel portrayed as a little child with a beautiful, round, or chubby face; sweet and innocent,

The sleeping baby had a cherubic face

Condone

To pardon or overlook,

The school does not condone bullying.

Dissent

To disagree; disagreement,

Even though most people liked the plan, there was some dissent in the group.

Eminent

Famous, outstanding, distinguished; projecting,

She is an eminent scientist who studies plants.

Exorcise

To drive out by magic; to dispose of something troublesome, menacing, or oppressive,

The priest tried to exorcise the evil spirit from the old house.

Fabricate

To make, manufacture; to make up, invent,

He fabricated an alibi to avoid getting into trouble.

Gluttony

Engaging in extreme eating or drinking; greedy overindulgence,

His gluttony caused him to eat the whole pizza by himself.

Irate

Angry,

The irate customer yelled at the store manager.

Marauder

A raider, plunderer,

The marauder stole food from the village at night.

Pauper

An extremely poor person,

John became a pauper after he lost all his money.

Pilfer

To steal in small quantities,

She tried to pilfer a few pens and sticky notes from the office.

Rift

A split, break, breach,

An earthquake created a massive rift in the ground.

Semblance

A likeness; an outward appearance; an apparition,

She tried to keep a semblance of order in her messy room.

Surmount

To overcome, rise above,

She worked hard to surmount her fear of public speaking.

Terminate

To bring to end,

The train will terminate at the final downtown station.

Trite

Commonplace; overused , stale,

His advice sounded trite because everyone has heard it a million times.

Usurp

To seize and hold a position by force or without right,

Do not let fear usurp your courage.