VOCABULARY 1984:

sordid

* adjective
* wretched, dirty, or distasteful
* Because the older man lived alone and couldn’t do much tidying, his house was ___________.

feeble

* adjective
* lacking strength; frail
* Long after he’d recovered from the illness, his body remained ______.

disdainfully

* adverb
* to do with resentment or dislike because it is perceived as beneath them
* Priscilla __________ refuses the sandwich because she dislikes peanut butter.

furtive

* adjective
* secretive; so as to avoid being noticed
* Jane gave a _________ glance around the kitchen before peeking at her birthday cake.

purge

* noun
* sudden, often violent removal of people or things from a place or job
* In the beginning, a political ________ meant being expelled from the ruling party; later purges often ended in imprisonment and execution.

indoctrinate

* verb
* to teach one to accept certain ideas and beliefs without considering other ideas and beliefs
* A teacher’s job is not to _____________ her students, but to open their minds to many different ways of seeing and thinking about the world.

succumb

* verb
* to die, especially because of disease or injury
* During the deadly influenza epidemic of 1918, millions of people worldwide _____________ to the flu.

graviate

* verb
* to be attracted to something
* While a pasta buffet may have numerous variations and options, I __________ toward spaghetti with marinara sauce.

endorse

* verb
* to publicly support or approve
* For the first time in history, our town newspaper ________ a woman for president.

dissent

* noun
* disagreement with an official belief or decision
* While most people liked the new law, several protesters announced their ___________.

ideological

* adjective
* related to or concerned with ideas
* Jillian decided to leave the group for _________ reasons.

mutability

* noun
* the quality of being likely or subject to change
* The _____________ of weather patterns during hurricane season is astounding and makes it difficult to predict storms.

disconcerting

* adjective
* causing one to feel disturbed, unsettled, or bothered
* The ___________ sounds coming from the mountains worried the hikers and caused them to turn back for the day

superfluous

* adjective
* more than is needed or wanted; extra and unnecessary
* We needed only three days to finish the job, so the two other days that we had scheduled were ______________.

pretentious

* adjective
* assuming an importance or ability that is exaggerated or undeserved
* The restaurant’s __________ atmosphere is probably an attempt to conceal the fact that it serves below-average food.

forgery

* noun
* the act of falsifying a document to deceive others
* The banker committed an act of _________ when she signed someone else’s name on the check and used it for personal funds.

arbitrary

* adjective
* based on impulse, or randomly chosen
* I ignored my brother’s _________ request to wash the dishes before I did my calculus homework.

fundamental

* adjective
* basic, foundational; serving as an essential component
* To learn new math skills, you have to have a ___________ understanding of older skills.

profound

* adjective
* very great or intense
* Mr. Burke’s __________ words of encouragement inspired Nya to apply to college.

reverence

* noun
* a feeling of deepest respect or honor for something or someone
* The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is treated with ________ by visitors to the National Archives in Washington, D.C.