Vocabulary List 1: Fahrenheit 451

Directions: You will be assessed on the following vocabulary words. To prepare, you may want to define, examine synonyms & antonyms, write sentences, and/or utilize memory devices like pictures or memes.

Aesthetic

Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.

Anesthetize

Administer a drug to induce loss of sensation or consciousness.

Beatific

Feeling or showing blissful happiness.

Breach

An act of breaking a law, agreement, or defense, or a gap made in a wall.

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds.

Cataract

A large waterfall, or a medical condition causing the lens of the eye to become opaque.

Censor

An official who examines material to suppress unacceptable parts, or the act of suppressing such content.

Char

Burn or reduce to charcoal or carbon.

Combustible

Capable of catching fire and burning easily.

Condemn

Express complete disapproval of, or sentence to a particular punishment.

Converge

Come together from different directions to meet at a point.

Convoluted

Extremely complex and difficult to follow.

Discourse (noun)

Written or spoken communication or debate.

Discourse (verb)

Speak or write authoritatively about a topic.

Distill

Extract the essential meaning or purified form of something.

Drone (noun)

A continuous low humming sound, or a remote-controlled pilotless aircraft.

Drone (verb)

Speak in a dull, monotonous tone or emit a continuous low humming sound.

Gingerly

In a careful or cautious manner.

Homely

Plain or unattractive in appearance, or simple and cozy.

Illuminate

Light up, or make clear and understandable.

Imperceptible

Impossible or extremely difficult to perceive or notice.

Incessant

Continuing without pause or interruption.

Incriminate

Make someone appear guilty of a crime or wrongdoing.

Insidious

Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way with harmful effects.

Invigorate

Give strength, energy, or vitality to.

Jowl

The lower part of a cheek, especially when fleshy or drooping.

Juggernaut

A huge, powerful, and overwhelming force or institution.

Linguist

A person skilled in foreign languages or a specialist in language study.

Mausoleum

A stately and large tomb, usually built above ground.

Minstrel

A medieval singer or musician who performed songs and poetry.

Nectar

A sweet liquid produced by plants and collected by bees, or the drink of the gods.

Olfactory

Relating to the sense of smell.

Oracle

A priest or priestess acting as a medium through whom advice or prophecy was sought.

Penance

Voluntary self-punishment inflicted as an outward expression of repentance.

Perpetual

Never ending or changing; occurring repeatedly.

Phosphorescent

Emitting light without heat, glowing in the dark after absorbing radiation.

Plummet

Fall or drop straight down at high speed.

Proboscis

The long snout or flexible trunk of a mammal, or an elongated sucking mouthpart.

Proclivity

A tendency to choose or do something regularly; an inclination.

Profusion

An abundance or large quantity of something.

Ravenous

Extremely hungry.

Refract

Change direction when entering at an angle, as light passing through a medium.

Ricochet

Rebound one or more times off a surface.

Saccharine

Excessively sweet, sentimental, or flattering.

Scripture

The sacred writings of a religion.

Submission

The action of yielding to a superior force or authority.

Skepticism

An attitude of doubt or a disposition toward incredulity regarding claims or accepted beliefs.

Suffuse

Gradually spread through or over, especially with color, light, or liquid.

Teeming

Full of or swarming with something.

Torrent

A strong and fast-moving stream of water or other liquid.

Trajectory

The path followed by a projectile flying or an object moving under given forces.

Thoroughfare

A main road, street, or path forming a route between two places.

Valise

A small traveling bag or suitcase.

Venomous

Capable of injecting poison through a bite or sting, or full of malice and spite.