Sophomore Pre-IB English Vocab

Word, part of speech	Definition	Synonym & Antonym	Sentence
Valiant, adjective	Showing courage and/or determination	S: heroic, brave A: cowardly	As valiant as he was, he still couldn’t resist being vulnerable to his lover.
Pestilence, noun	A fatal epidemic disease	S: plague, pandemic A: N/A	COVID-19 was the pestilence of the 21st century.
Abide, verb	To bare patiently	S: endure, heed A: reject	Jordina abided patiently as Kaito slowly picked up the banana he threw.
Disdain, noun	The feeling that someone is unworthy of another’s respect	S: contempt, scorn A: admiration	You can see the fire and disdain in Tiffany’s eyes as Mateus takes her last candy cane.
Turncoat, noun	A traitor to their party	S: traitor, betrayer A: patriot	Luke is a turncoat to the group, he snitched on us for eating Thy’s snacks.
Flout, verb	Openly disregard	S: disdain, defy A: observe	Deven flouted Eric’s directions on the chemistry work as soon as he explained it.
Canker, noun	A dead area of a tree bark affected by a disease	S: fungal disease, fungal rot A: thriving	Tiffany’s apple tree is infected and dead, caused by canker.
Subdued, adjective	Quiet and depressed	S: somber, dejected A: lively	The class was subdued to find out their teacher was there.
Throng, noun	A packed crowd of people or animals	S: Mass, mob A: dispersed	Nathan pushed his way out of the throng to find Averie.
Shrewd, adjective	Smart and understands gestures	S: sharp, clever A: ingenuous	Hannah was shrewd enough to understand his intentions.
Solicit, verb	To ask for something from someone	S: seek, beseech A: dismiss	Autumn solicited help from Clara on ideas about the paper.
Dissuade, verb	To persuade someone to not do something	S: discourage, prevent A: encourage	Yuna tried to dissuade Jordina from drawing on the board, but she still did it.
Perturb, verb	To do something to make someone anxious	S: worry, disturb A: reassure	Yuna was perturbed by Autumn and Clara’s capricious actions.
Covertly, adverb	Without being openly known	S: secretly, clandestinely A: openly	Kaito watched Mateus covertly as he ate the waffle.
Semblance, noun	An outward appearance that’s not necessarily true	S: facade, appearance A: reality	Averie put on quite a semblance when she saw Victoria going around.
Blithe, adjective	Happy and carefree	S: unconcerned, nonchalant A: thoughtful	A blithe girl was Tiffany as she danced around the classroom.
Requited, verb	To return something to someone(usually a feeling?)	S: reciprocate, return A: unrequited	After years, someone had finally requited my love.
Coy, adjective	Pretending to be shy but making it alluring(describing women)	S: bashful, demure A: brazen	Eliana gave him a coy smile as he held the door for her.
Bestow, verb	To present an honor	S: give, grant A: withhold	The IB coordinator bestowed the Diploma certificate to her as she walked up the stage.
Disparage, verb	To see something with little worth	S: scorn A: praise	Jordina never missed an opportunity to speak like a gen-alpha child.

Word, part of speech

Definition

Synonym & Antonym

Sentence

Harrowing, adjective

Really disturbing or distressing

S: heartbreaking, agonizing, painful

A: calm, comfort, heartening

What she went through when her mother died was truly harrowing.

Fastidious, adjective

Giving extreme attention to details, excessively concerned with cleanliness, hard to please.

S: exacting, hypercritical, picky

A: easy-going, sloppy

He was the most fastidious teacher I’ve known, picked out every tiny detail we did wrong and made a fuss about it.

Ameliorate, verb

Make something bad better

S: improve, help

A: worsen

The teacher decided to ameliorate the test since the pass rate last year was really low.

Evince, verb

To reveal a feeling or quality of someone or something

S: reveal, show

A: conceal

The tone of his voice clearly evinced how he felt about the new building.

Countenance, verb and noun

Noun: a person’s face

Verb: to tolerate something

Verb:

S: tolerate, allow

A: criticize

Her countenance was easily won without force.

Repose, noun and verb

Noun: rest, sleep

Verb: to put something somewhere

Verb:

S: lie, rest, situated

A: strain, hard-working

She was reposed on the bed after a long day.

Poignant, adjective

A sense of sadness or regret

S: touching, pitiful

A: unaffecting

The movie was so poignant that he even cried as he watched.

Inexorable, adjective

Impossible to stop

S: unstoppable, unavoidable, inevitable

A: preventale

It is inexorable to see her this way since she’d been hiding it for too long.

Capitulate, verb

To admit defeat

S: yield, surrender

A: resist

The kingdom had already capitulated to us, since they were damaged badly now.

Endeavor, verb & noun

Verb: to try to look for something

Noun: an attempt to achieve something

Verb S: try, attempt

Verb A: neglect

Noun S: effort, attempt

Noun A: inactivity

Their endeavor pleased and touched the king’s heart, so their will was granted.

Capacious, adjective

Having a lot of space/room

S: roomy, spacious

A: cramped, enclosed

The new location is clean and capacious, we could fit more than 15 tables in there.

Acquit, verb

To act or behave well

S: perform, behave

A: fail, halt

She acquitted well in her test, she even got a reward from her parents.

Dauntless, adjective

Showing fearlessness, not hesitant and determined

S: fearless, determined

A: weakheared

Joan of Arc was a dauntless individual at the battle, praised by all for her fearlessness.

Inure, verb

Used to something unpleasant

S: harden, adapt

A: sensitize

The children were abused so much that they were inured to violence.

Derive, verb

To get something/obtain something from somewhere

S: obtain, gain

A: Forfeit, reject

Her home was where they derived comfort and security from.

Conjecture, verb

To form an opinion on incomplete information

S: imagine, speculate

A: fact

Lots conjectured that the lunch for the day was terrible

Peruse, verb

To read something closely

S: examine, read

A: neglect

She perused the passage thoughtfully and wrote down her answer.

Foreboding, noun

A bad feeling, that something bad will happen

S: apprehensive, anxiety

A: calm

He had the foreboding sense that something might have happened to her.

Ardent, adjective

Enthusiastic or passionate

S: passionate, eager

A: half hearted

She was an adent fan of his.

Vehemence, noun

The display of strong feeling, passion

S: urgency, intensity

A: mildness

It was shown in his vehemence, that he was very interested in her.

Word, part of speech	Definition	Synonym & Antonym	Sentence
Undulate, verb	Moves smoothly up and down, rise and fall, not like the word vacillate	S: surge, wave A: calm	The sea undulated harshly that night.
Indelible, adjective	Unable to be removed or forgotten	S: unfading, ineradicable A: erasable	She made an indelible impression on me, by the way she acted
Penury, noun	Extremely in poverty	S: pennilessness, deprivation A: affluence	Their family lived in penury their whole lives, when he came to the capital, he was shocked at the wealth.
Venerable, adjective	A great deal of respect and wisdom, coming from age	S: distinguished, venerated A: disreputable	He had been through a lot, a venerable and studious professor
Exculpate, verb	To declare that someone is not guilty	S: acquit, vindicate A: incriminate	She exculpated the man from court, for he is innocent
Obdurate, adjective	Not wanting to change one’s opinion	S: unyielding, stubborn A: amenable	He is an obdurate individual, refusing to agree with what is clearly right
Convalescence, noun	In a state of rest after an illness	S: rehabilitation, recovery A: relapse	After the surgery, she went through a period of convalescence
Odious, adjective	Extremely unpleasant	S: repulsive, revolting A: delightful	After creating the art, he felt odious from his creation
Abhor, verb	Regarded with disgust and hatred	S: loath, detest A: admire	Frankenstein abhorred his creation in utter disgust
Facile, adjective	Easy to achieve, effortless	S: undemanding, effortless A: hard-won	To the king, the war with that country was a facile victory for his country
Vacillate, verb	Wavering between different opinions, movement between ideas	S: dither, waver A: resolute	She vacillated when he asked if she wanted to start this course again.
Verdant, adjective	Greens, grass, rich vegetation	S: lush, leafy A: barren	The farm was doing well, such a verdant field of greenery.
Incipient, adjective	An initial stage, something developing	S: developing, initial A: full-blown	Their incipient feeling of gratefulness for him was filled to the brim when he did that
Erroneously, adverb	In a mistaken way, incorrectly	S: mistakenly, inaccurately A: accurately	Her gift was erroneously opened by her little brother.
Dogma, noun	A principle set by an authority that as true without questions	S: doctrine, ideology A: doubt	The government declined all religious dogma
Repugnance, noun	Intense disgust	S: loathing, disgust A: delight	Frankenstein made no attempt to hide his repugnance when he saw the creature
Precipice, noun	A very steep rock/cliff	S: bluff, steep A: lowland	He stood in shock after seeing her being pushed of from the precipice
Progeny, noun	A decadence	S: offspring, posterity A: ancestor	Eric is a progeny of the creature
Caprice, noun	A sudden change of mood	S: impulse, whim A: stability	She had a caprice after seeing how he moved quickly to another girl after leaving her
Pernicious, adjective	Having a harmful effect in a subtle/gradual way	S: harmful, damaging A: beneficial	Climate change is pernicious

Word, part of speech	Definition
Fitfully, adverb	Not regularly or continuously.
Sanguine, noun	Blood red color
Adherent, noun	Someone who supports a party/person/idea
Specious, adjective	Seemingly true, but actually false
Archaic, adjective	Very old or old fashioned
Urbane, adjective	Refined in manner
Gesticulate, verb	Using dramatic gestures instead of speaking
Sordid, adjective	Ignorant actions and is morally distaste Dirty or squalid
Aureole, noun	A circle of light around something, like a halo
Tableaux, noun	Mutable, adjective	Liable to change
	Myriad, noun and adjective	Noun: A countless great number A unit of ten thousand Adjective: countless and great in number
	Zealot, noun	A person who is uncompromising in their beliefs
	Vapid, adjective	Offering nothing that is stimulating
	Invariably, adverb	In every case or occasion
	Pugnacious, adjective	Eager to fight, argue or quarrel
	Thwart, verb	To prevent someone from achieving something
	Drivel, noun	nonsense
	Compendium, noun	A short but detailed info of a subject
	Harangue, noun or verb	Noun: a long and aggressive speech Verb: lecturing someone aggressively for a long time

Word, part of speech	Definition	Synonym & Antonym	Sentence
Dissemble, verb	To conceal one’s true motives, feelings, or beliefs.	S: dissimulate, masquerade A: admit, unveil	The best way to dissemble her thoughts from them is to keep herself from speaking.
Supersede, verb	To take the place of someone who used to be in charge or to replace something that used to be used	S: override, replace A: keep, retain	Eric superseded Luke with Tristan, since he is going away on Dec 6th.
Repudiate, verb	Refuse to associate with	S: reject, renounce A: embrace, adopt	Deven publicly repudiated herself from ever knowing Eric.
Apoplectic, adjective	To overcome with anger, to get really angry	S: furious, enraged A: amenable, delighted	Luke was apoplectic at the sight of Eric playing footsies with someone else.
Burly, adjective	Large built	S: sturdy, brawny A: puny, small	To Deven, Eric had a burly build.
Hapless, adjective	Very unfortunate(usually describing a person)	S: unfortunate, unlucky A: lucky, fortunate	Luke and Eric have the most hapless luck when it comes to girls, so they resorted to staying with each other instead.
Homely, adjective	British definition: cozy and comfortable in a house	S: comfy, hospitable A: uncomfortable, formal	Deven’s home was very homely when we visited on her birthday.
Jocund, adjective	Cheerful and lighthearted	S: joyous, bright A: sad, heavy	Jordina is one of the most jocund girls I’ve ever met.
Proclivity, noun	A tendency to do something regularly	S: liking, fondness A: loathing, disinclination	Tiffany cannot control her proclivity to start screaming as soon as she sees a duck.
Supercilious, adjective	Behaving as if they are more superior than others, prideful and arrogant	S: haughty, pretentious A: humble, modest	There are none as supercilious than her, walking around with her head higher than anyone else.
Sycophant, noun	A person who excessively praise another to gain advantage	S: flatterer, toady A: individualist, free-thinker	She was loved by the king, and hated by all the sycophants around her.
Vacuous, adjective	Showing a lack of intelligence	S: mindless, vacant A: expressive, meaningful	Her smile was vacuous, as if she hadn't seen light in years.
Anachronistic, adjective	A out of place/time object or act	S: antiquated, obsolete A: modern	Eric is very anachronistic, as he is about to turn 17 in the midst of a bunch of 15 year olds.
Edify, verb	To instruct or improve morally or intellectually	S: educate, enlighten A: mislead, confuse	Luke had edified Eric about how to be a gentleman.
Eschew, verb	To deliberately avoid using something	S: abstain, relinquish A: indulge, accept	Deven eschewed Eric after learning that he liked the Eagles.
Galvanize, verb	Shock or excite something or someone into taking action in something	S: startle, jolt A: demotivate, bore	He was galvanized by the news of a fight.
Paucity, noun	Something in small quantities	S: scarcity, shortage A: abundance, full	The paucity of food shortage caused many to suffer.
Colloquially, adverb	A locally known language that is informal	S: dialectal, common A: formal, literary	He spoke colloquially in a formal occasion, and she wasn't from around there, so she didn’t understand at all.
Visceral, adjective	A gut feeling	S: instinctive, innate A: reasoned, mechanical	Luke had a visceral feeling that Eric wants to play footsies with Deven instead of him.
Occult, noun	A supernatural or mythical beliefs and practices.	S: witchery, sorcery A: obvious, unblurred	She always looked like someone whose studies are occult.