Vocabulary Workshop Level D Words

for renuka maam class. 8th grade

Unit 1

admonish - to scold mildly

breach- definition 1: a gap or opening. Definition 2- violation

bringland - a bandit/robber

circumspect - careful/cautious

commandeer - to seize for military use

cumbersome - def1 - clumsy/hard to handle. def2 - slow moving

deadlock - neither side is willing to back down

debris - remains of a structure

diffuse - def1- to spread/scatter. def2 - wordy/long

dilemma - difficult problem

efface - to wipe out

muddle - def1 - to make a mess of. def2 - a hopeless mess

opinionated - not open minded and won't listen to anyone

perennial - def1 - lasting for a long time. def2 - plant that lasted many years

predispose - to incline to beforehand.

relinquish - to give up/let go

salvage - def1- to save from a fire/shipwreck. def2 - property saved

spasmodic - sudden and violent but short lasting

spurious - fake/false

unbridled - no restraint/grip


Unit 2

Adjourn - to stop proceedings temporarily / move to another place

Alien - a citizen of another country / foreign and strange

Comely - having a pleasing appearance

Compensate - to make up for

Dissolute - loose in one’s morals or behavior

Erratic - not regular and consistent

Expulsion - the process of forcing out

Feint - a deliberate deceptive moment / to make a deceptive moment

Fodder - food for horses or cattle / raw material for design purposes

Fortify - to strengthen

Illegible - impossible to read

Jeer - to make fun of rudely / a rude remark

Lucrative - bringing in money

Mediocre - average and ordinary

Proliferate - to reproduce rapidly

Subjugate - to conquer by force

Sully - to soil and stain / to tarnish

Tantalize - to tease and torment

Terse - brief and to the point

Unflinching - firm and showing no signs of fear


Unit 3

Abridge - To shorten something (like a story)

Adherent- A loyal supporter or follower/attached, sticking to

Altercation - An argument or fight

Cherubic - Sweet and innocent like a baby angel

Condone - To overlook bad behavior

Dissent - To disagree

Embezzle  - To steal in large amounts

Eminent - Famous and respected

Exorcise - To drive out with magic/ to dispose something menacing

Fabricate  - To make up something

Gluttony - Eating way too much

Irate - Very angry

Marauder  - A raider

Pauper  - A very poor person

Pilfer - To steal things in small groups

Rift  - A break or split

Semblance - A likeness

Surmount - To overcome

Terminate - To end something

Trite - Overused 

Usurp - To take something (like power) unfairly

Unit 4

Abscond - to run off and hide

Access - approach or admittance to places, people, things / to obtain

Anarchy - lack of government and law

Arduous - hard to do and needs lots of effort

Auspicious - favorable and fortunate 

Daunt - to overcome with fear, intimidate, to discourage

Disentangle - to free from tangles or problems

Fated - determined in advance from destiny or fortune

Hoodwink - to mislead by a trick/swindle

Inanimate - not having life, no energy or spirit

Incinerate - burn to ashes

Intrepid - brave and fearless

Larceny - theft

Pliant - easily influenced

Pompous - overly self-important in speech and manner

Precipice - steep cliff, brink edge of disaster

Prototype - original model which later versions are patterned

Rectify - to correct

Reprieve - temporary relief or delay/to grant a postponement

Revile - to attack with words


Unit 5

Accomplice - a person who takes part in a crime (negative connotation)

Annihilate - to completely destroy

Arbitrary - unreasonable and biased

Brazen - shameless / made of brass

Catalyst - substance that causes a chemical reaction / someone who causes a change

Exodus - large-scale departure of flight

Facilitate - to make it easier/assist

Incorrigible - not able to be corrected

Latent - present but not realized

Militant - given to fighting and active for a cause / an activist

Morose - having a gloomy mannar and not friendly or sociable

Opaque - not letting light through / not clear

Paramount - really important that it is above everything else

Prattle - to talk in a foolish way / babble like a baby

Rebut - to contradict to arguments with evidence

Reprimand - to scold / a rebuke

Servitude - slavery and forced labor

Slapdash - careless and hasty

Stagnant - not running or flowing (inactive) / sluggish

Succumb - to yield


Unit 6

Atone - to make up for

Bondage - slavery

Credible - believable

Defray - to pay for

Diligent - hardworking and not lazy

Doleful - sad and dreary

Ghastly - deathly pale/frightful and horrible

Hamper - to hold back / a basket

Hew - to shape or cut down with an ax / hold to

Impoverished - in a state of poverty

Incessant - never stopping, going on all the time

Intricate - complicated and difficult to understand

Lucid - easy and clear to understand / rational, same

Posthumous - occurring or publishing after a death

Prim - overly neat (negative connotation)

Sardonic - grimly or scornfully mocking

Superfluous - exceeding what is needed

Supplant - to take place of, superseded

Taunt - to jeer or mock at / an insulting remark

Tenacious - holding fast and holding together firmly




Unit 7

Adieu - farewell

Advent - an arrival, coming into place or view

Apex - the highest point up, the tip

Assimilate - to absorb or adapt fully, to adopt as one's own

Bogus - false

Boisterous - noisy and unruly (but in a positive way)

Exorbitant - unreasonably high costs

Interim - the time between / temporary, coming between two points in time

Inundate - to flood and overflow / to overwhelm by the number or size

Malign - to speak of evil

Meander - to wander about / a sharp turn or twist

Metropolis - a large city, the city center

Momentous - very important

Obstreperous - noisy and unruly in a negative way

Pensive - thoughtful (not towards others)

Perilous - dangerous

Shoddy - of poor quality

Sprightly - full of life, spicy, flavorful (in personality)

Surly - angry and rude

Tirade - a long angry speech

Vagrant - an idle wanderer / wandering aimlessly