30 terms

Terms	Definitions
Invest	to put money, time, or effort into, with the hopes of receiving something in return The new law invested the president with authority to fire anyone at the executive branch whenever he wanted to.
Jest	a joke or act done in fun Juan and his brother often jest with each other, but sometimes a joke will go to far and someone's feelings will get hurt.
Keen	sharply perceptive or clever At the funeral, the women keened loudly over the dead boy, but the men mourned silently.
Mature	fully developed, grown Because Jill was such a spoiled brat as a child, her parents were worried about what she'd be like when she grew up; luckily, she has matured into a lovely, kind young woman.
Meek	humble, modest, and submissive Frank is bossy, authoritative, and loud with his employees, but when he comes home to his domineering wife, he becomes quite meek.
Newcomer	someone who has just arrived or joined Marie welcomed the newcomer to her lunch table, saying, "Pleasing sit with us -- I know how hard it is to move to a new school where you don't have friends yet!"
Noble	an aristocrat or high-class person "Of course helping the poor would be a noble idea," said the politician, "but how do you plan to raise the money to achieve your high-minded, virtuous goal?"
Observe	to notice or watch In recent years, Odie had grown less religious and only observed his Christian faith on Christmas, when his wife dragged him to church.
Paralyze	to make unable to move or function "The car accident, which cut Jeff's spinal cord, paralyzed Jeff from the waist down," the doctor said sadly. "He wil never walk again."
Plateau	a large, flat, and high expanse of land or rock During the diet, Will's weight went up and down almost every day, until finally, in June, it plateaued at 190 pounds.
Plentiful	existing in a large amount In the summer, the heavy rains and long weeks of sunshine ensured that the village had a plentiful harvest; no one would starve in the next year.
Project	a plan with a certain goal, a group undertaking Based on their profits from the past three months, the company projects that they will make $1 million by the end of the year.
Purify	to make pure, to move pollutants Queenie purified the water by running it through a filter that removed any metal or dirt.
Recognize	to identify something one has seen before Although Fred seemed like an angry, rude boy most of the time, Debra recognized a good side to him.
Request	the act of asking for something Heathcliff requested a pay raise from his boss, but his boss said that there was not enough money in the budget to give raises that year.
Restless	nervous and continually moving, active and unable to be quiet or at rest Nervous about his big test the next day, Craig spent the a restless night tossing and turning in bed, and wound up getting only a few hours of uneasy sleep.
Seize	to grab or take by force When something flew into the engine and got stuck there, the engine seized up and caused the car to suddenly come to a grinding halt.
Series	a number of items, often in sequence After ten episodes, the television series suddenly ended, leaving fans to wonder what might have happened next.
Smolder	to burn without flame, only smoke They let the fire slowly burn out to a smolder and extinguished the hot coals with some water.
Strand	to leave or abandon To make the necklace, she put some glass beads on a long strand of leather.
Structure	a cohesive, built object The boss made sure to structure the meeting so that the most important decisions were made before lunch, because half of the staff had to leave at noon.
Sufficient	adequate, meeting needs and obligations Henry's vegetable garden provides a sufficient amount of produce for the family, so they go grocery shopping only for other items, such as milk and eggs.
Theory	an unproven idea or guess In music theory class, Miguel learned how to structure a symphony and why certain tones sound good to the human ear.
Tidy	neat and ordered Gillian asked Vern to tidy up the living room before the guests arrived, so he put the books and magazines back on the bookshelf, dusted the furniture, and vacuumed the carpet.
Utter	complete, absolute Bill's sore throat made it hard for him to utter a single word without feeling great pain.
Vacant	completely empty, unfilled "I would expect a smart boy like you to date intelligent woman," scoffed Tara, "instead of vacant airheads without a single interesting thought to share!"
Weary	feeling or showing exhaustion The long walk wearied their two dogs, who collapsed on the front porch slept for the rest of the morning withoutmoving a muscle.
Weigh	to measure the weight or heaviness of an object Lola's guilt weighed on her conscience so heavily that she decided to go to church for the first time in years.
Wit	one's mental abilities, sanity, and intelligence (usually plural "wits") Mel was a man of great wit, he could throw out funny jokes so quickly that people were sure he had prepared them in advance.
Zigzag	a line full of sharp turns The zigzag road caused Shelley to slide from side to side in the back seat of the car, and she eventually got carsick as a result.

Flickr Creative Commons Images

Some images used in this set are licensed under the Creative Commons through Flickr.com. Click to see the original works with their full license.

• "Invest" image
• "Jest" image
• "Keen" image
• "Mature" image
• "Meek" image
• "Newcomer" image
• "Noble" image
• "Observe" image
• "Paralyze" image
• "Plateau" image
• "Plentiful" image
• "Project" image
• "Purify" image
• "Recognize" image
• "Request" image
• "Restless" image
• "Seize" image
• "Series" image
• "Smolder" image
• "Strand" image
• "Structure" image
• "Sufficient" image
• "Theory" image
• "Tidy" image
• "Utter" image
• "Vacant" image
• "Weary" image
• "Weigh" image
• "Wit" image
• "Zigzag" image

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