Unit 10 Vocabulary – E

1. Bellow – verb, to make a sound similar to that of a bull, roar; noun, a loud, angry roar. The boy bellowed in pain after stubbing his toe. His bellow could be heard all the way down the hallway.

2. Beneficiary – noun, one who benefits from something; a person who is left money or other property in a will The primary beneficiaries of the changes will be those who lack health insurance.

3. Botch – verb, to repair or patch poorly; make a mess of; noun, a hopelessly bungled job The repairman botched the job, so we had to bring our car to a different garage to be fixed.

4. Clutter – verb, to fill or cover in a disorderly way; noun, state of disorder, mess The teacher’s desk was cluttered with papers. The clutter in the room made it difficult to find what we were looking for.

5. Dilapidated – adj., falling apart or ruined, run-down The dilapidated house was unsafe to enter. It looked like it would fall into a pile of rubble at any minute.

6. Dismantle – verb, to take apart; to strip of something The child dismantled the clock, but then was unable to put it back together.

7. Farce – noun, a play filled with ridiculous or absurd happenings, broad or far- fetched humor; a ridiculous sham A Midsummer Night’s Dream is clearly a farce. This trial is a farce as it is clear that the defendant is not being given the chance to clear his name.

8. Futile – adjective, not successful, failing to have any result; useless His futile attempts to persuade his mother to let him go only resulted in getting his mother angry and upset.

9. Grueling – adj., very tiring, calling for an extreme effort The grueling hike left the group exhausted and longing for the comforts of home.

10. Hospitable – adj., offering friendly or generous treatment to guests We enjoyed the hospitality of the very hospitable couple and planned to return to their bed and breakfast again next year. 11. Lair – noun, the home or den of a wild animal; any hideout The police surrounded the lair of the bank robbers and called for them to surrender. The bear slept in its lair all winter.

12. Lavish – adj., overly generous, extravagant; abundant; verb, to spend or give freely or without limit Many people have grandparents who lavish them with love and attention. Some people have grandparents who give them lavish gifts.

13. Morbid – adjective, in an unhealthy mental state, extremely gloomy; caused by or related to disease, unwholesome The morbid child was obsessed with death.

14. Notorious – adj., widely known because of bad conduct The notorious rock star was banned from many hotels because he had caused so much damage to the rooms in the past.

15. Pamper – verb, to allow too many privileges, be too generous and easygoing toward On Mother’s Day you should pamper your mother and make her feel special. Because they had pampered the boy for many years, he was spoiled and unlikeable.

16. Parasite – noun, an organism that lives in or on another organism, one who lives off another person Olivia is a parasite who will drain you of every cent you have if you let her. Tapeworms are parasites.

17. Shirk – verb, to avoid or get out of doing work, neglect a duty If you shirk your duties at work, you will be fired.

18. Surplus – noun, an amount beyond what is required, excess; adjective, more than what is needed or expected We donated the surplus of vegetables to a local soup kitchen. The surplus food will help those who can’t afford to feed their families.

19. Timidity – noun, the state of being easily frightened The timidity of the cat was unbelievable to many who heard the tales, but the cat truly was so timid that it was afraid of mice.

20. Veto – noun, the power to forbid or prevent; verb, to prohibit or reject The veto allows the executive branch to limit the powers of the legislative branch of our government. The President vetoed the bill, but the Senate vowed to override his veto.