Vocabulary List #6

Hostile:  very unfriendly

•    Lester couldn't understand why people found him so hostile. Perhaps it had something to do with the way he scowled and said, "Leave me alone," when­ever anyone smiled and said hello to him.

•    Mary knew she owed her father an apology for acting so hostile when he told her to get off the phone.

anguish: great suffering

•    Elizabeth's anguish at the death of her cat affected all her friends and relatives.

•    Rory knew something was wrong when she saw the expression of anguish on her father s face.

boisterous: noisy and rowdy

•    Grandma loved the boisterous children, but she was used to a quiet life. She had to admit they got on her nerves after only ten minutes.

•    The swimming pool sign read, "No boisterous play." Donny thought, "I sup­pose this means I can't chase my brotiier around the pool edge, push him in and dunk him."

interrogate: to question

•    Tyler's favorite part of die police show is when the detectives interrogate

the crime suspects.

•    Every time Dawn left the house, her father interrogated her about where she was going, who she was going with and what she was going to do.

Bogus: fake; phony; counterfeit

•    The bogus offer involved a supposedly free trip to Acapulco.

•    Henry thought he was going to be making $20.00 an hour, but it turned out that the job offer was bogus. He would be making only 75 cents an hour.

charisma: quality in a person that inspires or attracts others; charm or allure

•    The candidate had so much charisma that huge crowds gathered every time she spoke.

•    Mr. Wonka was the most popular teacher at school. His charisma made going to class a pleasure.

dilapidated: falling to pieces; broken down

•    The dilapidated house was said to be haunted by a headless old woman.

•    The old junk yard was full of dilapidated automobiles and household appli­ances.

Ecstatic:  joyous; extremely happy

•    James was ecstatic when he got Michael Jordon's autograph.

•    The children were ecstatic when they heard they were flying to Disneyland for their vacation.

sinister: evil

•    Louisa knew it wasn't just her imagination. Something sinister lurked in the shadows, and she shivered at the thought of what it might be.

•    The man in the dark overcoat had a sinister look about him, so Pat and Kelly immediately turned around and walked the other direction.

philanthropist: a person (usually wealthy) who gives money to charity

•    Andrew Carnegie, the great philanthropist, established foundations to give money to worthwhile causes.

•    The Montgomery brothers couldn't be any more different from one another. While Bryon was a great philanthropist, Milton was stingy with his money.

Bonus Words

Ambiguous: unclear; having more than one meaning

•    The math assignment was so ambiguous that none of the students knew exactly what they were supposed to do.

•    Rita got lost trying to find her new school because the directions she had been given were ambiguous.

befuddle: to confuse

•    Mr. Macfee never did his own taxes because the tax forms always befud­dled him.

•    The whole class was befuddled by Mrs. Stafford's lecture on adverbial

phrases.