Of Mice and Men

Vocabulary Unit 1

1. Recumbent

• Lying down, a position of comfort

• I was recumbent on the couch as I watched the movie.

2. Lumbered (v)

• To walk in a clumsy way

• The giant lumbered through the crowd, trying not to bump into anyone.

3. Emerge (v)

• To come into existence

• During the band’s jam session, an actual song emerged from the noise and became a hit single.

4. Morose (adj)

• Depressed, gloomy

• The cloudy skies and rainy weather put me in a morose mood.

5. Contemplate (v)

• To think about something carefully

• I contemplated the issue before sharing my final opinion with the class.

6. Imperious (adj)

• Showing arrogance or superiority

• Jack imperiously told the new student that he was not cool enough to hang out with him and his friends.

7. Dejected (adj)

• Being in low spirits, depressed

• Tom was dejected when Sophia told him she didn’t want to go to the dance with him.

8. Anguished (adj)

• A feeling of great mental or physical pain

• When Tom was hit in the head with the baseball, he rolled around the ground in anguish.

9. Bindle (n)

• A small bundle of items rolled up inside a blanket, and carried over the shoulder

10. Brusquely (adv)

• To say or do something quickly, suddenly, almost rudely

• Jessica brusquely told her sister that the dress made her look fat.

11. Bucking (v)

• To throw large bags of grain onto a truck.

• The farmers were exhausted after bucking grain all day.

12. Pantomime (v)

•The art or technique of conveying emotions, 

actions, feelings, etc., by gestures without

speech.

13. Cat house (n)

• House of prostitution

• Jim got in trouble with his wife after spending five hours at the cat house.

14. Ominously (adv)

• threateningly; in an intimidating manner

• The dark, pugnacious man walked ominously into the room.

15. Cesspool (n)

• an underground container for the temporary storage of liquid waste and sewage.

• a disgusting or corrupt place.

16. Elaborate (adj)

• Expressed in great detail

• Michelle made up an elaborate lie about where she had been that night, and her parents believed her.

17. Mimic (v)

• To copy or imitate, usually to make fun of someone

• Sara mimicked her teacher’s voice and actions and got detention.

18. Pugnacious (adj)

• aggressive, hostile

• The pugnacious student was given OSS after getting into a brawl with another student in the cafeteria.

19. Tramp (n)

• A homeless person who travels around on foot

• The tramp started in California and ended up with a job in Montana.

20. Wearily (adj)

• Physically or mentally fatigued

• I wearily told my children that I was too tired to take them to the park after a long day at work.

Unit 2

Scoff (n)

• An expression of disrespect

• When Nico’s mom yelled at her, she scoffed at her and ended up getting grounded for three weeks.

Ominously (adj)

• Menacing or threatening

• The thunder clouds ominously lingered over my neighborhood, so we all ran inside before it started to rain.

Plaintive (adj)

• Expressing sorrow

• John’s love letters became more and more plaintive as he realized his girlfriend was falling out of love with him.

Majesty (adj)

• Royal, magnificent

• In Wonderland, Alice had to address the Red Queen as “Your majesty” to let her know she realized how magnificent she was.

Profound (adj)

• Coming from a great depth

• Everything I say is profound and deep; people are amazed at how smart I am.

Precede (v)

• To introduce; to be in front of

• I preceded my speech with a funny remark.

Liniment (n)

• A liquid applied to the skin to lessen irritation

• Crooks applies liniment to his back to take away some of the pain.

Pugnacious (adj)

• Argumentative

• My friend Brody has a pugnacious personality that has caused countless fights.

Skeptical (adj)

• An attitude of doubt towards a subject

• My teacher was skeptical about the excuse I gave; turtles don’t eat homework.

Vicious (adj)

• Violent, ferocious

• Our neighbor’s dog had a vicious bark that would scare all of us away.

Bemuse (v)

• To make confused, to puzzle

• The statement “I know that I know nothing” bemused Ty, and he was left scratching his head.

Confident (adj)

• Showing or having assurance; sure of oneself

• I am confident that I will pass the biology test with flying colors.

Entrance (v)

• To put into a trance

• The Siren’s song entranced sailors so they lost all sense of reality.

Reprehensible (adj)

• Deserving blame

• Ron’s father saw him break the lamp; therefore, Ron was reprehensible for the act.

Conceal (v)

• To cover or hide

• Horace wears a hat to conceal his bald spot.

Sarcasm (n)

• A sharp remark meant to insult

• I wanted to get back at my sister, so I sarcastically told her that she looked beautiful.

Deliberate (v)

• To think slowly

• The jury had to deliberate before declaring the criminal guilty.

Derision (n)

• Disapproval; condescension

• There was a hint of derision in the teacher’s voice and the student blushed.

Cautious (adj)

• Careful

• I heard about the shark attacks in this area, so I was very cautious about staying close to the shore when I went swimming.

Aloof (adj)

• Emotionally distant

• Meaghan’s boyfriend was too aloof, so she dumped him.

Unit 3

1. Meager (adj)

• Small, inadequate

• The restaurant gives a meager portion of french fries with their meals.

2. Contemptuously (adv)

• Feeling or expressing dislike, disdainfully

• Gia’s ex-husband showed up to her party, and she spoke to him contemptuously, telling him to leave.

3. Lean (adj)

• Thin, slender

• I work out seven days a week so I can stay lean and mean.

4. Scowl (n, v)

• A facial expression of displeasure; to make a contemptuous expression

• Elayna scowled as the girl that cheated off her homework walked by her table at lunch.

5. Avert (v)

• To avoid, to turn away

• I couldn’t help but stare at my crush, but every time he looked in my direction, I averted my eyes so he wouldn’t catch me.

6. Maul (n)

• A heavy wooden hammer

• My dad has a maul in his toolbox that he never uses.

7. Scorn (v)

• To treat something or someone as being pitiful or unworthy

• Mrs. Harrison scorned her students for doing poorly on the spelling test.

8. Subside (v)

• To die down

• The cheering at the football subsided when the quarterback was hurt and carried off the field.

9. Confide (v)

• To reveal personal matters in private; to trust

• I confide in my sister because I know she won’t share my issues and she gives good advice.

10. Console (v)

• To comfort

• I consoled my boyfriend for days after his cat died.

11. Contort (v)

• To twist, bend, or flex

• The performers in Cirque du Soliel are masters at contorting their bodies for the sake of art.

12. Earnest (adj)

• Serious; determined

• Rose was earnest about studying and working to become a doctor.

13. Whimper (v)

• To cry weakly or softly

• Our puppy whimpers every time we leave the house for the day.

14. Craftily (adv)

• in tricky or sneaky manner

• He craftily snuck out of his house to go to the party that the whole school was attending.

15. Emphasis (n)

• Special importance or significance

• The teacher placed emphasis on good spelling so her students wouldn’t lose points on their essays.

16. Monotonous (adj)

• Lacking variety, repetitious

• Doing worksheets and taking quizzes every day can become monotonous and boring.

17. Hover (v)

• To be undecided about something; to hang over

• George hovered over whether to take a cruise or backpack across Europe.

18. Fawning (adj)

• Overly complimentary, attempting to win the favor of someone through flattery

• Bryan’s fawning words and phrases did not score him the girl; she thought he was too much.

19. Haunches (n)

• The upper thighs

• The cat rested on her haunches as she sat on the windowsill.

20. Waggle (v)

• To move from side to side

• The fish’s tail waggled as it swam around in the fishbowl.

Works Cited

• http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/FFA/18N3/FQMXFDE4/FFA18N3FQMXFDE4.MEDIUM.jpg