Vocabulary Activity

1. Mute (adjective) - refraining from speech or temporarily

speechless; not expressed in speech; characterized by an
absence of sound; quiet.
a. Sentence: Then she sat down at his table, and put her
head on it, and was silent, with the patient suffering of
black women, with the suffering of oxen, with the suffering
of any that are mute. (page 40)
b. My sentence: As the pastor was praying, all in the room
were mute.

2. Gravely (adjective) – giving cause for alarm; serious : a matter of

grave
concern.
a. Sentence: It suited the white man to break the tribe, he
continued gravely. (page 56)
b. My sentence: I gravely told my mom our cat died.

3. Articulately (adjective) - (of a person or a person's words) having

or showing the ability to speak fluently and coherently.
a. Sentence: Inarticulately he strokes her face, his heart is
filled with pity. (page 61)
b. My sentence: The immigrant was able to speak
articulately in English and was very advanced.

4. Reconcile (verb) - restore friendly relations between; cause to

coexist in harmony; make or show to be compatible.
a. Sentence: And thus reconciled, they sat hand in hand.
(page 61)
b. My sentence: Jordan and I began to reconcile after
months of not talking to one another.

5. Stipend (noun) - a fixed regular sum paid as a salary or

allowance.
a. Sentence: To save ten pounds from a stipend of eight
pounds a month takes much patience and time, especially
for a parson, who must dress in good black clothes. (page
64)
b. My sentence: I get my stipend every weekend.

6. Irresolute (adjective) - showing or feeling hesitancy; uncertain.

a. Sentence: So getting no peace, she rose irresolute, and
went to a room behind, and after some time she returned
with the bible. (page 79)
 b. My Sentence: I was irresolute as I approached the
classroom.

7. Corrugated (adjective) - (of a material, surface, or structure)

shaped into alternate ridges and grooves.
a. Sentence: There is corrugated iron at the reformatory,
they use it to cover the Nancefield Station, lying neatly
packed in bundles. (page 88)
b. My Sentence: The house’s roof was corrugated.

8. Travail (noun) – painful or laborious effort.

a. Sentence: (page )
b. My Sentence: Anthony had to go through travail all
Friday.

9. Obscure (adjective) – not discovered or known about; uncertain.

a. Sentence: He had bought the child some cheap wooden
blocks, and with these the little one played endlessly and
intently, with a purpose obscure to the adult mind, but
completely absorbing. (page 93)
b. My Sentence: The ancient ruins of a lost civilization were
obscure until a courageous man found the ruins.

10. Desolate (adjective) – (of a place) deserted of people and in a

state if bleak and dismal emptiness.
a. Sentence: And then in one fraction of time the hills with
deep melodious names stood out waste and desolate
beneath the pitiless sun, the streams ceased to run, the
cattle moved thin and listless over the red and rootless
earth. (page 93)
b. My Sentence: The field was desolate as the boys prepared
to play soccer.

11. Muse (verb) – be absorbed in thought.

a. Sentence: His voice would falter and die away, and he
would fall silent and muse. (page 93)
b. My sentence: I was muse and calm as I thought of the
present days activities.

12. Dubious (adjective)- hesitating or doubting

13. Tenaciously (adjective)- not readily letting go of, giving up, or

separated from an object that one holds, a position, or a principle
14. Ruefully (adjective)- expressing sorrow or regret, esp. when
in a slightly humorous way

15. Apprehension (noun)- anxiety or fear that something bad or

unpleasant will happen

16. Prodigal (adjective)- spending money or resources freely and

recklessly; wastefully extravagant

17. Reproachfully (adjective)- expressing disapproval or

disappointment

18. Congenial (adjective)- pleasant because of a personality,

qualities, or interests that are similar to one’s own

19. Innumerable (adjective)- too many to be counted

20. Quaintness (adjective)- attractively unusual or old-fashioned

21. Repression (verb)-subdue (someone or something) by force

22. Reverie (noun)- a state of being pleasantly lost in one’s

thoughts; a daydream

23. Expedient (adjective)- (of an action) convenient and

practical, although possibly improper or immortal

24. Prestige (noun)- widespread respect and admiration felt for

someone or something on the basis of a perception of their
achievements or quality

25. Scrupulous (adjective)- (of a person or process) diligent,

thorough, and extremely attentive to details

26. Renounce (verb)- formally declare one’s abandonment of (a

claim, right, or possession)

27. Profoundly (adjective)- (of a state, quality, or emotion) very

great or intense

28. Humility (noun)- a modest or low view of one’s own

29. Transmuted (verb)- change in form, nature, or substance