Vocabulary Words Week 4

1. intrepid - adj. fearless, courageous. The intrepid explorer walked into the dark cave, not knowing what he might find at the other end.
2. trepidation - n. hesitation, fear, or anxiety. It was with trepidation that the girl walked in to the room of lions, carrying only a large bottle of water and a magic scarf.
3. despondent - adj. depressed, without hope. Working on college applications makes me despondent; I feel like I could be writing essays forever.
4. decorum - n. proper manners or behavior. I plan to have advisory made into a decorum class, where students would be taught essential skill such as napkin folding and the samba.
5. aspire - v. yearn, hope, or dream. I aspire to be a top notch archer.
6. vacillate - v. constantly wavering, unable to choose. The young adolescent vacillated between hating all of humanity and wanting to cuddle with his girlfriend.
7. desultory - adj. unplanned, disorganized, and without enthusiasm. When the fat, balding man began questioning me about my love life, I answered him desultorily, making up short stories than would make him stop talking to me.
8. fallacy - n. an untruth, a lie. Johnny told Marie a fallacy when he said he only had eyes for her...because really, he was sneaking around behind her back with other potatoes.
9. formidable - adj. scary, large, foreboding. The large castle was scary enough, but the alligators in the moat were extremely formidable.
10. heritage - n. legacy, inheritance, culture. My heritage is mixed; I am a mutt of all breeds.
11. guru - n. a leader in some way, often religious or spiritual. My guru says I need to eat only grapes and drink only canola oil for the next week in order to cleanse my aura.