Plagiarism

Plagiarism: a large picture painted or affixed directly on a wall or ceiling

Susan always reminds us that we always have to cite our sources because otherwise it is considered plagiarism.

Mural

Mural: a large picture painted or affixed directly on a wall or ceiling

In Argentina there was a city named San Telmo which was known for its calm and artistic environment. This city had colorful murals surrounding every corner of the city.

Melancholy & Lament

Melancholy: a gloomy state of mind, esp. when habitual or prolonged; depression
Lament: to feel or express sorrow or regret for

The melancholy she felt when her husband died was unblearble. She lamented his death until the day she died.

Truncated

Truncated: shortened by or as if by having a part cut off; cut short

She felt her dream had been truncated by the fact that she didn't get accepted to the college of her dreams.

Cordial

Cordial: courteous and gracious; friendly; warm

The young lady was very cordial, especially when meeting new people.

Amenable

Amenable: ready or willing to answer, act, agree, or yield; open to influence, persuasion, or advice

In Atonement Briony tells her brothers to make themselves aminable when they are practicing for the play Briony has created.

Transitory

Transitory: not lasting, enduring, permanent, or eternal

Since the red car broke down, the rental of the blue car was transitory until the red car was fixed again.

Proximity

Proximity: nearness in place, time, order, occurrence, or relation

The proximity of graduation makes me happy and scared at the same time.

Omnipotent

Omnipotent: having very great or unlimited authority or power

God is described as being omnipotent because he has unlimited power.

Emigrate

Emigrate: to leave one country or region to settle in another

My parents emigrated from Mexico to the United States in order to seek better opportunities.

Narrative

Narrative: a story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious

The author's narrative of his life was extremely sad and made many readers cry.

Parody

Parody: a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing

The young comedian's parody made everyone cry of laughter.

Malice & Toxic

Malice: desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness
Toxic:of, pertaining to, affected with, or caused by a toxin or poison

In Orphan, the woman's malice motivated her to put toxic chemicals in the nun's drink.

Profound

Profound: penetrating or entering deeply into subjects of thought or knowledge; having deep insight or understanding

The psychologist's profound way of thinking allowed her to understand why her patients were acting they were.

Misconception

Misconception: an erroneous conception; mistaken notion

A common misconception is that corn is a vegetable when in fact corn is a fruit.

Intuition

Intuition: direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension

The woman's intution told her that she had finally found the love of her life.

Impression

Impression: the first and immediate effect of an experience or perception upon the mind; sensation.

The girl made a good impression during her interview and was therefore given the job.

Conception

Conception: fertilization; inception of pregnancy

After conception, it takes nine months for the fetus to develop completely and be ready for birth.

Acquired

Acquired: to come into possession or ownership

After several experiments, the scientist acquired the knowledge necessary to start developing the cure for cancer.

Derived & Context

Derived:to receive or obtain from a source or origin
Context: the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect

Marixa had to derive information from the context of the problem in order to find the answer.

Assiduous

Assiduous: constant in application or effort; working diligently at a task

Although Marixa was tired, her assiduous attitude toward school earned her good grades.

Obdurate

Obdurate: unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding

The thief was an obdurate man who didn't care if he stole the only thing of value that the poor family posessed.

Inevitable

Inevitable: unable to be avoided, evaded, or escaped; certain; necessary

It is inevitable for the student to fail the course if he doesn;t do his homework and never pays attention in class.

Intrepid

Intrepid: resolutely fearless; dauntless

The intrepid child went into the dark room by himself to fight the monster his imagination had created.

Compelling

Compelling: tending to compel; overpowering

After finding the man's fingerprints on the gun, the judge had compelling evidence to conclude that he was guilty.

Superficial

Superficial: concerned with or comprehending only what is on the surface or obvious

The superficial poet had no luck selling her book of poems because the poems seemed so unreal and fake.

Proliferate

Proliferate: to increase in number or spread rapidly and often excessively

Santa's elves had to proliferate the number of toys because Christmas was getting closer.

Ambiguous

Ambiguous: open to or having several possible meanings or interpretations

The teacher had an ambiguous way of teaching which made many students fail the course.

Endure

Endure: to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo

One day I was playing outside when suddenly I fell and broke my arm. I had to endure the pain I felt for not being able to play outside until I got better.

Inconsequential

Inconsequential: of little or no importance; insignificant; trivial

The student didn't study for the test because he thought it was an inconsequential part of his grade.

Trivial

Trivial: of very little importance or value

I tend to always worry about trivial matters which causes my hair to fall out.

Diligent

Diligent: constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything


The diligent student always stays up late to get a 100 on his tests.

Listless

Listless: having or showing little or no interest in anything; languid

The boy's listless behavior made his parents worry about his pychological wellbeing.

Haughty

Haughty: disdainfully proud; snobbish; scornfully arrogant

The girl's haughty behavior made her classmates dislike her.

Arbiter

Arbiter: a person empowered to decide matters at issue

The arbiter decided that there was substantial evidence to conclude that the man was guilty of theft.

Lucid

Lucid: easily understood; completely intelligible or comprehensible

Since the student had a timeline to guide his audience, his history presentation was very lucid.

Egregious

Egregious: extraordinary in some bad way; glaring

The boy was known for being an egregious liar because he would always lie to his mom about not cleaning his room.

Clarity

Clarity: clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding

The clarity with which the teacher taught made it easy for everyone to understand what he expected the class to know for the exam.

Astute

Astute: clever; cunning; ingenious; shrewd

The child's astute charcater helped him figure out where his teacher had hidden the candies.

Benevolent

Benevolent: desiring to help others; charitable

Mother Teresa's benevolent heart encouraged her to help those who were less fortunate than her.

Alleviate

Alleviate: to make easier to endure; lessen; mitigate

In order to alleviate the pain she felt from her heartbreak, she seeked refuge in her hobbies.

Florid

Florid: flowery; excessively ornate; showy

The dress' florid pattern made it perfect to wear in the spring.

Ostentatious & Effusive

Ostentatious: characterized by or given to pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others
Effusive: pouring out; overflowing

The young boy was attracted to the girl's ostenatious attitude and effusive smile.

Torpor

Torpor: sluggish inactivity or inertia

The soccer player's torpor was seen on the field when he refused to run for the ball.

Insipid

Insipid: without distinctive, interesting, or stimulating qualities; vapid

The girl was insipid even when she tried to disguise by wearing beautiful clothes and make-up.

Convoluted & Quandary

Convoluted: complicated; intricately involved
Quandary: a state of perplexity or uncertainty, esp. as to what to do; dilemma

Life is convoluted and in order to succeed, one has to learn how to deal with the quandaries that we have to face each day.

Dictatorial & Imperious

Dictatorial: of or pertaining to a dictator or dictatorship
Imperious: domineering in a haughty manner; dictatorial; overbearing

Cuba's dictatorial governement keeps every aspect of its citizen's life strictly monitored. This imperious lifestyle encourages many to flee from their own country.

Exculpate & Integrity

Exculpate: to clear from a charge of guilt or fault; free from blame; vindicate
Integrity: adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty

The young man's integrity was cleared when the real criminal was found. He was finally exculpated from the crime he had been unfairly charged with.

Fabricated & Hypocrisy

Fabricated: to devise or invent
Hypocrisy: a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess

The girl's hypocrisy led many to believe that she was nothing but a fabricated character.

Alienated & Obscure

Alienated: to turn away; transfer or divert
Obscure: lacking in light or illumination; dark; dim; murky

The boy led a sorrowful and obscure life after he alienated himself from his family and friends.

Implication

Implication: something implied or suggested as naturally to be inferred or understood

The teacher's suggestion to search her backpack led to the implication that he thought she was the thief.

Benign

Benign:showing or expressive of gentleness or kindness

The girl's benign actions were portrayed as being evil because she was too shy to her new classmates.

Biased

Biased: having or showing bias or prejudice

The judge's biased opinion prevented her from being fair to the accused.