| LAK12 - https://www.lak12.com/ | 
 | 
 
  | 
 
| 10th Grade Worksheets of Clovis, CA, USA | 
 
  | 
 
aberration  | n. a departure from the norm or what is considered right, natural, or normal; a flaw or defect  |  
 abominate  | v. to hate or loathe intensely  |  
 abridge  | v. to shorten in duration or extent; to diminish  |  
 accolade  | n. an expression of approval or respect for special merit; a award  |  
 accost  | v. to approach and speak to in an aggressive or challenging way  |  
 acoustic  | adj. relating to sound or hearing  |  
 acrimony  | n. bitterness or sharpness of temper, manner, or speech; hostility  |  
 adamant  | adj. not yielding; firm  |  
 adjacent  | adj. near or next to; adjoining  |  
 adjudicate  | v. to hear and decide judicially; to judge  |  
 adjunct  | n. something or someone joined or added to something else but not essentially a part of it  |  
 adulate  | v. to flatter or admire excessively; to idolize  |  
 affinity  | n. attraction for someone or something with which one feels a closeness or kinship  |  
 aftermath  | n. a consequence or result, often a negative one  |  
 aggregate  | n. a group of things gathered into a whole; sum total  |  
 agrarian  | adj. having to do with farming or agriculture  |  
 allocate  | v. to set aside for a specific purpose; to allot  |  
 altercation  | n. a loud and determined dispute; a noisy quarrel  |  
 ambivalent  | adj. having mixed, often opposing, feeling about something or someone; indecisive  |  
 ameliorate  | v. to make better; to become better; to improve  |  
 amenable  | adj. responsive; willing to be controlled or to take advice  |  
 animosity  | n. intense ill will  |  
 annals  | n. a historical record of events, often arranged in a yearly sequence  |  
 antiquated  | adj. grown old; out-of-date  |  
 aphorism  | n. a short of truth or principle; an adage  |  
 ascribe  | v. to attribute to a source or a cause  |  
 asperity  | n. sharpness or harshness of manner  |  
 assemblage  | n. a collection or gathering of people or things  |  
 assiduous  | adj. diligent and persistent  |  
 attest  | v. to declare or be evidence of something as true, genuine, or accurate  |  
 augur  | v. to predict future events, especially from omens  |  
 august  | adj. inspiring great respect or admiration; noble  |  
 aura  | n. a distinctive atmosphere or feeling that seems to surround someone or something; a distinctive appearance or impression  |  
 auspices  | n. protection, support, or guidance; patronage  |  
 auspicious  | adj. favorable, promising  |  
 avarice  | n. greed for wealth  |  
 axiom  | n. a statement or principle that requires no proof because ints truth is obvious  |  
 baleful  | adj. expressing hatred or evil; harmful, ominous  |  
 banal  | adj. lacking freshness; trite  |  
 bane  | n. a person or thing that destroys or causes harm  |  
 bastion  | n. a fortified area or position; a person, place, or thing that is a source of strength  |  
 beleaguer  | v. to surround with troubles; to harass  |  
 belie  | v. to give a false impression of; to contradict  |  
 bemuse  | v. to confuse or bewilder  |  
 berate  | v. to criticize vigorously; to scold vehemently  |  
 beset  | v. to surround or attack repeatedly  |  
 bilk  | v. to cheat our of what is due  |  
 buffoon  | n. a person who often makes attempts to be funny; a clown; a fool  |  
 burgeon  | v. to grow and expand rapidly; to flourish  |  
 carnage  | n. great destruction of life; slaughter  |  
 castigate  | v. to punish by criticizing sharply; to berate  |  
 cataclysm  | n. a sudden and violent change; a catastrophe  |  
 catharsis  | n. a releasing of the emotions, often through the arts, that brings about spiritual renewal or a relieving of tension  |  
 cautionary  | adj. offering or serving as a warning  |  
 cavil  | n. a minor criticism  |  
 cede  | v. to give up or transfer, especially by treaty or formal agreement  |  
 celestial  | adj. of or relating to the skies or heavens  |  
 centennial  | n. a one-hundredth anniversary or its celebration  |  
 certitude  | n. the state of being certain of the truth or rightness of something  |  
 cessation  | n. a stopping, either final or temporary  |  
 charisma  | n. a special quality in a person that inspires devotion or fascination in others  |  
 chary  | adj. exercising caution; hesitant  |  
 churlish  | adj. lacking good manners; rude, impolite  |  
 circuitous  | adj. roundabout; indirect  |  
 circumvent  | v. to avoid through craftiness  |  
 clique  | n. a small, exclusive group; a group held together by like interests or purpose  |  
 cognizant  | adj. fully aware; taking notice  |  
 cohort  | n. one who assists another, especially in a dubious or criminal activity; an accomplice  |  
 colloquial  | adj. characterized by informal language  |  
 compunction  | n. a feeling of uneasiness or anxiety caused by guilt  |  
 concoct  | v. to make up, prepare, or invent  |  
 condone  | v. to overlook or accept without punishment; to pardon or excuse  |  
 confidant  | n. a person to whom secrets are told  |  
 constituent  | n. one of the parts that make up a whole  |  
 constrain  | v. to confine, inhibit, or hold back by force or necessity  |  
 consummate  | adj. extremely skilled; complete or perfect  |  
 conundrum  | n. a riddle whose answer is a play on words  |  
 conversant  | adj. having knowledge or experience; well-informed  |  
 countenance  | n. a person’s face; the expression on a person’s face  |  
 credulous  | adj. willing to believe things with only slight or no evidence; easily conviced  |  
 culinary  | adj. having to do with cooking  |  
 culpable  | adj. deserving blame or censure  |  
 curator  | n. a person in charge of an exhibition; an overseer of a museum or library collection  |  
 curtail  | v. to cut short or reduce  |  
 dearth  | n. scarcity; a shortage  |  
 decorum  | n. suitable, proper behavior or speech  |  
 decrepit  | adj. worn-out with use; broken-down  |  
 defunct  | adj. no longer existing or functioning  |  
 demoralize  | v. to destroy the morals or morale of someone; to weaken the spirit or courage of someone  |  
 denigrate  | v. to attack the reputation of; to criticize in a derogatory manner  |  
 derivative  | n. something that grows out of or results from an earlier form or condition  |  
 desultory  | adj. proceeding or carried out in an aimless or random way  |  
 diabolical  | adj. devilish; wicked or evil  |  
 differentiate  | v. to see the difference; to distinguish  |  
 dilemma  | n. a problem that seems to have no satisfactory solution; a difficult choice  |  
 diminutive  | adj. very small; tiny  |  
 disarray  | n. a lack or order; confusion  |  
 discriminate  | v. the act of making a distinction in favor of or against a person or thing on the basis of the group or category rather tan according to actual merit  |  
 disgruntle  | v. to make dissatisfied; to put in a bad mood  |  
 disparage  | v. to criticize in a negative, disrespectful manner  |  
 dissipate  | v. to break up and spread out so thinly as to disappear; to scatter or be scattered  |  
 diverse  | adj. differing from one another; having various or distinct parts  |  
 doleful  | adj. mournful or full of sorrow; causing grief  |  
 ebullient  | adj. bubbling with enthusiasm or high spirits  |  
 emaciated  | adj. very thin or wasted away, especially from lack of nourishment; scrawny  |  
 enclave  | n. a distinct region or community enclosed within a larger territory  |  
 endow  | v. to provide with a quality, a thing, or a gift or money  |  
 engender  | v. to bring into being, to produce  |  
 enormity  | n. the state or quality of being monstrous or outrageous  |  
 entrepreneur  | n. an individual who manages and takes the risk of a business  |  
 ephemeral  | adj. lasting a very short time  |  
 epitaph  | n. the words carved on a tombstone in memory of the deceased  |  
 equilibrium  | n. a state of balance  |  
 eradicate  | v. to get rid of; to uproot  |  
 esoteric  | adj. not generally known or understood; familiar to only a relatively small number of people  |  
 espionage  | n. the act of spying, especially a government spy obtaining secrets of another government  |  
 euphemism  | n. a polite term used to avoid directly naming something considered offensive or unpleasant  |  
 evanescent  | adj. short-lived; staying temporarily  |  
 exacerbate  | v. to make more severe, bitter, or violent  |  
 exodus  | n. a mass departure  |  
 expedite  | v. to speed up a process; to facilitate  |  
 expendable  | adj. able to be used up and then discarded or replaced  |  
 extant  | adj. still existing; not lost or destroyed  |  
 extrovert  | n. a person whose attention is focused on others and on what is going on around her or him, rather than on her or his own feels  |  
 factotum  | n. a helper or assistant with a wide range of duties and responsibilities  |  
 fatuous  | adj. foolish; silly; stupid  |  
 flotilla  | n. a fleet of boats or small ships  |  
 flout  | v. to ignore in a disrespectful or scornful way  |  
 foment  | v. to stir up, to rouse; to instigate  |  
 fortuitous  | adj. happening by lucky chance; accidental  |  
 galaxy  | n. a vast cluster of stars and other matter, billions of which make up the known universe  |  
 galvanize  | v. to excite or arouse action  |  
 gamut  | n. the entire range of something  |  
 garish  | adj. excessively bright and flashy; tastelessly glaring  |  
 gibe  | v. to utter taunting, sarcastic words  |  
 gird  | v. to encircle, bind, or surround  |  
 gossamer  | n. thin, sheer fabric resembling gauze  |  
 gourmet  | n. a person who likes fine food an is a good judge of its quality  |  
 grandiloquent  | adj. using lofty or pompous speech or expression  |  
 grandiose  | adj. impressive because of large size or scope  |  
 gratuitous  | adj. no called for; unnecessary  |  
 halcyon  | adj. calm, peaceful, and happy; prosperous  |  
 harbinger  | n. a person or thing that is a symbol of what is to come  |  
 heresy  | n. the expression of shocking or unacceptable views  |  
 hierarchy  | n. a group or system in which potions of power are ranked, usually from lowest to highest  |  
 homily  | n. a lecture usually long, on how to behave morally  |  
 homogeneous  | adj. of a similar kind or nature; uniform throughout  |  
 hybrid  | n. the offspring of two animals or plants of different species or varieties  |  
 hyperbole  | n. extravagant exaggeration  |  
 hypothetical  | adj. based on something that is not actual but assumed or supposed  |  
 ignominious  | adj. marked by, deserving, or causing shame or disgrace  |  
 illicit  | adj. not allowed, improper, or unlawful  |  
 illusory  | adj. unreal or imagined; deceiving  |  
 imbue  | v. to fill completely with a feeling or idea; to inspire  |  
 implacable  | adj. incapable of being placated, soothed, or significantly changed; relentless  |  
 importune  | v. to plead for persistently  |  
 inalienable  | adj. not able to be taken or given away  |  
 incarcerate  | v. to confine or to put in prison  |  
 incoherent  | adj. not connected; confused; rambling  |  
 inconsequential  | adj. lacking importance or worth; unable to make an impact; trivial  |  
 incumbent  | n. one who occupies an office or position  |  
 incur  | v. to bring upon oneself something undesirable, such as a debt  |  
 indigenous  | adj. naturally living or growing in a certain area; native  |  
 indignity  | n. an insult to one’s ride; offensive or humiliating treatment  |  
 indiscriminate  | adj. not marked by careful distinctions; haphazard  |  
 induce  | v. to influence or persuade  |  
 ineffable  | adj. incapable of being expressed in words  |  
 inexorable  | adj. not to be persuaded, stopped, or moved by entreaty or plea; relentless  |  
 infamous  | adj. having a very mad reputation; notorious  |  
 infatuated  | adj. filled with excessive, shallow, or foolish love or desire  |  
 infirmity  | n. physical or mental weakness or defect  |  
 ingratiate  | v. to work to gain the favor of someone  |  
 iniquitous  | adj. unjust; wicked  |  
 innocuous  | adj. harmless; unlikely to offend  |  
 insatiable  | adj. never satisfied; greedy  |  
 instigate  | v. to stir up or urge on; to provoke  |  
 insurrection  | n. an open revolt against legal authority; a rebellion  |  
 inter  | v. to put in a grave; to bury  |  
 intercede  | v. to act or plead on another’s behalf; to try to smooth the differences between two parties  |  
 intractable  | adj. hard to manage, tame, or control; stubborn; not easily cured  |  
 intransigent  | adj. refusing to compromise or change one’s position on an issue  |  
 inure  | v. to adjust to and accept unpleasant or undesirable conditions  |  
 inveigh  | v. to complain or protest strongly  |  
 juncture  | n. a joining or coming together; the place where such a connection occurs  |  
 jurisdiction  | n. legal authority to govern of control  |  
 juxtapose  | v. to place side by side  |  
 lacerate  | v. to tear or cut roughly  |  
 largesse  | n. the act of giving generously; gifts  |  
 laudatory  | adj. full of praise  |  
 liquidate  | v. to settle the affairs of a business; to convert into cash  |  
 luminary  | n. a source of light, especially from the sky, such as the sun or moon  |  
 maelstrom  | n. a large and violent whirlpool or something resembling a whirlpool  |  
 magnate  | n. an important, often wealthy, person prominent in a large industry or business  |  
 magnitude  | n. greatness of size, power, or influence  |  
 malign  | v. to say negative and unfair things about; slander  |  
 mandatory  | adj. ordered by an authority; required  |  
 manifesto  | n. a public statement explaining the intentions, motives, or views of an individual or group  |  
 manifold  | adj. having many different kinds, forms, or parts  |  
 materialize  | v. to appear in physical form, especially suddenly  |  
 matriarchy  | n. a society that is headed by a female  |  
 mellifluous  | adj. sweetly flowing; pleasant to the ear  |  
 mesmerize  | v. to fascinate or hypnotize  |  
 mien  | n. a person’s manner, appearance, or expression; bearing  |  
 minuscule  | adj. very small in size or importance  |  
 misnomer  | n. a name that does not fit  |  
 mitigate  | v. to make or become less serious or severe; to ameliorate  |  
 muster  | v. to summon or call forth; to gather  |  
 necessitate  | v. to require; to make necessary  |  
 neophyte  | n. a beginner; a novice  |  
 nonpareil  | n. a person or thing without an equal  |  
 obituary  | n. a notice of someone’s death, such as in a newspaper, usually with a brief summary of that person’s life  |  
 odyssey  | n. a long, adventurous journey  |  
 olfactory  | adj. relating to the sense of small  |  
 omnivorous  | adj. eating all kinds of food, including both animal and vegetable food  |  
 onerous  | adj. burdensome; oppressive  |  
 optimum  | adj. best or most favorable  |  
 palatable  | adj. acceptable or pleasing, especially to the sense of taste  |  
 panacea  | n. something that is supposed to cure all ills or difficulties; a cure-all  |  
 panache  | n. dash or flamboyance in style or action  |  
 pandemonium  | n. a state or place of great confusion or uproar  |  
 pantheon  | n. a group of people held in high esteem for their great achievements  |  
 partisan  | n. a strong supporter or advocate  |  
 patina  | n. a green film that forms on copper exposed to the elements  |  
 penchant  | n. a strong attraction or leaning  |  
 permeate  | v. to spread throughout; to pass through  |  
 perpetrate  | v. to commit, as a crime or other antisocial act  |  
 perverse  | adj. turned away form what is right; wicked  |  
 picayune  | adj. petty or insignificant; concerned with trifling maters  |  
 pillory  | v. to expose to public scorn or contempt  |  
 pleasantry  | n. an agreeable, casual remark  |  
 plebeian  | adj. of or pertaining to the common people; common; unrefined  |  
 plethora  | n. too great a number; an excess  |  
 poignant  | adj. painfully moving, affecting, or touching  |  
 posterity  | n. a person’s descendants; future generations  |  
 precedent  | n. the act of statement that may serve as an example or justification for a later one  |  
 predecessor  | n. a person or thing that has held a position or office before another  |  
 predilection  | n. an inclination; preference  |  
 premeditated  | adj. fully planned beforehand; deliberate  |  
 prerogative  | n. a special right limited to a person, group, or office; a privilege  |  
 pretext  | n. an effort to conceal the real intention or state of affairs; an excuse  |  
 procrastinate  | v. to put off until later  |  
 profane  | v. disrespectful of sacred things  |  
 prohibitive  | adj. serving to restrain action or discourage use of  |  
 proliferate  | v. to grow, expand, or multiply at a rapid rate  |  
 promontory  | n. a high point of land that juts out into water  |  
 proselytize  | v. to convert someone to a faith, belief, or cause  |  
 qualm  | n. a feeling of uneasiness as to whether what one id doing is right or wise; a misgiving  |  
 quixotic  | adj. romantic and idealistic, but impractical  |  
 rambunctious  | adj. behaving in a wild and unruly manner  |  
 rampant  | adj. threateningly wild, without restraint or control; widespread  |  
 rancor  | n. a deep, long-held feeling of hatred or bitterness  |  
 rapt  | adj. fully absorbed; engrossed  |  
 recompense  | v. to pay or compensate  |  
 refurbish  | v. to make like new; to renovate  |  
 reminisce  | v. to think or talk about one’s past  |  
 remiss  | adj. negligent; careless; lax  |  
 rendition  | n. an interpretation or translation; a performance  |  
 reparation  | n. a mending or repair  |  
 repast  | n. food and drink; a meal  |  
 repertoire  | n. the list of pieces an actor, musician, etc., is ready to perform; the skills or accomplishments of a person or group  |  
 resurgence  | n. a rising again to life. use. acceptance. or prominence; a revival  |  
 resuscitate  | v. to revive from unconsciousness or apparent death; to revive or restore to health or vigor  |  
 rudiment  | n. a basic principle or skill  |  
 ruminate  | v. to think over again and again; to ponder  |  
 sabotage  | n. acts that intentionally damage, hinder, or seek to discredit  |  
 sadistic  | adj. taking pleasure in causing pain  |  
 scathing  | adj. harshly critical  |  
 scourge  | n. something that causes great pain and suffering; a social evil  |  
 scurrilous  | adj. vulgar; coarsely abusive  |  
 secrete  | v. to produce and give off  |  
 servitude  | n. a lack of freedom forced labor  |  
 sibling  | n. one of two or more people who have the same parents; brother or sister  |  
 singular  | adj. extraordinary; exceptional  |  
 smattering  | n. a small amount  |  
 somnolent  | adj. tending to cause sleepiness  |  
 spurious  | adj. not genuine; false  |  
 stalemate  | n. a halt in a struggle because both sides are equally strong and neither side will give in; a deadlock  |  
 stalwart  | adj. strong; sturdy  |  
 stereotype  | n. a generalization that is used to characterize a person without acknowledging individual differences  |  
 stigma  | n. a mark of shame or disgrace  |  
 stipend  | n. a regular and fixed amount of pay for work done or to help cover living or work expenses  |  
 subservient  | adj. serving or acting in a subordinate manner; servile  |  
 temerity  | n. reckless boldness without regard to danger or opposition  |  
 temperate  | adj. mild, moderate; restrained  |  
 tenacious  | adj. holding fast; persistent in adhering to something valued or habitual  |  
 titanic  | adj. marked by great strength, size, or influence  |  
 transpire  | v. to become apparent; to come to light  |  
 tutelage  | n. instruction, protection. or guardianship  |  
 undermine  | v. to attack by indirect, secret, or underhanded means  |  
 unremitting  | adj. not stopping or slowing down; constant  |  
 vagary  | n. a departure from the normal, expected course; a whim or unpredictable action  |  
 vanguard  | n. the leading or forwards position in a movement  |  
 vestige  | n. a trace of something that once was present  |  
 visionary  | adj. able to see what might be accomplished in the future  |  
 volatile  | adj. evaporating quickly  |  
 winnow  | v. to separate and remove what is undesirable and leave what is desirable; to blow away the chaff from again  |  
 zephyr  | n. a light, gently breeze  |  
  |  
 
  |