“To Build a Fire” by Jack London Vocabulary Words
Survival Unit
Sweiss, Literature
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1. conjecture:
2. frail:
3. menacing:
4. apprehension:
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Even though it only seems like weather reports are
conjectures, they are actually based on evidence!
Sometimes, you have to make a conjecture in math,
especially if you are without a calculator.
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My grandmother is a frail woman; without her cane, she
would collapse to the ground.
Grandma's favorite vase is probably too frail to use for
football practice; some of us have learned that the hard way.
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If you’re backing away slowly from something, you can
probably use the adjective menacing to describe it!
A menacing tone is intended to scare you, but that menacing
raincloud isn’t actually trying to ruin your day. Menacing can
describe the behavior of a menace, but only the mean or
dangerous kind — not just a pest: "The raccoon that always
knocks over your garbage can is a menace, but it's not
menacing (unless it also chases you around your house)."
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I felt apprehension as my name was called to read in front of
the entire class.
ISATS always cause immense apprehension in teacher’s
minds, as well as with students.
I felt apprehension as I approached the door and knew I
would have to face the menacing countenance of my mother.
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5. subdue:
6. amber:
7. monotonous:
8. reiterate:
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To subdue is to hold back, put down, or defeat. A Doberman
can be subdued with a bone, but subduing a yapping toy
poodle can be a mail carrier's greatest daily challenge.
If someone is angry, you might subdue him with kind words
that overcome his anger. If someone is coming at you with a
giant karate chop, you may be able to subdue her with a
secret weapon — a knee-snap–heel-kick-floor-drop. Sub-, as
in submarine means "below" and subdue means to bring low
— to keep down literally or to calm down emotionally.
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Amber is a translucent golden or honeyed-yellow colored
gemstone, often used to make jewelry. That's where the
color amber gets its name.
I like the color of tea; its amber color matches my amber hair.
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Ever hear a song that just sounds like the same thing over and
over? Ever hear a dog that keeps barking all day? Or a voice
that's dull and unchanging in tone? All those things are
monotonous: they don't change much, and they're dull as
dishwater. Anything tedious or humdrum is probably
monotonous. If someone says you're being monotonous, try
to vary your tone of voice or the things you're talking about.
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My teacher is always reiterating instructions so that we don’t
forget. The school reiterates the morning announcements at
the end of the day.
Let me reiterate: if you repeat yourself, you're reiterating the
thing you originally said.
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9. pang:
10. gingerly:
11. singe:
12. imperative:
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You can feel a physical pain or pang right when you get hurt,
or you might suffer a pang of guilt that keeps popping up if
you don't own up to something bad. Pang sounds close to
pain, and it is pain, but it has a sharper edge — it's intense
and comes on fast. A childbirth pain often is called a pang,
because it's such a unique type of hurting. Having a pang of
regret can be almost as sharp.
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You might want to gingerly hug your friend with the broken
rib to avoid making her wince in pain.
The first time I held my niece, I made sure to gingerly clasp
her into my arms, lest she should fall.
I gingerly climbed down the stairs when sneaking out of the
house, lest I should step too harshly and make a creaking
sound.
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Definition:
If you get too close to your backyard fire pit, you might singe
your shirt sleeve.
When you singe your finger on a hot stove, it hurts, and
when you singe your scarf on a campfire, you'll smell it
starting to burn.
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It is imperative that you do well on the MAP test. It is
imperative that we hire experienced workers for this job.
My mother speaks in imperative sentences: Do your
homework, clean your room, brush your teeth, etc.
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13. folly:
14. boughs:
15. treacherous:
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It is absolute folly for a student to show up to take a final
exam without a paper or pencil! Seriously.
It is sheer folly to try and not cancel school when the
temperature will be -35 and there will be 12 inches of snow!
The folly I felt when I showed up my musical recital without
my musical instrument was too much for anyone to handle.
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The
FOLLY of a
FOOL
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In “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainsford’s trap called the
Burmese Tiger Pit was basically a deep pit with sharp stakes
placed at the bottom; the pit was then covered with
boughs.
I put a Christmas bough outside my door to get into the
Christmas spirit.
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A treacherous road might be icy or otherwise likely to cause
a car accident.
A treacherous friend will betray you. Treachery refers to
harmful acts you might do to someone who trusts you. It
can also refer to being disloyal to your native country, but
the word treason is more common in this sense.
Some might say that Harry Gold was a treacherous human
being because he betrayed the Americans for the Russians
during a critical period in history.
We cancelled school because the roads were treacherous.
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16. wistful:
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Only one letter separates the two words, but "wishful" is
having hope for something, and wistful is having sadness or
melancholy about something.
People who appear wistful often show a longing for
something or a look of serious reflection. One way to
describe the adjective wistful is as the sad appearance of
someone looking back and thinking "if only..." A thoughtful or
pensive mood centered on something good in the past that is
missed or something not so good in the present that could
have been better "if only" something had gone differently —
these things make for a wistful outlook.
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20. poignant:
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