Edgar A. Poe Unit Vocabulary Words
“The Tell-Tale Heart”
Sweiss, Literature, 2013
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1. Acute
Even though she is blind, she has an acute sense of smell and
can tell you what you are cooking from a mile away.
He is an acute observer of politicians; he can tell when they
are being honest and when they are “stretching the truth.”
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2. Conceive
3. Foresight
The ideas she conceived brought forth great changes in our
school.
When his wife became pregnant, the couple decided to hold
off on knowing the baby’s gender until she conceived.
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We like to hire people with foresight, people who can think
about the future and work with the end goal in mind.
You should have foresight to bring an umbrella with you on a
cloudy morning, as it might rain.
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4. Dissimulation
On Halloween, beware all the dissimulation, ranging from
teens turned wolves to adults turned to vampires.
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5. Cunningly
The thief cunningly stole the woman’s purse while talking to
her in a suave manner.
Watch out for the cunning fox.
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6. Vexed
7. Inquire
8. Profound
Ms. Sweiss becomes vexed when students do not complete
their homework.
I became vexed after ten attempts at the math problem; I
decided to capitulate and ask the teacher for help.
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I was inquiring about the cost of private schools.
If you inquire about how the world began, you are interested
in knowing about its origins.
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His response to my question, “What is the purpose of life?”
was so profound.
The Teacher Strike left a profound effect on parents,
students, and teachers alike.
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When I was in doubt about what college to attend, I met with
my college counselor and her sagacity made my decision
easier.
Priests, social workers, teachers, and doctors are all
sagacious people; I seek them for advice.
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10. Stifle
If you stifle someone with a pillow, they may die because of a
lack of oxygen to the brain.
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11. Crevice
What caused the crevice in the Liberty Bell?
I lost my lucky penny, but I will look in every crack and crevice
until I find it.
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9.
Sagacity/Sagacious
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“The Cask of Amontillado”
Sweiss, Literature, 2013
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1. Impunity
If you see a police officer speeding on the streets, just know
that they receive impunity and will most likely not get a
ticket.
Because they are government officials, they received
impunity from searches at the airport.
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In some cultures, the killing of a cow is an act of immolation.
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2. Immolation
3. Retribution
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If you seek retribution for the man that stole your purse, you
may also go to jail.
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4. Connoisseur
Rachel Ray is quite the connoisseur in the art of making 30
minute-meals.
He is a connoisseur of French paintings.
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5. Quack
I received “medical” advice from a man on the Internet who
went by the name of “Medical Mike;” I soon learned that he
was a complete quack, as he diagnosed me with
zooalogoyiaphobiament.
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6. Motley
I love a motley assortment of jelly beans.
They are a motley group of friends; some are on the football
team, some play chess, and some are cheerleaders.
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In ancient Egypt, pharaohs were buried in the catacombs of
the pyramids.
7. Catacomb
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8. Repose
9. Gesticulation/
Gesticulate
The body reposed in the casket.
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When my teacher lectures us, her hands move in rapid
gesticulation; sometimes, I wonder if she drinks too much
coffee in the morning.
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10. Trowel
We used a trowel to spread the concrete on the ground.
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11. Mason
My father is a mason and works for Mason’s Masonry.
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12. Colossal
The Sears Tower is a colossal building.
I have a colossal amount of homework to complete tonight.
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13. Feeble
6. Ignoramus
My grandmother is a feeble woman; if she should fall, she
would most likely break a bone.
Your attempts to learn math are feeble; you barely cracked a
book open.
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Some people thought that George Bush was an ignoramus.
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7. Niche
Everyone has their own niche in life; mine is painting.
There is a niche in the room where we placed a lamp.
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King Louis the Fourteenth lived a grand life in Versailles, a
great palazzo.
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8. Palazzo
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“The Black Cat”
Sweiss, Literature, 2013
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1. succinct
I like succinct speeches at graduation; they are to the point.
A text message should be succinct; it should take my no more
than five seconds to read it.
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2. docile
His students are docile and eager to learn. Women in the
early 1900’s were expected to be docile towards their
husbands.
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3. sagacious
4. indulge
5. brute
He wrote a sagacious report, identifying all the wrongs in
society.
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Miss Sweiss loves to indulge in chocolate and coffee. When I
am dieting, I try as hard as I can not to indulge in fatty foods.
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Some fights can bring out the brute in you.
Your verbal argument escalated into a physical altercation;
you sure did act like a bunch of beastly brutes!
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6. conspicuous
7. fidelity
Your laugh is so conspicuous; I can recognize it from a mile away. Your grammatical errors are so
conspicuous that it is hard to read your paper and just grade it on the content and not grammar.
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Your fidelity to your country is admirable. You show so much
patriotism. Partners in marriage show fidelity to each other.
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8. Disposition
Some people have a very calm disposition; while others have
a very anxious disposition.
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Miss Sweiss is a chocolate and coffee fiend. She can indulge
in both!
9. Fiend
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10. Intemperance
Lindsey Lohan along with other celebrities are known for
their intemperance, often times resulting in a DUI and a
revoked license.
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11. maltreat
12. peevish
13. Fury
People who maltreat their pets should go to jail!
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I would rather find the book on my own than deal with that
peevish librarian. Peevish children need consequences. The
peevish old man yelled at the neighbor kids for riding their
bicycles on “his” sidewalk.
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The fury of the gods was unleashed and wreaked havoc on
the world. The fury of Hurricane Katrina left many people
homeless in New Orleans.
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14. Atrocity
Atrocious
15. Remorse
16. Unfathomable
17. Conflagration
18. Pestilence
The atrocious crime committed against Casey Anthony’s daughter was all over the news in the summer of
2011. That child ate his food with his fingers, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and picked his nose using his
finger…his manners are atrocious! The students’ behavior was atrocious when the sub came.
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The child showed remorse after his teacher reprimanded
him. He head slowly sank to the ground, his shoulders
slumped over, and he muttered an apology. When students
don’t show remorse, I worry about them…it is a sign of
apathy.
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The behavior of the adults on The Jersey Shore is simply
unfathomable; in what world is that behavior normal! At that
time, the Holocaust was unfathomable to many Americans,
and even today, the fact that something atrocious like that
happened is beyond belief.
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A large conflagration destroyed the city of Chicago in 1871
when Ms. O’Leary’s cow overturned a lantern.
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The Black Death was a pestilence that killed millions of
people in Europe. Not too long ago, swine flue became a
pestilence and afflicted many people.
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19. Aversion
I have a strong aversion to broccoli; my taste buds will never enjoy the vitamin-rich green veggie. Teachers
have an aversion to homework non-doers. The child’s aversion to using coloring within the lines resulted in
him being disciplined by the teacher and redoing the assignment until it was done correctly.
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20. Gallows
In Medieval times, crimes were punishable by the gallows.
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Edgar A. Poe Unit Vocabulary Words
“The Masque of the Red Death”
Sweiss, Literature, 2013
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1. Pestilence
The Bubonic Plague was a pestilence that killed millions of
people in Europe.
My little imp of a cousin is such a pestilence!
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2. Avatar
3.Terminate/
Termination
You might know this word from video games, where you
create an avatar to represent you on screen.
In Hinduism the different gods can take many different forms,
and when they took human forms, the human was their
avatar.
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The NFL terminated his contract; he was no longer on the
team.
When the Weird Food Company announces plans to
terminate production of its deep-fried chocolate-covered
pickle line, it will be a sad day for lovers of strange snacks.
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4. Profuse
5. Seclusion
6. Eccentric
There was profuse bleeding; the bandage was not enough so
we had them check into the emergency room.
If you lavish profuse gifts on your pet, you might have too
much money on your hands. When you give someone
profuse praise, you're probably laying it on a little thick.
After the three hour work out, he was sweating profusely.
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If a student acts up, sometimes the teacher will put that child
in seclusion, perhaps in a study carrel.
An island with no other islands around it or a cabin in the
middle of a forest will offer you seclusion if you need to get
away from other people.
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The Bubonic Plague was a pestilence that killed millions of
people in Europe.
My little imp of a cousin is such a pestilence!
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7. Courtiers
8. Defiance
You might know this word from video games, where you
create an avatar to represent you on screen.
In Hinduism the different gods can take many different forms,
and when they took human forms, the human was their
avatar.
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The NFL terminated his contract; he was no longer on the
team.
When the Weird Food Company announces plans to
terminate production of its deep-fried chocolate-covered
pickle line, it will be a sad day for lovers of strange snacks.
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9. Candelabrum
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Your mask for Halloween is ghastly/grotesque. You will
definitely scare the children!
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10. Ghastly/
Grotesque
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If you're a great poker player, you probably have a calm
countenance.
11. Countenance
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12. Reverie
If you're relaxing on the beach, dreaming of how you will
never have to get up and go back to work, you're engaged in
a reverie.
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A grandfather clock might use for timekeeping a pendulum
that swings back and forth.
13. Pendulum
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Edgar A. Poe Unit Vocabulary Words
“The Pit and the Pendulum”
Sweiss, Literature, 2013
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1. Swoon
She swooned at the sight of blood.
The teenage girls swooned when they saw Justin Bieber.
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2. Crevice
3. Serge
A crevice is a long, tight space often found on the face of a
mountain or other geological formation. A crevice can be
large or small, but because it is usually hard reach, it is a great
hiding place for all things like reptiles, bugs, and lost climbers.
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We had to sit on a rough piece of serge during the camping
trip.
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4. Toil
If you'd lived during the Great Depression, you might have
toiled on roadwork and conservation projects. Your toils
would have created roads in the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, for example.
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There is a giant chasm in an ice cap or the growing chasm
between two friends who haven't spoken in a long time.
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5. Chasm
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6. Perish
The buildings perished beneath the debris after the tornado
struck the village.
"If I am not rescued soon by my valiant knight," she might
say, "I shall perish if I'm left alone up here in this tower to
starve."
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7. Slumber
What I really need is a nice long slumber away from all the
stresses.
I’m having a slumber party and you are invited.
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8. Fiend
I am a chocolate fiend.
The fiend tormented the little girl in her sleep.
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9. Scythe
While farmers use a scythe to cut plants, the grim reaper
uses it to, well, scare you to death.
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10. Pendulum
11. Specter
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You can give yourself nightmares if you listen to too many
stories about ghostly specters appearing in dark windows.
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12. Oppression
Frederick Douglass was a former slave who devoted his life to
ending the oppression of black people at the hands of
powerful white slave owners.This heat is oppressive.
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13. Lucid
14. Endeavor
My teacher’s explanation of the plutonic theory was so lucid
that I didn’t have to crack a single book open to study.
Looking across the horizon, the beach was as lucid as a clear,
sparkling glass of water.
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He endeavored to keep his binder organized, but he just
couldn’t maintain the organization. You must endeavor to
succeed in all your classes; failure is not an option.
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15. Pervade
The scent of my mother’s delicious blueberry pancakes
pervaded the rooms of the house. An atmosphere of respect
pervaded the school after the terrible bullying incident.
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16. Aghast
We stood aghast at the sight of the plane crash. I became
aghast when I saw the profuse bleeding.
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17. Abyss
The rope led into a bottomless abyss. After the loss of her
husband, she entered an abyss of depression.
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18. Pungent
Onions have a rather pungent smell. The boy’s locker room is
pungent; all that Ax Spray can’t cover up the lingering odors.
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Edgar A. Poe Unit Vocabulary Words
“The Oblong Box”
Sweiss, Literature, 2013
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1. Enigma
2. Preposterous
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Many philosophers have sought to answer the enigma of life,
“What is the purpose of our existence?”
You are an enigma to me; I just don’t understand why you
talk to yourself.
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The story that you told me about why you didn’t do you homework…well, it’s simply preposterous! There’s
no way that your homework was transported through time into another worldly dimension!
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Church is full of amiable people, who donate to the poor and
are easy to converse with. The school picnic was an amiable
gathering. My teachers are all so amiable; it makes going to
school less stressful.
3. Amiable
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4. Conjecture
The commentators made many conjectures about who they
thought would win the next presidential campaign. In math,
sometimes, you have to make an estimated “conjecture.”
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5. Saunter
The children sauntered down the hallways of the school,
mindless that they were going to be tardy. While sauntering
the fields, we stopped to smell the roses and chat with the
folks.
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6. Morose
After the death of his best friend, he became very morose
and would seclude himself from everyone. When you start
the job hunt, you may feel morose after being rejected one
or more times.
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A mighty gale spread throughout the city, causing the
debris to pervade the neighborhoods.
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7. Gale
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8. Oblong
My art box is an oblong shape, and big enough to hold all my
supplies.
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