College Writing Vocab Study: Lists 1 & 2

VOCABULARY
FOR COLLEGE

STUDENTS

COLLEGE WRITING - LIST 1

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​Directions: Vocab Flashcards

​WORD

PART(S) OF SPEECH

DEFINITION(S)

​FRONT

​Personalized Memory Trick:

• Sketch?

• Symbol?

• Synonyms? Antonyms?

• Original sentence?

​BACK

VOCABULARY LIST #1

Active Verbs

​List 1: VERBS

1. shorten (a piece of writing) without losing the sense.
2. curtail (a right or privilege).

ABRIDGE (V.)

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the right to
marry the person you love is so fundamental that states
cannot abridge it.” - David Boies, “Gay Marriage and the
Consitution”

Multiple Choice

If the human resources director abridged a company's employee handbook, would it be easier or more difficult to locate key information?

• It would be more difficult to find key information.

• It would most likely be easier to locate information.

1. make (something) clear; explain.

ELUCIDATE (V.)

“This letter might elucidate it - might throw light where
so much as needed.” - How It All Came Round, L.T. Meade

Multiple Choice

Does the use of "elucidate" in this sentence make sense?: After elucidating us on the principles of the Constitution, our law class felt poorly prepared for the exam.

• It sure does!

• Nope, it doesn't make sense.

1. make less severe, serious, or painful.
2. lessen the gravity of (an offense or mistake).

MITIGATE (V.)

Multiple Choice

Which sentence uses the vocab word "mitigate" most effectively?

• Her mitigate decision about the flooding left the House committee confused.

• Though Rep. Conley attempted to mitigate the crisis in her committee, it was of no use and the meeting devolved into a catty** argument.

  **spiteful; hurtful

• If Mayor Ryan mitigates the water crisis, his community will never be able to drink pure water again.

1. to think long and carefully about an important subject
or decision

RUMINATE (V.)

“They post OOTDs (outfits of the day) and ruminate on
body positivity.” - Judy McGuire, “The Plus-Size Blogging
Craze”

​The Thinker, bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin, 1904

1. to inform someone about something
2. to give notice to someone

APPRISE (V.)

“Even before they had settled on a name, Mr. Spade paid
a visit to CEO Craig Leavitt to apprise him of their plans.”
- Suzanne Kapner, “When Is Kate Spade Not Kate Spade?
When She’s Frances Valentine.”

​From a 1965 article in the New York Times about President Lyndon Johnson briefing.

1. to motivate someone (or a group) into highly
productive activity

GALVANIZE (V.)

“The current firestorm should galvanize critics of
education reform, but no in the way they think.” - Conor
P. Williams, “De Blasio Misread His Mandate, Now Some
of His Own Supporters are Fighting Back Over Charter
School Cuts.”

​Did you know?

The word galvanize initially meant "to stimulate muscles by administering electric shocks." It was coined to honor the 18th-century scientist Luigi Galvani, who found that a spark could make a frog's legs move. This discovery of "animal electricity" inspired Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, (a novel in which a mad scientist attempts to use electricity to galvanize a monster to life). Galvanize also means to cover steel or iron with zinc so it doesn’t rust. (from Vocabulary.com)

Multiple Choice

In galvanizing his team, the soccer coach ________________.

• embarrassed the players regarding their recent losses

• told them they only had a 50/50 chance of winning

• pushed them to victory with a pre-game speech for the ages

• moved them down a notch in the state-wide rankings

1. render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible.
2. To intentionally and needlessly complicate something
(an explanation, excuse) to bewilder someone

OBFUSCATE (V.)

“What I’ve learned, the truth is surprisingly easy to
obfuscate.” - Boardwalk Empire, “You’d Be Surprised”

Multiple Choice

If a witness to a crime obfuscated in her interview with police detectives, would the witness be considered credible or untrustworthy?

• credible

• untrustworthy

1. to take or use something without the right to do so
2. to seize (a position of power or importance) illegally or
by force.

USURP (V.)

“No matter how popular or profitable certain college
sports become, athletic associations should not usurp
that role.” - John I. Jenkins, “The NCAA Isn’t the Moral
Arbiter - Nor Should It Be”

Multiple Choice

Mark the word that is a synonym for "usurp."

• condemn

• seize

• murder

• secret

• inherit

1. to interpret (something, especially a person's words or
actions) wrongly.

MISCONSTRUE (V.)

“Certain people might misconstrue some of the mean
and hurtful things you say and do to them.” - The Hot
Chick

1. describe or portray (something) precisely.
2. indicate the exact position of (a border or boundary).

DELINEATE (V.)

“Well, they’re just a little difficult to delineate, but, I
mean, yes, there are two sides to every story.” - Breaking
Bad, “Caballo Sin Nombre”

Multiple Choice

Is the word "delineate" used correctly in this sentence? Since the start of the pandemic, white-collar employees are more likely to delineate a boundary between their work and family lives.

• YES

• NO

VOCABULARY LIST #2

Adjectives

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​ADJECTIVES

1. a lack of discernment or long-range perspective in
thinking or planning; short sighted

MYOPIC (ADJ.)

“The point of view is too myopic, too tight and close to
take in the inductive argument.” William James, Essays in
Radical Empiricism.

Multiple Choice

TRUE/FALSE A myopic manager would be able to easily steer her company through complicated economic times.

• TRUE

• FALSE

1. describes extremely wicked behavior and personal
traits

NEFARIOUS (ADJ.)

“Fear, intimidation, violence - these are the tools of this
nefarious scoundrel known as the modern-day criminal.”
- Boardwalk Empire, “Friendless Child”

Multiple Choice

Would the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List include nefarious criminals?

• YES

• NO

1. necessary; indispensable

REQUISITE (ADJ.)

“Voting three weeks from today is reduced to 182, which
means 122 ‘yes’ votes to reach the requisite two-thirds
of the House.” - Lincoln

1. more than is wanted or is sufficient; needless repetition

SUPERFLUOUS (ADJ.)

“I didn’t even have a cough. And I almost bought it. And I’m talking about a completely superfluous bottle of cough syrup.”

- The Happening

Multiple Choice

If a local business ordered a superfluous number of snow shovels in August for the upcoming winter season, would they have to ration the supply or could they sell a customer more than one?

• There would be no need to ration.

• It would be important to ration the snow shovels.

1. lasting for a short period of time and then either changing or vanishing

TRANSIENT (ADJ.)

“The storm was gone, unseasonable and transient, and only a broken remnant of its clouds hung about the western mountains.”

- Charles Egbert Craddock, The Story
of Old Fort Loudon

Multiple Select

Which answer or answers could be described as "transient"?

• a table

• a morning fog

• a person

• a feeling

• a sunset

1. morally unacceptable; shocking and unreasonable

UNCONSCIONABLE (ADJ.)

“What she has said is unconscionable, and ‘hurful’ barely scratches the surface.”

- “Acceptance and Denial,”
Mallory Orthberg

1. showing good judgment in the carrying out of action or
in the making of decisions

JUDICIOUS (ADJ.)

“The retired general made a stand for judicious
self-control in the face of the ongoing evil of racial
profiling.” - “Obama Needs Bubba,” Tina Brown

Multiple Choice

Is a parent making a judicious decision by installing and maintaining smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in their home?

• YES

• NO

1. appearing, issuing, or occurring, often for the first time

EMERGENT (ADJ.)

“In his new book, Present Shock, the media theorist Douglas Rushkoff takes a stab at describing an emergent cultural phenomenon.”

- “Not Much New in Douglas Rushkoff’s Reading of the Future,” Jacob Silverman

1. not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating

DISINGENUOUS (ADJ.)

“We’re happy to be back, but I would be disingenuous to
say that things will be as they were before at last in the
short term.” - Pretty Little Liars, “Suring the Aftershocks”

Multiple Choice

YES/NO Is it disingenuous for a government leader to suggest a national problem will be solved soon when they are aware there is no actual solution available?

• YES

• NO

1. characterized by or consisting of two parts or
components

BINARY (ADJ.)

“The final act offers a binary choice: love or hate,
forgiveness or vengeance, truth or consequences.” - “The
Killing: How AMC’s Adaptation of Forbrydelsen Went
Wrong,” Jace Lacob

Multiple Choice

Is this question providing a binary response (answer)?

• yes

• no

• I'm not sure.