Scholarly Reading Vocabulary

obscure

• savagely cruel

• merry or amusing

• uncertain; unclear

• talkative

mandate

• just as a way to have fun

• an order to do something

• forbidden by law

• making late or slow

pitfall

• produces good or helpful results

• a confusing or difficult question

• a device used to inflict harm

• hidden or unsuspected danger

assemblage

• a collection of things or people

• a brief account of main points

• a decision on a disputed issue

• a formal assessment

synopsis

• a brief summary or outline

• the exact meaning of a word

• a proposed explanation based on limited evidence

• a system of ideas intended to explain something

hone

• make something seem unimportant

• hold up

• express good wishes

• refine or perfect something

hamper

• move with urgent haste

• hinder or impede the progress of something

• give serious attention to something

• bring to completion

copious

• hard working

• abundant in supply or quantity

• impossible to satisfy

• pleasant

predecessors

• murderers

• those who cheat or trick others

• those who came before

• people trained to care for the sick

succumb

• initiate an action

• going out of or leaving a place

• continue to live or exist

• fail to resist pressure, temptation, or some other negative force