Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Vocab for Dec of Ind

School of the Future
J Copeland
Politics and Government

Unit 1 – Did the Framers intend to create a revolutionary and democratic government?

The Declaration of Independence – level 2 vocabulary list

1. entitle: give (someone) a legal right or a just claim to receive or do something.
"employees are normally entitled to severance pay"

2. impel: drive, force, or urge (someone) to do something.
"financial difficulties impelled him to desperate measures"

3. self-evident: not needing to be demonstrated or explained; obvious.
"self-evident truths"

4. endow: provide with a quality, ability, or asset.
"he was endowed with tremendous physical strength"

5. unalienable: unable to be taken away from or given away by the possessor.
"freedom of religion, the most inalienable of all human rights"

6. instituted: set in motion or establish (something, especially a program, system, or inquiry).
"the Illinois Department of Conservation instituted a hunt to remove deer"

7. derive: obtain something from (a specified source).
"they derived great comfort from this assurance"

8. alter: change or cause to change in character or composition, typically in a comparatively small but significant way.

9. prudence: acting with or showing care and thought for the future.

10. dictate: lay down authoritatively; prescribe.
"the tsar's attempts to dictate policy"

11. transient: lasting only for a short time; impermanent.
"a transient cold spell"

12. hath: archaic third person singular present of have.

13. accustomed: customary or usual.
"his accustomed route"
14. usurpations: taking someone's power or property by force. Locking the teacher outside of the classroom and taking charge of math class is a form of usurpation.

15. invariable: never changing.
"disillusion was the almost invariable result"

16. evince: reveal the presence of (a quality or feeling).
"his letters evince the excitement he felt at undertaking this journey"

 be evidence of; indicate.
 "man's inhumanity to man as evinced in the use of torture"

17. despotism: the exercise of absolute power, especially in a cruel and oppressive way.
"the King's arbitrary despotism"

18. constrain: severely restrict the scope, extent, or activity of.
"agricultural development is considerably constrained by climate"

compel or force (someone) toward a particular course of action.
"children are constrained to work in the way the book dictates"

cause to appear unnaturally forced, typically because of embarrassment.

19. candid: truthful and straightforward; frank.
"his responses were remarkably candid"

20.  utterly: completely and without qualification; absolutely.
"he looked utterly ridiculous"

21. relinquish: voluntarily cease to keep or claim; give up.

22. inestimable: too great to calculate.
"a treasure of inestimable value"

23. formidable: inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable.
"a formidable opponent"

24. tyrant: a cruel and oppressive ruler.
"the tyrant was deposed by popular demonstrations"

25. depository: a place where things are stored.

26. fatiguing:  cause (someone) to feel tired or exhausted.
"they were fatigued by their journey"

27. compliance: the action or fact of complying with a wish or command.
"they must secure each other's cooperation or compliance"

comply: act in accordance with a wish or command.
"we are unable to comply with your request"

28. dissolutions: the closing down or dismissal of an assembly, partnership, or official body.
"the dissolution of their marriage"

29. annihilation: completely destroying or defeating someone or something:

30. endeavor: try hard to do or achieve something.
"he is endeavoring to help the Third World"

31. hither: to or toward this place.
"I little knew then that such calamity would summon me hither!"

32. tenure: the holding of an office.
"his tenure of the premiership would be threatened"

give (someone) a permanent post, especially as a teacher or professor.
"I had recently been tenured and then promoted to full professor"

33. arbitrary: based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.
"his mealtimes were entirely arbitrary"

34. abdicate: renounce one's throne; fail to fulfill or undertake (a responsibility or duty).

35. ravage: cause severe and extensive damage to.
"fears that a war could ravage their country"

36. mercenary: (of a person or their behavior) primarily concerned with making money at the expense of ethics.

a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.

37. desolation: a state of complete emptiness or destruction.
"the stony desolation of the desert"

38. barbarous: savagely cruel; exceedingly brutal.
"many early child-rearing practices were barbarous by modern standards"

39. brethren: archaic plural form of brother.

40. emigration: the act of leaving one's country or region with the intent to settle permanently in another. 

41. magnanimity:


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