Short Story Vocabulary

Question 1

Finesse

Answer 1

(Noun)
Skill and cleverness shown by how someone handles a situation.
Her finesse in the game of volleyball led to her becoming captain.

Question 2

Incessant / Incessantly

Answer 2

(Adjective)
Nonstop; without ending.
His incessant persuading to join the club was overwhelming.
(Verb)
describes an action that is nonstop.
She would incessantly invite me to play cards with her.

Question 3

Odious

Answer 3

(Adjective)
Describing something deserving hatred.
The odious prisoner was arrested for first degree murder.

Question 4

Nocturnal

Answer 4

(Adjective)
Describes something that is active at night.
He wandered about the corridor as if a nocturnal animal.

Question 5

Palpable

Answer 5

(Adjective)
Able to be touched or felt.
Her palpable fear was growing stronger as it approached her.

Question 6

Tangible

Answer 6

(Adjective)
Describes something that has substance or reality. Capable of being touched or identified.
The tangible book was thought to be better than reading the story on the internet.

Question 7

Disarming

Answer 7

(Adjective)
Describes something that removes feeling of unfriendliness or mistrust.
The disarming remarks on her essay made her feel at ease.

Question 8

Analytical

Answer 8

(Adjective)
Describes something that is skilled in breaking a whole into it’s parts and examining their relationship.
The scientist used an analytical approach to her study of genetics.

Question 9

Futile

Answer 9

(Adjective)
Describes something that has no result of effect.
The futile experiment could not support our hypothesis.

Question 10

Condone

Answer 10

(Verb)
To forgive, overlook, or allow an offense.
The teacher condones the students poor behavior.

Question 11

Preclude

Answer 11

(Verb)
To prevent or make impossible beforehand.
The secret nature of his work precluded official recognition.

Question 12

Retribution

Answer 12

(Noun)
Punishment for doing something wrong.
Retribution is sweet to those who seek vengeance over criminals.

Question 13

Avenge

Answer 13

(Verb)
To get revenge by punishing the wrongdoer.
He seeked to avenge me for lurking on his property.

Question 14

Avenger

Answer 14

(Noun)
Someone who avenges a wrong.
The avenger found himself caught between what was right, and what was easy.

Question 15

Connoisseur

Answer 15

(Noun)
A person who has a high level of knowledge or skill in a field.
The connoisseur helped us rebuild the section on the rocket that had overheated.

Question 16

Accost

Answer 16

(Verb)
To approach or speak in a challenging or aggressive way.
He would accost to the other participants before a competition.

Question 17

Murmur

Answer 17

(Noun)
A soft, indistinct sound.
The murmur the car made when turned off did not wake the kids.

Question 18

Annihilate

Answer 18

(Verb)
To destroy, utterly obliterate.
The farmer’s job was to completely annihilate the population of poisonous insects around the crops.

Question 19

Expendable

Answer 19

(Adjective)
Designed to be used once, than abandoned or destroyed.
The expendable contraption was not even put to use because of a lack of time.

Question 20

Correlate

Answer 20

(Verb)
To have a mutual relationship or connection in which one thing depends on another; to coordinate or match.
We correlated outfits the previous night to score points for our class.

Question 21

Paradox

Answer 21

(Noun)
Something such as a situation that is made up or of two things that seem impossible.
The paradox that had occurred in Kaylee’s short story for English was based off of her summer reading book.

Question 22

Delirium

Answer 22

(Noun)
Sudden or servere confusion.
She went into a state of delirium after the car had crashed, and she was in the emergency room.

Question 23

Resilient

Answer 23

(Adjective)
Able to recall or spring back into a shape after bending. Able to become strong or successful after something bad.
The resilient troopers ran after the enemy once their camp had been attacked.

Question 24

Undulate

Answer 24

(Verb)
To move into a smooth, wave light motion.
The undulate clouds moved across the sky gracefully.

Question 25

Stagnating

Answer 25

(Verb)
To cease to flow or move; to become stagnant.
The hose which ran water to the spout stagnated as soon as I stepped on it.

Question 26

Revoke

Answer 26

(Verb)
To put to an end, to validity or operation of a decision; promise or decree.
The teachers revoked our use of cell phones during free period because it became a distraction to students who wanted to complete work.