the secret garden vocabulary Flashcards
fretful
adj.
1. nervous and unable to relax
“a constant fretful stamping of hooves”
2. habitually complaining (whiny)
shabby
The adjective shabby describes something that is threadbare or worn out. Your last apartment was clean, but the furniture and carpets were so shabby that you were embarrassed to invite your friends over.
bungalow
n.
a small house with a single story(floor)
impudent
An impudent person is bold, sassy, and shameless. If your teacher asks the class to open their textbooks, and you snap back, “Let’s not and say we did,” you’re being impudent.
“impudent blue eyes”
cross
adj.
annoyed and irritable
having an irritable and unpleasant disposition
desolate
If you feel alone, left out, and devastated, you feel desolate. A deserted, empty, depressing place can be desolate too.
contrary
adj.
very opposed in nature or character or purpose
to alter
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
make an alteration to
“This dress needs to be altered”\
“Children alter so much”
marred
yorkshire word meaning spoiled and pettish
pettish
adj.
If you stomp your foot angrily when the bakery is out of your favorite cupcake flavor, you’re acting pettish, or like a little kid who’s in a cranky mood.
brisk
adj.
quick, lively, active and refreshing. There’s nothing like a brisk walk in the morning to get the blood flowing and the spirit ready for the day.
moor
noun
open land usually with peaty soil covered with heather and bracken and moss
verb
fasten a boat
heather
Heather is a hearty flowering plant that’s common in many parts of the world but most famous for growing in the Scottish Highlands.
vault
verb.
When you support yourself with your hands as you jump over some hurdle, you vault, just as a gymnast might do across a vault
noun.
armor
The metal suit worn by knights as protection in battle is called armor. You can still see suits of armor in many museums today.
vexed
causing difficulty in finding an answer or solution; much disputed
If your family is having trouble coming to an agreement about where to go on vacation next summer, your holiday trip has become a vexed issue.
“a fexed child’
swarm
A swarm is a good word for a large group of bees going on the attack — not good news. Like bees, any group of people or animals can be considered a swarm if they act together and quickly — even fiercely.
“On a hot day, when an ice-cream truck shows up, it’s usually greeted by a swarm of hot, hungry kids. People at a concert can be a swarm — and people in the swarm can be hurt, because there’s lots of pushing and shoving. When tickets for a popular movie go on sale, a swarm of people will swarm the theater. “
pinafores
A little girl in a British novel might wear a pinafore — a white, apron-like garment worn over a dress — but you probably won’t see pinafores on the runways.
coax
verb.
When you coax someone, you try to convince him gently, with pleasant words and maybe a little flattery. You’ll have to be patient, as you can’t rush someone you’re trying to coax.
“coax one’s pets”
shrub
noun.
грмушка (баба мара)
midst
Midst describes something that’s among, in the middle of, or surrounded by. After the school talent show, your principal said he didn’t know there were so many gifted singers in our midst.
“in the midst of the crowd”
timid
adj.
showing fear and lack of confidence
Those who are timid often worry that things will go wrong: a timid eater orders bland food to avoid the possibility not liking the flavor of something new, just as a timid partygoer talks to people he already knows, afraid that he won’t be able to talk to strangers.
fledgl(l)ing
A fledgling is a fuzzy baby bird just learning to fly, or someone (like a baby bird) who’s brand new at doing something,
adj. young and inexperienced.
brood
A brood is a group of young born at the same time — like a brood of chicks — but your parents might use the word for you and your siblings: “We’re taking the whole brood to the movies tonight.”
