100 Vocabulary Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know

100 Vocabulary Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know

1. ADVERSARY – AN OPPONENT OR ENEMY PART OF SPEECH - NOUN He challenged his adversary to a boxing match to release his anger against him.

2. APLOMB – SELF CONFIDENCE, ESPECIALLY IN A DIFFICULT SITUATION PART OF SPEECH - NOUN During the bomb scare, the teacher managed the children with aplomb and kept everyone calm.

3. APPREHENSIVE – ANXIOUS OR FEARFUL PART OF SPEECH: ADJECTIVE The students were apprehensive about entering middle school for the first time, since their elementary teachers had warned them about the large amount of responsibility they would need to become successful.

4. APTITUDE – ABILITY TO LEARN SOMETHING QUICKLY PART OF SPEECH: NOUN The teenager has a strong aptitude for Math, but struggles in the areas of English and reading.

5. ATTENTIVE – GIVING ATTENTION TO SOMETHING PART OF SPEECH: ADJECTIVE The newspaper reporters were attentive as the police detective described what occurred during the bank robbery.

6. BANISH – TO FORCE TO LEAVE A COUNTRY OR PLACE PART OF SPEECH : VERB The disruptive students were banished from the school bus, since they had been creating so much havoc on the bus in recent days.

7. BARRICADE – SOMETHING THAT SERVES AS AN OBSTACLE PART OF SPEECH: NOUN BARRICADE – TO BLOCK AN OPENING OR PASSAGE PART OF SPEECH: VERB NOUN VERB

8. BLUFF – ENGAGE IN A FALSE SENSE OF STRENGTH TO TRICK SOMEONE PART OF SPEECH: VERB My daughter tried to bluff her way out of being grounded by pretending she did not mind being stuck at home.

9. brackish– salty part of speech: adjective The brackish water of the ocean got in the surfer’s eyes and mouth.

10. BRANDISH – TO WAVE SOMETHING IN A DRAMATIC OR THREATENING WAY PART OF SPEECH: VERB During the bank robbery, only one of the masked men did not brandish a pistol at the horrified customers.

11. Circumference – boundary of an area or an object Part of speech - noun The immense tree trunk located in Maria’s backyard measured 10 feet in circumference.

12. commotion – noisy activity or confusion part of speech - noun The commotion in the hallway kept on getting louder, keeping Jack awake.

13. concoction – a mixture of ingredients part of speech - noun The young kids made a gross concoction out of the leftovers from their dinner, along with some ketchup and mustard squeezed in.

14. conspicious – easily seen; obvious part of speech: adjective During the storm, there was a conspicuous lack of tourists at the beach.

15. contortion – a sharp twist or bend in something part of speech: noun It was obvious from the contortion of the athlete's leg that it was broken.

16. counter – to do or say something in opposition to something else; part of speech: verb She would need a much larger vocabulary and unique ideas to counter his argument.

17. Cunning – sly or clever Part of speech – adjective My sister and brother have a competition every year to see who can think up the most cunning April Fool’s trick.

18. debris – scattered remains of something broken, destroyed, or discarded Part of speech: noun . The debris from the building that was recently torn down was lying all over the sidewalk.

19. Deft – quick and skillful Part of speech: adjective The deft musician was able to play the harmonica and the piano at the same time.

20. defiance – disregarding someone in authority over you part of speech – noun There was challenge and defiance in her body language.

21. Destination – place to which a person or thing is going or is sent Part of speech: noun The cruise ship had to speed up in order to reach its destination before the storm.

22. diminish – to make or become smaller or less; Part of speech: verb Even though he was laid off from his job, nothing could diminish the importance of the contributions he had made to the company.

23. Disdain – a feeling that someone or something is bad or worthless; Part of speech: noun The team members had a strong disdain for the one kid on the team who put forth little effort in games.

24. dismal – causing gloom or depression Part of speech: adjective Many people view Monday’s as dismal since it is the start of a long week of work or school.

25. Dispel – to cause to disappear or drive away; Part of speech - verb The National Guard was sent into the town to dispel the violent protests.

26. Eavesdrop – to listen secretly to the private conversation of others; Part of speech - verb The teenager was trying to eavesdrop on her parents conversation to find out how they were going to punish her.

27. Egregious – well beyond the bound of what is right or proper; Part of Speech - adjective Unwilling to put up with misbehavior in her class, the teacher sent the egregious student into the hall.

28. Ember – a glowing piece of burning wood or coal. Part of Speech - noun The young child was burned by the leftover embers that flew out of the fireplace.

29. Emerge – to become visible or known Part of speech - verb She was thrilled to emerge as the winner of the art contest.

30. Engross – to occupy the complete attention of someone or something; Part of speech - verb She was able to engross herself in the book she was reading, even though there were many distractions around

31. Exasperation – a state of anger, impatience, or great irritation Part of speech - noun Bill watched in exasperation as the coach refused to put his son in the game.

32. Exhilarate = to cause someone to feel very happy; elated Part of speech - verb As soon as Riley heard the exhilarating music, she started to dance.

33. falter = to proceed or continue in an unsteady or weakening manner Part of speech - verb Because that horse has a tendency to falter at the gate, the odds that he will win the race are pretty low.

. 34. foresight – ability to imagine what is likely to happen in the future. Part of speech - noun Because I did not have the foresight to save money throughout the year, I will not be joining my friends on their holiday cruise.

35. fragrance – a sweet or pleasant odor or scent Part of speech - noun This perfume has a light, fresh fragrance.

36. furtive– sneaky; giving the appearance of not wanting to be noticed Part of speech - adjective Students who cheat on tests employ their furtive tactics to avoid getting caught.

37. grueling – physically or mentally exhausting Part of speech - adjective He put himself through a grueling workout to become a U. S. Marine.

38. gusto– great enjoyment Part of speech - noun Jim loves playing football and attacks every game with gusto.

39. habitation– a place in which to live Part of speech - noun Habitation by animals occurred long before people lived on the land.

40. hasten – to hurry; act swiftly Part of speech - verb Sadly, the new tax law will hasten the closure of many small businesses.

41. – havoc - very great destruction Part of speech - noun As the bear crawled through the grocery store, it wreaked havoc with its large claws.

42. headway– progress toward a destination or goal Part of speech - noun The student’s grades were improving, but he did not make as much headway as his teacher thought he would.

43. ignite– to catch fire Part of speech - verb It took him many hours to ignite a fire since the winds were very strong.

44. illuminate– to light up Part of speech - verb The computer screen was left on so it illuminated the dark room.

45. impending– about to occur Part of speech - adjective Because Jim suffers from anxiety, he frequently has fears of impending disaster.

46. imperious – arrogant, overbearing Part of speech - adjective In an imperious tone, the police officer ordered the driver to step out of the car.

47. jabber– talk rapidly an in senseless manner Part of speech - verb After listening to the radio talk show host jabber about nonsense, I switched the dial for some calming music.

48. jargon– specialized language of a trade, profession or group of people Part of speech - noun The coach and the quarterback were the only two people who understood the jargon they exchanged.

49. jostle– to bump roughly against another person or thing Part of speech - verb The competing banks jostle to get new customers.

50. jut – to extend sharply outward Part of speech - verb The edge of the cliff seemed to jut over the ocean and disappear into a blanket of clouds.

51. kindle – to build and start a fire; arouse or excite a feeling Part of speech - verb For homework, we were asked to bring in newspaper articles to kindle class discussion.

52. knoll– a small, rounded hill Part of speech - noun The charming inn was set on a knoll in the country.

53. luminous– giving off light Part of speech - adjective Our eyes were drawn towards the luminous stars in the sky

54. malleable– capable of being changed or influenced Part of speech - adjective Unfortunately, most teenagers are malleable and give in to peer pressure rather easily.

55. materialize– to appear out of nowhere Part of speech - verb If you want to make your dreams materialize, you must take steps to make them real.

56. meander– to follow a winding or turning course Part of speech - verb The confused old man will sometimes come into the store and meander for hours without making a purchase.

57. meticulous– showing great concern for details; extremely careful or precise Part of speech - adjective Because Haley is a meticulous cleaner, every inch of her house is spotless.

58. misgivings– feelings of doubt or concern Part of speech - noun Helen had a terrible misgiving she might have rushed into her relationship with Mark too soon.

59. momentum– any change in the speed or direction of a body Part of speech - noun If the fundraising campaign does not gain momentum soon, we will not reach our goal.

60. monotonous– dull, because of always being the same Part of speech - adjective Because Marvin was angry at his wife, he gave only monotonous responses to her questions.

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61. multitude– a very large number Part of speech - noun A great multitude of geese flew by overhead.

62. muster– to bring forth a feeling or ability within oneself Part of speech - verb He was trying to muster up enough nerve to ask her to the prom.

63. Narrate – tell a story or describe a series of events Part of speech - verb Back in the old days, before movies had sound, the film directors had to narrate the story with subtitles.

64. Obscure – difficult to understand Part of Speech - adjective The obscure writer was not known in the literary community.

65. ominous– being a sign of trouble or danger Part of speech - adjective Because of the ominous music, we knew something bad was about to happen in the movie.

66. outlandish– strange Part of speech - adjective The women wore some pretty outlandish costumes to the party.

67– persistent – refusing to give up or stop Part of speech - adjective We keep rescheduling our picnic because of the persistent rainstorms.

68. Pertinent – related to the same topic; relevant Part of speech - adjective If you have read the book, it will be easy for you to answer all the pertinent questions posed by your teacher.

69. Potential - ability to grow, develop, or improve Part of speech - noun Throughout the years, teachers have told the boy’s parents that he will be successful as long as he learns to work up to his potential.

70. precipice– on the edge, or a very steep or overhanging piece of rock Part of speech - noun When the artist cut off his ear, everyone knew he had gone past the precipice of insanity.