ELA / Reading Glossary
A - L
admonish - to firmly reprimand or scold
affluent - wealthy; rich
analyze - to study a story or text in detail in order to better understand it (verb)
amiable - friendly and good-natured
anecdote - a story that is either interesting or amusing and is told by a person who experienced it
antagonize - to aggravate another person to make them angry and hostile
anthology - a collection of published stories, poems, and plays
antique - an old object that is valuable due to its rarity or collectability
antonym - a word that is opposite in meaning to another
audible - able to be heard
callous - showing cruel disregard or an unsympathetic attitude towards others
character - the people or creatures in a story
climax - the point in a story at which the tension or conflict is at its highest point
Note- The action in the story builds up to the climax. You know you are the climax when you get to
the point where you would never want the story to suddenly stop!
collegiate - of or related to a college or university
conscientious - careful and thorough in completing a task
conflict - the struggle that the central character faces in a story Note- The struggle can occur within the central
character (internal struggle), a protagonist in the story, or even something larger like society or nature.
conspicuous - clearly visible and likely to attract attention
contraction - a word produced by connecting two words and inserting an apostrophe to make it shorter
Note- The first part of the new word contains all of the original letters and one or more letters from
the second word are replaced with an apostrophe.
cordial - friendly and pleasant in a polite way
decrepit - worn out or run-down due to old age or neglect
descend - to move from a higher position to a lower position; to go down
dialogue - a conversation between characters in a story
elaborate – (verb form) to add more details and information to something that has been said or written
embellish - to make something, such as an anecdote, more interesting by exaggerating or by adding details that may not be true
emphatic - expressing something in a definite and forceful way
ephemeral - lasting for a short period of time
epic – long poems that were created in ancient times that usually focused on the struggles of heroes and civilizations
epilogue – a short statement or text at the end of book that comments on the book’s conclusion
epiphany - a sudden understanding, awareness, or realization
etymology - the study of the origin and history of words
evidence - events and facts in a story that supports a claim
exposition - the beginning of a story where the reader learns about the setting and background information
expository writing - an essay that explains an issue to a reader and contains a thesis, supporting evidence, and a conclusion
façade - a false or artificial appearance that is meant to deceive or hide true feelings
falling action - the events that occur after the climax of a story
gaunt - having a thin and unhealthy appearance due to hunger or disease; emaciated
gingerly - done in a slow or cautious way (usually to prevent damage)
gregarious - liking the company of others; outgoing and sociable
homonym – a word that is pronounced the same, and may have the same spelling, as another word, but has
a different meaning
idiom - a fixed phrase, that over time, has developed a different meaning, than the literal meaning of the individual words
Note- Commas have been placed in this definition to help you learn the definition.
impeccable - flawless; perfect
incessant - constant; non-stop in an annoying way
inept - lacking skill or knowledge
infer - to make an educated guess about what is happening in a story (verb)
inference - an educated guess about what is happening in a story that has not explicitly stated (noun)
innocuous – harmless; not likely to offend
legacy - the impressions and effects of past events that are passed down to future generations
loquacious - tending to talk a lot; very talkative
admonish - to firmly reprimand or scold
affluent - wealthy; rich
analyze - to study a story or text in detail in order to better understand it (verb)
amiable - friendly and good-natured
anecdote - a story that is either interesting or amusing and is told by a person who experienced it
antagonize - to aggravate another person to make them angry and hostile
anthology - a collection of published stories, poems, and plays
antique - an old object that is valuable due to its rarity or collectability
antonym - a word that is opposite in meaning to another
audible - able to be heard
callous - showing cruel disregard or an unsympathetic attitude towards others
character - the people or creatures in a story
climax - the point in a story at which the tension or conflict is at its highest point
Note- The action in the story builds up to the climax. You know you are the climax when you get to
the point where you would never want the story to suddenly stop!
collegiate - of or related to a college or university
conscientious - careful and thorough in completing a task
conflict - the struggle that the central character faces in a story Note- The struggle can occur within the central
character (internal struggle), a protagonist in the story, or even something larger like society or nature.
conspicuous - clearly visible and likely to attract attention
contraction - a word produced by connecting two words and inserting an apostrophe to make it shorter
Note- The first part of the new word contains all of the original letters and one or more letters from
the second word are replaced with an apostrophe.
cordial - friendly and pleasant in a polite way
decrepit - worn out or run-down due to old age or neglect
descend - to move from a higher position to a lower position; to go down
dialogue - a conversation between characters in a story
elaborate – (verb form) to add more details and information to something that has been said or written
embellish - to make something, such as an anecdote, more interesting by exaggerating or by adding details that may not be true
emphatic - expressing something in a definite and forceful way
ephemeral - lasting for a short period of time
epic – long poems that were created in ancient times that usually focused on the struggles of heroes and civilizations
epilogue – a short statement or text at the end of book that comments on the book’s conclusion
epiphany - a sudden understanding, awareness, or realization
etymology - the study of the origin and history of words
evidence - events and facts in a story that supports a claim
exposition - the beginning of a story where the reader learns about the setting and background information
expository writing - an essay that explains an issue to a reader and contains a thesis, supporting evidence, and a conclusion
façade - a false or artificial appearance that is meant to deceive or hide true feelings
falling action - the events that occur after the climax of a story
gaunt - having a thin and unhealthy appearance due to hunger or disease; emaciated
gingerly - done in a slow or cautious way (usually to prevent damage)
gregarious - liking the company of others; outgoing and sociable
homonym – a word that is pronounced the same, and may have the same spelling, as another word, but has
a different meaning
idiom - a fixed phrase, that over time, has developed a different meaning, than the literal meaning of the individual words
Note- Commas have been placed in this definition to help you learn the definition.
impeccable - flawless; perfect
incessant - constant; non-stop in an annoying way
inept - lacking skill or knowledge
infer - to make an educated guess about what is happening in a story (verb)
inference - an educated guess about what is happening in a story that has not explicitly stated (noun)
innocuous – harmless; not likely to offend
legacy - the impressions and effects of past events that are passed down to future generations
loquacious - tending to talk a lot; very talkative
M - Z
melancholy - sadness; depression
metaphor - a comparison of one thing to another in order to show how they are similar
naïve - lacking life experience or good judgment and willing to believe that another person’s intentions are good
omniscient - all-knowing Note- The 3rd person narrator is sometimes said to be omniscient.
opulent - wealthy; affluent
persecute - to treat someone unfairly because of their beliefs
plot - the series of events that make up a story
point of view - the role that the narrator plays in helping the reader to understand a story
Note- The narrator using the first person point tells the story the pronouns I, me, and we. A point of
view told by a third person narrator is told by a person who is not a character in the story.
posterity - future generations
prefix - a letter or group of letters that are added to the beginning of a word to change the meaning Note- The prefix un,
meaning not / opposite of, is the most common prefix in the English language.
protagonist - the central figure in a story (sometimes referred to as the hero or heroine)
pugnacious - eager and quick to quarrel or fight
recalcitrant - unwilling to obey and having an uncooperative attitude
recuperate - to recover from an illness, injury, or medical procedure
redundant - no longer needed; superfluous
reminisce - to recall and think about past events and experiences
resolution - the end of the story (happily ever after... or not)
rhetorical question - a question that is not meant to be answered Note- The rhetorical questions are usually asked to make a point.
ridicule - unkind language or actions that are meant to make a person look ignorant or stupid
rising action - the series of events that build up to the high point of a story
rung - a horizontal support where a foot is placed when climbing a ladder
sage - a person who is judicious and wise
setting - the time and place in which a story occurs
sublime - awe-inspiring and majestic; exceptional
suffix - a letter or group of letters that are added to the end of a word to change the meaning Note- The suffixes s and es, meaning plurals, are the most common suffixes in the English language.
summary – a description of the main points of a text or speech Note- You should not include details and
examples when you summarize. It is also important to summarize using your own words.
superfluous - more than is necessary; too much
surreptitiously - doing something or acting in a secretive and stealthy way to avoid attention
suspense - the feeling of excitement or curiosity that builds as a story progresses
synonym - a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word
tangible - an object that has substance and is capable of being touched
theme - the central idea about human nature or life that is conveyed in a story
thesis statement – a short statement at the beginning of an essay that states the main claim or point of the paper
unabridged - a book or literary work that is complete (and thus not shortened)
wane - to decrease in importance or intensity; become weaker
wrath - fierce and violent anger
melancholy - sadness; depression
metaphor - a comparison of one thing to another in order to show how they are similar
naïve - lacking life experience or good judgment and willing to believe that another person’s intentions are good
omniscient - all-knowing Note- The 3rd person narrator is sometimes said to be omniscient.
opulent - wealthy; affluent
persecute - to treat someone unfairly because of their beliefs
plot - the series of events that make up a story
point of view - the role that the narrator plays in helping the reader to understand a story
Note- The narrator using the first person point tells the story the pronouns I, me, and we. A point of
view told by a third person narrator is told by a person who is not a character in the story.
posterity - future generations
prefix - a letter or group of letters that are added to the beginning of a word to change the meaning Note- The prefix un,
meaning not / opposite of, is the most common prefix in the English language.
protagonist - the central figure in a story (sometimes referred to as the hero or heroine)
pugnacious - eager and quick to quarrel or fight
recalcitrant - unwilling to obey and having an uncooperative attitude
recuperate - to recover from an illness, injury, or medical procedure
redundant - no longer needed; superfluous
reminisce - to recall and think about past events and experiences
resolution - the end of the story (happily ever after... or not)
rhetorical question - a question that is not meant to be answered Note- The rhetorical questions are usually asked to make a point.
ridicule - unkind language or actions that are meant to make a person look ignorant or stupid
rising action - the series of events that build up to the high point of a story
rung - a horizontal support where a foot is placed when climbing a ladder
sage - a person who is judicious and wise
setting - the time and place in which a story occurs
sublime - awe-inspiring and majestic; exceptional
suffix - a letter or group of letters that are added to the end of a word to change the meaning Note- The suffixes s and es, meaning plurals, are the most common suffixes in the English language.
summary – a description of the main points of a text or speech Note- You should not include details and
examples when you summarize. It is also important to summarize using your own words.
superfluous - more than is necessary; too much
surreptitiously - doing something or acting in a secretive and stealthy way to avoid attention
suspense - the feeling of excitement or curiosity that builds as a story progresses
synonym - a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word
tangible - an object that has substance and is capable of being touched
theme - the central idea about human nature or life that is conveyed in a story
thesis statement – a short statement at the beginning of an essay that states the main claim or point of the paper
unabridged - a book or literary work that is complete (and thus not shortened)
wane - to decrease in importance or intensity; become weaker
wrath - fierce and violent anger