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 Reading ELA Glossary

A - L
admonish - to firmly reprimand or scold
affluent - wealthy; rich
agile - able to be move and think quickly with ease

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
ascend – to move or rise upward
astound (verb) - to shock or greatly surprise
audible - able to be heard
autobiography - a written story about a person's life that is written by that
person
brawny – physically powerful; muscular
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 (adjective) - 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 
empathy - the ability to identify with another person's feelings or experience
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 characters
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
frigid (adjective) - very cold (temperature) Note- Frigid can also describe someone who projects a cold or unfriendly personality. 

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
lethargic - characterized by a lack of energy; sluggish
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  
noun - a person, place, quality, or thing
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

petrified (adjective) - frightened to the point of not being able to move; terrified
petulant (adjective) - bad-tempered and grumpy; cranky

plot - the series of events that make up a story
plummet – to fall or drop a long distance at a high speed
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.

proper noun - a noun that names a specific person, location, or thing and begins with a capital letter
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 (verb) - to use 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 climax 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  
timid - shy and easily frightened
unabridged - a book or literary work that is complete (and thus not shortened)
valiant - possessing or showing courage and bravery
wane - to decrease in importance or intensity; become weaker 
wrath - fierce and violent anger    
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  • Home
  • Wildlife
    • Wildlife of Africa
    • Wildlife of Europe
    • Wildlife of Germany
    • Wildlife of Japan
    • Birds of Europe
    • Birds of Germany
    • Birds of Japan
    • Birds of the USA
  • Bird Orders of the World
    • Accipitriformes
    • Anseriformes
    • Apodiformes
    • Bucerotiformes
    • Caprimulgiformes
    • Charadriiformes
    • Ciconiiformes
    • Columbiformes
    • Coraciiformes
    • Cuculiformes
    • Falconiformes
    • Galliformes
    • Gruiformes
    • Pelecaniformes
    • Phoenicopteriformes
    • Piciformes
    • Podicipediformes
    • Psittaciformes
    • Suliformes
    • Strigiformes
  • Geography
    • Geography Basics and Antarctica
    • Central America
    • China
    • Egypt
    • Greece
    • Italy
  • Glossary
    • Glossary A - E
    • Glossary F - L
    • Glossary M - R
    • Glossary S - Z