Vocabulary Review
Chapter 8
- attest: (v) to declare to be true; to make a statement about something on the basis of personal experience; bear witness; testify
- She attested to her parents that her younger brother’s claim that he did not break the vase was true; she had seen the neighbor tipping the vase over the self yesterday.
- attribute: (n)a characteristic; a quality of feature of a person or thing
- Some attributes of a cute puppy are soft fur, small paws, and wet noses.
- discern: (v)to see clearly; to recognize; detect
- The teacher was able to discern which essay was really written by the student, and which was plagiarized from the Internet; she knew that the student’s writing style was very distinct.
- dispatch: (v)to send to a specific place or on specific business
- The police officers were dispatched to the scene of the crime so that they could restore peace and investigate what had happened.
- enhance: (v)to improve
- The coach worked had with the team to enhance their performance; their goal was to win their next game with speed and agility.
- enigma: (n)a puzzle; a mystery
- The problem proved to be an enigma for the whole class; no one was able to figure out the answer.
- exemplify: (v)to illustrate; to be an example of; represent; be typical of
- The goal of the history project was for students to exemplify their knowledge of an African country through a series of questions.
- mobile: (adj)movable; moving or able to move from place to place
- The family became extremely tired from chasing after the mobile toddler; he ran around the house, and then through the entire neighborhood.
- nocturnal: (adj)of the night; of, about, or happening in the night; active at night
- The bat is a nocturnal creature; it only comes out at night.
- orient: (v)to locate; to determine one’s location or direction; to locate in relation to a direction (east, west, etc.)
- The boy got lost around the city; he had to orient himself by looking at a map and the street signs.