Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 10 - Day 1

Word List
  • inclement [in klem´ ənt]
    unfavorable, storm
    → “The inclement weather that has given us fits recently is over, and I’m looking for blue skies for all of next week.” Weather forecast from ABC’s Sam Champion, Eyewitness News, 6/23/99
  • peruse [pə rüz´]
    to read carefully
    → “Stopping to peruse her mail, Raven didn’t notice that the front door was ajar.” Dolores Kent, Instant Gratification
  • premonition [prē´ mə nish´ ən]
    forewarning
    → “There seemed to be a gentle stir arising over everything—a very premonition of rest and hush and night.” Mary Wilkens Freeman, “The New England Nun”
  • desist [di zist´]
    cease
    → “My husband kicked me under the table and warned me to desist.” Phyllis Krasilovsky, “Pumpernickel in My Purse,” New York Times, 6/12/99
  • recoil [ri koil´]
    draw back
    → “It is a gesture of response to my remarks, and it always makes me recoil with a laugh.” Thomas Mann, “A Man and His Dog”

An uneasy feeling had made Jerry Hart miserable all day long. It was difficult to explain, but the similar sensations in the past had been accurate—trouble was on the way. Just as some people can predict the onset of inclement weather because of an aching in their bones, so could Jerry detect incipient* disaster. He sat at his desk, trying to peruse a company report but his efforts were ineffectual.* The gnawing at his insides, the tinge* of uneasiness, the premonition of calamity that besieged* him would not desist. When the phone rang, he recoiled with fear—it was his wife and she was hysterical. Their son had been bitten by a mad dog!

Sample Sentences Use the new words in the following sentences.

  1. After being admonished* by his father, he began to __________ the want ads daily.
  2. When the black cat crossed her path, Ellen had a __________ of disaster.
  3. The pickets promulgated* a warning that they would not __________ in their efforts to enhance* their standard of living.
  4. As the snake prepared to strike, the girls __________ in horror.
  5. She blamed her absence from the game on the __________ weather, but we knew that was sour grapes.*

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

  1. a. unfavorable, stormy
  2. b. to read carefully
  3. c. cease
  4. d. forewarning
  5. e. draw back
  1. inclement __________
  2. peruse __________
  3. premonition __________
  4. desist __________
  5. recoil __________

Answer Key
to pay the piper—to bear the consequences (from the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin)
The cruel leader was doing well at the present time, but he knew that one day he might have to pay the piper.

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