Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 27 - Day 2

Word List
  • constrict [kən strikt´]
    limit, bind, squeeze
    → “He grew up in slightly less constricted circumstances than his teammates.” Darcy Frey, The Last Shot
  • prodigy [prod´ ə jē]
    marvel, phenomenon
    → “I grant you Clive—Clive was a prodigy, a genius and met the fate of geniuses.” Stephen Vincent Benet, “The Curfew Tolls”
  • bereft [bi reft´]
    deprived of
    → “The pictures of the bereft survivors searching for their loved ones are painful to see.” Newsday, 9/19/99
  • falter [fôl´ tər]
    stumble, hesitate, waver
    → “Should we falter in our determination to pursue an honorable solution to the problems of the Middle-East, and face unthinkable consequences?” I. F. Stone, “The Weekly Reader”
  • exultation [eg´ zul tā´ shən]
    triumphant joy
    → “We face the year 2000 with a combination of concern and exultation.” Newsweek, 12/15/99

Beethoven was able to free music from the traditions* that had tended to constrict it. He was a child prodigy who held an important musical post at the age of 14. He was a successful concert pianist, but when his health began to fail he turned to composing. Even though bereft of hearing at the age of 49, he did not falter in his work. Some of his later compositions reflect his sadness with his physical condition, but they also evince* an exultation about man and life.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in these sentences.

  1. The catastrophe* left him __________ of all his possessions.
  2. She was filled with __________ when she learned her SAT score was near the maximum.
  3. It is imprudent* for a youngster to __________ her circle of friends so that there is no opportunity to meet new people.
  4. There is universal* wonder when some __________ appears on the stage to perform at the age of 4 or 5.
  5. Though he knew well the danger involved, the knight did not __________ as he entered the dragon’s cave.

Definitions Your personal test follows through matching.

  1. a. triumphant joy
  2. b. stumble, hesitate, waver
  3. c. deprived of
  4. d. limit, bind, squeeze
  5. e. marvel, phenomenon
  1. constrict __________
  2. prodigy __________
  3. bereft __________
  4. falter __________
  5. exultation __________

Answer Key
loaded for bear—to be well prepared
When the enemy finally attacked the positions, the defenders were loaded for bear.

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