Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 40 - Day 3

Word List
  • vapid
    uninteresting, dull
    → “The new James Bond movie lacks the excitement of the many before and is a vapid copy.” Newsday, 10/25/98
  • unwieldy [un wēl´ dē´]
    bulky, difficult to handle
    → “Today’s light weight, compact cameras are a far cry from the unwieldy ones used by early photographers.” Popular Photography, 9/96
  • proximity [prok sim´ ə tē]
    nearness
    → “Stryker had built a small cannery in close proximity to the house where the turtles were raised in shallow tanks.” Edmund Wilson, “The Man Who Shot Snapping Turtles”
  • lassitude [las´ ə tüd]
    weariness, weakness
    → “To poets it’s vernal lassitude but to us it’s simply spring fever.” Brochure, Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce
  • vitiate [vish´ ē āt]
    destroy the use or value
    → “This act is an attempt to vitiate the separation of powers upon which our democracy is founded.” Justice Earl Warren, Bill of Rights Reader, 1957

While we are all cognizant* of the importance of words to create certain impressions, gesture is relegated* to a much lesser role. Gestures are an important concomitant* to even the most vapid speech, enhancing it and giving the hearer something to look at while he listens. The value of seeing at the same time as listening was shown when a class at a university, unwieldy because of its large size, was split up. One group was put into a room in proximity to good loudspeakers. Every nuance* of the lecturer’s voice could be heard clearly. Because they had no person on whom to place their attention, they soon took on the appearance of extreme lassitude; most students became lethargic* and rested their heads on their desks. The separation of visual and aural communication tended to vitiate the learning process. The listening group received grades lower than those received by those who could look at as well as hear the instructor.

Once more your keen eye and memory were being tested. Did you recognize lassitude as being from an earlier lesson?

Sample Sentences Use the new words in these sentences.

  1. As the scion* of an affluent* family, he was often in __________ to opulence.*
  2. After playing with his progeny* in the enervating sun, he staggered back to his room where he was overcome with __________ .
  3. As a concomitant* to his belligerent* and vituperative* antipathy* toward his government, he became an expatriate,* but he found it a __________ life.
  4. Kyra was so disgruntled* about having to move the __________ piano, she procrastinated* for days.
  5. The irrelevant* evidence seemed to __________ the prosecutor’s case and precluded* a conviction.

Definitions Match the new words with their definitions.

  1. a. bulky, difficult to handle
  2. b. destroy the use or value
  3. c. uninteresting, dull
  4. d. nearness
  5. e. weariness, weakness
  1. vapid __________
  2. unwieldy __________
  3. proximity __________
  4. lassitude __________
  5. vitiate __________

Answer Key
on pins and needles—to be on edge, jumpy
He was on pins and needles while he cooled his heels* in the principal’s office.

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