indignation

Lewd

Provocative

Subjective

Obscene

Period 6 Word of the Week: orator

This week, period 6 selected orator as our word of the week.  An orator is "a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled."

Students created a sentence to show our understanding of the word, but there was a sub in the room so the sentence was not officially recorded.  If you wrote down our class' sentence, please feel free to post it in the comments below.

Period 3 Word of the Week: anachronistic

This week, period 3 selected anachronistic as our word of the week.  Anachronistic "usually refers to something old-fashioned or antique, but it can also mean anything that blatantly clashes with the time in which it is seen."

Students wrote a sentence to show their understanding of the word, but the sub did not record the sentences.  If you copied down our class' sentence, please feel free to post it in the comments below.

Periods 2 & 8 Word of the Week: zugzwang

This week, periods 3 and 8 selected zugzwang as our word of the week.  A zugzwang is a chess term meaning, "a situation in which the obligation to make a move in one's turn is a serious, often decisive, disadvantage."  This means that a person has a forced choice to do something disadvantageous - a situation in which there is little chance of a positive outcome.

Students created sentences using the word, but there was a sub in the classroom, so the sentences were not recorded.  If you wrote down your class' sentence, please feel free to post it in the comments below.

odious

biblioclasm

Doryphore

mimp

Period 3 Word of the Week: erudite

This week, period 3 selected erudite as our word of the week. Erudite means "showing great knowledge.  The sentence we composed to demonstrate our understanding of the word was:

Kimberly is very erudite; at seventeen she owns her own business, has a 4.0 GPA, got a 1600 on her SAT, and won the Jeopardy teen tournament.

Periods 2, 6, and 8 Word of the Week: flibbertigibbet

This week, periods 2, 6, and 8 all selected flibbertigibbet as our word of the week.  What a great word!  A flibbertigibbet is "a frivolously flighty or excessively talkative person." Some examples of famous flibbertigibbets we generated are: Robin Williams, Kevin Hart, and Amy Schumer.

Here are our sentences:

1. Rosanna is a flibbertigibbet because she talks for hours about unnecessary topics.
2. Robin Williams played a flibbertigibbet in Flubber; he was always bouncing off the walls.
3. Kimberly is such a flibbertigibbet; she gets sent to the office for disrupting class every day.

exemplary

digression

camaraderie

courage

midsummer

disgruntle

Serene

Strategies

oblivious

spontaneous

gynophobic

Nonchalant

zonking

Alias

Epiphany

Originality

Piquant

All classes' word of the week - participation

This week, no one posted a word on the blog, so all classes learned the word participation.  To participate is to partake in or be active in something. Here are our sentences:

1. Michelle and Christian participated in trick or treat, but they didn't get any candy because their costumes were disappointing.

2. In gym, you must participate in all the activities; otherwise, you get a bad grade.

3. The students' participation in football games makes them hyped.

4. Goblins stole the ball, so Astrid cannot participate in soccer today.

All classes' Word of the Week - abscond

Since they had no other options, all classes selected abscond as our word of the week this homecoming week.  To abscond is to leave hurriedly or secretly to avoid detection.  We had a lot of fun making up the following sentences using the word:

1) Ms. B's eighth period class absconded across the green top to go eat at Chipotle.
2) The boy stole the cell phone and absconded with it.
3) Janet looked so beautiful at homecoming; she absconded with Tyler's heart!

All classes' word of the week: exacerbate

This week, because we had no choice, all classes selected exacerbate as our word of the week.  To exacerbate is to make a problem, situation, or bad feeling worse.  Here are some sample sentences that we wrote to demonstrate our understanding of the word:

1) Johnny took Ms. Bourque's purse and ran, then exacerbated the situation by lying to Mr. Carter and saying it was his purse.

2) Steve skipped school, and his mom got a call; he exacerbated the problem by making up lies and getting caught.

3) Billie and McKayla were arguing over the last cookie, and McKayla began to exacerbate the situation by smacking Billie in the face.

All classes' word of the week: obfuscate

This week, all English classes chose obfuscate as our word of the week!  To obfuscate is to render (or make) something obscure, unclear, or unintelligible.  Students wrote some sentences to demonstrate our understanding of the word, and here they are:

1. Laniah made a clay pot, but its shape was obfuscated by her lack of skill, and her mom thought it was a plate.

2. It was pouring rain, and the road was obfuscated, so Gigi almost drove off the road.

3. Donald Trump wants more votes from Latinos, so he obfuscates his point of view on immigration.

4. Pinocchio obfuscated the truth when he lied to his father about wandering off with a stranger.

Periods 3 & 8 Word of the Week: unintelligible

Periods 3 and 8 selected unintelligible as our very first Word of the Week.  Things that are unintelligible are impossible to understand.  The classes wrote some very intelligible sentences to demonstrate their understanding of the word:

1) Bob's handwriting is unintelligible; it is sloppy cursive that looks like spaghetti.

2) Excited toddlers tend to be unintelligible, especially when they talk while eating.

Periods 2 & 6 Word of the Week: irascible

For our very first Word of the Week, periods 2 and 6 selected irascible.  To be irascible is to have or show "a tendency to be easily angered."  In other words, hotheads are irascible.  The sentences we devised to show our understanding of the word are:

1. Mel Gibson is very irascible when he is intoxicated; he once cursed at his daughter!

2. When Dre looked at his girl, irascible Kanye beat him up.

All Classes' Word of the Week: Gibber

The Friday after spring break, all of our classes selected gibber as our word of the week.  To gibber is to speak in a fast or foolish way.  Here are the sentences we concocted to demonstrate our understanding of the word:


1) Tommy missed his chance to bid on the antediluvian painting because the auctioneer's gibbering was incomprehensible.


2) Tyrone began to gibber when his mom yelled at him about putting his stinky socks on the kitchen counter.


3) Ms. Bourque's baby tends to gibber after eating a cupcake.

Period 7 Word of the Week: nefarious

On March 20, period 7 selected nefarious as our word of the week.  Nefarious means "wicked" or "criminal." 


The sentence we wrote to demonstrate our understanding was: Nefarious Celina tried to jugg and rob Diamond of her candy.

Periods 1 & 8 Word of the Week: antediluvian

This week, periods 1 and 8 selected antediluvian as their word of the week.  Antediluvian means very old or old-fashioned.


Period 1 wrote: When I went to my grandmother's house, we had to try to use her antediluvian radio because she lacked TV and internet, and there was nothing else to do.


Period 8 wrote: The Sphinx is so old, it could be described as antediluvian.

augur

All Classes' Word of the Week: lagniappe

This week, all of Ms. B's English classes voted to use lagniappe as our word of the week.  A lagniappe is a small, gratuitous gift, or a small gift given to the customer by the merchant at the time of purchase.  It's like a freebie.  Here are the sentences we created to convey our understanding of what a lagniappe is:


1) Julie was feeling youthful, so she bought Lucky Charms just to get the lagniappe from the box.


2) Stephen goes to Game Stop to buy an Xbox and receives a lagniappe: a free Xbox game.


3) Bill was so excited when he found a chocolate horse in his hotel bathroom - a small lagniappe.

Coercion 

Period 7 Word of the Week - abasement

Period seven chose a potentially punny word of the week: abasement.  Abasement is not the lowest floor of your house, but rather the act or fact of abasing or being abased: humiliation or degradation. We created a fictional character to abase.


Mary Jane couldn't bear the feeling of abasement when her crush, Bob, laughed at her prom-posal because he thought she was kidding.

Period 1 Word of the Week - effulgent

This week, first period selected effulgent as our word of the week.  A brilliant choice!  Effulgent means radiant, splendorous, or brilliant.  The sentence we wrote to demonstrate our understanding of effulgent is:

The scene before our eyes was truly effulgent; the radiantly pregnant woman made snow angels in the newly-fallen snow, which sparkled in the morning sun.

Period 8 Word of the Week - soporific

This week, period 8 selected soporific as our word of the week, possibly due to Ms. B's teaching style.  Something soporific tends to induce drowsiness or sleep.  Our sentence:


Math class had a soporific effect on the students, who all fell asleep within one minute of the bell ringing.

Period 7 Word of the Week: lugubrious

This week, period 7 selected lugubrious as our word of the week.  Lugubrious means "looking or sounding sad and dismal."  Our sentence to demonstrate our understanding of the word was:


Jennifer was lugubrious when she saw her boyfriend kissing another girl on Valentine's Day.

Periods 1 & 8 Word of the Week: luxate

On Friday, February 13, periods 1 and 8 selected luxate as our word of the week. To luxate is to dislocate something or put it out of place, like dislocating your shoulder or your hip.  Here are the sentences we made to demonstrate our understanding of the word:

1. During the football game, Raspusia tackled Bob, luxating his shoulder.

2. Eric luxated his shoulder when trying to do a triple axel on the ice rink.

Period 1 Word of the Week: Opulence

This week, period 1 selected opulence as our word of the week.  Opulence is wealth, affluence, or material possessions.  The sentence we constructed to reflect our understanding of the word is:

Because of Oprah's vast opulence, she has no problem giving to others.

Periods 7 & 8 Word of the Week: desiderium

Periods 7 and 8 both voted for desiderium as this week's word of the week.  Desiderium is a noun meaning "an ardent longing, as for something lost." We constructed the following sentences to demonstrate our understanding of the word:

1. Abbie spent her money on a donut necklace, so now she is in a desiderium for what she so recklessly lost.

2. Even a decade after his death, Michael Jackson's children found themselves in a desiderium over the loss of their father.

All Classes' Word of the Week: flummox

Flummox is our very first word of the week for this semester!  The verb, to flummox, means to perplex or confuse.  Thus, to be flummoxed is to be perplexed or confused.  Here are the sentences our classes concocted to show our lack of confusion regarding the word flummox:

1. In math class, it felt like Mr. Duncan was intentionally trying to flummox his students.

2. Coco was flummoxed when she arrived at the Bat Mitzvah and she was supposed to be at her friend's Quince.

3. Setareh was flummoxed when she was jumped by Rango and Django.