"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 26

Philip Geer's "Simon's Saga" includes 820 SAT-level words and gives students an entertaining glimpse into college life.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18, Episode 19, Episode 20, Episode 21, Episode 22, Episode 23, Episode 24, Episode 25, Episode 26, Episode 27, Episode 28, Episode 29, Episode 30, Episode 31, Episode 32, Episode 33, Episode 34, Episode 35, Episode 36, Episode 37
20 words 414 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. anecdote
    short account of an incident
    “I mean, in your anecdote about the two guys arguing over expenditures on the space program.”
  2. imperturbable
    marked by extreme calm and composure
    Professor James is the most imperturbable man in the world.
  3. agitated
    troubled emotionally and usually deeply
    But this other fellow had him really agitated.
  4. diabolical
    showing cunning or ingenuity or wickedness
    The guy was practically calling SETI diabolical—the work of the devil or something.
  5. monologue
    a dramatic speech by a single actor
    Turns out that they’re both like total baseball freaks. So Simon rattles off a long funny monologue about Babe Ruth.
  6. animosity
    a feeling of ill will arousing active hostility
    It’s always different, but he always knows exactly what stratagems to use to bring people together and make them forget any animosities they might have.
  7. meander
    an aimless amble on a winding course
    If it seems like there’s no coherence to the discussion, he picks a few threads out of all of these complex, meandering discussions and pulls them together.
  8. elite
    a group or class of persons enjoying superior status
    They represent the elite of just about every field of human knowledge
  9. catalyst
    something that causes an important event to happen
    We have very carefully selected the men and women we believed to be in a position to be the catalysts for a major change of direction in the course of humanity.
  10. divulge
    make known to the public information previously kept secret
    She had already divulged far more than she had intended to.
  11. intimidated
    made scared or fearful as by threats
    “But aren’t you sometimes a little intimidated by all these big name academics?”
  12. beneficence
    the quality of being kind or helpful or generous
    There is so much beneficence and gentleness in her.
  13. surpassing
    far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree
    Jaz looked at Xela in the way a very pretty girl looks at a woman who is so surpassingly gorgeous that she seems like a goddess visiting Earth—with awe that such beauty exists.
  14. tinge
    a slight but appreciable amount
    But Jaz did not feel the slightest tinge of jealousy.
  15. composure
    steadiness of mind under stress
    She felt again that wonderful composure, and something that she could only describe as love.
  16. dictate
    a guiding principle
    “But I guess ‘woman-to-woman’ would be more correct these days, at least according to the dictates of political correctness.”
  17. inextricable
    incapable of being disentangled or untied
    “As always with me and Simon, Axel was somehow inextricably linked to us.”
  18. karma
    effects of one's actions that determine his or her destiny
    “It must be your karma,” Xela said.
  19. incarnation
    time passed in a particular bodily form
    I mean, maybe the three of you were somehow linked in your previous incarnations.
  20. recurring
    coming back
    “Axel is like this recurring motif in our lives, isn’t he?”
Created on Tue Aug 19 06:26:37 EDT 2014 (updated Tue Aug 19 16:27:37 EDT 2014)

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