Unit 1: Vocabulary from Readings 4

This list covers "Let America Be America Again," "Roberto Acuna Talks about Farm Workers," Keynote Address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and "The Right to Fail."
16 words 82 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bondsman
    a male bound to serve without wages
    I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
  2. barter
    exchange goods without involving money
    I am the man who never got ahead,
    The poorest worker bartered through the years.
  3. graft
    the practice of offering something for an illegal advantage
    Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
    The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
    We, the people, must redeem
    The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
  4. stealth
    the act of moving in a quiet or secretive way to avoid being noticed
    Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
    The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
    We, the people, must redeem
    The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
  5. redeem
    restore the honor or worth of
    Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
    The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
    We, the people, must redeem
    The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
  6. subsidy
    a grant of financial assistance, especially by a government
    They can have land subsidies for the growers but they can’t have adequate unemployment compensation for the workers.
  7. insulate
    surround with material to protect from heat, cold, or noise
    They have heat and insulated barns for the animals but the workers live in beat-up shacks with no heat at all.
  8. stoop
    bend one's back forward from the waist on down
    It’s mostly back trouble, rheumatism, and arthritis, because of the damp weather and the cold. Stoop labor is very hard on a person.
  9. denounce
    accuse or condemn openly as disgraceful
    I would read all these things in the papers about Cesar Chavez and I would denounce him because I still had that thing about becoming a first class patriotic citizen.
  10. stipulate
    make an express demand or provision in an agreement
    We’re trying to stipulate it in our contract that the company will not use any machinery without the consent of the farm workers.
  11. pundit
    an expert who publicly gives opinions via mass media
    The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats.
  12. lapel
    a fold of fabric below the collar of a coat or jacket
    Smoke the right cigarette or drive the right car—so the ads imply—and girls will be swooning into your deodorized arms or caressing your expensive lapels.
  13. maverick
    someone who exhibits independence in thought and action
    We need mavericks and dissenters and dreamers far more than we need junior vice presidents, but we paralyze them by insisting that every step be a step up to the next rung of the ladder.
  14. dissent
    be of different opinions
    We need mavericks and dissenters and dreamers far more than we need junior vice presidents, but we paralyze them by insisting that every step be a step up to the next rung of the ladder.
  15. eminent
    standing above others in quality or position
    Many have even come out famous. History is strewn with eminent dropouts, “loners” who followed their own trail, not worrying about its odd twists and turns because they had faith in their own sense of direction.
  16. vapid
    lacking significance or liveliness or spirit or zest
    Obviously the colleges don’t have more than a partial answer—otherwise the young would not be so disaffected with an education that they consider vapid.
Created on Mon Nov 29 14:19:53 EST 2021 (updated Wed Jan 12 12:41:49 EST 2022)

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