Essential Twelfth Grade Vocabulary: List 9

Learn these challenging words that you'll encounter in literature, articles, and textbooks.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. assuage
    provide physical relief, as from pain
    She applied the medication in an attempt to assuage a toothache, they wrote. Fox News (Sep 19, 2019)
  2. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
    He brandished his hot dog skewer at full arm’s length, like a sword. The Season of Styx Malone
  3. contingent
    determined by conditions or circumstances that follow
    “All these ambitious plans are contingent on funding,” he said. Washington Post (Nov 9, 2021)
  4. contrite
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    “I’m sorry,” Grace said to her, and in her defense, she really did look contrite. Far from the Tree
  5. disabuse
    free somebody from an erroneous belief
    She believed, however, that she could soon disabuse Lucy of whatever false impressions she now held. Chase, Josephine
  6. dissemble
    make believe with the intent to deceive
    Naipaul is a difficult, imperfect narrator who does not care to be liked, but he is an honest one and doesn't dissemble. The Guardian (Aug 28, 2010)
  7. epithet
    a defamatory or abusive word or phrase
    Porter, Guitar, Freddie the janitor, and three or four other men were exploding, shouting angry epithets all over the room. Song of Solomon
  8. exhort
    spur on or encourage especially by cheers and shouts
    Every headline would be a call to action, with a verb exhorting you — the reader — to learn, to grow, to investigate, to understand, to question. New York Times (May 29, 2021)
  9. inculcate
    teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions
    Coach Wooden believed in positive communication that inculcated them with values of humanity, fair play, responsibility to the team and fairness. New York Times (Jan 15, 2016)
  10. mollify
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    To mollify farmers, a big part of his base, the president announced billions of dollars in aid to farmers. Washington Times (Jul 9, 2019)
Created on Fri May 30 11:29:04 EDT 2025

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