Page 253 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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Essential Vocabulary
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accumulate (uh KYOOM yoo LAYT) vt. to pile up; gather; form a heap
• Over years of saving regularly, wealth accumulates.
• Dirty laundry accumulates on the floor of any boy’s room.
• In the autumn, leaves accumulate on the lawn in the temperate climate
regions.
[-d, accumulating] [Syn. heap]
adjunct (AD junkt) n. 1. an addition; something secondary in importance; 2. a
person who is a helper of another —adj. an assistant, such as an adjunct teacher,
counselor, and so on
• A police officer usually carries a second gun as an adjunct to his service
weapon.
• A pointer can be a useful adjunct at most slide shows.
• An adjunct teacher is often found in a primary school classroom in addi-
tion to the classroom teacher.
adrenaline (uh DREN uh lin) n. first appeared as a trademarked name coined
by chemist J. Takamine, who isolated it in 1901; now the nontechnical name for
epinephrine, a hormone produced by the inner cortex of the adrenal glands
• Adrenaline causes the body’s functions to temporarily speed up.
• The body is stimulated to produce adrenaline in response to perceived
emergency situations.
adroit (uh DROYT) adj. skillful either mentally or physically; clever; expert at
• Andy had become quite an adroit chess player by the time he was 17.
• Gino was extremely adroit with a wheelbarrow full of wet concrete.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. dextrous]
adulterate (uh DUHL toer AYT) vt. to make impure; water down; to make
inferior
• Cream is adulterated with milk to make half-and-half.
• Teachers often adulterate their criticism of pupils’ work so as not to over-
whelm them.
• Legislation can be so adulterated by amendments that it does not do what
it was originally intended to accomplish.
[-d, adulterating] [Syn. dilute]