Vocabulary for Achievement-Grade 10-Lesson 4

*difficult to understandTax forms can be so abstruse that you need to study tax laws in order to be able to understand them.
Mr. Johnson seems to explain the principles behind physics with less abstruseness than many other teachers.

*quickness of insight or judgementMost of your parents show an acumen for business or they would not have become so professionally successful.

*to discover with certainty, especially by examining or through experimentationAfter observing his behavior over the years, I could ascertain that he was ruthless and would do anything within his power to become successful and rich.
Many people belief that the existence of God is not ascertainable.

*relating to the brain*using your intellectMany people do not understand that some online computer games, can be challenging and very cerebral.
The human cerebrum is divided into the left and right hemispheres.

*a natural power or ability*a division or group of teachersAs a soldier, he had to use all his faculties to support his fellow soldiers in combat and to insure his survival.The faculty voted to determine the members of the Honor Society.

*to make difficult to understand*to darken to make difficult to seeSometimes when I am not prepared for the test I try to obfuscate my answers so that the teacher will give me the benefit of the doubt and grant me a higher score.During the monsoon, the mist and heavy rain obfuscated our view of the mountains.*having little in the way of defense for a client

*to think deeply about or to turn a matter over and over again in one's mind*to chew cud, or partially digested food
I ruminated over and over again about the argument I had with my friend in order to understand exactly what part I played in the disagreement.Animals that eat coarse grasses must ruminate in order to fully digest their food.After much rumination over our disagreement I concluded that it really was due to a misunderstanding on the part of my friend.

*to prevent from making progress; to frustrate or thwart effortsEfforts from numerous countries to solve the problems facing the Palestinians and the Israelis have stymied many diplomats throughout the world.

*To guess; to draw a conclusion without sufficient evidenceThe Egyptian government surmised that if they killed all the pigs in the country, they could avoid the H1N1 virus.The Egyptians surmise only led to a garbage problem because the pigs were actually eating all the decomposable garbage and now it lies on the streets creating a health hazard for everyone.

*a principle or belief held by a person or an organizationFreedom of speech is a basic tenet of all American citizens.