sheepish

(adj) - If you are feeling sheepish, you feel slightly b-a-a-a-a-a-a-d, uncomfortable, or embarrassed because you know that you have done something silly or wrong.

• Synonyms: shy, embarassed, self-conscious, ashamed, timid
• Antonyms: aggressive, bold, unashamed, unembarassed
• Etymology: 1690s Old English, sceap meaning "sheep"
• Example: If you see someone with a sheepish grin, you might wonder what they're up to or what they've done.

invasive

(adj) - Something that is invasive has made its way into a place where it doesn't belong.

• Synonyms: meddlesome, nosy, "in your face," prying, intrusive, interfering, trespassing
• Antonyms: out-of-the-way, private, solitary
• Etymology: Mid 15th Century Latin, from in- "in" + vadere meaning "go, walk"
• Morphology: invade - v, invasion - n
• Example: The Burmese Python is an invasive species that made its way into the Florida Everglades.

savvy

(n) - If you have savvy, you have practical knowledge and ability.
(adj) - Someone who is savvy is clever and knows how to deal with situations successfully.

• Synonyms: brainy, clever, deft, experienced, intelligent, keen, sensible, wise
• Antonyms: clumsy, ignorant, incompetent, stupid, daft
• Etymology: 1785 (noun), 1905 (adjective) Latin, from sapere "be wise, be knowing." The French people borrowed this word to create savez vous? meaning "do you know?" and in Spanish it became sabe usted meaning "you know"
• Example:  Some people are very nature savvy, and they work hard to sustain our earth.

hierarchy

(n) - A hierarchy is a system of organization in which people or things are divided into levels of importance.

• Synonyms: chain of command, order, pecking order, ranking, pyramid, level   
• Etymology: Mid 14th Century Greek, from hieros meaning "sacred" + arkhein meaning "to lead, rule"
• Example: Some employees work hard to make their way up the company hierarchy and become president or CEO.

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arbitrary

(adj) - Something that is arbitrary is decided or arranged without any reason or plan (often this comes across as unfair).

• Synonyms: random, offhand, inconsistent, for no reason
• Antonyms: rational, reasonable
• Etymology: 1500 Latin, from ad- "to" + baetere meaning "come and go."
• Morphology: arbitrate - v, arbitrator - n
• Example: I always plan words that I know are going to come up during our day, week or year... but every once in a while, I like to choose an arbitrary word just because it's fun to know!

trek

(n.) - A trek is a long and difficult journey, made especially on foot as an adventure.
(v.) - To trek is to travel (usually walking) a long, long way.

• Synonyms: expedition, march, journey
• Antonyms: stay
• Origin: 1849 (n.); 1850 (v.) Dutch, from trecken meaning "to march, journey," which originally meant "to draw, pull”
• Example: As much fun as it would be to trek across the USA for real, I am glad we get to do it for "pretend" first!

kismet

(n) - Kismet is something that was meant to be, including all of the things that will happen to you in your life.

• Synonyms: fate, fortune, destiny
• Antonyms: design, plan
• Origin: 1834 Arabic, from qasama meaning "he divided"
• Example: It was kismet that I came to Burlington and that you ended up in my class this year!

overt

(adj) - Overt actions are those that are done for all to see, without trying to hide anything.

• Synonyms: public, apparent, clear, observable
• Antonyms: covert,  concealed, hidden, private, secret
• Etymology: Early 14th Century PIE, from *ap- "off, away" + base *wer- "to cover"
• Example: The placement of your cars on the Heritage board is an overt display of progress toward the finish line.

disperse

(v) - If something disperses or is dispersed, it spreads in different directions over a wide area.  If a group of people disperse or are dispersed, they go away in different directions.

• Synonyms: distribute, scatter, spread out, scramble, spray
• Antonyms: arrange, assemble, collect
• Etymology: Late 14th Century Latin, from dis- meaning "apart, in every direction" + spargere meaning "to scatter" (which is also where we get the word sparse)
• Example: Next year, my sweet class will be dispersed across town, as some of them will go to Will James.

relentless

(adj) - Someone who is relentless continues in a persistent way. Something bad that is relentless continues without ever stopping or getting less severe.

• Word Family: relent
• Synonyms: merciless, persistent, ongoing, determined, strict, fierce, nonstop
• Antonyms: easy, merciful, understanding, ending
• Origin: Late 14th Century, from Latin re- meaning “again” + lentus meaning "slow, flowing thickly”
• Example: You have been relentless when it comes to learning as much as you can this year.

Ok... now's your chance to show your stuff. We've done this quiz before, but do you remember?

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emergent

(adj) - Something that is emergent is in the early stages of existence or development.

• Synonyms: resulting, developing, rising, up-and-coming
• Antonyms: declining, decreasing
• Etymology: 1560s Latin, from ex- meaning "out" + mergere meaning "to dip, sink"
• Morphology: emerge - v, merge - v
• Example: The emergent layer of a rain forest is the fourth layer, where the tallest trees are.

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trump

(v) - If something is trumped, it is outdone or surpassed, usually by something better.

• Synonyms: defeat, beat, overcome
• Antonyms: lose, fall behind, fail
• Etymology: 1580s Old French, from tromper meaning "deceive," of uncertain origin, perhaps from a verb meaning "to blow a trumpet."
• Morphology: trumpet - n
• Example: Your Heritage fate card details will always trump whatever happens along your journey.

You may think that your mom made your lunch, or maybe that the lunch ladies made your lunch, but you would be wrong. Dirt trumps them all!

fiasco

fiasco(n) - A fiasco is an event that is completely unsuccessful, in a way that is very embarrassing or disappointing.

• Synonyms: catastrophe, debacle, embarassment, mess, failure
• Antonyms: benefit, success, wonder, miracle
• Etymology: 1855 French, theater slang for "a failure." By the year 1862, this word came to describe any kindof dismal flop, on or off the stage. Etymologists think this came from the French phrase fiare fiasco which means "turn out a failure," which came from Italian far fiasco meaning "suffer a complete breakdown in performance." This expression literally means "make a bottle," and comes from fiasco meaning "bottle," which comes from Late Latin flasco (where we get the word flask.
• Example: I tried to jump into Grace's library wagon last week, but it ended up as a complete fiasco when I fell in the hallway in front of a throng of onlookers.

proportion

(n) - A proportion is the relationship in size, amount, importance etc, between two things, or a part of a number or amount, considered in relation to the whole.
*This word can also be used as a verb.

• Synonyms: relative amount, ratio, relationship, dimension, division, scale, scope, relative size
• Etymology: Late 14th Century Latin, from pro meaning "forward" +  *partio meaning "division," which comes from pars meaning "part."
• Morphology: proportional - adj, proportionally - adv
• Example: The rewards you get in your education are in direct proportion to the effort you put in.

retroactive

(adj) - Something that is retroactive is effective as of a particular date in the past.

• Synonyms: after the fact, done afterward, subsequent, in the past, postdated
• Antonyms: before, previous, prior
• Etymology: 1610s Latin, from retro- meaning"back" + agere meaning "to drive, set in motion" (which is also where we get the word act)
• Example: Even though we already had the word debacle, I decided to make this video retroactive because... how could anyone pass up an opportunity to make "The Pachl Debacle?!"

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ponder

(v) - To ponder is to spend time thinking carefully and seriously about a problem, a difficult question, or something that has happened.

• Synonyms: think about, think over, wonder about, consider
• Antonyms: forget, ignore
• Etymology: 1330 L. ponderare meaning "to weigh" (which is also where we get the word pound)
• Morphology: ponderous - adj
• Example: Here are some interesting thoughts for you to ponder…

Click here to ponder the wonders of perimeter and area.

abscond

(v) - If you abscond, you sneak off or secretly leave a place, sometimes taking with you something that does not belong to you.

• Synonyms: sneak away, hightail, make off, vanish, vamoose, fly the coop, flee, escape, disappear
• Antonyms: continue, endure, give up, remain, stop
• Etymology: 1560s Latin, from ab- meaning "away" + com- meaning "together" + dere meaning "put"
• Morphology: scoundrel - n
• Example: In our first episodes of Fizz and Martina, our heroes suspected Budge of trying to abscond with Pinky McGee's pinky!

copacetic

(adj) - If something is copacetic, it's just fine or simply satisfactory.

• Synonyms: fine, satisfactory, ok, adequate, alright, cool, dandy, pleasant, tolerable, sufficient
• Antonyms: frusterating, unsatisfactory, great, fantastic, insufficient, unwelcome
• Etymology: 1919 American, from a term used by African Americans in the Southern US. Linguists believe this word may have taken root in Latin, Hebrew (kol b'seder), Italian, Louisiana French (coupe-sétique), or maybe Native American.
• Example: Mrs. Gaskill may have her share of trouble, but fortunately for her, everything's copacetic here in room 1.

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vicariously

(adv) - If something is done or experienced by watching or reading about someone else doing something, rather than by doing it yourself, it is done vicariously.

• Synonyms: empathetically, imaginatively, indirectly, secondarily, sympathetically
• Antonyms: primarily, first-handedly
• Etymology: 1630s PIE; we get our word from the Latin word vicarius meaning "substitute, deputy." They got it from vicis meaning "turn, change, exchange, substitution," which came from the PIE root *weig- meaning "to bend, wind"
• Morphology: vicarious - adj
• Example: Since I have never been to Belize, I will have to enjoy the trip vicariously through Mrs. Gaskill's description and photos.

meander

(v) - If a river, stream, road etc meanders, it has a lot of bends rather than going in a straight line. If a person meanders, he or she may walk somewhere in a slow relaxed way rather than take the most direct way possible. If a conversation meanders, it is too long and has no purpose or structure.

• Synonyms: wander, zigzag, roam, drift, ramble, wind, veer
• Antonyms: go directly, stay on track
• Etymology: 1570s Greek, from Maiandros which is the name of a river in Caria noted for its winding course
• Example: It is very important that no one is allowed to meander around the room while we are testing.

Exactly how did it come to be that rivers and lakes meander across the Midwestern landscape?