jubilant

(adj) - If you are jubilant, you are extremely happy and pleased because of a success.

• Synonyms: elated, excited, overjoyed, pleased, thrilled, triumphant
• Antonyms: depressed, sad, sorrowful, blue
• Etymology: 1660s Latin, from jubilare meaning "to call to someone," which comes from jubilum meaning "wild shout."
• Morphology: jubilee - n, jubilation - n
• Example: Tonight's Vocademy Awards event will be a jubilant celebration!

Let's get ready for tonight's event by looking at some photos of last year's jubilation:

oxymoron

(n) – An oxymoron is an expression that contradicts itself because it is a deliberate combination of two words that seem to mean the opposite of each other, such as 'cruel kindness.'

• Synonyms: contradiction
• Etymology: 1650s Greek, from oxys meaning "sharp," which is from the word akis meaning "sharp point," + moros meaning "stupid, foolish, or dull"
• Example: Some well-known oxymorons are: a civil war, a little big, alone together, awfully nice, baggy tights, bittersweet, black light, calm wind, classic rock

precocious

(adj) – Someone who is precocious is exceptionally smart. A precocious child shows intelligence or skill at a very young age, or behaves in an adult way.

• Synonyms: advanced, bright, intelligent, mature (but maybe a little sassy!)
• Antonyms: dull, dim-witted
• Etymology: 1640s Latin, from pre meaning “before” + coquere meaning "to ripen, or to cook"
• Example: Beware: using our words of the day may make you sound precocious.

spontaneous

(adj) - When something is spontaneous, it happens without a plan or all on its own.

• Synonyms: out-of-the-blue, automatic, impulsive, instinctive, random, unplanned
• Antonyms: planned
• Etymology: 1650s Latin, from sponte meaning "of one's own accord, willingly"

Have you ever heard of a flash mob? It is a spontaneous performance by a group of people, like this:

snippet

(n) - A snippet is a small piece of news, information, or conversation.

• Synonyms: particle, bit, fragment, part, piece
• Antonyms: whole thing
• Etymology: 1664 Low German, from snippen meaning "to snip, shred”
• Morphology: snip - v
• Example: News tickers give you little snippets of information at the bottom of your TV screen.

And now, it's time for Name that Tune!

redundant

(n) - If something is redundant, it is not necessary because something else already means or does the same thing.

• Synonyms: repetitious, extra, duplicated
• Antonyms: concise, essential, important
• Etymology: 1590s Latin, from re- meaning "again" + undare meaning "rise in waves," which comes from unda meaning "a wave"
• Example: As an added bonus, I will tell you about the basic fundamentals of the word redundant... consider it your free gift!

malinger

(v) – If you malinger, you avoid work or school by pretending to be ill.

• Synonyms: play sick, fake it, evade work
• Antonyms: ail, be sick
• Etymology: 1785 French, from malingre meaning "ailing, sickly." This word possibly comes from a blend of mingre meaning "sickly, miserable" and malade meaning "ill." Mingre is actually a blend of maigre meaning "meager" + haingre meaning "sick, haggard."
• Example: With only a couple of weeks of school left, there is no time to malinger!

 Click on the sites below to learn and review triangles:

• http://www.math-play.com/classifying-triangles/classifying-triangles.html
• http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2numeracy-shape-and-weight.html#triangles

 

naïve

(adj) – Someone who is naïve does not have much experience of how complicated life is, so they tend to trust people too much and believe that good things will always happen.

• Synonyms: childlike, trusting, gullible, innocent, ignorant, simple
• Antonyms: experienced, wise, skeptical, certain, confident
• Etymology: 1650s French, from naif meaning "natural, just born," which comes from the Latin word nativus meanng "not artificial”
• Example: I am very naïve when it comes to what happens in sports.

alter

(v) - If you alter something, you change it.

• Synonyms: change, adjust, adapt, modify, reform, renovate
• Antonyms: continue, keep, fix, leave alone, ignore
• Etymology: Late 14th Century PIE, from *al- meaning "beyond" + comparative suffix -ter (which is where we get the word other)
• Morphology: alteration - n, altered - adj
• Example: If your pants are too long, your mom may have to alter them to get them to fit you.

 Believe it or not, there are quite a few ways to alter Google.

Try searching "do a barrel roll" or zerg rush" and see what happens!

futile

(adj.) - Actions that are futile are useless because they have no chance of being successful.

• Synonyms: pointless, useless, unimportant
• Antonyms: productive, useful, beneficial
• Etymology: 1550 Latin, from futilis meaning "pouring out easily" (like from a vessel), which led to "easily emptied, leaky, unreliable." This came from the word fundere meaning "pour, melt."
• Morphology: futility - n
• Example: The idea of my family trying to plan a trip where everyone agrees is futile...