Personal Dictionary

By: Stephanie Garcia

Harmonious [härˈmōnēəs] (Adj)
1. Where I found it:”Families that were harmonious and fair of their own free will may
have been able to function more easily in the fifties”(37).
2. Guess: I think it means being in sync with someone(thing).
3. Dictionary definition: Tuneful; not discordant/ forming a pleasing or consistent
whole/ free form disagreement or dissent
4. I chose this image because the word Harmonious means to be in tune.
Denigrating ˈdenəˌɡrāt/ (verb)
1. Where I found it: “Overall we should avoid either denigrating or glorifying the
survival strategies of the poor”(51).
2. Guess: I think it means bringing down value.
3. Dictionary definition: criticize unfairly; disparage
4. I chose this image because the word Denigrating means it judge unfairly
Jettison ˈjedəsən,ˈjedəzən
1. Where I found it:” if we wanted to we could easily and inexpensively jettison the
old, stupid structure and help kids take an education rather merely receive a
school”(115).
2. Guess: I think it means something with making something fast.
3. Dictionary definition: throw or drop (something) from an aircraft or ship.
4. I chose this image because the word jettison means eject someone(thing).
Autonomy /ôˈtänəmē/ (noun)
1. Where I found it: “... by giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in
order to take a risk every now and then”(115).
2. Guess: I think it means to one confidence.
3. Dictionary definition: the right or condition of self-government, especially in a
particular sphere.
4. I chose this image because the word Autonomy means it be able the ability to
make one’s decisions; control self.
Compulsory /kəmˈpəlsərē/ (adj)
1. Where I found it: “And plenty of people throughout the world today find a way to
educate themselves without resorting to a system of compulsory secondary
schools that all too often resemble prisons”(116).
2. Guess: I think it means to be forced.
3. Dictionary definition: required by law or a rule; obligatory.
4. I chose this image because the word compulsory means to be forced to do
something by law.
Blandishments /ˈblandiSHmənt/ (noun)
1. Where I found it: “...our will to political exhortations and commercial
blandishments that would insult actual adults”(121).
2. Guess: I think it means to make something disappears.
3. Dictionary definition: a flattering or pleasing statement or action used to persuade
someone gently to do something.
4. I chose this image because the word Blandishment means to make something
appealing
Oedipal /ˈedəp(ə)l,ˈēdəp(ə)l/ (adj)
1. Where I found it: “ Just watch a dating etiquette film of the time period, or recall
that therapist of the day often told victims of incest that they were merely having
unconscious oedipal fantasies”(40).
2. Guess: I think it means to have some sort of power.
3. Dictionary definition: Oedipus complex: the complex of emotions aroused in a
young child, typically around the age of four, by an unconscious sexual desire for
the parent of the opposite sex and a wish to exclude the parent of the same sex /
/relating to or characterized by an Oedipus complex.
4. I chose this image because the word oedipal is having sexual thoughts about a
child.
Vicissitudes /vəˈsisəˌt(y)o͞od/ (noun)
1. Where I found it: “ A third purpose is to endow every individual with the intellectual
and ethical power to pursue his or her own interests develop the judgement and
character to survive life’s vicissitudes”(109).
2. Guess: i think it mean opportunity.
3. Dictionary definition: a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is
unwelcome or unpleasant.
4. I chose this image because the word vicissitudes means change in a bad way.
Euphemism /ˈyo͞ofəˌmizəm/ (noun)
1. Where I found it: “The other Rose apparently didn’t do very well, for I was placed in
the vocational track, a euphemism for the bottom level”(124).
2. Guess: I think it means being embarrassed
3. Dictionary Definition: a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one
considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or
embarrassing.
4. I chose this image because the word euphemism means to be blunt or be
embarrassing.
Miscellany /ˈmisəˌlānē,miˈselənē/ (noun)
1. Where I found it: “This was a dangerous miscellany: surfers and hodads and
south-central blacks all ablaze to the metronomic trapping of Hector Montez’s
pencil”(126).
2. Guess: I think that it means a evil plan .
3. Dictionary definition: a group or collection of different items; a mixture.
4. I chose this image because the word Miscellany a group or mixture of an thing.
Fixed mindset
1. Where I found it:
2. Guess:
3. Dictionary definition: people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or
talent, are simply fixed traits.
4. I chose this image because:
Growth mindset
1. Where I found it:
2. Guess:
3. Dictionary definition: mindset believe anyone can be good at anything, because
your abilities are entirely due to your actions.
4. I chose this image because:
Impertinent
1. Where I found it: “there is no reason for you to try to become like the white men
and there is no basis whatever for their impertinent assumption that they must
accept you”(baldwinn4).
2. Guess: I think it means to have a opinion or someone’s opinion towards you.
3. Dictionary definition: Not showing proper respect; rude
4. I chose this image because, in baldwin letter to his nephew he tells his
nephew to not let their rude comments discredit his existence.
Perish
1. Where I found it: “This innocent country set you down in a ghetto in which, in fact,
it intended that you should perish”(baldwin 3).
2. Guess: I think perish means to suffer.
3. Dictionary definition: Suffer death, typically in a violent, sudden, or untimely way.
4. I chose this image because
Black bodies
1. Where I found it:
2. Guess:
3. Coates definition:
4. I chose this image because:
Middle passage
1. Where I found it:
2. Guess:
3. Dictionary definition: the sea journey undertaken by slave ships from West Africa
to the West Indies.
4. I chose this image because:
Perseveration
1. Where I found it: 84
2. Guess:
3. Dictionary definition: repeat or prolong an action, thought, or utterance after the
stimulus that prompted it has ceased.
4. I chose this image because:
Dreamers
1. Where I found it:
2. Guess:
3. Dictionary definition: a person who dreams or is dreaming/ a person who is
unpractical or idealistic
4. I chose this image because:
MS-13: (Mara Salvatrucha)
1. Where did I found: “ In 2011, after Juliana’s mother ramona, testified against the
killer, a member of MS-13 tried to stab her at a soccer game, where she was selling
refreshments”(Blitzer 1)
2. Guess:
3. Dictionary definition: international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles,
California, US in the 1980s. The gang later spread to many parts of the continental
United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America, and is active in urban and
suburban areas.
4. I chose this image because:
Illegal aliens
1. Where I found it: “They called for troops on the U.S. border to “stoop the fold of
illegal aliens” and to defend “our unique European (white) culture”( Blitzer 3)
2. Guess:
3. Dictionary definition: a foreign national who is living without authorization in a
country of which they are not a citizen.
4. I chose this image because:
Juvenile Priority docket
1. Where I found it:
2. Guess:
3. Dictionary definition: An official court record book which lists all the cases before
the court and which may also note the status or action required for each case
4. I chose this image because:
Hemispheric war
1. Where I found it:
2. Guess:
3. Dictionary definition:
4. I chose this image because:
Refugees
1. Where I found it:
2. Guess:
3. Dictionary definition: a person who has been forced to leave their country in order
to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.
4. I chose this image because:
Asylum
1. Where I found it:
2. Guess:
3. Dictionary definition: the protection granted by a nation to someone who has left
their native country as a political refugee.
4. I chose this image because:
Mental health
1. Where I found it:
2. Guess:
3. Dictionary definition: a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and
emotional well-being.
4. I chose this image because: