Harry Potter and
the Order of the Phoenix

Here are 20 words from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  Become familiar with them before you read the book.
(Note: These and many other words are in the Kid Crosswords Illustrated Online Dictionary)

austere (adjective) -- simple, humble, unadorned

Example: Mary's bedroom was very
austere;only a bed, a table
and bare walls.

austere 'bathroom'

confiscate (verb) -- to take possession of, as an authority

Example: The vice-principal confiscated
all skateboards from the kids in school,
making a lot of them mad.

policeman confiscating weapons

crony (noun) -- friend (usually used to refer to friends in a bad way!)

Example: The crooked mayor and his
cronies were thrown in jail after they were
found guilty of stealing public money.

cubicle (noun) -- a small, separated space

Example: Many people find that they
can be heard too easily when they talk
on the phone inside their cubicle.

crowded cubicle

decontaminate (verb) -- to rid of contamination or pollution

Example: After the nuclear power
plant accident, workers had to
decontaminate the entire plant.

toxic waste needing to be decontaminated

disconcerted (adjective) -- confused, upset

Example: Mr. Grant was
disconcerted after his car
accident and took off a day
from work to recover.

disconcerted bird

Example: Jose mother always
complained that his room was
disheveled and yelled at him
to clean it up.

disheveled sick man

doleful (adjective) -- sad

Example: Mandy's dog always
looked so doleful when she
went to school in the morning.

doleful tomato

extricate (verb) -- to remove from a difficult situation

Example: Tyler was good at extricating
himself from problems with the bullies
in his town and avoiding fights.

women being extricated from danger

glean (verb) -- to collect, little by little

Example: Even when other people thought the turkey was completely bare,
grandma was always able to
glean some more meat from it.

gleaning corn from a field

incensed (adjective) -- extremely angry

Example: The teacher was incensed
when she discovered that some of
her students had cheated on a test.

incensed coach

irascible (adjective) -- hot tempered and easily angered

Example: The students knew that their gym teacher was irascible and so they
behaved well around him, in order
to avoid getting punished.

irascible bull

livid (adjective) -- very, very angry

Example: Howard's parents were livid
when they found out he failed History.

livid mailman

miscreant (noun) -- someone who behaves criminally or very badly

Example: When the bank robber was
finally caught, the police found out that he
had been a miscreant most of his life.

miscreant in jail

mourn (verb) -- to feel sad about the loss of something or someone

Example: Some people mourn for
a pet that dies for years.

mourning bear

ominous (adjective) -- threatening; giving the feeling that something unpleasant is going to happen

Example: It is always an ominous
sign for students when their teachers
tell them to clear their desks!

ominous cloud

placate (verb) -- to soothe, often someone who is upset

Example: Jill's father forget their
anniversary, so in order to
placate her mother, he bought
a big diamond ring.

placated baby

regurgitate (verb) -- to throw back out

Example: Lots of teachers give their
students vocabulary words on Monday,
expecting them to regurgitate
the words for a quiz on Friday.

regurgitating toilet

scrupulous (adjective) -- honest; detailed; conscientious

Example: Vincent was known for being
scrupulous with his homework,
always doing it neatly and thoroughly.

scrupulous counting

unassailable (adjective) -- not open to attack or question

Example: The teacher's arguments for
why kids should do homework were
unassailable and made a lot of sense.

unassailable castle

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