Chapter 4 Word List
Here is an alphabetical list of the most important words you learned in this chapter.
AMENABLE (uh MEE nuh bul or uh MEH nuh bul) adj obedient; willing to give in to the wishes
of another; agreeable
- I suggested that Brad pay for my lunch as well as for his own; to my surprise, he was
amenable. - The plumber was amenable to my paying my bill with jellybeans, which was lucky,
because I had more jellybeans than money.
AMIABLE (AY mee uh bul) adj friendly; agreeable
- The drama critic was so amiable in person that even the subjects of negative reviews
found it impossible not to like her.
Amicable is a similar and related word. Two not very amiable people might nonetheless make
an amicable agreement. Amicable means politely friendly, or not hostile. Two countries might
trade amicably with each other even while technically remaining enemies.
- Julio and Clarissa had a surprisingly amicable divorce and remained good friends even
after paying their lawyers’ fees.
AMOROUS (AM ur us) adj feeling loving, especially in a romantic sense; in love; relating to
love
- The amorous couple made quite a scene in the movie theater, kissing for the duration of
the movie.
CREDULOUS (KREJ uh lus) adj eager to believe; gullible
- Judy was so credulous that she simply nodded happily when Kirven told her he could
teach her how to fly. Judy’s credulity (kri DYOOL uh tee) was limitless.
Credulous should not be confused with credible. To be credible is to be believable. Almost
anything, however incredible, is credible to a credulous person.
- Larry’s implausible story of heroism was not credible. Still, credulous old Louis believed
it.
A story that cannot be believed is incredible. If you don’t believe that story someone just told
you, you are incredulous.
If something is credible, it may gain credence (KREED uns), which means belief or intellectual
acceptance:
- No one could prove Frank’s theory, but his standing at the university helped it gain
credence.
A similar word is creditable, which means worthy of credit or praise: