Vocabulary Grade 9 — Set 3: Meanings flashcards
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The last 100 of the 300 Grade 9 words, from steadfast and decipher to dwindle and synchronize: pronunciation, a plain definition and three example sentences, the most common use first.
Learn deck · part of Vocabulary Level 4 · Grade 9 · written against: Our own grade placement (VOCABULARY-PLAN.md): word frequency (wordfreq, CC BY-SA 4.0) and editorial review; no publisher's grade or word list is reproduced. Updated 2026-10-10.
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steadfast (adj.) · STED-faststicking to your beliefs and standing by those you support, refusing to change or give upCharacter & Behavior
Through every losing season, the town's fans remained steadfast.
Grandma was a steadfast friend to her neighbors for forty years.
Mr. Lopez was steadfast in his belief that every student could improve.
Watch out: fast here means firmly fixed, as in hold fast, not quick. -
tranquil (adj.) · TRANG-kwuhluntroubled and hushed, with a sense of peaceFeelings & Attitudes
We paddled across the tranquil lake at sunrise.
The garden felt tranquil after the noise of the city.
Deep breathing helps Dana stay tranquil before big games. -
decipher (v.) · dee-SIGH-furto make out writing that is hard to read or to crack a code, working out what it saysThinking & Knowing
I could barely decipher the doctor's messy handwriting.
Scholars used the Rosetta Stone to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Detectives worked for weeks to decipher the coded letter.
Root: de- + cipher, a code; cipher comes from Arabic ṣifr, empty or zero. -
coax (v.) · KOHKSto gently nudge someone into doing something; to get something by patient effortSpeaking & Arguing
We coaxed the scared kitten out from under the porch.
The clown finally coaxed a smile from the crying toddler.
Dad coaxed the old lawn mower back to life. -
grapple (v.) · GRAP-uhlto struggle to deal with a hard problem; to wrestle with someone while holding onActions & Effort
Our town is grappling with a shortage of bus drivers.
Philosophers have grappled for centuries with the question of free will.
The two wrestlers grappled on the mat until the whistle blew. -
upheaval (n.) · uhp-HEE-vuhla sudden, major shift that brings disorder or leaves people anxious; a pushing up of land by forces undergroundChange & Growth
When the coach and captain both quit, the club was thrown into upheaval.
The French Revolution brought years of political upheaval.
Ancient upheavals of the earth's crust pushed these rocks into mountains. -
deluge (n., v.) · DEL-yooja burst of pounding rain, or a flood; a huge rush of things all at once; to flood or overwhelmSize & Amount
After the afternoon deluge, the baseball field was one big muddy puddle.
A deluge of emails hit the coach's inbox when practice moved to Saturday.
After the video spread, the shelter was deluged with adoption requests.
Root: Latin diluvium, from diluere, to wash away. -
justifiable (adj.) · JUHS-tuh-figh-uh-buhlhaving a good reason, so that it can be defended as right or fairQuality & Judgment
Their anger at the broken promise was completely justifiable.
Leo felt justifiable pride in the bookshelf he built.
Is it ever justifiable to break a rule to help a friend? -
oppress (v.) · uh-PRESto take away people's rights and freedom through cruel, unfair treatment; to fill someone with worry or gloomSociety & Power
For centuries, many rulers oppressed the poor with heavy taxes.
Apartheid laws oppressed Black South Africans for decades.
Weeks of gray, rainy weather began to oppress the whole town.
Root: Latin opprimere, from ob-, against, + premere, to press. -
instantaneous (adj.) · in-stuhn-TAY-nee-uhstaking no time at all to happen; measured at one exact moment, in scienceNature & Time
The crowd's reaction to the goal was instantaneous.
The robot lets out an instantaneous beep whenever you press the button.
In physics, instantaneous speed is your speed at one exact moment.
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Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.
Checked against:
- Senses, parts of speech and sense order checked against Merriam-Webster.com, the American Heritage Dictionary and the frequency-ordered Oxford, Longman and Cambridge learner's dictionaries; all definitions, notes and example sentences are original.
- Grade placement is our own, from wordfreq frequency data (CC BY-SA 4.0) and editorial review; no publisher's grade or word list is reproduced.
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