Turtles All the Way Down — Vocabulary
John Green
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Exemplary sample	Uses	ACT/SAT
	25	top 2000
bacteriamicroorganisms (living creatures so small it takes a microscope to see them) The infection is caused by a bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics.more Show sample from book ...thinking about how cows literally could not survive if it weren't for the bacteria in their guts, and how that sort of means that cows do not exist as independent life-forms,p.42.624 more living creatures so small it takes a microscope to see them Show general definition microorganisms (living creatures so small it takes a microscope to see them) that can both cause disease and be beneficial. (Bacteria are different and larger than viruses.) Show editor's word notes A single bacteria is called a bacterium and consists of a single cell that reproduces by splitting. (This is unlike a virus that uses cells in the body to reproduce.) Bacteria are found virtually everywhere. For example, there are typically 40 million bacterial cells in a gram of soil and a million bacterial cells in a milliliter of fresh water. Many bacteria reside on our skin and in our bodies. For example, bacteria in the stomach help animals digest food.
	18
microbemicrobe → microbes:living organisms such as a bacterium, or virus that are so small, they can be seen only with a microscope There are trillions of beneficial microbes in the human body.more Show sample from book By cell count, humans are approximately 50 percent microbial, meaning that about half of the cells that make you up are not yours at all.p.3.617 more microbe → microbial:relating to living organisms so small a microscope is needed to view them Show general definition a living organism such as a bacterium, or virus that is so small, it can be seen only with a microscope
	1	top 2000
positivecertain I'm positive I've seen her before.more Show sample from book Our sources indicate that while Pickett has not been positively identified, authorities believe the body found in an offshoot of the Pogue's Run tunnel is indeed that of billionaire construction magnate Russell Davis Pickett, Sr.p.279.11 more positive → positively:with certainty Show general definition for positive (as in: I'm absolutely positive!) certain (having no doubt; or used for emphasis)
	1	top 100
positive#2positive → positively:in a good or beneficial manner Lower interest rates positively affected home sales.†more Show sample from book A change in personal circumstances, even a positive one, can trigger anxiety.p.163.81 more good or beneficial Show general definition for positive (as in: had a positive effect) good or beneficial
	8
meteormeteor → meteors:a streak of light in the night sky that results from a space rock burning in the earth's atmosphere Most meteors come from rocks that are about the size of a pebble.more Show sample from book She noted, more than once, that the meteor shower was happening, beyond the overcast sky, even if we could not see it.p.189.17 more streaks of light in the night sky that result from a space rocks burning in the earth's atmosphere Show general definition a streak of light in the sky caused by a small space rock (a meteoroid) burning up in Earth’s atmosphere
	3	top 100
conventionconvention → conventional:normal It was once conventional wisdom that the earth is flat.more Show sample from book "By convention hot, by convention cold, by convention color, but in reality atoms and void." -DEMOCRITUSp.58.4 accepted way (of viewing) Show general definition for convention (as in: conventional behavior) something regarded as normal or typical
	2	top 10
relevantimportant (related in a meaningful way) Shannon tells an interesting story, but it's not relevant to the decision we have to make.more Show sample from book Our info is definitely relevant, but it's not like they'll find Pickett just with the night-vision picture, so we might have to split the reward with other people.p.78.31 more relating in a meaningful way to the issue in question Show general definition relating in a meaningful way to the issue in question
	5	top 1000
moleculechemical substance They want to genetically engineer bacteria or yeast to produce the molecule required to replace gasoline.more Show sample from book But despite doing everything slowly and having not changed much in two hundred million years, tuatara have a faster rate of molecular mutation than any other known animal.†p.177.44 more molecule → molecular:relating to the smallest amount of a chemical substance that can exist by itself Show general definition the smallest amount of a chemical substance that can exist by itself -- usually consisting of 2 or more atoms
	3	top 200
subtleunderstated (so as not to draw attention to itself) Her warning was subtle, but unmistakable.more Show sample from book I pulled away as subtly as I could manage.p.180.12 more subtle → subtly:in a manner that does not draw attention Show general definition for subtle (as in: a subtle shade of blue) understated so as not to draw excess attention
	3	top 500
perpetualcontinuing forever A perpetual flame burns beside the grave of John F. Kennedy.more Show sample from book I just lay there, almost catatonic, as my mother hovered, perpetually near, breaking the silence every few minutes with a question-phrased-as-a-statement.†p.236.42 more perpetual → perpetually:continuing forever without change; OR occurring so frequently it seems constant Show general definition continuing forever without change; or occurring so frequently it seems constant
	2	top 100
contextcontext → out of context:in a misleading manner (because the quote left out additional words that changed the meaning of what was quoted) She said she was quoted out of context and that anyone who read her full speech would know it.more Show context notes When someone is quoted "out of context" it means that selected words were quoted that misrepresent the meaning of all their words. For example, if you said "I admire their effort, but they are dead wrong if they think this will work," and someone implied that you supported their plan by quoting you as only saying, "I admire their effort," they would be quoting you out of context. Show sample from book Mammal brains receive a constant stream of interoceptive input from the GI tract, which combines with other interoceptive information from within the body and contextual information from the environment before sending an integrated response to target cells within the GI tract through what is commonly called the 'gut-brain informational axis' but might be better described as the 'gut-brain informational cycle.p.209.71 more context → contextual:situational Show general definition the setting or situation in which something occurs
	2	top 2000
doggedcontinuing effort to achieve something despite difficulties She worked with dogged determination.more Show sample from book My dogged obsessiveness leads me to ignore all manner of threats, and the risk to the fortune Daisy and I have stumbled into.p.232.21 more persistent (continuing despite difficulties) Show general definition for dogged (as in: dogged determination) continuing effort to achieve something despite difficulties (persistent effort)
	2	top 200
abstractof a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance We all agree that we want what's "best for the country", but that is an abstract concept, and we cannot agree on which specific laws should be passed.more Show sample from book The White River is beautiful in the abstract—blue herons and geese and deer and all that stuff—but the actual water itself smells like human sewage.p.19.42 more Show general definition for abstract (as in: abstract thought) of a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance
	1	top 200
abstract#2not imitating objects of nature She is an abstract painter.more Show sample from book The rest of the art was cool, too—big abstract paintings of hard-edged geometric shapes, an assemblage of old wooden chairs precariously stacked to the ceiling, a huge photograph of a kid jumping on a trampoline alone in a vast harvested cornfield—but Mychal's was my favorite, and not just because I knew him.p.261.52 more Show general definition for abstract (as in: abstract art) not imitating external reality or the objects of nature
	1	top 2000
descenddescend → descended:came from (had as an ancestor) She descended from an old Italian noble family.more Show sample from book Descended from the dinosaurs.p.269.32 more descend → descended:evolved from Show general definition for descend (as in: descend from royalty) figuratively, to have come down a path from the past; i.e., to originate or come from -- such as in reference to ancestors or evolutionary origins
	2
descend#2descend → descended:move downward (figuratively) to a worse condition Partisan politics has descended to new lows.more Show sample from book Felt myself slipping, but even that's a metaphor. Descending, but that is, too. Can't describe the feeling itself except to say that I'm not me.p.211.72 more descend → descending:moving to a worse situation Show general definition for descend (as in: descend into poverty) figuratively, to move downward to a worse or less prestigious situation
	3
exonerateexonerate → exonerated:freed (of blame) The jury exonerated her of all charges.more Show sample from book It really was an amazing artwork—Prisoner 101 looked as real as anyone, but he was made from pieces of the one hundred mugshots Mychal had found of men convicted of murder and then exonerated.p.261.52 more exonerate → exonerated:found innocent Show general definition to free someone from blame or more rarely: to free someone from an obligation
	2	top 1000
cognitivemental Sleep deprivation can seriously impair cognitive function.more Show sample from book Since you've had a reasonable amount of cognitive behavioral therapy, you tell yourself, I am not my thoughts, even though deep down you're not sure what exactly that makes you.†p.46.11 more relating to mental processes like thinking, learning, remembering, and understan… Show general definition relating to mental processes like thinking, learning, remembering, and understanding
	2
negaterender meaningless Her apology is welcome, but it does not negate her inexperience.more Show sample from book I apologize for the double negative, but it's a real double negative of a situation, a bind from which negating the negation is truly the only escape.†p.6.31 more negate → negating:to contradict, offset, or render meaningless Show general definition to contradict, offset, or render meaningless
	1	top 500
refuterefute → refuted:argued against The speaker refuted his opponent's arguments.more Show sample from book Not a catalog of my consciousness, but a refutation of it.p.59.2 refute → refutation:argument against Show general definition to disprove or argue against