8th Grade Spelling Words With Definition
Grade 8: With Definition - 1This is 8th Grade spelling vocabulary (1) and definitions. Some words has example sentences selected from classic literature. To help study and review these words, the vocabulary integrates training tools. E.g., online spelling practice and word meaning single choice quiz are available for each word in Grade 8.
See all words of 8th Grade.
See all words of 8th Grade.
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| Grade 8: With Definition - 1 |
| abet |     |
v. aid, usually in doing something wrong; encourage
Now I must caution you that if you abet him once, you abet him for good and all; if you step in between him and me, now, you must step in, Miss Trotwood, for ever.
David Copperfield - Chapter 14
By Charles Dickens Context
And while she aided and abetted him all she could, away in the remotest corner of her ancient healthy womanhood she despised him with a savage contempt that knew no bounds.
Lady Chatterley's Lover - Chapter 19
By D H Lawrence Context
| abrasion | |
n. the process of scraping or wearing away; scratch; friction
As long as the criminal remains upon two legs so long must there be some indentation, some abrasion, some trifling displacement which can be detected by the scientific searcher.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Chapter 6
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
| abrasive | |
a. rubbing away; tending to grind down
| accede | |
v. agree; give consent, often at insistence of another; concede
I rather wished, than believed him to be sincere; but, at any rate, was perfectly ready to accede to his proposal.
Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 35
By Jane Austen Context
I acceded to this the more readily, because I now reproached myself with having treated her former letter rather lightly.
David Copperfield - Chapter 49
By Charles Dickens Context
Brownlow, unwilling to deprive the elder son of the opportunity of retrieving his former vices and pursuing an honest career, proposed this mode of distribution, to which his young charge joyfully acceded.
Oliver Twist - Chapter 53
By Charles Dickens Context
| accent | |
n. the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note; distinctive manner of oral expression
Finally a spade struck upon the coffin with a dull woody accent, and within another minute or two the men had hoisted it out on the ground.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Chapter 9
By Mark Twain Context
She spoke in the soft slurring voice of the coastal Georgian, liquid of vowels, kind to consonants and with the barest trace of French accent.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 3
By Margaret Mitche Context
The kind tone of this answer, the sweet voice, the gentle manner, the absence of any accent of haughtiness or displeasure, took the girl completely by surprise, and she burst into tears.
Oliver Twist - Chapter 40
By Charles Dickens Context
| accomplice | |
n. partner in crime; associate in wrongdoing
I have carried it about with me, and have followed him and his accomplice over two continents until I caught them.
A Study In Scarlet - Chapter 13
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
Then he implored me to keep his secret for three days longer, so as to give his wretched accomplice a chance of saving his guilty life.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Chapter 5
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
| accord | |
n. settlement or compromise of conflicting opinions; written agreement between two states
With one accord, though nothing of the kind had been planned beforehand, they flung themselves upon their tormentors.
Animal Farm - Chapter 2
By George Orwell Context
He shall come back of his own accord to clear himself, and put all those that have injured his good character, and he not here for its defence, to shame.
Hard Times - Chapter 23
By Charles Dickens Context
I imagined at the time that he had some strong reason for not alluding to it, but he soon dispelled the idea by coming round to the subject of his own accord.
A Study In Scarlet - Chapter 2
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
| advocate | |
v. speak, plead, or argue in favour of; plead for; push for something
I am simply applying to ordinary life a few of those precepts of observation and deduction which I advocated in that article.
A Study In Scarlet - Chapter 4
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
A man who advocates aesthetic effort and deprecates social effort is only likely to be understood by a class to which social effort has become a stale matter.
Return of the Native - Chapter 0
By Thomas Hardy Context
When the animals had assembled in the big barn, Snowball stood up and, though occasionally interrupted by bleating from the sheep, set forth his reasons for advocating the building of the windmill.
Animal Farm - Chapter 5
By George Orwell Context
| affable | |
a. easily approachable; warmly friendly
| affirm | |
v. offer someone emotional support or encouragement; confirm
He got through, and the doctor affirmed it was in a great measure owing to me, and praised me for my care.
Wuthering Heights - Chapter 4
By Emily Bronte Context
Brownlow: some people affirm that Harry Maylie had been observed to set it, originally, in a dark room adjoining; but the best authorities consider this downright scandal: he being young and a clergyman.
Oliver Twist - Chapter 51
By Charles Dickens Context
| afoot | |
a. currently in progress; traveling by foot
I had always proposed to myself to get him well down the river in the boat; certainly well beyond Gravesend, which was a critical place for search or inquiry if suspicion were afoot.
Great Expectations - Chapter 52
By Charles Dickens Context
| aghast | |
a. struck by shock, terror, or amazement
As to his cousin, she wept with all her might, aghast at the mischief she had done: though she said nothing.
Wuthering Heights - Chapter 23
By Emily Bronte Context
| alienate | |
v. cause to become unfriendly or hostile; transfer property or ownership; isolate or dissociate emotionally
Such opportunities as I have been enabled to alienate from my domestic duties, I have devoted to corresponding at some length with my family.
David Copperfield - Chapter 54
By Charles Dickens Context
It is, in short, impossible for us to conjecture the causes or circumstances which may have alienated them, without actual blame on either side.
Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 17
By Jane Austen Context
She had probably alienated love by the helplessness and fretfulness of a fearful temper, or been unreasonable in wanting a larger share than any one among so many could deserve.
Mansfield Park - Chapter 37
By Jane Austen Context
| allegiance | |
n. loyalty to a nation, sovereign, or cause; fidelity to any person or thing; devotion
Not that India ever reproached him or even indicated by look or gesture that she was aware of his abruptly changed allegiance.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 1
By Margaret Mitche Context
| alliteration | |
n. repetition of beginning sound in poetry
| allot | |
v. parcel out in parts or portions; distribute to each individual concerned; assign as a share or lot
That morning had shown the figure 2 upon the wall of his house, and the next day would be the last of the allotted time.
A Study In Scarlet - Chapter 11
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
Like Balaam and other unwilling prophets, the agents seem moved by an inner compulsion to say and do their allotted parts whether they will or no.
Return of the Native - Chapter 0
By Thomas Hardy Context
One was a taller and stouter man than the other, and appeared as a matter of course, according to the mysterious ways of the world, both convict and free, to have had allotted to him the smaller suit of clothes.
Great Expectations - Chapter 28
By Charles Dickens Context
| aloof | |
a. apart; remote in manner; distant physically or emotionally; reserved and remote
If she did resent it, she never gave any sign of it, treating Scarlett with the same slightly aloof, kindly courtesy she had always shown her.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 6
By Margaret Mitche Context
He was such an unnatural colour to look at that the men of roundabouts and waxwork shows seemed gentlemen beside him; but he considered them low company, and remained aloof.
Return of the Native - Chapter 0
By Thomas Hardy Context
They stood a little aloof while he was talking to their niece, who, astonished and confused, scarcely dared lift her eyes to his face, and knew not what answer she returned to his civil inquiries after her family.
Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 43
By Jane Austen Context
| ambiguity | |
n. state of being ambiguous; doubtfulness or uncertainty
She seldom schemed, but when she did scheme, her plans showed rather the comprehensive strategy of a general than the small arts called womanish, though she could utter oracles of Delphian ambiguity when she did not choose to be direct.
Return of the Native - Chapter 0
By Thomas Hardy Context
| amenable | |
a. responsive to advice or suggestion; responsible to higher authority; willing to comply with; agreeable
| amid | |
ad. in the middle of; among; surrounded by
A cigarette glowed amid the tangle of white hair, and the air of the room was fetid with stale tobacco smoke.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Chapter 10
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
He was going to win, to win: not as he had won with his stories, mere publicity, amid a whole sapping of energy and malice.
Lady Chatterley's Lover - Chapter 9
By D H Lawrence Context
And everywhere amid the greenery, on flags and bunting, blazed the bright stars of the Confederacy on their background of red and blue.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 9
By Margaret Mitche Context
| amiss | |
a. out of proper order; not in perfect shape; faulty
The candle in his hand shone upon his eager, stooping face, and told me at a glance that something was amiss.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Chapter 12
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
As soon as they reached the car and horse Venn guessed that something new was amiss, and hastened to follow in the course of the moving light.
Return of the Native - Chapter 0
By Thomas Hardy Context
I seek to repair what is amiss, if I possibly can; and I hope you will assist me in a good spirit, Bounderby, for I have been very much distressed.
Hard Times - Chapter 23
By Charles Dickens Context
| ample | |
a. more than enough in size or scope or capacity; fairly large
I know you will do him such ample justice, that I am growing every moment more unconcerned and indifferent.
Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 40
By Jane Austen Context
His boast that he had made me a gentleman, and that he had come to see me support the character on his ample resources, was made for me quite as much as for himself.
Great Expectations - Chapter 41
By Charles Dickens Context
I have kept my observations to myself, but I have made them; and I have got ample proofs against him now, besides his running away, and besides his own confession, which I was just in time to overhear.
Hard Times - Chapter 26
By Charles Dickens Context
| anarchy | |
n. absence of governing body; state of disorder; political disorder and confusion
| antagonize | |
v. provoke the hostility of; act in opposition to
| antecedent | |
n. someone from whom you are descended , but usually more remote than a grandparent; anything that precedes something similar in time
Mothers found strange men calling on their daughters, men who came without letters of introduction and whose antecedents were unknown.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 12
By Margaret Mitche Context
The expression of the place, the tone of the hour, were precisely those of many such occasions in days gone by; and these antecedent similarities fostered the illusion that she, who was there no longer, would come out to welcome him.
Return of the Native - Chapter 0
By Thomas Hardy Context
| antidote | |
n. medicine to counteract a poison or disease; agent that relieves or counteracts
| aperture | |
n. opening; diameter of such an opening; hole
In an instant Beppo, a skilful workman, made a small hole in the wet plaster, dropped in the pearl, and with a few touches covered over the aperture once more.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Chapter 8
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
The ejaculation had been drawn from my companion by the fact that our door had been suddenly dashed open, and that a huge man had framed himself in the aperture.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Chapter 8
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
He was preparing to ascend a steep staircase, or rather ladder, leading to another floor of warehouses above: when a bright flash of lightning streamed down the aperture, and a peal of thunder followed, which shook the crazy building to its centre.
Oliver Twist - Chapter 38
By Charles Dickens Context
| apprehend | |
v. take into custody; arrest a criminal; grasp mentally; perceive
Donavan says there is nothing materially to be apprehended; her constitution is a good one, and her resolution equal to any thing.
Sense and Sensibility - Chapter 37
By Jane Austen Context
When she was dead, I apprehend he first told his daughter what he had done, and then the son became a part of the family, residing in the house you are acquainted with.
Great Expectations - Chapter 22
By Charles Dickens Context
But as we drew nearer to the end of our journey, he had more to do and less time for gallantry; and when we got on Yarmouth pavement, we were all too much shaken and jolted, I apprehend, to have any leisure for anything else.
David Copperfield - Chapter 10
By Charles Dickens Context
| apprehension | |
n. fearful or uneasy anticipation of the future; act of seizing or capturing; understanding
As I walked on to the hotel, I felt that a dread, much exceeding the mere apprehension of a painful or disagreeable recognition, made me tremble.
Great Expectations - Chapter 28
By Charles Dickens Context
As slumber gradually stole upon me, I heard the wind howling out at sea and coming on across the flat so fiercely, that I had a lazy apprehension of the great deep rising in the night.
David Copperfield - Chapter 3
By Charles Dickens Context
| arbitrary | |
a. randomly chosen; determined by chance or impulse, and not by reason or principle
And should this happen, she had no legal rights, no legal redress, except those same drumhead courts of which Tony had spoken so bitterly, those military courts with their arbitrary powers.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 37
By Margaret Mitche Context
| articulate | |
a. expressing oneself easily in clear and effective language
The mere vehemence of her words can convey, I am sensible, but a weak impression of the passion by which she was possessed, and which made itself articulate in her whole figure, though her voice, instead of being raised, was lower than usual.
David Copperfield - Chapter 32
By Charles Dickens Context
| ascertain | |
v. find out for certain; discover with certainty; make sure of
Every effort should be made to find the secretary, Stangerson, and to ascertain some particulars of the habits of the deceased.
A Study In Scarlet - Chapter 6
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
Looking cautiously round, to ascertain that they were not overheard, the two hags cowered nearer to the fire, and chuckled heartily.
Oliver Twist - Chapter 24
By Charles Dickens Context
Too indifferent at first, even to look round and ascertain who supported me, I was lying looking at the ladder, when there came between me and it a face.
Great Expectations - Chapter 53
By Charles Dickens Context
| aspiration | |
n. a hope or ambition of achieving something; the action or process of drawing breath
In pursuance of my intention of referring to my own fictions only when their course should incidentally connect itself with the progress of my story, I do not enter on the aspirations, the delights, anxieties, and triumphs of my art.
David Copperfield - Chapter 61
By Charles Dickens Context
| assail | |
v. assault; attack with or as if with violent blows
The sound was curiously flawed by the wind; and I was listening, and thinking how the wind assailed and tore it, when I heard a footstep on the stair.
Great Expectations - Chapter 39
By Charles Dickens Context
Hardly had he finished the first lines when two other voices, drunken voices, assailed him, enraged foolish voices that stumbled over words and blurred them together.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 45
By Margaret Mitche Context
| assay | |
v. analyze; evaluate; examine by trial or experiment; put to test
| assent | |
v. express agreement to what is alleged or proposed; accept
Venn assented by rising to his feet, and with Charley he followed Clym to the foot of the staircase, where he took off his boots; Charley did the same.
Return of the Native - Chapter 0
By Thomas Hardy Context
She received no other answer, than an artificial, assenting smile, followed by a contemptuous glance, as he turned away, which Anne perfectly knew the meaning of.
Persuasion - Chapter 10
By Jane Austen Context
She said little, assented only here and there, and betrayed no inclination either of appropriating any part of the compliment to herself, or of strengthening his views in favour of Northamptonshire.
Mansfield Park - Chapter 25
By Jane Austen Context
| asset | |
n. properties; advantage; useful or valuable quality
| assimilate | |
v. incorporate and absorb into mind; make similar; cause to resemble
Her mouth was dry as she assimilated this knowledge and she swallowed and looked into his eyes, trying to find some clue.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 47
By Margaret Mitche Context
| astounding | |
a. surprisingly impressive or notable; shocking
Louis, moused around, shook his head, looked wise, and made that sort of astounding success which members of that craft usually achieve.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Chapter 24
By Mark Twain Context
| atheist | |
n. nonbeliever; one who denies the existence of god
| attribute | |
n. essential quality; reputation; honor
It was one of the most exasperating attributes of Bounderby, that he not only sang his own praises but stimulated other men to sing them.
Hard Times - Chapter 5
By Charles Dickens Context
I have said that they were truly happy; and without strong affection and humanity of heart, and gratitude to that Being whose code is Mercy, and whose great attribute is Benevolence to all things that breathe, happiness can never be attained.
Oliver Twist - Chapter 53
By Charles Dickens Context
| augment | |
v. make greater, as in size, extent, or quantity
Norris, whose attachment seemed to augment with the demerits of her niece, would have had her received at home and countenanced by them all.
Mansfield Park - Chapter 48
By Jane Austen Context
She was confident of having performed her duty, and to fret over unavoidable evils, or augment them by anxiety, was no part of her disposition.
Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 41
By Jane Austen Context
That was not particularly well; for he remained in the greatest perplexity, and, as the hours went on, and no kind of explanation offered itself, his perplexity augmented at compound interest.
Hard Times - Chapter 22
By Charles Dickens Context
| avail | |
v. turn to advantage of; be of service to; profit; promote
I availed myself of your obliging hints to correct my timidity, and it is unnecessary to add that they were perfectly accurate.
Hard Times - Chapter 20
By Charles Dickens Context
Holmes has already been taken into your confidence, it would indeed be absurd that we should not avail ourselves of his services.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Chapter 5
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
He did not omit to avail himself of the opportunity, cautiously and briefly; too cautiously to betray his presence by the slightest noise.
Wuthering Heights - Chapter 16
By Emily Bronte Context
| avert | |
v. prevent; turn or cause to turn off or away
For his life he could not avert that excess of emotion: mingled anguish and humiliation overcame him completely.
Wuthering Heights - Chapter 11
By Emily Bronte Context
When, under cover of the night, I flew to Miss Mills, whom I saw by stealth in a back kitchen where there was a mangle, and implored Miss Mills to interpose between us and avert insanity.
David Copperfield - Chapter 33
By Charles Dickens Context
It was a delicate part which I had to play then, for I saw that a prosecution must be avoided to avert scandal, and I knew that so astute a villain would see that our hands were tied in the matter.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Chapter 11
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
| avid | |
a. greedy; eager for; marked by keen interest and enthusiasm
They had an avid curiosity about the South and Southern women, and Scarlett gave them their first opportunity to satisfy it.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 38
By Margaret Mitche Context
| avocation | |
n. activity taken up in addition to one's regular work or profession, usually for enjoyment
The majority of the searchers had given up the quest and gone back to their daily avocations, saying that it was plain the children could never be found.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Chapter 32
By Mark Twain Context
| azure | |
a. sky blue; light purplish blue
| bailiwick | |
n. the area over which a bailiff has jurisdiction; a branch of knowledge
MICAWBER, and the defendant in that cause is the prey of the sheriff having legal jurisdiction in this bailiwick.
David Copperfield - Chapter 54
By Charles Dickens Context
| balmy | |
a. mild and pleasant; extremely foolish
Now that the sun was setting in a welter of crimson behind the hills across the Flint River, the warmth of the April day was ebbing into a faint but balmy chill.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 1
By Margaret Mitche Context
| barricade | |
n. hastily put together defensive barrier; obstacle
We passed up the stair, unlocked the door, followed on down a passage, and found ourselves in front of the barricade which Miss Hunter had described.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Chapter 12
By Arthur Conan Doyle Context
| batter | |
v. beat with successive blows; beat repeatedly and with violence
Gerald in the old rocker, the girls on the sagging cushions of the sofa that was too battered and worn for the front of the house.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 4
By Margaret Mitche Context
For I never was less disposed to forgive him the way he used to batter Traddles, than when I saw Traddles so ready to forgive him himself.
David Copperfield - Chapter 61
By Charles Dickens Context
She came bounding down again in a great hurry, opened a battered and mangy old hair trunk, found it empty, and looked round with her hands clasped and her face full of terror.
Hard Times - Chapter 5
By Charles Dickens Context
| becalm | |
v. keep from motion, or stop progress of; make calm or still
| beget | |
v. produce; give rise to
| begrudge | |
v. resent; give or expend with reluctance; be envious of
He knew it would not change him from an ownerless dog, whom everybody begrudges its golden collar, into a comfortable society dog.
Lady Chatterley's Lover - Chapter 3
By D H Lawrence Context
They are enshrined in the hearts of all loyal Southerners, and no one begrudges them the scant monetary returns they make for their risks.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 13
By Margaret Mitche Context
| belittle | |
v. disparage or depreciate; put down
You seldom pass by the opportunity to slip in some belittling remark about her, so naturally it seems strange to me that you should elect to do the unselfish thing and stay here with her during this shelling.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 19
By Margaret Mitche Context
| benign | |
a. kindly; favorable; not malignant
Things are going to get so bad under the benign rule of our good friend Rufus Bullock that Georgia is going to vomit him up.
Gone With The Wind - Chapter 49
By Margaret Mitche Context
I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.
Wuthering Heights - Chapter 34
By Emily Bronte Context
