Vocab.

1) Paradox: n. a statement that leads to a conclusion that contradicts itself. My dad used to say that Skagway is a paradox: the perfect place to raise children but a horrible place to grow up.
2) Sovereign: n. a supreme ruler. Since the King died, England has a sovereign, so there is nobody for her to talk to about the state of the country.
3) Commission: n. the authority to perform a task. It was unfortunate that I had to babysit, but I was the only one with the commission to do so.
4) Resolution: n. a firm decision. I didn't make a New Year's resolution this year, because I'm too busy to keep any of them.
5) Malefaction: n. a crime or some other wrong. She wanted to believe her son was innocent, but the obvious malefaction made it impossible.
6) Firmament: n. the heavens or the sky. As an anniversary present, her husband had a star named after her and when she looked up at night, she could see her own star in the firmament.

7) Tedious: adj. too long, slow, monotonous, and/or dull. Doing vocabulary words every week, especially when i already know most of the words, is tedious and boring.

8) Pestilent: adj. destructive to life. The weeds were pestilent and stubborn, and it took me almost an hour to clean my small garden.
9) Pious: adj. devoutly religious. Being the pious man that he was, he went to pray every day before he went to the casino.
10) Promontory: n. a point of high land that juts out into a large body of water. He jumped off the promontory and into the lake, not realizing how shallow the water below really was.