Monday, January 10, 2011

Wednesday 12 January vocabulary 7

In class you are working on vocabulary 7. This is to be independent work. The vocabulary is due this Friday 14 January. Below is a copy, if you have misplaced yours or are absent.


Vocabulary 7 definitions

1. allay (verb)- to calm or pacify, set to rest, to lessen or relieve; alleviate; to moderate

2. bestial (adj)- beastlike; brutal, subhuman in intelligence and sensibility; depraved; loathsome

3. convivial (adj)- festive, sociable, having fun together, genial; fun-loving; jovial; merry

4. coterie (noun)- a circle of acquaintances, a close-knit, often exclusive group of people with a common interest.

5. counterpart (noun)- a person or thing closely resembling or corresponding to another, a complement; a match.

6. demur (verb) – to object or take exception to; to protest; (noun) an objection

7. effrontery (noun)- shameless boldness, impudence; gall; chutzpah; nerve, impertinence, cheek

8. embellish (verb)- to decorate, adorn, touch up, to improve by adding details, to ornament, garnish

9. ephemeral (adj)- lasting only a short time, short-lived; fleeting, transient, evanescent, transitory

10. felicitous (adj) – appropriate, apt, well chosen, marked by well-being or good fortune

11. furtive (adj)- done slyly or stealthily, sneaky, secret, shifty, stolen, clandestine, covert, surreptitious

12. garish (adj) – glaring, tastelessly showy or over decorated in a vulgar or offensive way.

13. illusory (adj) – misleading, deceptive, lacking in or not based on reality, specious, spurious, fanciful

14. indigent (adj) – needy, impoverished; penniless, poverty-stricken, destitute

15. inordinate (adj)- far too great, exceeding reasonable limits, excessive

16. jettison (verb) – to cast overboard, get rid of as unnecessary or burdensome

17. misanthrope (noun) a person or hates, distrusts or despises mankind

18. pertinacious (adj)- very persistent, holding firmly to a course of action or set of beliefs; stubborn, dogged, determined

19. picayune (adj)- of little value or importance, paltry, measly, concerned with trifling matters

20. raiment- (noun)- clothing, garments, apparel, attire.


Vocabulary 7 exercise 1 Use the correct form.

1. The defense attorney was as ______________________________ as a bull-dog in his cross-examination of the witness.
2. The number of homeless and ____________________________ people has increased since the economy has taken a downturn.
3. The millionaire _______________________________ left all her money to an animal shelter and not a single penny to a human being.
4. I have to admit I was frightened of my ________________________________ on the team because she held the high-jump record.
5. Police state tactics provide a(n) __________________________ sense of security in an unjust society.
6. The politician made a speech in order to ________________________________ his constituents’ fears.
7. The storefront was painted in ____________________________ colors so that it would attract the attention of passersby.
8. The rank and file will ______________________________ if they are not consulted regularly by the union leadership.
9. The captain ordered the crew to _______________________ the ballast so the ship could move more quickly through the water.
10. A supervisor who fusses about every _______________________ fault of the workers will lower morale and productivity.
11. In beating the prisoner, the guards were guilty of a truly ______________________ act.
12. The girl was caught taking a _______________________________ glance at the test paper of the student sitting next to her.
13. Robert Browning and his _______________________________ had ideas about poetry that seemed revolutionary in their day.
14. After having been suspended for disrespectful behavior, the student had the _____________________ to talk back to the teacher again.
15. In view of the high prices for home heating oil, the mild winter was a ____________________________ turn of events.
16. Thanksgiving dinner at Grandmother’s house is always a(n) _____________________________ family gathering.
17. Only the greatest of writers and artists achieve anything other than ________________________ popularity.
18. The best storytellers _________________________ their tales in ways that help readers visualize the setting.
19. The press showered the popular actor with ____________________________ praise for what seemed an ordinary performance.
20. When the chorus in the Greek tragedy hears that the king has died, they tear their ________________________ in anguish.

Vocabulary 7, exercise 2 Use the correct form!

1. A busy administrator in today’s high-pressure business world just doesn’t have time to deal with such ____________________________ concerns as making coffee.
2. Recent developments in that part of the world have intensified rather than _________________________________ our fears of renewed conflict.
3. He is entitled to reasonable compensation for the damage to his car, but the demands he has made are totally __________________________________.
4. The “Old 400” was a very small and exclusive __________________________ of prominent families that dominated East Coast society for decades.
5. When Charles V retired to a Spanish monastery, he exchanged the costly ________________________ of a king for the simple habit of a monk.
6. The crew of the freighter ____________________________ most of its cargo in a desperate effort to keep the sinking ship afloat.
7. A good deal of sad experience has taught me that my youthful hopes of getting something for noting are entirely ____________________________.
8. Who wouldn’t have had fun among such a __________________________ group of people?
9. In the Victorian era, designers ____________________________ women’s dresses with all sorts of elaborate frills and flounces.
10. Since we all agreed that the proposal seemed to offer the best solution to our problem, it was accepted without _________________________.
11. The disastrous stock market crash of 1929 left many a wealthy speculator as _______________________ as the proverbial church mouse.
12. The _________________________ manner in which he sidled into the room and tried to avoid being noticed actually drew attention to his presence.
13. Though I don’t consider myself much of a diplomat, I think I handled that delicate situation in a particularly ____________________________manner.
14. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again” seems to be the motto of that _________________________________ woman.
15. Jonathan Swift so came to loathe human folly, vice and hypocrisy that he died a virtual ____________________________.
16. At the Casablanca Conference in 1943, President Roosevelt and his military aides met with their British ____________________________ to map military strategy for the Western Allies.
17. The man’s features suddenly contorted in a ________________________________ mask, more reminiscent of a hobgoblin than a human being.
18. The _________________________ movie palaces of an earlier era have given way to smaller theaters, decorated in a simpler, more austere style.
19. Many a now-forgotten “movie-great” has discovered to his or her chagrin that fame may indeed be as _______________________________ as a passing shower.
20. He had the __________________________________ to come into my own home to tell me what I should do to help him.

Vocabulary 7 exercise 3
Synonyms

1. the dogged researcher _____________________________________

2. donned fashionable attire ____________________________________

3. an influential set of friends _____________________________________

4. willingly abandoned their prejudices _____________________________________

5. their apt meeting _____________________________________

6. had the gall to demand an apology ____________________________________

7. prone to fanciful get-rich-quick ______________________________________

8. will surely relieve his anxiety _______________________________________

9. her complement a the rival company ______________________________________

10. condemned the militia’s depraved behavior _____________________________________

11. protested when asked to leave _____________________________________

12. a well-known people-hater ______________________________________

13. ornamented with high-sounding phrases _______________________________________

14. ignore those inconsequential objections ______________________________________

15. the fleeting nature of power ______________________________________

Antonyms

16. their forthright attempt to withdraw ______________________________________

17. moderate increases in profits ______________________________________

18. the wealthy inhabitants of the big cities _____________________________________

19. a very grim lunch meeting ______________________________________

20. understated taste in home furnishings ______________________________________

Vocabulary 7, exercise 4

1. The Presidency is the “toughest job in the world” because it makes such (bestial / inordinate) demands on a person’s time, energy and ingenuity.
2. The famous sleuth pursued his investigation with all the (pertinacity / conviviality) of a lion stalking its dinner.
3. “You mean you had the (effrontery / demur) to ask for a raise when everyone knows you’ve been goofing off lately?” I asked in amazement.
4. An emotion so fickle and (ephemeral / pertinacious) does not deserve to be categorized as “love.”
5. The kind of (garish/ picayune) theatrical makeup used by circus clowns is not suitable for an elegant fashion model.
6. Nothing we could say seemed to (demur / allay) her grief over the loss of her dog.
7. The proofreader didn’t notice any significant flaws in the writing, but he did find a few (ephemeral / picayune) defects in the typesetting.
8. To anyone as fond of horses as I am, the stable and the tack room provide as (indigent / convivial) an atmosphere as one could wish for.
9. If installment buying is not carefully controlled, the benefits that can accrue for it may prove wholly (illusory / inordinate).
10. I am flattered that you want me to chair the meeting, but I must (demur / embellish) on the grounds of my youth and inexperience).
11. I can always come up with the crushing rejoinder, the dazzling witticism or the (furtive / felicitous) phrase – about an hour after I need it.
12. When the facts of a matter speak so plainly for themselves, we shouldn’t seek to (jettison / embellish) them.
13. Somehow, it depresses me to think that with the approach of winter this magnificent old tree will surrender all its leafy (effrontery / raiment).
14. She has neither the starry-eyed optimism of the idealist nor the mordant cynicism of the (coterie / misanthrope.)
15. Through the Federal government does much to help the (indigent / illusory), private charities play no small part in their welfare.
16. Often the antonym of a given English word is not so much its opposite as its (embellishment / counterpart).
17. Every dynamic and successful society must be able to (jettison / allay) ideas and institutions that have outlived their usefulness.
18. As the rock star’s popularity began to skyrocket, what had been a small (coterie / raiment) of admirers became an unruly mob.
19. The atrocities committed by the (garish / bestial) commanders of such concentration camps as Auschwitz appalled the civilized world.
20. When I returned to the office earlier than expected, I caught the little snoop (felicitously / furtively) going through the papers on my desk.

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