IMPROVING
VOCABULARY SKILLS
Fourth Edition
Sherrie L. Nist
© 2010 Townsend Press
Unit Three: Chapter 13
• curtail
• indispensable
• devastate
• intermittent
• digress
• rigor
• incentive
• squander
• incorporate
• succumb
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
1 curtail
– verb
• Upon hearing reports of a huge snowstorm, the principal
curtailed the school day so students could go home early.
• I need to curtail my volunteer activities so that I can spend more
time earning money to pay back a loan.
Curtail means
A. to combine.
B. to shorten.
C. to extend.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
1 curtail
– verb
• Upon hearing reports of a huge snowstorm, the principal
curtailed the school day so students could go home early.
• I need to curtail my volunteer activities so that I can spend more
time earning money to pay back a loan.
Curtail means
A. to combine.
B. to shorten.
C. to extend.
If the students went home early, the school day must have been
shortened. In order to spend more time earning money, one would
have to shorten one’s volunteer activities.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
2 devastate
– verb
• Learning that their son had been arrested for armed robbery
devastated the Huttons. They couldn’t believe he’d do such a
terrible thing.
• Vera is so fond of Andy. She’ll be devastated to hear he has
cancer.
Devastate means
A. to thrill.
B. to annoy.
C. to upset greatly.
A city devastated by floodwaters
Photo: Marty Bahamonde/FEMA
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
2 devastate
– verb
• Learning that their son had been arrested for armed robbery
devastated the Huttons. They couldn’t believe he’d do such a
terrible thing.
• Vera is so fond of Andy. She’ll be devastated to hear he has
cancer.
Devastate means
A. to thrill.
B. to annoy.
C. to upset greatly.
A city devastated by floodwaters
Photo: Marty Bahamonde/FEMA
It would be greatly upsetting to learn
one’s son had been arrested for armed
robbery. If Vera is fond of Andy, she will
be upset greatly to learn he has cancer.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
3 digress
– verb
• Professor Rubin never digresses during a lecture. Even his jokes
relate to the day’s topic.
• I tried to teach my three-year-old niece our phone number, but we
digressed to a discussion of whether Winnie the Pooh has a
telephone.
Digress means
A. to listen carefully.
B. to go off the subject.
C. to get up.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
3 digress
– verb
• Professor Rubin never digresses during a lecture. Even his jokes
relate to the day’s topic.
• I tried to teach my three-year-old niece our phone number, but we
digressed to a discussion of whether Winnie the Pooh has a
telephone.
Digress means
A. to listen carefully.
B. to go off the subject.
C. to get up.
If even Professor Rubin’s jokes relate to the the day’s topic, he must
never go off the subject during his lectures. A discussion of whether
Pooh has a telephone is off the subject of learning the phone number.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
4 incentive
– noun
• The insurance company offers an incentive—free vacation—to
encourage its representatives to make more sales.
• The thought of myself in a bathing suit next summer provides me
with an adequate incentive to exercise.
Incentive means
A. encouragement.
B. liberty.
C. change.
“I’m going to give you an incentive
to get up and go back to work—
it’s my bill.”
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
4 incentive
– noun
• The insurance company offers an incentive—free vacation—to
encourage its representatives to make more sales.
• The thought of myself in a bathing suit next summer provides me
with an adequate incentive to exercise.
Incentive means
A. encouragement.
B. liberty.
C. change.
“I’m going to give you an incentive
to get up and go back to work—
it’s my bill.”
In the first item, the word encourage
tells you that an incentive is an
encouragement. Thinking about how
one will look in a bathing suit would
provide encouragement to exercise.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
5 incorporate
– verb
• Jerry incorporated all of his favorite desserts into one: a
chocolate-covered banana-cream pecan pie.
• Since the number of young children has gone down in my
neighborhood, the two elementary schools have been
incorporated into one.
Incorporate means
A. to give up.
B. to join together.
C. to raise.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
5 incorporate
– verb
• Jerry incorporated all of his favorite desserts into one: a
chocolate-covered banana-cream pecan pie.
• Since the number of young children has gone down in my
neighborhood, the two elementary schools have been
incorporated into one.
Incorporate means
A. to give up.
B. to join together.
C. to raise.
In the first item, the words into one are a clue that incorporate means
“to join together.” In the second item, if the two schools are now one,
they must have joined together.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
6 indispensable
– adjective
• Because there’s no bus or train service nearby, a car is
indispensable in my neighborhood.
• When you’re broke, you find that many things you thought were
indispensable aren’t actually necessary after all.
Indispensable means
A. free.
B. needed.
C. expensive.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
6 indispensable
– adjective
• Because there’s no bus or train service nearby, a car is
indispensable in my neighborhood.
• When you’re broke, you find that many things you thought were
indispensable aren’t actually necessary after all.
Indispensable means
A. free.
B. needed.
C. expensive.
If there is no bus or train service, a car would be needed. In the
second sentence, the word necessary is a clue that indispensable
means “needed.”
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
7 intermittent
– adjective
• You have to work steadily with your dog to train him well.
Intermittent practice won’t work.
• Dora realized that her weight loss on a diet would be
intermittent, so she didn’t give up when the losses stopped. She
knew they would start again.
Intermittent means
A. irregular.
B. too much.
C. steady.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
7 intermittent
– adjective
• You have to work steadily with your dog to train him well.
Intermittent practice won’t work.
• Dora realized that her weight loss on a diet would be
intermittent, so she didn’t give up when the losses stopped. She
knew they would start again.
Intermittent means
A. irregular.
B. too much.
C. steady.
In the first item, the word steadily is a clue because it means the
opposite of irregular. In the second item, if the weight losses stopped
but would start again, they were irregular.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
8 rigor
– noun
• New Marines must go through the rigors of boot camp, such as
completing an obstacle course and running several miles a day.
• The rigor of working at two part-time jobs while going to school
proved too much for Jamal. Exhausted, he quit both jobs.
Rigor means
A. a gamble.
B. an expense.
C. a hardship.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
8 rigor
– noun
• New Marines must go through the rigors of boot camp, such as
completing an obstacle course and running several miles a day.
• The rigor of working at two part-time jobs while going to school
proved too much for Jamal. Exhausted, he quit both jobs.
Rigor means
A. a gamble.
B. an expense.
C. a hardship.
Completing an obstacle course and running several miles a day are
hardships. Working two jobs while going to school was a hardship
that exhausted Jamal.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
9 squander
– verb
• It’s sad to see such a wonderful artist squander her talent
designing labels for baked-bean cans.
• The company lunchroom now closes promptly at one o’clock so
that workers can’t squander time on long lunch breaks.
Squander means
A. to share.
B. to misuse.
C. to upset.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
9 squander
– verb
• It’s sad to see such a wonderful artist squander her talent
designing labels for baked-bean cans.
• The company lunchroom now closes promptly at one o’clock so
that workers can’t squander time on long lunch breaks.
Squander means
A. to share.
B. to misuse.
C. to upset.
A wonderful artist who designs labels for baked-bean cans would be
misusing her talent. The company would consider long lunch breaks
a misuse of workers’ time.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
10 succumb
– verb
• Leah succumbed to her daughter’s begging and bought her a pet
lizard for her birthday.
• Once the suspect was arrested, he quickly succumbed and
confessed to stealing the car stereo.
Succumb means
A. to yield.
B. to delay.
C. to anger.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
10 succumb
– verb
• Leah succumbed to her daughter’s begging and bought her a pet
lizard for her birthday.
• Once the suspect was arrested, he quickly succumbed and
confessed to stealing the car stereo.
Succumb means
A. to yield.
B. to delay.
C. to anger.
If Leah bought the lizard, she yielded to her daughter’s begging.
If the suspect confessed, he yielded or stopped resisting.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. curtail
B. devastate
C. digress
F. indispensable G. intermittent H. rigor
D. incentive
E. incorporate
I. squander
J. succumb
1. ____________ rain kept interrupting the ballgame.
2. The sight of her bandaged husband in an oxygen tent
_________(e)d Claire.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. curtail
B. devastate
C. digress
F. indispensable G. intermittent H. rigor
D. incentive
E. incorporate
I. squander
J. succumb
1. ____________
Intermittent rain kept interrupting the ballgame.
Off-and-on rain would keep interrupting the game.
2. The sight of her bandaged husband in an oxygen tent
____________
devastated Claire.
Such a sight would deeply upset a wife.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. curtail
B. devastate
C. digress
F. indispensable G. intermittent H. rigor
D. incentive
E. incorporate
I. squander
J. succumb
3. Someone has managed to ___________ a tomato and a
potato into one plant.
4. A home computer, a telephone, and a fax machine are
___________ tools for many self-employed people.
5. Airlines offer “frequent flier miles” toward free trips as a(n)
___________ to get people to fly often.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. curtail
B. devastate
C. digress
F. indispensable G. intermittent H. rigor
D. incentive
E. incorporate
I. squander
J. succumb
3. Someone has managed to ___________
incorporate a tomato and a
potato into one plant.
The words into one are a clue to use a word that means “combine.”
4. A home computer, a telephone, and a fax machine are
___________
indispensable tools for many self-employed people.
Such tools would be necessary for many self-employed people.
5. Airlines offer “frequent flier miles” toward free trips as an
___________
incentive to get people to fly often.
The promise of free trips would be a motivation to fly often.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. curtail
B. devastate
C. digress
F. indispensable G. intermittent H. rigor
D. incentive
E. incorporate
I. squander
J. succumb
6. Many teenagers don’t foresee the _________s of
parenthood, such as staying up all night with a sick child.
7. By examining her last two months of spending, Coretta
discovered that she had _________(e)d money on too
many expensive meals.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. curtail
B. devastate
C. digress
F. indispensable G. intermittent H. rigor
D. incentive
E. incorporate
I. squander
J. succumb
6. Many teenagers don’t foresee the __________
of
rigors
parenthood, such as staying up all night with a sick child.
Staying up all night with a sick child is an example of a hardship.
7. By examining her last two months of spending, Coretta
discovered that she had ____________
squandered money on too
many expensive meals.
If she had too many expensive meals, she spent the money foolishly.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. curtail
B. devastate
C. digress
F. indispensable G. intermittent H. rigor
D. incentive
E. incorporate
I. squander
J. succumb
8. The man on the street corner offered to sell me a watch,
but he quickly ________(e)d his sales pitch when he saw a
police officer approaching.
9. Because our history teacher loved to talk, we often could
get him to _________ from the lesson by asking him a
question about sports or politics.
10. Carl tried hard to ignore the double-fudge chocolate cake on
the menu, but he finally ________(e)d and ordered a slice.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. curtail
B. devastate
C. digress
F. indispensable G. intermittent H. rigor
D. incentive
E. incorporate
I. squander
J. succumb
8. The man on the street corner offered to sell me a watch,
but he quickly ___________
curtailed his sales pitch when he saw a
police officer approaching.
The sight of a policeman would make the man cut short his sales pitch.
9. Because our history teacher loved to talk, we often could
get him to _________
digress from the lesson by asking him a
question about sports or politics.
Questions about sports would make the teacher stray from his topic.
10. Carl tried hard to ignore the double-fudge chocolate cake on
the menu, but he finally ____________
succumbed and ordered a slice.
If Carl ordered a slice, he gave in.