Vocabulary 2
English 8
9/22/2014
Study for your vocabulary test every night.
Use the following information to fill out your vocabulary worksheet.
DUE at the beginning of class on Friday, Sept. 26th.
Day of the test!
1. analyze (verb) an·a·lyze - to examine or study something carefully to understand it better or discover
more about it.
Synonyms: study, examine, investigate, scrutinize, inspect
Antonyms: none
Examples in sentences:
 When students analyze a poem, they are able to understand its meaning and craftsmanship better.
 I analyzed the poem for sound devices, and found it had an abab cdcd rhyme scheme.
Word Family: analyzed (verb-past tense) analysis (noun), analytic (adjective), analytically (adverb) analyzer (noun)
2. cite (verb) - to quote or refer to (a passage, book, or author) as an authority, proof, or example
Synonyms: quote, refer to, use as a reference
Antonyms: none
Examples in sentences:


When you are trying to support your opinions, it is important to cite evidence from the text.
The citation was at the bottom of the page, giving the original author credit for his idea.
Word family: citation (noun), citations (plural noun), cited (verb), cites (verb)
3. evidence (noun) ev·i·dence - proof from within a written work that supports your point in an essay
Synonyms: citation, quote, proof, confirmation, corroboration, substantiation
Antonyms: illogical conclusion, contradiction, disagreement, refutation
Examples in sentences:


The evidence he quoted to support his argument came from the third chapter of the book.
He used evidence from the text to infer that the author was willing to risk safety in order to have more freedom.
Word Family: evident (adjective), evidently (adverb), evidentiary (adjective)
4. text (noun) text - written material
Synonyms: writing, document, manuscript
Antonyms: none
Examples in sentences:
 The text we analyzed today was part of an article from a newspaper written a century ago.
 The evidence in the text showed that the speaker in the poem wasn’t the poet, but a character she created.
Word Family: textual (adj.), texts (plural noun), textually (adverb)
5. context (noun) con·text - two definitions
Meaning 1. the writing that surrounds a word and influences its meaning
Meaning 2. the situation in which a person is in, or in which something happens
synonyms: meaning 1. passage, sentence, paragraph
meaning 2. situation, environment, conditions
antonyms: none
Examples in sentences:
Meaning 1: From the context, you could tell that he misspelled the word – he meant “two birds” not “too birds”.
Meaning 2: When I see a person out of context, like the librarian in the grocery store, I often forget the person’s name.
Word Family: contexts (plural noun), contextual (adjective), contextually (adverb)
6. rationale (noun) rat·ion·ale- a set of reasons or a logical basis for a course of action or a particular belief.
synonyms: basis, reasoning, grounds, logic, justification
antonyms: none
Examples in sentences:
 The rationale for starting the school day an hour later is that kids will get an extra hour of sleep, which is important for teens.
 It was obvious that the student’s rationale in his paper was poorly thought out; there was hardly any evidence to support it.
Word Family: rational (adjective), rationalize (verb), rationalizing (verb), rationalization (noun)
7. theme (noun) theme - unifying idea, moral, lesson or message
synonyms: see above
antonyms: none
Examples in sentences:
 The underlying theme in the short story was acceptance of loss.
 In many books written for teens, a common theme is coming of age.
Word Family: themes (plural noun) , thematic (adjective) , thematically (adverb)
8. criteria (noun-plural) cri· ter ·i ·a- standards for judging things by
$
synonyms: basis for, standards, measures, gauges, conditions
antonyms: none
Examples in sentences:
 The main criteria he used to judge the cupcakes were taste, texture and decoration.
 I only use one criterion for judging a person’s character; I judge people based on how kind they are to others.
Word Family: criterion (noun -singular), criterial (adjective) –example sentence: There are criterial considerations to
be made for how we will judge this event.