American Studies
Junior/Senior English
Spring Semester Vocabulary
2012-2013
1. Laborious: adj.; involving much hard work; difficult
a. What is the root word? __________
b. Endings:
c. Sentence: I decided to undertake the laborious task of cleaning Ms. Hufnagle’s car after
the heavy rain had flooded her car.
Example Sentence:
2. Nomad: n. :a wanderer
a. What is the root word?________
b. Endings:
c. Sentence: James would like to live the life of a nomad and travel from one country to
the next with no worries.
Example Sentence:
3. Mesmerize: v. : to put into a trance
a. Root word ____________
b. Endings
c. Sentence: I continue to be mesmerized by the magic of the Harry Potter series.
Example Sentence:
4. Nominal: adj. : a small amount
a. Root word:
b. Endings:_____________
c. Sentence: Despite all of the work I completed, I was paid a nominal fee for my services.
Example Sentence:
5. Nimble: adj. : marked by quick light movements or mental alertness
a. Root word
b. Endings
c. Sentence: The children were quite taken with the fast and nimble movements of the
squirrels.
Example Sentence:
6. Quell: v. : to put an end to
a. Root word
b. Endings:
c. Sentence: The police attempted to quell the riotous crowd by spraying them with water.
Example Sentence:
7. Ravenous: adj. : extremely hungry
a. Root word:
b. Endings
c. Sentence: After my surgery and not being able to eat for several days, I woke up
ravenous and wanted some scrambled eggs and bacon.
Example Sentence:
8. Tumultuous: adj. : wild and noisy
a. Root word:
b. Endings
c. Sentence: The screams of the tumultuous after the Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl
could be heard from miles away.
Example Sentence:
9. Unseemly: adj. : indecent
a. Root word:
b. Endings:
c. Sentence: It was an unseemly sight when I saw the extent of the bombing of the World
Trade Center after the terrorist attacks.
Example Sentence:
10. Venomous: adj.: poisonous
a. Root word:
b. Endings:
c. Sentence: My sister is no longer my best friend because of her venomous actions of
telling Justin Beieber that he was my secret crush.
Example Sentence: