Name _______________________
Language Arts
Date ______________
Period _____________
VOCABULARY WORDS
Week 21: Mole Hills or Mountains?--Part II
1. petty (adjective) – unimportant, insignificant, trivial, minor, inconsequential
Synonym: unimportant, trivial, minor
Antonym: important, significant, major
Contrast Context Clue Sample Sentence – My friend Donna refused to talk to me for a very
petty reason, unlike the time she quickly forgave me for a major reason.
Your own context clue sentence/example:
2. devastate – (verb)
Definition – to wreck or demolish; to utterly ruin something
Synonym: spoil, ruin, destroy
Antonym: build, construct, improve
Compare Context Clue Sample Sentence – Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans; similarly
the fire demolished my home.
Your own context clue sentence/example:
3. doomed – (adjective)
Definition – bound to be ruined; disaster-prone
Synonym: hopeless
Antonym: lucky, hopeful
Compare Context Clue Sample Sentence – It was inevitable that the doomed project would
never be completed; similarly, Zoey and Bob’s relationship was hopeless from the beginning because
they were both opposites and shared no common interests.
Your own context clue sentence/example:
4. trepidation – (noun)
Definition – to be filled with unease, anxiety, apprehension or nervousness
Synonym: anxiety, apprehension
Antonym: calm, happiness
Contrast Context Clue Sample Sentence – When the leader of the clique started asking me to sit
at her table at lunch I had some trepidation because she was known to be mean and embarrass her
“friends” when she no longer “needed” them unlike the fearlessness I felt when I got up on stage and
sang with confidence and pride.
Your own context clue sentence/example:
5. tension (noun)
Definition – to be filled with mental or emotional strain, stress or anxiety
Synonym: stress, pressure, apprehension, worry
Antonym: peace, relaxation, calmness
Contrast Context Clue Sample Sentence – When we met for the first time after our argument,
there was tension in the air until we ran over to each other and hugged unlike the family that was
feuding for year and everyone felt stress and anxiety at the funeral.
Your own context clue sentence/example:
6. impending (adj)
GREEK & LATIN ROOT: PEND = HANG, WEIGH, PAY
Definition: about to occur; to threaten to happen; to weigh down upon someone
Synonym: looming, approaching, threatening, imminent
Antonym: distant, gone, remote
Definition Context Clue Sentence: The impending storm caused people to run to the super
market and buy bread and milk, in other words the approaching storm caused chaos.
Your own context clue sentence/example: