Vocabulary 6.1
domineer
Name: _________________________
importune
doff
dulcet
ingrate
Context:
Despite his ridiculous attire, the cruel man was very domineering and
forced others to do as he wished. His wife would importune him to both change
his clothes and his attitude, but to no avail. He would not doff his strange
clothes any more than he would be kind to others. This was true until one day
he heard the dulcet voice of a young woman singing in her garden. He
demanded that she come perform for him, but despite his commanding
presence, she refused. She would not come to sing for him until he changed his
ways. Finally, his desire to hear her beautiful voice got the better of him, and he
changed his clothes and stopped trying to domineer everyone, and found that
he was much happier. Not wishing to seem like ingrates, the man and his wife
bought the young lady a beautiful new gown as a thank you present for
improving both of their lives so much.
Fill-ins:
1. The _______________ sounds of the birds in spring time makes me smile.
2. It is considered polite to _______________ your hat when you enter a building.
3. “Don’t be an ______________,” the grandmother said, thumping the child over
the head when he failed to say thank you to the woman who had given him a
free candy.
4. You can ____________________ all you want, but it will not change the fact that
we will have a final exam in this class.
5. Even though people did not really like the leader, they following him because
he was very _______________________ and they were frightened of him.
Matching:
6. _____ domineer
a. v. beg persistently and urgently
7. _____ importune
b. n. a person who shows no gratitude
8. _____ doff
c. v. rule or exercise power over someone in a
cruel manner
9. _____ dulcet
d. v. remove
10. ____ ingrate
e. adj. pleasing to the ear
Vocabulary 6.2
largess
disfigure
witless
choleric
construe
Context:
The explanation for Jerry’s behavior was difficult to understand, but
looking at things carefully would allow you to construe his actions. Although he
was usually rather choleric, and was angry at anything and everything, his
largess to this particular charity was easy to explain. Jerry had a sister who had
tragically been disfigured in an accident, leaving terrible scars on her once
beautiful face and leaving her unable to walk unassisted. This charity helped
those in such situations, and had helped Jerry’s sister to relearn to walk and had
paid for surgeries that helped to remove some of her scarring. Knowing that,
only someone who was truly witless would think it strange that, now that he was
a wealthy man, he generously donated to the charity every year.
Fill ins:
1. It is considered _____________________ to pull out onto a busy road without
checking if there are any cars coming first.
2. Every year thousands of innocents are ____________________ simply for being
bystanders to terrible crimes and terrorist attacks.
3. Many people show _____________________ during the holidays and donate
generously, but it is important to remember to give throughout the year.
4. The students did not like the ____________________ teacher that was always
yelling at them for no reason.
5. If you listen carefully, you will be able to ______________________ the proper
meaning from the readings.
Matching:
6. _____ largess
a. n. liberality in bestowing gifts
7. _____ disfigure
b. adj. lacking sense, understanding, or judgment
8. _____ witless
c. v. mar or spoil the appearance of
9. _____ choleric
d. adj. characterized by anger
10. ____ construe
e. v. make sense of; assign meaning to
Vocabulary 6.3
unfeigned
gamut
bauble
delude
pittance
Context:
His happiness was completely unfeigned; it was easy to see that he was
ecstatic about her response to his gift for her. It was not expensive, and was
only a bit of a bauble for her to decorate her clothing, but it was the sentiment
that mattered to her. He did not need to delude her into thinking he had spent
a lot of money on it; he told her he had only paid a pittance for it. Regardless,
she went through a whole gamut of pleasant emotions just knowing that he had
thought about her enough to buy her a gift.
Fill ins:
1. I don’t know why she got so upset when she lost that necklace; it was only a
____________________ and not of any real value.
2. The artist was furious when the buyer offered to pay less than half the asking
price for the artwork; he was insulted by the _____________________ she was
trying to pay.
3. It is usually easy to tell when someone’s surprise is ____________________; when
it is fake, it’s pretty easy to spot.
4. The mother was angry with her son because he had tried to
___________________ her into thinking he was going to be studying when, in fact,
he was going to a party.
5. The young woman went through a _________________ of emotions when she
found out on the same day that she had won the lottery and that her dog was
dying.
Matching:
6. _____ unfeigned
a. n. cheap, showy jewelry or ornament on clothing
7. _____ gamut
b. adj. not pretended; sincerely felt or expressed
8. _____ bauble
c. n. an inadequate payment
9. _____ delude
d. n. a complete extent or range
10. ____ pittance
e. v. be false to; be dishonest with
Vocabulary 6.4
forswear
dally
lewd
prate
minion
Context:
I had promised her that I would stay faithful to her, and no amount of
pressure from anyone else could get me to forswear that promise. It does not
matter how many lewd women might be paraded in front of me to tempt me, I
will not dally. It would be careless to throw away a steady relationship for
something certain to be brief. I will gladly be her minion for all my life; I would
happily serve her and depend upon her love for me. She means so much to
me, I do not even scold her when she prates on and on about useless things
that do not matter to me. I am just happy to be with her and to hear her dulcet
voice.
Fill ins:
1. Teachers cannot stand it when students ___________________ on and on
instead of quietly getting to work.
2. During the Holocaust, many Jews had to ___________________ their faith and
convert to Christianity to avoid being killed.
3. You should do your work quickly and efficiently, not __________________ and
waste your time doing nothing.
4. Justin Bieber has many fans that would more than happily be his
________________ and do anything he asked of them.
5. In Shakespeare’s day, it was considered ___________________ for women to
act, so all female parts were played by men.
Matching:
6. ____ forswear
a. n. a servile or fawning dependent
7. ____ dally
b. v. behave carelessly or indifferently
8. ____ lewd
c. v. speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and
incessantly
9. ____ prate
d. adj. suggestive or tending to moral looseness
10. ___ minion
e. v. formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief
usually under pressure