SOPHOMORE ENGLISH
NAME______________________
VOCABULARY  LESSON 12
WORD LIST:
1. altercation – n. a heated argument
syn: quarrel; dispute
ant: agreement; harmony
2. hue – n. a particular shade of a given color
syn:
ant:
3. galvanize – v. to startle into sudden activity
syn: stimulate
ant: enervate
4. sanction – n. permission; support
syn:
ant:
5. hyperbole – n. extreme exaggeration for effect and not meant to be taken literally
syn:
ant: understatement
6. ominous – adj. threatening; foreboding evil
syn: sinister
ant: comforting
7. audacity – n. rude boldness; nerve
syn: insolence
ant: decorum
8. incarcerate – v. to put into prison; to confine
syn: imprison
ant: liberate; free
9. expedient – adj. practical; providing an immediate advantage (especially when
serving one’s own interests
syn: effective
ant:
10. pertinent – adj. having to do with the subject at hand
syn: relevant
ant: unrelated
*****************************************************
ROOTS, PREFIXES and SUFFIXES
dorm  sleep
fin  end
ory  a place for
nom  name
ee  one who is
in  not
clat  calling; system of calling
SOPHOMORE ENGLISH
NAME______________________
VOCABULARY  LESSON 12
EXERCISE 1: Words in Context
From the list below, supply the words needed to complete the paragraph. Some words
will not be used.
ominous
galvanize
1. ___________________
2. ___________________
3. ___________________
4. ___________________
hyperbole
expedient
hue
“What are you doing, you guys? I shouldn’t have to urge
you on at this point in the game!” _1_ by Liza’s scream, the
four workers picked up their sanders and returned to their
unfinished portions of drywall.”
“We’re two days overdue! That means we’re paying
them now!” The worker closest to Liza turned a _2_ of red
as she screamed. He knew that Liza’s lecture was not
merely _3_ to get the team to work faster; the contractors
really were beyond their deadline. Liza was worried for
good reason; if the company couldn’t prove that it was
capable of _4_, short-notice refurbishing, it would more
than likely lose its contract with the city.
***********************************
altercation
incarcerate
sanction
pertinent
1. ___________________
2. ___________________
3. ___________________
4. ___________________
5. ___________________
6. ___________________
ominous
audacity
galvanize
Eugene had worked at the genetics lab for six days
when he witnessed the noisy _1_ between Dr.
Strangeone and his research assistant. “You know that
I didn’t _2_ an early run of the Beta-Gan module!
Now you’ve destroyed the entire lot!” Strangeone
was definitely irate, and Eugene wished that he
understood more of the laboratory vocabulary that the
doctor spouted at his assistant.
“How could you – you’re not an intern anymore how could you have the _3_ to go off on your own
and initiate a test run of a model that required eight
years of research and over twelve million dollars to
develop? Well?” The assistant could only mutter an
answer.
“I just thought – I – uh – I wanted to see if …”
“What you want is not _4_ here!” shouted the
doctor. “You’ve only managed to prove the fact
that you’re unfit to work in a laboratory! We
should press charges and have the police _5_
you! Now get out!”
The problem, thought Eugene, probably
involved whatever Dr. Strangeone stored behind
the _6_ pair of tall, armored doors with the
retina-scanning lock mechanism. Dr.
Strangeone and his assistant had been the only
tow people to enter that room during the week
that Eugene had been employed at the lab.
SOPHOMORE ENGLISH
NAME______________________
VOCABULARY  LESSON 12
EXERCISE 2: Sentence Completion
Complete the sentence in a way that shows you understand the meaning of the italicized
vocabulary word.
1. The ominous gates in front of the old mansion made us _______________________
__________________________________________________________________.
2. Lonnie’s face turned a hue of green after ___________________________________
__________________________________________________________________.
3. Be sure to get sanction before you try to enter the _____________________________
__________________________________________________________________.
4. The expedient dam of sandbags prevent4ed the floodwaters from _________________
_____________________________________________________________________
5. Galvanized by the sound of the screaming foreman, the workers _________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
6. In the courtroom, the prisoner had the audacity to ____________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
7. The physical altercation between the brothers caused the neighbors to ___________
_____________________________________________________________________.
8. It seemed like a hyperbole to me when my teacher said ______________________
____________________________________________________________________.
9. The paramedics wanted only pertinent information because___________________
____________________________________________________________________.
10. the judge decided to incarcerate Tara because ______________________________
____________________________________________________________________.
SOPHOMORE ENGLISH
NAME______________________
VOCABULARY  LESSON 12
EXERCISE 3: Using Word Parts
Use a dictionary to define the following words.
1. dormitory –
2. dormant –
3. nominee –
4. nomenclature –
5. finale –
6. infinite –
List as many other related words as you can that contain the roots dorm, fin,
and nom