Vocabulary - Unit 4
January 4, 2016 – January 8, 2016
1. Allot – (v.) to assign or distribute in shares or portions
Example: The teacher allots books and supplies to each student on the first day of school.
Synonyms: apportion, parcel out, allocate
2. Amass – (v.) to bring together, collect, gather, especially for oneself; to come together,
assemble
Example: A wise investor can amass a fortune in the stock market over the long run.
Synonyms: accumulate, pile up, garner
Antonyms: scatter, dissipate, squander, waste
3. Audacious – (adj.) bold, adventurous, recklessly daring
Example: The audience cheered the audacious feats of the trapeze artists.
Synonyms: enterprising, brave
Antonyms: timid, cowardly
4. Comply – (v.) to yield to a request or command
Example: Employees who fail to comply with a company’s rules may lose their jobs.
Synonyms: submit to consent to, acquiesce in
Antonyms: reject, refuse, decline
5. Devoid – (adj.) not having or using, lacking
Example: The old well on my grandparents’ property has long been devoid of water.
Synonyms: wanting, bereft
Antonyms: full, teeming, abounding
6. Elite – (n.) the choice part of a group of people or things; (adj.) superior
Example: 1) Each year, the social elite of the community sponsors several events to
benefit local charities.
2) You can get a fine education regardless of whether or not you attend an elite
school.
Synonyms: cream of the crop, upper crust
Antonyms: rank and file, dregs or society
7. Grapple – (n.) an iron hook used to grab and hold; (v.) to come to grips with, wrestle or fight
with.
Example: 1) A ship equipped with grapples may be used to recover large pieces of
wreckage from the ocean floor.
2) Store employees grappled with the thieves and held them until the police
arrived.
Synonyms: tackle, confront, struggle with
8. Incapacitate – (v.) to deprive of strength or ability; to make legally ineligible
Example: In the 1940s and 1950s, polio incapacitated many thousands of people each
year all over the world.
Synonyms: disable, debilitate, paralyze, cripple
Antonyms: rehabilitate, restore
9. Instigate – (v.) to urge on; to stir up, provoke, start, incite
Example: Several demonstrators in the angry crowd did their best to instigate a riot.
Antonyms: stop, quell, squelch, quash
10. Longevity – (n.) long life, long duration, length of life
Example: The sea turtle is known for its longevity.
Antonyms: brevity, fleetingness
11. Myriad – (adj.) in very great numbers; (n.) a very great number
Example: 1) Scientists continue to make new discoveries in their studies of the myriad
life forms of the jungle.
2) You will find information on a myriad of subjects on the internet.
Synonyms: innumerable, countless
Antonyms: few, scant, sparse
12. Perturb – (v.) to trouble, make uneasy; to disturb greatly; to throw into confusion
Example: The rude and disruptive behavior of several party guests perturbed the host
and hostess.
Synonyms: upset, agitate, anger, irritate
Antonyms: delight, gladden, please
13. Prodigious – (adj.) immense; extraordinary in bulk, size, or degree
Example: Few intellects have equaled the prodigious mind of Albert Einstein.
Synonyms: gigantic, tremendous, astounding
Antonyms: puny, minuscule, insignificant
14. Skittish – (adj.) extremely nervous and easily frightened; shy or timid; extremely cautious;
unstable, undependable
Example: Only an experienced and confident rider should mount a skittish horse.
Synonyms: jumpy, restive, unpredictable, fickle
Antonyms: bold, daring, reckless, cool, unflappable
15. Vie – (v.) to compete; to strive for victory or superiority
Example: Many actors vie for the leading role in the famous director’s new film.
Synonyms: contend, rival
Name: __________________________________
Period: ______
Vocabulary
Unit 4
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms - Directions: Choose the word from the unit that is THE SAME or MOST NEARLY
THE SAME in meaning as the BOLDFACED word in the sentence. Write the vocabulary word
on the line provided.
1. Innumerable opportunities to learn something new
_______________________
2. Repeated delays that irritated the passengers
_______________________
3. Allocated four tickets to each member of the cast
_______________________
4. Accumulated a huge collection of folk art
_______________________
5. Contended for first prize at the science fair
_______________________
6. Chose only the cream of the crop
_______________________
7. Tried to calm the jumpy children
_______________________
8. Had to tackle a difficult problem
_______________________
9. An illness that disables young and old alike
______________________
10. Seems determined to provoke an argument
_______________________
11. Submit to the terms of the treaty
_______________________
12. Tremendous effort by the entire team
_______________________
Antonyms - Directions: Choose the word from the vocabulary unit that is OPPOSITE or MOST
NEARLY OPPOSITE in meaning to the BOLDFACED word or expression in the given phrase.
Write the vocabulary word on the line provided.
13. Timid when faced with a challenge
14. A river teeming with fish
15. The brevity of the public’s interest in the story
_______________________
________________________
_______________________
Name: __________________________________
Period: ______
Choosing the Right Word
Vocabulary
Unit 4
Directions: Circle the boldfaced word that more satisfactorily completes each of the following
sentences.
1. As I stared at the luscious chocolate swirl cake, I bravely (incapacitated, grappled) with
temptation – but the chocolate cake won!
2. Can you imagine what a (perturbed, prodigious) amount of research is needed for a
multivolume reference book such as the Encyclopedia Britannica?
3. People who come from rich and socially prominent families don’t always belong to the
intellectual (myriad, elite).
4. Great new discoveries in science can be made only by men and women with intellectual
(amassing, audacity).
5. The bitter strike closed shops, shut down factories, and (incapacitated, perturbed) an entire
industry.
6. I wonder why the camp directors were unwilling to (comply, vie) with my request to keep a
pet snake in my tent.
7. Unless you want to (instigate, amass) a quarrel, don’t make insulting remarks about my
friends and family.
8. How do you explain the fact that in practically every country the (elite, longevity) of women
is greater than that of man.
9. I don’t think anyone can hope to (vie, grapple) with Gloria in the election for “Most Popular
Student.”
10. Jane Addams was not only profoundly (perturbed, instigated) by the suffering of other
people but also tried hard to help them.
11. If we have to share the same locker, please try to keep your things in the space
(allotted, amassed) to you.
12. She delivered a simple, low-key speech, completely (devoid, allotted) of fancy language or
emotional appeals.
13. He has had such bad experiences with motorcycles that he has become extremely
(audacious, skittish) of them.
14. Our course in life sciences as given us some idea of the (myriad, audacity) varieties of
plants and animals inhabiting the earth.
15. She has devoted her life to (amassing, allotting) not material riches but the love, respect, and
thanks of every member of this community.
Name: __________________________________
Period: ______
Vocabulary
Unit 4
Completing the Sentence
Directions: From the words in this unit, choose the one that best complete each of the following
sentences. Write the word in the space provided.
1. He joined the _______________________ group of athletes who have run a mile in under four
minutes.
2. The disease had so ______________________ the poor woman that she was no longer able to
leave her bed.
3. I refuse to ______________________ with any order issued by a person who has absolutely
no knowledge of the project I’m working on.
4. I know that you are a brilliant student, but I am still amazed that you could _______________
such a vast store of information so quickly.
5. Before we set out on the camping trip, our Scout leader ___________________ special tasks
and responsibilities to each one of us.
6. We can thank modern medical science for the increase __________________ of human beings
in most parts of the world.
7. Trying to navigate through rush-hour traffic on a high-speed expressway can be a nightmare
for a ____________________ driver.
8. A number of cities ___________________ with one another to be chosen as the site of a
national political convention.
9. You will have to use a _____________________ to recover the lobster trap from the bottom
of the bay.
10. Though we have made many outstanding contributions to the conquest of space, landing men
on the moon is probably our most ________________________ achievement.
11. The autumn night sky, with its ________________________ of stars, always fills me with
awe and wonder.
12. Father said, “I am ___________________________, not because you failed the exam, but
because you still seem unable to understand why you failed it.”
13. When he seemed hopelessly defeated, General George Washington crossed the Delaware
River and launched an ________________________ surprise attack on the Hessians.
14. I am completely ______________________ of sympathy for anyone who loses a job because
of carelessness and indifference.
15. In wartime, it is not unusual for secret agents to be sent behind enemy lines in an effort to
_________________________ a rebellion.