Level D, 12B Daily
1. Irreverent – adjective – disrespectful
Synonyms: profane, impious, sacrilegious, flippant
Antonyms: awed, respectful, devout, pious, deferential
2. Laborious – adjective – not easy, requiring hard work; hardworking
Synonyms: arduous, difficult, strenuous, wearisome
Antonyms: easy, effortless, facile
3. Lithe – adjective – bending easily, limber
Synonyms: supple, flexible, pliant, lissome
Antonyms: stiff, rigid, inflexible, taut
4. Maltreat – verb – to abuse, use roughly or crudely
Synonyms: misuse, mistreat, harm, aggrieve
Antonyms: coddle, pamper, indulge
5. Ponder – verb – to consider carefully, reflect on
Synonyms: think over, ruminate, contemplate
6. Subversive – adjective – intended to undermine or overthrow; noun – one who advocates or
attempts to undermine a political system
Synonyms: treasonous, traitorous; a revolutionary
Antonyms: patriotic, loyal, true-blue
7. Synthetic – adjective – made or put together by people; noun – something artificial
Synonyms: artificial, ersatz
Antonyms: natural, genuine
8. Temperate – adjective – mild, moderte
Synonyms: composed, balanced, mellow, fair
Antonyms: immoderate, extreme, excessive, harsh
9. Venomous – adjective – poisonous; spiteful, mean
Synonyms: nasty, malicious, virulent, malevolent
Antonyms: harmless, innocuous, benign
10. Wily – adjective – sly, shrewd, cunning
Synonyms: clever, tricky, artiful, foxy, cagey
Antonyms: dull-witted, dense, artless, straighrfoward
Name _______________________________
Level D Vocab 12B Cloze
Identify the correct form of this lesson’s vocabulary word to best fit each sentence.
_____________________________ 1. While a weight lifter generally has a muscular build, a gymnast
typically is slim and ______________.
_____________________________ 2. The bite of the rattlesnake and the sarcastic words of a supposed
friend can be equally _____________________.
_____________________________ 3. Our climb up the mountain was so _______________ that we had
to take a long rest before starting back down.
_____________________________ 4. Some people were amused and others were outraged by the
speaker’s lighthearted, ___________ attitude toward the
institutions of government.
_____________________________ 5. Some ________ fibers are actually better than nautral materials
for certain purposes.
_____________________________ 6. We learned too late that the _________ fox had escaped our trap
by doubling back on its own tracks.
_____________________________ 7. The suspect was charged with writing and printing pamphlets that
were considered _______ by the government.
_____________________________ 8. In 1875 New York State instituted child protection laws that made
it criminal to ___________ children.
_____________________________ 9. Mexico City is located deep in the tropics, but because of the
altitude , its climate is ___________.
____________________________10. “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I ___________ weak and
Weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten
lore-“
Name __________________________
Level D Vocab 12B Synonyms/Antonyms
Synonyms: Identify the correct form of the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the bold
word or phrase.
____________________________1. Exiled for treasonous acts
____________________________2. Institutions that mistreat laboratory animals
____________________________3. A comedian’s flippant humor
____________________________4. Take time to think over the other
____________________________5. Learn to accept fair criticism
____________________________6. A clever and manipulative person
____________________________7. Defamed by malicious slander
____________________________8. A supple and graceful beech tree
Antonyms: Identify the correct form of the word which is most nearly opposite in meaning to the bold
word or expression in each phrase.
____________________________9. Made of natural rubber
____________________________10. Writing that is effortless
Name ________________________________
Level D Vocab 12B Past Word Review
Circle the pair of words that best complete the meaning of each of the following passages.
1. The _____________ statistics cited in the magazine article certainly _____________ it
effectiveness, if the author had made sure that his figurs were correct, his argument
might have been more convincing.
a. Bleak . . . quavered
c. slipshod . . . rendered
b. Laborious . . . enlightened
d. erroneous . . .impaired
2. I did everything I could to ______________ his cunning attempts to undermine my
authority in the company; unfortunately, he proved too ___________ and persistent for
me to anticipate all his moves all the time.
a. Chide . . . impair
c. divulge. . . slipshod
b. Forestall . . . wily
d. subvert . . . demure
3. A ballerina’s ____________ and graceful figure contrasts sharply with a weight lifter’s
massively ____________ physique.
a. Demure . . .languid
c. diminutive . . . concise
b. Lithe . . . brawny
d. slipshod . . .rugged
4. Though a(n) ___________________ master might deal kindly and generously with his
or her animals, a cruel one would __________ and abuse them.
a. Autocratic . . .impair
c. humane . . . maltreat
b. Enlightened . . . emancipate
d. relentless . . .exploit
5. When Shakespeare’s Polonius says that _________ is the soul of wit, he extols the
virtues of a ______________ and succinct phrase.
a. Brevity . . .concise
c. depreciation . . .staccato
b. Blasphemy . . .wily
d. brawn . . .venomous
6. Her talents are just average, but she has _________ them to the fullest. On the other
hand, he was given great natural abilities, but he has _________ them on trifles.
a. Exploited . . . squandered
c. divulged . . . recouped
b. Pondered . . .impaired
d. contended . . . forestalled
7. Though I’m perfectly willing to put up with the occasional hour or two of ________ that
my job involves, the prospect of spending my entire day on menial or unpleasant tasks is
____________.
a. Larceny . . . daunting
c. drudgery. . . intolerable
b. Fodder . . .repugnant
d. mire. . .despicable
8. Reporters who are willing to tell a jury what they have learned but refuse to _________
their sources are _______ to be brought up on charges of contempt of court.
a. Sully . . . immune
c. console . . .fated
b. Maltreat . . . concerted
d. divulge . . .liable
9. At the end of the grim novel, the spendthrift hero, who has recklessly ________ his
entire fortune on riotous living, is buried in a ________ grave.
a. Rejuvenated . . .vagrant’s
c. relinquished . . .accomplice’s
b. Impoverished . . .envoy’s
d. squandered . . .pauper’s
10. Although the disasterous crash of 1929 did _________ many of those who had sunk
money into the stock market, a few wily investors did eventually manage to ______
some or all of their losses.
a. Impair . . .render
c. reprieve . . .salvage
b. Impoverish . . .recoup
d. forestall . . . surmount