Name and Date: ____________________________
Mrs. DeMella: English 3-4
Vocabulary: Of Mice and Men
Apprehensive (adj) – nervous about something, stressed He was apprehensive
Ashamed (adj) – showing a feeling of guilt I was ashamed
Belligerently (adv) – wanting to argue or fight, hostilely, angrily He spoke belligerently
Bewildered (adj) – confused I was bewildered
Conceal (verb) – to hide He concealed it
Confide (verb) – to tell private matters (secrets) not intended to be told publically I
confided in him
7. Console (verb) – to comfort, to make someone feel better She consoled the sad boy
8. Contemplate (verb) – to think deeply about something He contemplated the matter
9. Contemptuously (adv) – with disdain, looking down on someone (like they are lower than
you) She looked at him contemptuously
10. Craftily (adv) – sneakily, cleverly and furtively He hid the money craftily
11. Dejected (adj) – very sad and depressed He felt dejected
12. Delighted (adj) – very happy and excited She was delighted
13. Derogatory (adj) – insulting and demeaning a derogatory comment
14. Disarming (adj) – endearing, removing hostility a disarming smile
15. Gestured (verb) – made a motion to express a thought I gestured to her
16. Indignation (noun) – anger from being treated unfairly She felt righteous indignation /
She was indignant (adj).
17. Meager (adj) – very little; not enough There was meager light
18. Mimic (Mimicking) (verb) – imitating, copying someone (often for humorous/teasing
effect) She was mimicking me
19. Mollify (verb) – to calm someone down when he/she is angry He mollified his wife
20. Monotonous (adj) – boring due to unvarying tone/pitch his monotonous voice
21. Morose (adj.) / Morosely (adv) – sad, depressed I was morose
22. Ominous (adj) – scary, frightening, hinting of bad things to come The ominous storm
clouds …
23. Plaintive (adj) – sad Her plaintive voice …
24. Pleading (verb) – begging (asking with desperation) She was pleading with him
25. Quivering (verb) – shaking or trembling, as with fear or cold She was quivering
26. Reluctantly (adv)- unwillingly, doing something unhappily He reluctantly woke up
27. Reprehensible (adj) / Reprehensibly (adv) – worthy of blame, disgraceful, bad
reprehensible behavior
28. Retorted (verb) – replied angrily “It was your fault!” he retorted
29. Sharply (adv) – angrily, impatiently He replied sharply
30. Skeptical (adj) / Skeptically (adv) – doubting, not believing She was skeptical
31. Snivel (verb) – to fake cry with whining and sniffling The child sniveled
32. Sulk (verb) / Sulkily (adv) – acting sad because you haven’t received what you want The
child sulked / He looked at me sulkily
33. Sullenness (noun) – angry silence His sullenness affected my mood
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PRACTICE:
1. He felt _________________________ well up inside of him when the teacher accused
him of cheating unfairly.
2. Celia ______________________ quitting her job and moving to another state, but in the
end she decided not to do so.
3. The rich girl looked at the poor girl and then said __________________________, “You
should learn how to dress.”
4. Matthew was annoyed that his girlfriend was late for their date, but when she arrived her
smile was so __________________________ that he immediately forgave her.
5. Nicole didn’t want to spend all day Saturday cleaning the house, but when her mother
said she would be grounded if she didn’t, she _____________________ picked up a mop
and cleaning supplies and got started.
6. She was very _______________________ before the quiz. She knew it was important to
her grade.
7. The young boy was _____________________________ in the cold.
8. “You acted ____________________________,” said the principal. “That kind of
behavior is not acceptable.”
9. “Your story about staying late at work sounds fishy to me,” Olivia said
_________________________ to her husband. “Just don’t try to
_________________________ anything from me. If you’re having an affair, I am going
to find out!”
10. “That group of angry looking boys waiting outside the school looks
_________________________ to me,” said the cop. “I think something abd is going to
happen.”
11. When his mom told him he couldn’t have candy before dinner the child
_______________________ and looked _____________________ at his mother. His
________________________ was obvious to everyone.
12. The poor family had ______________________ food. They were always hungry.
13. The older brother was _________________________ everything his little sister said, and
it was making her more and more angry.
14. I felt so _______________________ after I failed the quiz. I hung my head and walked
home ___________________________. When I arrived at my house my mother
_________________________ me. “It’s just a quiz,” she said. Don’t worry about it.
15. The boy cheated _______________________ on the test and didn’t get caught. Still,
afterwards he felt __________________________. Eventually he
________________________ in his father, telling him what he had done.
16. The sound of the teacher’s voice was so __________________________ that it put the
boy to sleep.
17. I felt _________________________ by her reaction to my phone call. I really didn’t
understand why she was angry, but I tried to _______________________ her by
apologizing.
18. My friend __________________________ to me from across the street.
19. The children were ______________________________ by the gifts they received from
Santa.
20. The frustrated woman spoke _________________________ to her misbehaving child.
21. The woman was __________________________ with the enemy soldiers to spare her
life.
22. The boy’s ________________________ voice made his mother feel guilty for
reprimanding him.
23. The teacher criticized her student for making a _________________________ comment
about another student’s family.
24. When my brother accused me of lying I _________________________ that he was the
one who told fibs.
Name: ______________________
Date: _______________________
Antigone: Vocabulary
Ms. DeMella
English 3-4
1. Polytheism (noun) – the belief that there is more than one god.
Monotheism (noun)– the belief that there is one god.
It was a polytheistic religion.
Islam is monotheistic.
2. Deity (noun) – a god or goddess
The Greeks believed in many deities.
3. Mortal (noun OR adjective) – certain to die
Immortal (noun OR adjective) – not capable of dying; living forever.
I am just a mortal man, condemned to die.
The vampire was immortal.
4. Myth (noun) – a story that is told to explain a practice, belief, or natural occurrence.
Almost all human cultures have their own creation myths.
5. Corpse (noun) – a dead body
He left the corpse in the field to rot.
6. Supplication (noun) – The act of humbly begging God or an authority figure for help or
mercy (a person who does this is a supplicant).
The poor man threw himself down upon the ground in front of the king in supplication, and
begged for his life.
7. Indictment (noun) – an accusation that someone has committed a crime OR an
expression of strong disapproval.
No one was surprised by her indictment for murder.
Her movie was an indictment of modern day society.
8. Divinity (noun) – a god or goddess / The state of being a god, or the study of this.
He studied the divinities of ancient Greece.
He has a Doctorate in Divinity from Georgetown University.
9. Oracle (noun) – a priest or priestess who speaks for the god(s) and makes statements
about future events or truths.
He asked the oracle about his future.
10. Despot (noun) – a cruel and unfair ruler/dictator.
The despot fed people he did not like to the crocodiles.
11. To Defile (verb) Defilement (noun) – to do something offensive to something important
or holy.
He defiled the American flag when he urinated on it.
The people were outraged by the defilement of the flag.
12. To Atone (for something) / Atonement (noun) – to do something good as a way to
show that you are sorry for something bad.
He volunteers at the homeless shelter in atonement for his sins.
13. Conspiracy (noun) – a secret plan by a group of people to do something illegal.
The CIA uncovered a conspiracy against the government.
14. Impious (adjective) – feeling or showing a lack of respect for god.
They accused the man of being impious.
15. Proclamation (noun) – a public announcement about something important.
The president issued a proclamation which freed the slaves.
16. (To make a) Concession (noun) – to let someone do or have something they want in
order to end an argument.
The employer refused to make any concessions to his workers during union negotiations, so
they went on strike.
17. Hubris (noun) – excessive pride, arrogance or overconfidence that leads to disaster.
His failure was brought on by his hubris.
18. Incest (noun) – crime/sin of two members of the same immediate family having sexual
intercourse (father and daughter/ brother and sister/mother and son)
He was arrested for committing incest.
19. Catharsis (noun) – the positive effect that tragedy has on spectators.
He cried at the end of the sad movie, and the catharsis made him feel better.
20. Fatal Flaw (noun) – a weakness in character that causes the downfall/destruction of a
hero.
Impatience was his fatal flaw.
21. To Banish (verb) / Banishment (noun) – to send someone away from a place, never to
return.
He was banished by the king of Thebes.
She cried when she heard about her brother’s banishment.
22. Catastrophe (noun) – a disaster
The oil spill was an environmental catastrophe.
23. To Reign (verb) – to rule a country OR the period of time during which someone rules a
country.
He reigns well. / She was a popular ruler throughout her reign.
24. Reverence (adjective) – great respect for someone or something
Their religion shows a deep reverence for nature.
25. To Scheme (verb) /Scheming (adj.) – to plan secretly and dishonestly in order to gain
something for oneself.
Her friend was scheming to steal her boyfriend.
26. To Chant (verb) /Chanting (adj.) – to repeat a word or group of words over and over
(often religious)
The crowd was chanting her name.
27. To Curse (verb) – to use a supernatural power to cause harm to someone.
The witch put a curse on Sarah’s family. (noun)
He cursed her family. (verb)
28. Prophecy (noun) – a statement predicting the future.
His prophecy was fulfilled. / She has the gift of prophecy.
Name: _________________________
Date: __________________________
The Contender: Vocabulary List
1. contender (noun) – one who competes in a sport or in life.
Sentence:_______________________________________________________________
2. junkie (noun) – a drug addict
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
3. limp (verb OR noun) – to walk awkwardly, with one foot/leg disabled OR to have such a
walk.
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
4. listlessness (noun) – a lack of energy
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
5. murky (adj.) – dim or dark
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
6. nationalist (noun) – one who is devoted to the interests of a particular nation or people;
someone who wants an independent nation for a particular group of people; someone
who is a fanatical supporter of his/her nation
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
7. preliminary (adj.) – before the main event
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
8. pummel (verb) – to beat with the fists.
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
9. quivering (adj. or verb) – trembling, shaking, shivering
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
10. scowl (verb or noun) – to frown in disapproval
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
11. serenely (adv.) – calmly, peacefully
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
12. shambling (adj. or verb) – shuffling or dragging your feet when walking.
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
13. sophisticated (adj.) – worldly and refined; knowledgeable about manners and world
events
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
14. swagger (verb) – to strut or walk in an arrogant way.
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
15. stoop (noun) – a small set of stairs leading to the entrance of a house or apartment
building.
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
16. synagogue (noun) – a Jewish place of worship.
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
17. Tom (noun) slang – insult used to criticize a person of color for acting weak and inferior
in order to please white people.
Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
Now, on your own paper, you must write your own creative sentence for each word, taking
care to use the word correctly. If you wish, you may find the words in the book and copy
out the book sentences onto the back of this paper for extra credit (one point per word on
the next vocabulary quiz!!)