Diocesan Spelling Bee
Stage 3 - Preliminary Round - Non Elimination
Word casting
Pronunciation (say kah-sting)
Sentence The casting for the new film is being done entirely in Australia.
Word harmony
Pronunciation (say hah-muh-nee)
Sentence The choir sang in perfect harmony.
Word singe
Pronunciation (say sinj)
Sentence You’ll sing your hair if you get too close to that candle.
Word music
Pronunciation (say myooh-zik)
Sentence I like listening to music on the radio.
Word tumble
Pronunciation (say tum-buhl)
Sentence She saw him tumble off the wall and into the soft grass.
(5 words)
Stage 3 - Round 1
Word scene
Pronunciation (say seen)
Sentence The murder occurs in the first scene of the play.
Word peevish
Pronunciation (say peev-ish)
Sentence Because I was tired, I was feeling peevish.
Word defy
Pronunciation (say duh-fuy)
Sentence It is not a good idea to defy the police.
Word boomerang
Pronunciation (say booh-muh-rang)
Sentence We bought a boomerang when we visited Central Australia.
Word salmon
Pronunciation (say sam-uhn)
Sentence The salmon returns from the ocean to breed in rivers.
Word helmet
Pronunciation (say hel-muht)
Sentence You must wear a helmet when you ride a bike.
Word wireless
Pronunciation (say wuy-uh-luhs)
Sentence Wireless technology allows people to access the internet even when they are outside.
Word friction
Pronunciation (say frik-shuhn)
Sentence The friction of two stones being rubbed together can produce a spark.
Word poll
Pronunciation (say pol)
Sentence The latest opinion poll found that the community was evenly divided on the proposed law.
Word chatter
Pronunciation (say chat-uh)
Sentence My friend and I like to chatter when we go home on the bus.
Word curfew
Pronunciation (say ker-fyooh)
Sentence After the riots, there was a ten o’clock curfew.
Word patient
Pronunciation (say pay-shuhnt)
Sentence The doctor had to check on one last patient before he could leave for the night.
Word galley
Pronunciation (say gal-ee)
Sentence The ship’s cook prepared meals for the whole crew in a tiny galley.
Word trivia
Pronunciation (say triv-ee-uh)
Sentence His head is filled with cricket trivia.
Word accused
Pronunciation (say uh-kyoohzd)
Sentence The judge let the accused go free.
Word germ
Pronunciation (say jerm)
Sentence If you really want to see a germ, you will have to look through a microscope.
Word thimble
Pronunciation (say thim-buhl)
Sentence I use a thimble when I am doing hand sewing.
Word elevator
Pronunciation (say el-uh-vay-tuh)
Sentence Let’s catch the elevator – it’s quicker than walking upstairs.
Word hazard
Pronunciation (say haz-uhd)
Sentence The hole in the footpath is a hazard for pedestrians.
Word tackle
Pronunciation (say tak-uhl)
Sentence At soccer training we are being taught how to tackle.
Word sprain
Pronunciation (say sprayn)
Sentence If you trip over, you could sprain your ankle.
Word tablet
Pronunciation (say tab-luht)
Sentence We have to give the dog a tablet every day for her diabetes.
Word family
Pronunciation (say fam-uh-lee)
Sentence Our family went for a long holiday to the snow last year.
Word emblem
Pronunciation (say em-bluhm)
Sentence The floral emblem of New South Wales is the waratah.
Word police
Pronunciation (say puh-lees)
Sentence Robert was pulled over by the police for speeding.
Word commune
Pronunciation (say kom-yoohn)
Sentence The people from the commune sold their organic vegetables at the markets.
Word squirm
Pronunciation (say skwerm)
Sentence We started to squirm with embarrassment when we realised how silly we had been.
Word greenhouse
Pronunciation (say green-hows)
Sentence We grow lettuces in the greenhouse all year long.
Word gravity
Pronunciation (say grav-uh-tee)
Sentence If it wasn’t for gravity, we would all be floating around.
Word frantic
Pronunciation (say fran-tik)
Sentence We were frantic when we couldn’t find out dog for two days.
Word tarnish
Pronunciation (say tar-nish)
Sentence Eventually all silver will tarnish and will need polishing.
Word capsize
Pronunciation (say kap-suyz)
Sentence Look out! The boat is going to capsize.
Word trio
Pronunciation (say tree-oh)
Sentence My two brothers and I have formed a trio and we busk every weekend in the city.
Word tonal
Pronunciation (say toh-nuhl)
Sentence A didgeridoo does not have the tonal agility of many other wind instruments and so rhythm is used instead.
Word bloated
Pronunciation (say bloh-tuhd)
Sentence I always felt bloated after Christmas lunch because I ate too much.
Word nation
Pronunciation (say nay-shun)
Sentence The whole nation was saddened by the death of the president.
Word peanut
Pronunciation (say pee-nut)
Sentence We fed the dog a peanut but she didn’t like it.
Word atom
Pronunciation (say at-uhm)
Sentence An atom is made up of protons, neutrons and electrons.
Word understudy
Pronunciation (say un-duh-stud-ee)
Sentence Luckily the understudy had trained well for the part and the show was a total success.
Word tenor
Pronunciation (say ten-uh)
Sentence There is a part for a tenor in the school musical.
Word broadcast
Pronunciation (say brawd-kahst)
Sentence The news is broadcast at 7 p.m. each evening.
Word router
Pronunciation (say rowt-uh)
Sentence We had to follow the instructions to set up the router.
Word urgent
Pronunciation (say er-juhnt)
Sentence I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have an urgent message for you.
Word tweezers
Pronunciation (say tweez-uhz)
Sentence She used tweezers to pull the splinter out of her finger.
Word withdrawn
Pronunciation (say with-drawn)
Sentence The new student was understandably a little withdrawn.
Word teeter
Pronunciation (say tee-tuh)
Sentence We held our breath as we watched the acrobat teeter on the high wire.
Word athlete
Pronunciation (say ath-leet)
Sentence Paul is an excellent athlete and wants to compete in the Olympic Games.
Word myth
Pronunciation (say mith)
Sentence Our teacher read us an ancient Greek myth about how the stars were formed.
Word wildlife
Pronunciation (say wuyld-luyf)
Sentence You must always be careful not to endanger wildlife.
Word transmit
Pronunciation (say trans-mit)
Sentence They plan to transmit the game live from the playing ground.
(50 words)
Stage 3 - Round 2
Word tetanus
Pronunciation (say tet-nuhs or tet-uh-nuhs)
Sentence These days, most people in Australia are immunised against tetanus, so it is not very common.
Word tarmac
Pronunciation (say tah-mac)
Sentence The plane waited on the tarmac until the runway was clear for take-off.
Word almond
Pronunciation (say ah-muhnd)
Sentence The café in Bali sells a delicious almond slice.
Word nationality
Pronunciation (say nash-uh-nal-uh-tee)
Sentence Bruno’s parents went through a special ceremony to become Australian citizens. Now their nationality is Australian instead of Italian.
Word maritime
Pronunciation (say ma-ruh-tuym)
Sentence Have you visited the maritime museum?
Word pagoda
Pronunciation (say puh-goh-duh)
Sentence During our trip to Japan, we visited a famous pagoda in the hills near Kyoto.
Word courtesy
Pronunciation (say ker-tuh-see)
Sentence Her courtesy and understanding were appreciated by everyone.
Word tolerance
Pronunciation (say tol-uh-ruhns)
Sentence He had a wide tolerance and a great respect for the beliefs of all
men.
Word periphery
Pronunciation (say puh-rif-uh-ree)
Sentence Police officers stood around the periphery of the crowd.
Word research
Pronunciation (say ruh-serch or ree-serch)
Sentence One day, medical research might discover a cure for colds.
Word happiness
Pronunciation (say hap-ee-nuhs)
Sentence The thought of travelling overseas filled Jack with happiness.
Word boycott
Pronunciation (say boy-kot)
Sentence She decided to boycott the meeting as a protest against the new policy.
Word tortoiseshell
Pronunciation (say taw-tuh-shel)
Sentence On the dressing table were her silver-backed hairbrushes and a long tortoiseshell clip.
Word adamant
Pronunciation (say ad-uh-muhnt)
Sentence Mum was adamant that the bathroom wall should remain bright yellow.
Word austere
Pronunciation (say o-steer or aw-steer)
Sentence The monks lead an austere life with no luxuries at all.
Word unfortunate
Pronunciation (say un-faw-chuh-nuht)
Sentence You were very unfortunate to miss out on a ticket to the concert.
Word marzipan
Pronunciation (say mah-zuh-pan)
Sentence The wedding cake was covered with a layer of marzipan.
Word semaphore
Pronunciation (say sem-uh-faw)
Sentence Before radio, semaphore was used to communicate between ships in a fleet.
Word battleaxe
Pronunciation (say bat-uhl-aks)
Sentence The battleaxe was used in warfare during the Viking Age.
Word dissect
Pronunciation (say duh-sekt or duy-sekt)
Sentence In our science class we watched the teacher dissect a sheep’s brain to show us how it worked.
Word fiscal
Pronunciation (say fis-kuhl)
Sentence The treasurer is largely responsible for fiscal matters affecting the country.
Word encourage
Pronunciation (say en-ku-rij)
Sentence We tried to encourage him to enter the art competition.
Word census
Pronunciation (say sen-suhs)
Sentence The government conducts a census of the whole country every five years.
Word complexity
Pronunciation (say kuhm-plek-suh-tee)
Sentence It took her some time to understand the complexity of running her own business.
Word cosmonaut
Pronunciation (say koz-muh-nawt)
Sentence The cosmonaut prepared the spacecraft for its return to Earth.
Word electoral
Pronunciation (say uh-lek-tuh-ruhl)
Sentence The favoured candidate won the presidency in an electoral landslide.
Word cubbyhouse
Pronunciation (say kub-ee-hows)
Sentence Only three of us could fit into the cubbyhouse at the same time.
Word bypass
Pronunciation (say buy-pahs)
Sentence We had to use the bypass because there was an accident of the freeway.
Word republic
Pronunciation (say ruh-pub-lik)
Sentence Australia is not a republic but the United States is.
Word capitalism
Pronunciation (say kap-uh-tuh-liz-uhm)
Sentence Capitalism is considered the Western world’s dominant economic system.
Word kilohertz
Pronunciation (say kil-uh-herts)
Sentence The radiofrequency is 300 kilohertz.
Word tuxedo
Pronunciation (say tuk-see-doh)
Sentence He was looking very smart in his new shoes and a hired tuxedo.
Word salutation
Pronunciation (say sal-yuh-tay-shuhn)
Sentence He greeted everyone he met with a pleasant salutation and a smile.
Word athletics
Pronunciation (say ath-let-iks)
Sentence The athletics at the Olympic Games are exciting to watch, particularly the running and hurdling.
Word microscope
Pronunciation (say muy-kruh-skohp)
Sentence We examined a mosquito under the microscope.
Word serviette
Pronunciation (say ser-vee-et)
Sentence Mum always tells me to use a serviette, but I usually spill food on my clothes anyway.
Word superfluous
Pronunciation (say sooh-per-flooh-uhs)
Sentence We’ll freeze any superfluous food.
Word hyperlink
Pronunciation (say huy-puh-lingk)
Sentence I clicked on the hyperlink to get to the next page.
Word divisive
Pronunciation (say duh-viz-iv or duh-vuy-siv)
Sentence It was a particularly divisive policy that angered many.
Word trespass
Pronunciation (say tres-pahs)
Sentence He put up a sign warning people not to trespass on his land.
Word nutrition
Pronunciation (say nyooh-trish-uhn)
Sentence Good nutrition is vital to athletes.
Word cleanse
Pronunciation (say klenz)
Sentence The nurse started to cleanse the wound with a mild antiseptic.
Word pumice
Pronunciation: (say pum-uhs)
Sentence Pumice can be used for smoothing dry skin.
Word democracy
Pronunciation (say duh-mok-ruh-see)
Sentence The right of free speech for all is essential in a democracy.
Word risotto
Pronunciation (say ruh-zot-oh)
Sentence Risotto with prawns is one of my favourite dishes.
Word beautify
Pronunciation (say byooh-tuh-fuy)
Sentence We decided to help beautify the city by planting trees.
Word ally
Pronunciation (say al-uy)
Sentence My sister was my ally in the argument about which film we should see.
Word interpreter
Pronunciation (say in-ter-pruh-tuh)
Sentence A good interpreter manages to convey small differences in meaning.
Word culinary
Pronunciation (say kul-uhn-ree)
Sentence His culinary skills had improved after attending cooking classes.
Word equivalent
Pronunciation (say uh-kwiv-uh-luhnt)
Sentence An inch is equivalent to about 2.5 centimetres in the metric
system.
(50 words)
Stage 3 - Round 3
Word liniment
Pronunciation (say lin-uh-muhnt)
Sentence After tennis practice my shoulder was sore, so I rubbed some liniment onto it.
Word oasis
Pronunciation (say oh-ay-sis)
Sentence They were relieved to come across an oasis as they were running low on water.
Word pilgrimage
Pronunciation (say pil-gruh-mij)
Sentence He intended to make a pilgrimage across the north of Spain to the city of Santiago.
Word limousine
Pronunciation (say lim-uh-zeen)
Sentence The bridal party travelled in a limousine.
Word municipality
Pronunciation (say myooh-nuh-suh-pal-uh-tee)
Sentence We have some good parks in our municipality.
Word vengeance
Pronunciation (say ven-juhns)
Sentence The police thought the murder was an act of vengeance.
Word notorious
Pronunciation (say nuh-taw-ree-uhs)
Sentence He’s notorious for his wild parties.
Word controversial
Pronunciation (say kon-truh-ver-shuhl)
Sentence The political party was divided about the controversial issue.
Word marquee
Pronunciation (say mah-kee)
Sentence They hired a marquee for the wedding celebration, so it didn’t matter if it rained.
Word acacia
Pronunciation (say uh-kay-shuh or uh-kay-see-uh)
Sentence In Australia, we usually refer to the acacia as a wattle tree.
Word nougat
Pronunciation (say nooh-gah)
Sentence Traditional nougat tastes distinctly of almonds.
Word salubrious
Pronunciation (say suh-looh-bree-uhs)
Sentence When they become wealthy, they moved to a more salubrious suburb.
Word bathe
Pronunciation (say bayth)
Sentence Bathe your sore eye in this salty water.
Word seizure
Pronunciation (say seezh-uh)
Sentence She had a seizure while on holidays and was rushed to hospital.
Word ligature
Pronunciation (say lig-uh-chuh)
Sentence She tightened the ligature on the mouthpiece of her saxophone.
Word procure
Pronunciation (say pruh-kyoouh)
Sentence Once we knew what food we could procure, we planned the menu.
Word barometer
Pronunciation (say buh-rom-uh-tuh)
Sentence The barometer is falling, which means we are in for bad weather.
Word trillion
Pronunciation (say tril-yuhn)
Sentence It’s hard to imagine a trillion dollars.
Word scaffolding
Pronunciation (say skaf-uhl-ding)
Sentence Workers had to erect scaffolding around the outside of the building before restoration could begin.
Word brigadier
Pronunciation (say brig-uh-dear)
Sentence My grandfather was a brigadier in the Vietnam War.
Word vacancy
Pronunciation (say vay-kuhn-see)