Unit 8 Vocabulary: English 12
proprietor (n): the owner of a business or establishment
coerce (v): to force to act or think a certain way by use of pressure, threats, or intimidation
choleric (adj): easily angered; bad tempered
circuitous (adj): roundabout or not direct
agnostic (n): one who believes that there can be no proof of the existence of God, but does not deny the possibility that God exists
advocate (n): one that argues for a cause; a supporter or defender
disseminate (v): to scatter widely, as in sowing seed
epigraph (n): a motto or quotation at the beginning of a literary composition; often states theme
scintillate (v): to sparkle or shine
averse (adj): having a feeling of opposition, distaste, or aversion; strongly disinclined
instigate (v): to stir up or provoke some new action
artifice (n): an artful trick or deception
attrition (n): a reduction or decrease in numbers, size, or strength; often caused by stress and pressure
candor (n): frankness or sincerity of expression; openness
castigate (v): to inflict punishment on; to criticize severely
discreet (adj): careful with one’s conduct and speech, especially in regard to protecting privacy/ maintaining silence
sanctimonious (adj): faking piety or righteousness
incandescent (adj): shining brilliantly; very bright
amity (n): peaceful relations as between nations
pivotal (adj): being of vital or central importance
SYNONYMS: Choose the word from this unit that is the same or close to the same in meaning as given word.
1. bully (v) coerce
2. indirect circuitous
3. skeptic(n) agnostic
4. disperse disseminate
5. thematic statement epigraph
6. weakening attrition
7. luminous incandescent
8. critical pivotal
9. ploy artifice
10. cautious discreet
ANTONYMS: Choose the word from this unit that closest to the opposite in meaning to the given word.
1. customer proprietor
2. pleasant choleric
3. opponent advocate
4. dull (v) scintillate
5. agreeable averse
6. deception candor
7. praise(v) castigate
8. sincere sanctimonious
9. halt instigate
10. hostility amity
COMPLETE THE SENTENCE: Fill in the blank with the correct vocabulary word.
1. The diamond ring scintillates in the sunlight.
2. The irritated congregation resented the man’s sanctimoniousremarks about the Bible after they witnessed him scolding his child in the parking lot.
3. The student began to instigate the other kids on the playground to start throwing mulch.
4. Susan B. Anthony was a strong advocate for women’s rights.
5. The book spoke for itself, but theepigraph on page one was equally interesting.
6. The United Nations promotes amity among the world’s many diverse populations.
7. I get absolutelycholericwhen a telemarketer calls during dinner.
8. The teacher wanted tocastigatethe disruptive student after school during detention, but didn’t want to go overboard and lose her job.
9. We took a circuitousroute to the airport to avoid the heavy rush hour traffic.
10. The incandescentlighthouse was able to be seen for miles off the coast.
11. The report was missing a pivotalpiece of information that may have closed the case.
12. With a discreet gesture, the woman signaled to her husband that she was ready to leave the party.
13. The journalist tried to access information about the property from the proprietor.
14. I am not averse to broccoli if it is cooked correctly.
15. She spoke with candorabout her distaste for racist remarks in the workplace.
16. The police chief tried to coercethe suspect to confess.
17. The Army has slashed the rate of attrition by providing soldiers with incentive to stay enrolled.
18. Many people who consider themselves an agnostic do not go to church on Christmas Eve.
19. The whole story was just an artifice to win our sympathy.
20. The Internet allows us to disseminateinformation faster than ever.
DERIVATIVES: Find two derivatives for the following word and label parts of speech.
- Proprietor: Proprietorship (N), Proprietary (Adj.)
- Circuitous: Circuitously (Adv.), Circuitousness (N)
- Disseminate: Disseminator (N), Dissemination (N)
- Averse: Aversely (Adv.), Averseness (N)
- Instigate: Instigation (N), Instigator (N)
- Castigate: Castigation (N), Castigator (N)
- Discreet: Discreetly (Adv.), Discreetness (N)
- Sanctimonious: Sanctimoniously (Adv.), Sanctimoniousness (N)
- Incandescent: Incandescently (Adv.), Incandescence (N)
- Agnostic (1): Agnosticism (N)
PREFIXES/SUFFIXES: Find the meaning of each.
il- not
im- not
inter- between
intra- within
ir- not
macro- large
mal- bad, evil
meta- beyond
COMMON USAGE PROBLEMS: Use each correctly in a sentence.
who/which/that
______
a mute point or a moot point
______