Vocabulary Training

Vocab 1

  1. bulwark – noun
  2. forbear – verb
  3. incite – verb
  4. bludgeon – verb
  5. dulcet – adj
  1. First off, set up a notebook paper page following directions we go over during class.
  1. Use your dictionary to fill in the definitions (for the correct part of speech) and check to see if any synonyms are given. ALSO, scan the entry for any “weird” ways to spell any of the tenses or plurals of the word.
  1. Now, thinking of that part of speech and thinking about the definition, come up with some synonyms and antonyms. REMEMBER: antonyms have the OPPOSITE meaning of the word; synonyms have the SAME.
  1. Did you label the synonyms and antonyms as what they are? Just a simple s- or ant- in front of them does the trick. Also, syns and ants should be the SAME PART OF SPEECH as the vocab word.

In the sentences below, see if you can fill in the right word to complete the sentence. I may use some words multiple times, so be careful!

Sample sentences

  1. She has a big ______.
  1. I thought he was going to______.
  1. We need to ______that big dog.
  1. How’s it going so far? My guess is that you are a little frustrated because the sentences are pretty vague and don’t give you any clues. Try the next ones...
  1. Bobby had to run home from the bus to avoid being ______ed by the bully.
  1. Were it not for the impenetrable ______of trees surrounding the house, it too would have been blown away by the tornado.
  1. She hadn’t planned to ______her little sister to cry, but she just couldn’t sit through another episode of Backyardigans and changed the DVD.
  1. Mom told us that starting on Monday she would ______eating any sweets, but we caught her gobbling a KitKat bar that very night.

Numbers 5-8 are muchbetter, yes? Go back and in 5-8, circle any parts of the sentence that helped you decide what word to put in the blank.

Now, go back to our first three “bad” sentences. Using the existing sentence, add to it so as to fix each sentence, making it clear what word goes in the blank. If you couldn’t decide before what word to use, just pick one and make the sentence work.

As you fill in your page for Vocab 1, think about using synonyms, antonyms, and parts of the definition in the meaningful sentences so that it’s easy to tell what the word means. Please be sure the sentences you write tonight are ORIGINALS, not just slight “knock offs” of the sentences found on this worksheet.

BY THE WAY, do NOT try to take the easy way out by writing sentences that just put the definition right after the word itself. Like this – “He likes to bludgeon, or hit with a large stick, the house.” If you couldn’t take out the “comma definition comma” part of the sentence and still have it show the meaning, then you haven’t really written a meaningful sentence. CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED.

The page for Vocab 1 – completed including meaningful sentences AND drawings – is due next time.