English II Vocabulary

Unit 5

Context Clue Sentences

Step One: Read each set of sentences, and try to determine the part of speech for each word: noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. Jot it down in the box.

rancor / Whelan’s double-dealing had Jack seething; he had never before felt so much rancor toward a lawyer.
Jim’s rancorous attitude for clowns developed after his wallet was stolen by someone in a Ronald McDonald costume.
inexorable / Decades of harsh weather caused the inexorable erosion of the tombstone.
The development of technology is inexorable; soon every part of daily life will be automated.
extol / Emily extolled the virtues of her personal hero and mentor.
Many extol Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize winner, for her work advocating for gender equality and equal access to education.
clement / Despite the abhorrent nature of the crime, the judge handed down a surprisingly clement sentence.
My teacher made a clement decision to postpone the due date of our essay.
cliché / The candidate promised new ideas, but spouted the same old clichés after her election.
Writers should learn to avoid clichés such as claiming that imagery “paints a picture in the reader’s mind.”
adamant / Despite the protests of the entire city council, the mayor remained adamant.
Her adamant attitude kept her from admitting that she failed the test because she didn’t study.
diffident / The diffident student hated to speak in front of the class.
I was diffident before my first track practice because I didn’t know how well I’d fit in with the team.
opus / My favorite composition by Antonin Dvorak is Opus 95.
The pianist spent 2 years perfecting his opus.
ostensible / The ostensible reason for inviting her up to his room was to show her his bottle cap collection.
His ostensible goal was charity, but his true motivation was popularity.
disparity / My wife is twelve years older than I am, but we get along well despite the disparity in our ages.
Though some progress has been made in gender equality, a large disparity still exists between the wages of males and females hired for the same job.

Step 2: working with your group, try and determine the definition of each word using context clues. DO NOT USE DICTIONARIES! Jot down your guess near the sentences.