Search Vocabulary – Schreiner
Book D, Unit # 8
Word List
1. assurance – (n) a pledge; freedom from doubt, self-confidence
2. asylum – (n) an institution for care of children, elderly people, etc., a place of safety
3. console – (v) to comfort; (n) the keyboard of an organ; a control panel for an electrical or mechanical device
4. dilate – (v) to make or become larger or wider; to expand upon
5. dross – (n) refuse, waste products
6. dwindle – (v) to lessen, diminish
7. flippant – (adj) lacking in seriousness; disrespectful, saucy
8. immunity – (n) resistance to disease; freedom from some charge or obligation
9. institute – (v) to establish, set up; (n) an organization for the promotion of learning
10. liability – (n) a debt; something disadvantageous
11. preposterous – (adj) ridiculous, senseless
12. pugnacious – (adj) quarrelsome, fond of fighting
13. rabid – (adj) furious, violently intense, unreasonably extreme; mad; infected with rabies
14. realm – (n) a kingdom; a region or field of study
15. rejuvenate – (v) to make young again; to renew
16. remunerate – (v) to reward, pay, reimburse
17. sparse – (adj) meager, scant; scattered
18. sterling – (adj) genuine, excellent; of standard quality
19. venture – (n) a risky or daring undertaking; (v) to expose to danger; to dare
20. warp – (v) to twist out of shape; (n) an abnormality
Vocabulary Assignment Book D, Unit # 8
Filling in the Blanks
Choose the word from this unit that best completes each sentence.
1. He is such a(n) ______chess player that he spends almost all of his spare time either playing or studying to improve his game.
2. When I arrived in California, I found employment opportunities there so ______that I soon decided to return home.
3. The wooden staircase we had worked so hard to build was now irregularly curved because the boards had ______.
4. Many members have lost interest in our club, but I am confident that we can ______their enthusiasm with a worthwhile program.
5. Because his army was stronger than his rival’s, the pretender to the throne was able to seize power throughout the entire ______.
6. For many years, Mrs. Raimondi has devoted her time, her energies, and her funds to establishing a(n) ______for promoting world peace.
7. The idea that an incoming President can miraculously solve all of the nation’s problems is simply ______.
8. Although I cannot support her in the election, I fully appreciate her many ______qualities.
9. I consider myself a very peaceful person, but if anyone approaches me in a(n) ______manner, I am prepared to defend myself.
10. Calling upon his many years of experience, the retired warden discussed with great ______the topic of the evening – “Can Criminals Be Rehabilitated?”
11. Can any amount of money ______me for the years of my life I have given to that hopeless cause?
12. When we are discussing a serious problem like drug abuse, I feel that ______remarks are in bad taste.
13. He is an excellent ball handler and a very good shot; his only serious ______as a basketball player is lack of speed.
14. The English word bedlam was taken from the name of an infamous ______for the insane in medieval London.
15. When Horace, my favorite hamster, died suddenly, my friends were unable to ______me during my hours of grief.
16. As days passed with no signs of life from the men trapped in the mine, hopes for their rescue ______and eventually vanished.
17. We hope to lessen the number, length, and severity of common colds, even if we cannot provide complete ______from them.
18. All the riches of this world, said the minister, are so much worthless ______without spiritual values and faith.
19. As the snake came into view and slithered across our path, Ralph’s eyes ______with fear.
20. You will need experience, ability, financing, and good luck to have any chance of succeeding in so risky a business ______.
Synonyms
Choose the word from this unit that is most nearly the same in meaning as the groups of expressions.
1. to found, bring about; an academy ______1
2. to soothe, solace, alleviate ______2
3. first-rate, outstanding, worthy; pure ______3
4. to decrease, shrink, fade, peter out ______4
5. to try, chance, undertake; a gamble ______5
6. to enlarge, expand, swell, prolong ______6
7. to compensate, satisfy, profit, benefit ______7
8. a handicap, difficulty, impediment, drawback ______8
9. to renew, revitalize, breathe new life into ______9
10. to bend, distort, misshape; an irregularity ______10
11. exemption, impunity, excusal ______11
12. rubbish, trash, detritus; dregs, scum ______12
13. a domain, duchy, bailiwick, jurisdiction ______13
14. a sanctuary, refuge; a sanatorium ______14
15. fanatical, zealous; raving, infuriated, berserk ______15
16. thin, scanty, few and far between ______16
17. impudent, impertinent, insolent; frivolous ______17
18. sureness, poise, self-possession; a promise ______18
19. argumentative, combative, belligerent ______19
20. nonsensical, absurd, incredible ______20
Antonyms
Choose the word from this unit that is most nearly the opposite in meaning as the groups of expressions.
1. to withdraw, retire, shrink from, shy away ______1
2. plentiful, abundant, profuse, teeming ______2
3. to straighten, unbend; to rectify ______3
4. peace-loving, friendly, amicable, congenial ______4
5. to wear out, exhaust, enervate, debilitate ______5
6. mediocre, shoddy, second-rate, sham ______6
7. sensible, reasonable, realistic, plausible ______7
8. to teminate, discontinue; to demolish, raze ______8
9. moderate, restrained, blasé, indifferent ______9
10. vulnerability, susceptibility, exposure ______10
11. an advantage, asset ______11
12. to increase, enlarge, swell, proliferate ______12
13. uncertainty, doubt, insecurity ______13
14. to distress, aggravate, bother, vex, torment ______14
15. to contract, compress, constrict ______15
16. serious, respectful, deferential, obsequious ______16
Choosing the Right Word
Encircle the boldface word that more satisfactorily completes each of the sentences.
1. When you write so imaginatively about “life on other planets,” you are entering the (realm, immunity) of science fiction.
2. My father should have known better than to (venture, warp) into a canoe that I was going to paddle upstream against a crosswind.
3. Today scientist smile wryly at the (preposterous, sterling) notion that the earth is flat, but in earlier times it was an accepted fact.
4. As usual, there are plenty of talkers, but the supply of doers is (flippant, sparse).
5. Patriotism is a fine quality, but not when it is (instituted, warped) into a hatred of other nations.
6. Walt’s (pugnacious, sterling) behavior on the football field was more effective in drawing penalties than in gaining ground.
7. I agree with some of his ideas, but I often find that his (sparse, rabid) enthusiasm for crackpot causes is hard to take.
8. A sound understanding of the principles of freedom and self-government is the best way to gain (immunity, asylum) from totalitarian propaganda.
9. I like humor as well as anyone, but I don’t believe in being (flippant, rabid) on so solemn an occasion.
10. I support Rick for team captain because of the (remunerative, sterling) leadership he has given us during the long, hard season.
11. In spite of all his talk about his great wealth, I noticed that he did not offer to (remunerate, institute) us for the cost of the gas.
12. Do you expect me to be (dilated, consoled) by the fact that I was not the only one to fail the exam?
13. His worst (liability, realm) as a leader is his unwillingness to listen to suggestions form others.
14. Many Americans think that the United States should continue to provide (assurance, asylum) for people fleeing from tyranny in other lands.
15. She did not agree to run for Mayor until she had received (assurance, institute) of support from important groups in the community.
16. No doubt he knows a great deal about ecology, but is there any need for him to (console, dilate) at such length on threats to the environment.
17. In order to meet stricter industry standards, the auto manufacturer that to (institute, remunerate) a tough new system of quality controls.
18. We must clear away the (sterling, dross) of false ideas from our minds and take a long, hard look at the problem as it actually exists.
19. How quickly their interest in the program (dwindled, remunerated) when they realized that it called for so much work, with little chance for glory!
20. The outworn ideas of the past cannot be (rejuvenated, dilated) simply by expressing them in snappy, modern slang.