Knowsys Groups 1-5

A kindergarten teacher needs great ___ because little kids ask hundreds of questions!

A. abundanceB. memoirC. homageD. agilityE. forbearance

forbearance• forbearance- patience• The gymnastics teacher had to show a lot of forbearance

when working with young girls prone to• silliness and inattentiveness.

• Noun

• Var: forbear

We read “Eleven” from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. The book is not a novel or a memoir, but a collection of loosely-connected ____ all featuring the same protagonist, Esperanza.

A. reprisals

B. rejoinders

C. vignettes

C. vignettes• vignette -a short sketch that provides a clear picture

• The movie begins with a series of two-minute vignettes about life in Los Angeles.

• POS:N

After he left office, the senator decided to write his ___.A. memoirs

B. vignettes

C. dialects

A. memoirs• memoir -an account based on the author's personal

experiences

• The newly-discovered memoirs of the general will assist historians in reconstructing the events of the war.

• POS:N

Since the baby cried ____, the mother did not get any sleep.A. phenomenally

B. incessantly

C. imminently

B. incessantly• incessant- without interruption or continual

• The incessant noise of the squirrels gnawing on the bark of the tree kept me awake all night.

• POS:A

____ by her sense of moral obligation, Christine felt it was her duty to volunteer for the blood drive.

A. wreaked

B. depicted

C. impelled

C. impelled• impel• 1) to drive or propel or 2) to force

• The blackmailers impelled me to steal the company's secrets for them.

• POS:V

Kasey _____ disregarded the school rule about chewing gum and always had a wad of Bubblicious in her mouth.

A. malevolently

B. agilely

C. flagrantly

flagrantly• flagrant

-deliberately offensive and shocking

• She was charged with contempt of court because of her flagrant disregard for authority.

• POS:A

Danger was ____ as the floodwaters began to rise in the house.

A. arbitrary

B. intricate

C. imminent

C. imminent• imminent- about to happen

• The thunder, lightning, and cloudy sky signaled the imminent rainstorm.

• POS:A

Genocide, torture, and other horrendous ___ were committed during the Balkan Wars in the 1990s.

A. atrocities

B. rejoinders

C. indulgences

A. atrocities• atrocity- an act of great cruelty and wickedness

• The genocide committed in Cambodia by Pol Pot is one of the great atrocities of the 20th century.

• POS:N

• Var: atrocious

The police carry ____ in their squad car; they are ready to apprehend dangerous criminals.A. reprisals

B. vignettes

C. shackles

C. shackles• shackle- a ring or band put around the arm or leg to

prevent free movement

• The shackles on the elephant kept it from escaping.

• POS:N

My little brother is a terror; he can ___ a new toy in seconds!A. shackle

B. culminate

C. dismantle

C. dismantle• dismantle- to take apart

• After the party, the chaperons stayed behind to dismantle the background for the photographs.

• POS:V

Tornados are a natural ___ that can cause a great deal of damage to homes.

A. atrocity

B. phenomenon

C. culminations

B. phenomenon• phenomenon-• 1) anything that can be observed or described or 2)

something unusual

• The phenomenon of Halley's Comet appears about every 75 years.

• POS:N

• Var: phenomenal

The congressman refused to ___ his statement in support of the bill, even though most people thought it was ineffectual.

A. recant

B. rejoinder

C. dismantle

D. impel

A. recant• recant- to take back a statement or to confess to being

wrong

• The senator refused to recant his unflattering statements about the reporter.

• POS:V

In a ___ voice, the child asked the malevolent babysitter for a cookie.

A. unseemly

B. tremulous

C. indulgent

B. tremulous• tremulous- trembling or quaking

• Her shaky, tremulous voice indicated the depth of her fear.

• POS:A

Try as he might, Michael Vick could not ___ the idea that he is a terrible person.

A. impel

B. culminate

C. dispel

D. recant

C. dispel• dispel- to clear away, remove, or scatter

• The politician was able to dispel all the rumors by releasing his military service record.

• POS:V

The girl’s outburst was not _____; she had been planning for days to tell off her friends.A. rhetorical

B. intricate

C. sporadic

D. spontaneous

D. spontaneous• spontaneous-• 1) unplanned or 2) produced without human labor

• When the puppy bit his own tail and yelped, spontaneous laughter rang out from those nearby.

• POS:A

• Var: spontaneity

The black clouds were a sure sign of ____ weather approaching.

A. inclement

B. imminent

C. incessant

A. inclement• inclement- stormy, harsh, or unmerciful

• Many Northerners flee to the South during the winter to escape the inclement weather.

• POS:A

• Var: clement, clemency

At first the seating chart seemed _____, but then we noticed that Mr. Hays had seated us alphabetically by our middle names.

A. resilient

B. arbitrary

C. tremulous

D. rhetorical

B. arbitrary• arbitrary- determined by chance or whim

• The selection of the team leader was arbitrary and completely without reason or forethought.

• POS:A

The parents did not let their children watch TV after nine o’clock because they thought many of the programs are too _____ for children.

A. arbitrary

B. resilient

C. indulgent

D. risqué

D. risqué• risqué- bordering on being indecent or improper

• In Victorian England, it was considered risqué for a woman to show a bare ankle in public.

• POS:A

Emily was haunted by a ______ dream; every night she woke up in a cold sweat.

A. reticent

B. rejoinder

C. recant

D. recurring

D. recurring• recur-• 1) to happen again or 2) to come to mind again

• When the symptoms began to recur, the parents took their daughter to the emergency room.

• POS:V

• Var: recurrence

The _____ way she treated her little brother changed my opinion about Julie; I did not want to be her friend anymore.

A. atrocity

B. ineffectual

C. overt

D. indulgent

E. despicable

E. despicable• despicable- deserving contempt or scorn

• The man was arrested for his despicable treatment of his cat.

• POS:A

Lola’s grandmother made her a beautiful quilt with an ornate, ____ design sewn into the squares.A. inclement

B. incessant

C. intricate

D. imminent

C. intricate• intricate- complicated

• German watchmakers pride themselves on creating analogue watches with intricate gears, cogs, and

• springs.

• POS:A

As witty as he was good looking, Eric always had a clever ___ to reporters’ questions.

A. recant

B. rejoinder

C. dialect

D. vignette

B. rejoinder• rejoinder- a reply to what has been said

• What made the comedian so popular was his unscripted rejoinders to the audience's questions.

• POS:N

In the nanny’s opinion, the child’s parents were too _____; they bought her every new toy and video game.

A. intricate

B. imminent

C. inclement

D. indulgent

D. indulgent• indulgent -• 1) inclined to give in easily or 2) lenient

• The indulgent parents bought their child every new computer game that came out.

• POS:A

• Var: indulge

Evie is an _______ reader; she read thirty-six library books this summer!

A. agile

B. atrocity

C. avid

D. dire

E. overt

C. avid• avid - eager or greedy

• Avid for the promotion, Abe continuously went out of his way to please his superiors.

• POS:A

• Var: avidity

Begging and crying were ____; the teacher would not accept the late work.

A. impelling

B. indulgent

C. ineffectual

D. intricate

C. ineffectual• ineffectual- not bringing about the desired result

• My attempts at breaking the boulder with my small hammer were ineffectual.

• POS:A

The _____ on the door was rusted and needed to be oiled.

A. rejoinder

B. pivot

C. latch

B. pivot• pivot- the hinge on which something turns (can be a

person)

• The pivot on the gate made a squeaking noise whenever the gate opened or closed.

• POS:N

• Var: pivotal

Fearing _____, Joan did not voice her outrage at the children in the neighborhood for wrapping her house on Halloween.

A. rejoinder

B. reticent

C. reprisal

D. atrocity

C. reprisal• reprisal -a retaliation for an injury

• The judicial system was created in order to prevent individuals from exacting reprisals whenever they

• are injured by others.

• POS:N

An armadillo’s shell is remarkably ____ and is able to withstand all kinds of attacks by predators.

A. reticent

B. resilient

C. risqué

D. rhetorical

B. resilient• resilient- able to recover quickly from misfortune or to

return to the original state

• The women proved herself resilient in the face of misfortune; she quickly recovered and went on to be

• quite successful.

• POS:A

• Var: resilience, resiliency

We tried to convince Paul that his idea for a solar powered car was brilliant, but not ____ with current technology.

A. imminent

B. arbitrary

C. feasible

D. sporadic

C. feasible• feasible -possible or likely

• Due to advancements in technology, it is feasible for the U.S. to send a manned mission to Mars in

• the next decade.

• POS:A

• Var: feasibility

I find my little sister to be incredibly ____ when my friends are over! She never leaves us alone.

A. irksome

B. inclement

C. indulgent

A. irksome• irksome -annoying and tedious

• The irksome task of cleaning the bathroom always fell to Irma.

• POS:A

The man did not commit the crime in the heat of passion; his ____ plans were found on his computer and the receipt for dynamite was on his desk.

A. risqué

B. unseemly

C. malevolent

D. sporadic

C. malevolent• malevolent -producing harm or evil

• With all of the bad things happening, Melody was sure there was a malevolent spirit haunting her.

• POS:A

• Var: malevolence

The coach was disappointed because his new quarterback performed well only _____________.

A. reticently

B. sporadically

C. recurrently

D. flagrantly

B. sporadically• sporadic -happening occasionally

• The sporadic power outages gave us an excuse to tell ghost stories around a lone candle a few times

• a year.

• POS:A

Sam’s ___ nature was the opposite of his reticent sister.

A. intricate

B. feasible

C. glib

C. glib

• glib -insincere or superficial

• The insincerity of the clerk's glib apology angered the offended customer.

• POS:A

After his ___ behavior at the office party, George was fired from his job.

A. combustible

B. indulgent

C. unseemly

D. glib

C. unseemly• unseemly -inappropriate or improper

• Nguyen and Toni began an unseemly argument at the reception dinner.

• POS:A

Even after he pored over the map for years, Jack Sparrow was unable to _____ Blackbeard’s clues.

A. dismantle

B. decipher

C. dispel

D. depict

E. dub

B. decipher• decipher-to decode or to solve

• Duong was unable to decipher the secret note Cheryl had written him in code.

• POS:V

• Var: cipher

The squirrel perched ______ on the end of the tree limb.

A. reticently

B. malevolently

C. precariously

D. dangerously

C. precariously• precarious -dependent on uncertain premises

• The jungle tour guide tried to avoid precarious situations by sticking to the well-known path.

• POS:A

In one of Goya’s famously gruesome paintings, Saturn is _______ devouring his son.

A. dispelled

B. dismantled

C. depicted

D. deciphered

Waldo as

Saturn’s son.

Goya

C. depicted• depict -to describe or give a picture of

• The person I know is not the same person you depict in your journal; your descriptions make him out

• to be greedy and cold.

• POS:V

• Var: depiction

The imminent hurricane put us in a ____ situation. If we stayed, we might be trapped in the house, but if we left we risked being caught by the storm while on the road.

A. inclement

B. risqué

C. glib

D. dire

E. ineffectual

D. dire• dire -1) having terrible consequences or 2) urgent or

desperate

• The superhero saved the earth from the dire predicament that threatened to destroy it.

• POS:A

The firefighters were able to ___ all the residents of the burning apartment building.

A. execute

B. extricate

C. decipher

D. dismantle

E. rescue

B. extricate• extricate -to untangle or free

• The man could not extricate himself from the web of lies he told the police.

• POS:V

The candidates campaign promises won some supporters, but most people knew it was just ___ and nothing concrete would come of it.

A. rejoinder

B. reprisal

C. reticent

D. rhetoric

(example of verbal irony)

D. rhetoric• rhetoric -• 1) the art of using language skillfully or 2) insincere

language

• The rhetoric coming from the candidates was ignored by the voters who were planning to vote the

• party line.

• POS:N

• Var: rhetorical

She was so nervous about soccer try-outs that she was only able to sleep ___.

A. feasibly

B. incessantly

C. glibly

D. flagrantly

E. fitfully

E. fitfully• fitful -irregular or unsteady

• Franklin had a fitful night's sleep since he dreamed he was being tormented by mosquitoes

• .• POS:A

Barney did not express ____ dislike for the new neighbors, but we could tell he was not happy about living next door to a family with triplets and four dogs.

A. imminent

B. overt

C. ornate

D. unseemly

B. overt• overt -not hidden

• Her overt reaction was one of disgust at the man's remark; her feelings were plainly visible on her face.

• POS:A

In Raymond’s Run, the writer uses ____ in her characterization of Squeaky.

A. depiction

B. dialect

C. vignettes

D. memoirs

B. dialect• dialect -a particular form of a language spoken in a

certain geographical region

• The dialect spoken in the German Alps is Swabish.

• POS:N

The large dog ran around the house knocking over furniture, tripping people, and _____ chaos.

A. recanting

B. extricating

C. wreaking

C. wreaking• wreak -to bring about or inflict

• The heavy rains caused flooding that wreaked devastation on the riverside businesses.

• POS:V

The gazelle is an ____ creature that is able to elude predators with its quick reflexes and speed.

A. resilient

B. sporadic

C. feasible

D. agile

D. agile• agile -able to move or think quickly and easily

• Ballerinas and gymnasts must be athletic and agile.

• POS:A

• Var: agility

For the theatre students, the months of practice _____ in performances before their friends and family.

A. executeB. dispelC. culminate

C. culminate• culminate -to reach or bring to the highest point

• The conference is to culminate with an address by the president of the convention.

• POS:V

• Var: culmination