Name _____________________________
Class _________________
Unit 11 Worksheet
Completing the sentence: From the words in this unit, choose the one that best completes each of the
following sentences. Write the word in the space provided.
1. On the _____________________ of delivering a package, he sought to gain admission into the apartment
2. Sherlock Holmes assured Dr. Watson that it was simple deduction, not some ___________________ faculty
that led him to the documents hiding place.
3. Although the cut on my arm was bleeding quite heavily, it proved to be quite__________________, and only
a tight bandage was required.
4. I selected him as my business partner not only because I respect his ability but also because I have
unlimited confidence in his character and ____________________.
5. Phyllis was too polite to mention Johns crude behavior at the party, but she certainly __________________
to it when she spoke of “undesirable elements”
6. By disregarding the flood of excuses, explanations, and justifications, we were able to
____________________ the true reasons for her actions
7. When we consider the ______________ misery of the last year of his life, we must conclude that he paid in
full of all his offenses.’
8. The tapes of the conversations were regarded as _________________ proof that the official had been aware
of the crime.
9. If you allow your foot to_______________________ into the aisle, someone may trip over it.
10. His skillful use of flattery and “double-talk” to persuade us to agree to his scheme was a typical
example of his ____________________.
11. Though I was entirely innocent of the infraction of the dress code, the teacher____________________ my
silence as an admission of guilt.
12. We spent many pleasant hours poring over all kinds of maps and guide books, planning the
___________________ for our trip across the continent.
13. Too many young people, in an attempt to achieve a casual and “dashing” appearance succeed only in
looking sloppy and __________________.
14. Neither misfortunes nor happy events seem to have the slightest effect on her _________________
disposition.
15. Blue jeans, once ___________________to the cowboys of the American West, are now a familiar part of the
whole world wardrobe.
16. Their idea of a (n) _________________ __student is someone so perfect in so many ways that he or she
would be too good to exist .
17. The “brilliant” essay for which he received so much lavish praise has been exposed as a skillful act of
______________________.
18. Americans most ____________________ weapon in the struggle for world influence is our great tradition of
democracy and freedom.
19. It is quite useless to try to _________________ “dissatisfied” customers who actually enjoy being angry and
making complaints.
20. His conceit and his cold disregard of other people’s feelings make him utterly_____________!
Name _____________________________
Class _________________
Synonyms: From the words for this unit, choose the one that is most nearly the same in meaning as each of
the following groups of expressions. Write the word on the line provided at the right.
1. to misjudge, misinterpret
2. honesty, rectitude, probity; soundness
3. disgraceful, discreditable, shady
4. undisturbed, tranquil , quiet, serene
5. trickery, deceit, duplicity, cunning, chicanery
6. a pretense, cover story: a rationale, evasion
7. decisive, indisputable, convicting; definitive
8. native, indigenous; restricted to
9. to grasp, formidable; forcible
10. mighty, formidable; forcible
11. skin-deep, insubstantial; cursory, slapdash
12. to hint at, suggest, insinuate, intimate
13. sheer, downright; grim, bleak; absolutely
14. To satisfy, mollify ,allay, conciliate
15. insightful ,discerning, uncanny; a visionary
16. to project, jut out , bulge
17. praiseworthy, meritorious, sterling; illustrative
18. a route; a schedule, program
19. disagreeable, repugnant, hateful, odious
20. piracy, theft
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Antonyms: From the words for this unit choose the one that is most nearly opposite in meaning to each of
the following groups of expressions. Write the word on the line provided at the right.
1. deep, profound ; thorough , exhaustive
2. dishonesty , corruption, turpitude
3. weak, inept, feckless; respectable, creditable
4. honest, aboveboard; respectable, creditable
5. alien, foreign, extraneous
6. candor, artlessness, naivety , plain dealing
7. unshelled up in the air; provisional, indefinite
8. to vex, irk, provoke, exasperate, annoy
9. bright, cheerful; embellished, ornate
10. stormy, agitated, turbulent, tempestuous
11. infamous, notorious, scandalous, disreputable
12. agreeable, pleasing, engaging, personable
13. blind. Unseeing , myopic, dense, imperceptive
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Name _____________________________
Class _________________
Choosing the Right Word: Encircle the boldface word that more satisfactorily completes each of the
following sentences.
1. The assumption that we can continue to use our natural resources as wastefully as we have in the
past is (disreputable, stark) madness.
2. In times of crisis, the utmost care must be taken to prevent ordinary military maneuvers form being
(placated, miscontrued) as hostile acts.
3. Do not be taken in by any (superficial, conclusive) resemblances between their half-baked ideas and
the sensible program we proposed
4. For as long as human beings have been able to think they have tried to (fathom, allude) the
mysteries of the universe.
5. I find no one more (obnoxious, clairvoyant) than a person who insists on talking instead of listing to
the brilliant and important things I have to say.
6. Instead of (alluding, protruding) so often to your own achievements and successes, why not wait for
other people to mention them?
7. Mother was as upset as any of us, but she managed to conceal her fears so that she looked positively
(stark, placid).
8. Of Sybil’s ability to divine another person’s secrets it is hard to say where the psychologist leaves off
and the (clairvoyant, itinerary) begins.
9. It is all very well for science fiction writers to speculate, but is there any (exemplary, conclusive)
evidence that UFOs exist?
10. A candidate for the highest office in the land should be, above all, a person of unshakeable (guile,
integrity)
11. Phyllis produced a convenient headache as her (pretext, itinerary) for having to leave early
12. Carl maintains that intelligent life must exist elsewhere in the universe, but I firmly believe that it is
(endemic, conclusive) to Earth.
13. Why not include Mount Vernon in the (plagiarism, itinerary) of our spring vacation?
14. If the British government had made a sincere effort to (misconstrue, placate) the colonist, would the
American Revolution have occurred?
15. Is it any wonder that his parents are worried, knowing that their son is associating with such a
(placid, disreputable) group of teenagers?
16. In that neighborhood of small homes, few massive apartments buildings (pretext, protrude) like
giants set down in a community of dwarfs.
17. Although most of us cannot hope to match her pure idealism, we may regard her noble life as
inspiring and (exemplary, conclusive).
18. It was clear that her book review was so similar to a review in a newspaper that it constituted an
outright (integrity, plagiarism).
19. Walters’s brilliant record as a science major at Cal Tech seems to me a (stark, potent) argument for
taking four full years of mathematics in high school.
20. Tom Sawyer used (guile, pretext) to get the other boys to do his work by convincing them that
whitewashing a fence was fun.