91
Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck
Definitions
Copyright © 2002 by Advanced Placement Strategies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Used under license by Laying the Foundation, Inc. www.layingthefoundation.org
Of Mice and Men
Definitions
1. aloof
uh LOOF
apart, indifferent
,<<aloofuh
Synonyms >>
detached, incurious, unconcerned
Antonym >> integrated; friendly
The woman remained aloof during the party, separating herself from everyone else.
Derivatives >>
aloofness
2. appreciate
uh PREE she ate
,<<appreciateuh
Synonyms >>
to increase in value
Antonym >> to decrease in value
My home has appreciated in value by $10,000.
Derivatives >>
3. apprehend
,<<apprehenda
Synonyms >>
appreciation, appreciator, appreciated, appreciating, appreciative, appreciatively, appreciativeness, appriciatory
a pre HEND
to seize, arrest, take into custody; to understand; become aware of
Antonym >> turn loose
Fortunately the police apprehended the man who stole my television.
Derivatives >>
apprehender, apprehensible, apprehensibility, apprehension
buh LIJ er unt
4. belligerent
Synonyms >>
waging war; inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness
bellicose, pugnacious, combative, contentious, quarrelsome
Antonym >> peaceful
A belligerent nation always seems to be at war.
Derivatives >>
belligerence, belligerency, belligerently
buh MUZE
5. bemuse
to confuse or to bewilder
Antonym >> to enlighten
Synonyms >>
He did not intend to bemuse the class with his ambiguous remarks.
Derivatives >>
bemused
BREH tul
6. brittle
Synonyms >>
fragile, frangible, friable
fragile, frail, easily damaged
Antonym >> flexible
The old man’s brittle bones broke easily.
Derivatives >>
7.
complacency
kum PLAY sun see
the state of being self-satisfied
,<<complacency
Synonyms >>
Antonym >> dissatisfaction
Considering that he is failing, it is curious to see his sense of complacency.
Derivatives >>
8.
Derivatives >>
9.
complacent, complacently, complacence, complaisant, complaisance, complaisantly
derision
deh REH zhun
scoffing at, mockery, ridicule
,<<derisiondeh
Synonyms >>
Antonym >> applause
The boy received much derision for his plaid gym shorts.
derisive, derisiveness, derisively, derisory
imperious
im PEER ee us
extremely overbearing
,<<imperiousim
Synonyms >>
domineering, imperative, masterful, preemptory
Antonym >> meek
The imperious behavior of the dictator led to his overthrow.
Derivatives >>
10. indignation
,<<indignationi
Synonyms >>
imperiously, imperiousness
in dig NAY shun
fury, ire, rage, wrath
anger as a result of something unjust
Antonym >> serenity
I have much indignation about the light sentence given to the drunk driver who ran over my child .
Derivatives >>
indignant, indignantly, indignance, indignify, indignities
11. juncture
JUNGK chur
,<<junctureJUN
Synonyms >>
a point of joining
Antonym >> separation
His new book emphasizes the importance of the juncture of poetry and music into a new art form.
Derivatives >>
junctural, junctional
Copyright © 2002 by Advanced Placement Strategies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Used under license by Laying the Foundation, Inc. www.layingthefoundation.org
12. mollify
MOL eh fie
to soothe or to appease, to as suage
,<<mollifyMOL
Synonyms >>
conciliate, pacify, placate, propitiate
Antonym >> to aggravate
The woman promised to buy candy in order to mollify her screaming child.
Derivatives >>
mollification, mollifyingly, mollifier, mollifiable
13. monotony
moh NOT uh nee
sameness
,<<monotonymo
Synonyms >>
There is so much monotony in my life that I need a change
Derivatives >>
14. morose
,<<morosemuh
Synonyms >>
Antonym >> diversity
monotoness, monotonous, monotonously, monotonousness, monotonist
muh ROSE
being sullen or gloomy
crabbed, glum, saturnine, sulky, surly
Antonym >> cheerful
He was very morose after his wife left him.
Derivatives >>
morosely, moroseness, morosity
15. mottled
MOT uld
,<<mottledMOT
Synonyms >>
spotted, blotched
marked with spots of different color
Antonym >> evenly colored
The floor was covered with mottled linoleum.
Derivatives >>
16. ominous
,<<ominousOM
Synonyms >>
mottle, mottles, mottlings
OM uh nus
fateful, portentous
threatening
Antonym >> harmless; non-threatening
The ominous clouds were harbingers of the tornado.
Derivatives >>
ominously, ominousness
PLANE tiv
17. plaintive
mournful and expressing sorrow
Antonym >> joyful
Synonyms >>
The dog moaned in a plaintive manner when her puppies were taken.
Derivatives >>
18. pugnacious
Synonyms >>
plaintively, plaintiveness
pug NAY shus
looking for a fight, combative, belligerent
bellicose, contentious, quarrelsome
Antonym >> peaceful
There are many pugnacious punks at the high school that bully other students.
Deriva tives >>
pugnaciously, pugnaciousness, pugnacity
19. relish
REL ish
to take great pleasure or delight in
,<<relishREL
Synonyms >>
Antonym >> to detest
I relish the thought of graduating from high school and getting out on my own.
Derivatives >>
relishable, relished, relishing
20. reprehensible rep reh HEN suh bul
deserving blame or reprimand
,<<reprehensibl
Synonyms >>
blameworthy, censurable, condemnable, reprobatory
Antonym >> praiseworthy
Some think that kissing on the first date is reprehensible conduct.
Derivatives >>
reprehend, reprehensibility, reprehensibly, reprehension, reprehensive, reprehensory
21. revere
reh VERE
,<<reverereh
Synonyms >>
adore, venerate, worship
Nearly all Catholics revere the Pope.
Derivatives >>
to honor, to regard with respect
Antonym >> to despise
reverence, reverent, reverentness, reverential, reverentiality, reverentially
22. scuttle
SKUT ul
,<<scuttleSKUT
Synonyms >>
to sink (usually a ship)
Antonym >> to preserve
In war a captain of a ship might scuttle his vessel rather than have it captured and used by the enemy.
Derivatives >>
scuttled, scuttling
23. slough
SLUF
,<<sloughSLUF
Synonyms >>
to cast off
Antonym >> to grasp; to hold tenaciously
He sloughs off criticism like water off a duck's back.
Derivatives >>
sloughs, sloughy
STIL ted
24. stilted
artificially formal, stiff, pompous
Antonym >> genuine
Synonyms >>
The demeanor of English royalty seems stilted to many Americans.
Derivatives >>
stiltedly, stiltedness
WIS pee
25. wispy
small in amount, fragile, or slight
Antonym >> substantial
Synonyms >>
A baby hummingbird is a wispy little creature.
Derivatives >>
wispily, wispiness, wispish, wisps
Copyright © 2002 by Advanced Placement Strategies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Used under license by Laying the Foundation, Inc. www.layingthefoundation.org
26. wooden
WOOD un
stiff, clumsy
,<<woodenWO
Synonyms >>
Antonym >> graceful
The dancer's wooden movements quickly eliminated her from the troupe.
Derivatives >>
Copyright © 2002 by Advanced Placement Strategies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Used under license by Laying the Foundation, Inc. www.layingthefoundation.org
91
Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck
Copyright © 2002 by Advanced Placement Strategies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Used under license by Laying the Foundation, Inc. www.layingthefoundation.org
Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck
These words which appear in Of Mice and Men have been identified as words
or derivatives of words that have appeared on past SAT tests. They are listed
here in alphabetical order.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
aloof
appreciation
apprehension
belligerently
bemused
brittle
complacently
derision
imperiously
indignation
junctures
mollified
monotonous
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
morosely
mottled
ominously
plaintively
pugnacious
relish
reprehensible
reverently
scuttled
slough
stilted
wisps
woodenly
These words which appear in Of Mice and Men have been identified as words or
derivatives of words that have appeared on past SAT tests. They are listed here in
the order in which they appear in the novel.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
junctures
mottled
stilted
morosely
imperiously
relish
mollified
pugnacious
ominously
slough
plaintively
brittle
complacently
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
derision
scuttled
reprehensible
bemused
reverently
appreciation
aloof
apprehension
indignation
wisps
belligerently
monotonous
woodenly
Copyright © 2002 by Advanced Placement Strategies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Used under license by Laying the Foundation, Inc. www.layingthefoundation.org
Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck
Vocabulary Test
Directions: Match the word in the left column with the correct definition in the right column.
Exercise A
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
aloof
appreciate
apprehend
belligerent
bemuse
brittle
complacency
derision
imperious
indignation
juncture
mollify
monotony
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
m.
scoffing at; mockery; ridicule
to confuse or bewilder
a point of joining
to increase in value
fragile; frail; easily damaged
to soothe or appease; assuage
apart; indifferent
extremely overbearing
state of being self-satisfied
to seize, arrest, or take into custody; understand
sameness
waging war; inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness
anger as a result of something unjust
k.
l.
m.
n.
o.
p.
q.
r.
s.
t.
u.
v.
w.
to honor; to regard with respect
threatening
to sink ... usually a ship
mournful and expressing sorrow
being sullen or gloomy
to cast off
marked with spots of different color
artificially formal; pompous
deserving blame or reprimand
small in amount; fragile; slight
looking for a fight; combative; belligerent
stiff and clumsy
to take great pleasure or delight in
Exercise B
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
morose
mottled
ominous
plaintive
pugnacious
relish
reprehensible
revere
scuttle
slough
stilted
wispy
wooden
Copyright © 2002 by Advanced Placement Strategies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Used under license by Laying the Foundation, Inc. www.layingthefoundation.org
Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck
EXERCISE A
EXERCISE B
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
G
D
J
L
B
E
I
A
H
M
C
F
K
O
Q
L
N
U
W
S
K
M
P
R
T
V
Copyright © 2002 by Advanced Placement Strategies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Used under license by Laying the Foundation, Inc. www.layingthefoundation.org