Grade 11-12: Vocabulary Lesson for Thursday, Week 11

Word List 11

1. abhor: to regard with horror or loathing; detest
2. acrimonious: bitter and sharp in language or tone; rancorous
3. adamant: impervious to pleas, appeals, or reason; stubbornly unyielding
4. ambiguous: open to more than one interpretation; doubtful or uncertain
5. arduous: demanding great effort or labor; difficult; testing severely the powers of endurance; strenuous
6. austere: severe or stern in disposition or appearance; somber and grave; strict or severe in discipline; ascetic; having no adornment or ornamentation; bare
7. ascertain: to discover with certainty, as through examination or experimentation

Thursday Activities

1. Make your vocabulary words stand out! Create creative images of your words to print out and keep in a ziploc bag for study practice. Click on this link for your creations.
2. Select a text effect and click on it. Type your vocabulary word in the white box that says "type here." To create your image, click on the button that says, "fancify your text" Save the images in a word document and print them out. Cut them into individual cards for study practice.
3. Create your own pocket personal organizer - From the list on the left, click and drag the cards you wish to have in your organizer. We suggest you pick one page from the calendar section and one from the organizer section. The others are your free choice. Fill in the pages with your vocabulary words and definitions along with any other information you wish to share, such as This Day in History. You can also choose a couple of games to add that you can play during the day. Follow the direction after printing to fold it up and keep it in your pocket for a quick study review..

Other Help

If you need more information on your words, click on the link to use a on-line dictionary.

Use the daily activities to help you remember words that you learn each week. It is much easier to remember what the words mean if you do something with them and use them frequently in talking with your parents, family and friends.

Sample sentences:

"We abhor bullying," the headmaster told the class assembly, "and we shall not allow it to mar our school.^
"Do your own work," the professor told us, "I absolutely abhor cheating and will not allow it in my classroom.^

The acrimonious debate seemed to damage the entire political process.
Playing the role of peacekeeper, the chairman did his best to defuse an acrimonious situation.

The judge was adamant; no amount of argument was going to persuade him to resign.
The president was adamant and refused to change his schedule in the face of terrorist threats.

Since he was unsure of himself, the young lieutenant always gave ambiguous orders.
"Rosebud," the famous ending written by Orson Welles remains ambiguous to this day.

Yes, an AP course is arduous, but the effort will be well worth it when you reach college.
Arduous training is required before one becomes a Navy Seal.

The small number of men who have walked the moon's surface all describe it as having austere beauty
Grim and austere on the outside, we soon discovered that our teacher had a heart of gold on the inside.

I relaxed, confident that the famous detective would soon ascertain my innocence.
Some things are so ambiguous that it will probably impossible to ever ascertain their true meaning.

 
 

For more vocabulary, reading and other language arts resources, please visit our interactive skillbuilders.