Advancing Vocabulary clandestine indigenous contingency liability egocentric prolific exonerate reinstate superfluous incongruous

1 clandestine – adjective Ten Words in Context 1 clandestine – adjective In a clandestine meeting in an alley, Steve sold his employer’s valuable anti-aging formula to a competitor. The famous “Underground Railroad” was not an actual railroad; it was a clandestine network that took escaped slaves to safety in the years before the Civil War. Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. A hidden spy takes clandestine pictures. © Angel Luis Simon Martin | Dreamstime.com Clandestine means A. popular. B. unnecessary. C. secret.

1 clandestine – adjective Ten Words in Context 1 clandestine – adjective In a clandestine meeting in an alley, Steve sold his employer’s valuable anti-aging formula to a competitor. The famous “Underground Railroad” was not an actual railroad; it was a clandestine network that took escaped slaves to safety in the years before the Civil War. © Angel Luis Simon Martin | Dreamstime.com Clandestine means A. popular. B. unnecessary. C. secret. A hidden spy takes clandestine pictures. Someone planning to sell his employer’s formula to a competitor would want to keep the meeting secret. In the years before the Civil War, escaped slaves were taken to safety by means of a secret network.

Ten Words in Context 2 contingency – noun Faye thought her company might transfer her to another city. With that contingency in mind, she decided to rent a house rather than buy one. We believe in providing for every contingency. We have a list of emergency phone numbers, a first-aid kit, and a box of candles in case of a power failure. Contingency means A. a possibility. B. an advantage. C. a desire. These items will help you be ready for any contingency in an emergency. Red Cross/FEMA via Wikimedia Commons

Ten Words in Context 2 contingency – noun Faye thought her company might transfer her to another city. With that contingency in mind, she decided to rent a house rather than buy one. We believe in providing for every contingency. We have a list of emergency phone numbers, a first-aid kit, and a box of candles in case of a power failure. Contingency means A. a possibility. B. an advantage. C. a desire. These items will help you be ready for any contingency in an emergency. Red Cross/FEMA via Wikimedia Commons If Faye decided to rent rather than buy a house, she must have thought there was a possibility her company would transfer her. In the second item, having emergency phone numbers, a first aid kit, and a box of candles would make you prepared for every possibility during a power failure.

pictures of themselves egocentric? Ten Words in Context 3 egocentric – adjective Denise is completely egocentric. Whatever event takes place, she thinks only of how it will affect her personally. “We’ve talked enough about me,” said the egocentric author to a friend. “Now let’s talk about you. What do you think of my new book?” Egocentric means A. selfish. B. considerate. C. self-educated. Are people who take pictures of themselves egocentric? Korean Culture and Information Service via Wikimedia Commons

pictures of themselves egocentric? Ten Words in Context 3 egocentric – adjective Denise is completely egocentric. Whatever event takes place, she thinks only of how it will affect her personally. “We’ve talked enough about me,” said the egocentric author to a friend. “Now let’s talk about you. What do you think of my new book?” Egocentric means A. selfish. B. considerate. C. self-educated. Are people who take pictures of themselves egocentric? Korean Culture and Information Service via Wikimedia Commons If Denise thinks only how every event will affect her personally, she is completely selfish. Since the author’s idea of talking about his friend is finding out what the friend thinks of his new book, the author is selfish.

Ten Words in Context 4 exonerate – verb Saul was suspected of shoplifting, but he was exonerated when a security camera showed another man taking handfuls of batteries from a rack and stuffing them into his backpack. Politicians accused of illegal activities always seem to say the same thing: that they’ll be exonerated when all the facts are known. Exonerate means A. to be harmed. B. to be found guilty. C. to be found not guilty.

Unit Two/ Chapter 11 Ten Words in Context 4 exonerate – verb Saul was suspected of shoplifting, but he was exonerated when a security camera showed another man taking handfuls of batteries from a rack and stuffing them into his backpack. Politicians accused of illegal activities always seem to say the same thing: that they’ll be exonerated when all the facts are known. Exonerate means A. to be harmed. B. to be found guilty. C. to be found not guilty. Since the photos showed someone else stealing the batteries, Saul was found not guilty. Politicians accused of illegal activities always say they will be found not guilty.

An incongruous pair of soldiers Ten Words in Context 5 incongruous – adjective The cuckoo lays eggs in other birds’ nests. This practice can result in the incongruous sight of one large cuckoo chick among several tiny baby robins. It wasn’t really incongruous for a former general to join the peace movement. He had seen the horrors of war. Incongruous means A. contradictory. B. unnecessary. C. not noticeable. An incongruous pair of soldiers Phil Williams via Wikimedia Commons

An incongruous pair of soldiers Ten Words in Context 5 incongruous – adjective The cuckoo lays eggs in other birds’ nests. This practice can result in the incongruous sight of one large cuckoo chick among several tiny baby robins. It wasn’t really incongruous for a former general to join the peace movement. He had seen the horrors of war. Incongruous means A. contradictory. B. unnecessary. C. not noticeable. An incongruous pair of soldiers Phil Williams via Wikimedia Commons A large cuckoo chick among several tiny baby robins would be a contradictory sight. It would seem contradictory for a former general to join a peace movement—until one thinks about the horrors of war he must have witnessed.

6 indigenous – adjective Ten Words in Context 6 indigenous – adjective Kangaroos are indigenous only to Australia. They have never been found living anywhere else in the world. Corn was not indigenous to Europe, so Europeans had never seen or heard of it until their explorers first reached the New World and found it growing there. Indigenous means A. important. B. native. C. welcomed. These plants are indigenous to the Baja California Desert. Tomas Castelazo via Wikimedia Commons

6 indigenous – adjective Ten Words in Context 6 indigenous – adjective Kangaroos are indigenous only to Australia. They have never been found living anywhere else in the world. Corn was not indigenous to Europe, so Europeans had never seen or heard of it until their explorers first reached the New World and found it growing there. Indigenous means A. important. B. native. C. welcomed. These plants are indigenous to the Baja California Desert. Tomas Castelazo via Wikimedia Commons Since kangaroos have never been found living anywhere but in Australia, they must be native to Australia. Since Europeans had never seen or heard of corn until their explorers found it in the New World, corn must not have been native to Europe.

Ten Words in Context 7 liability – noun My shyness with strangers would be a liability in any job that involved meeting the public, such as sales. When Juanita returned to school at age 40, she was afraid her age would be a liability. Instead, she found that it gave her an advantage over younger students. Liability means A. an asset. B. a handicap. C. a necessity.

Ten Words in Context 7 liability – noun My shyness with strangers would be a liability in any job that involved meeting the public, such as sales. When Juanita returned to school at age 40, she was afraid her age would be a liability. Instead, she found that it gave her an advantage over younger students. Liability means A. an asset. B. a handicap. C. a necessity. Shyness with strangers would be a handicap in a job such as sales. In the second item, the word advantage suggests that liability means the opposite—“a handicap.”

Ten Words in Context 8 prolific – adjective Rabbits deserve their reputation for being prolific. A female rabbit can produce three families each summer. Haydn was a prolific composer. He wrote, among many other musical works, 104 symphonies. Prolific means A. creating abundantly. B. working secretly. C. important. A prolific grape vine © Aivoges | Dreamstime.com

Ten Words in Context 8 prolific – adjective Rabbits deserve their reputation for being prolific. A female rabbit can produce three families each summer. Haydn was a prolific composer. He wrote, among many other musical works, 104 symphonies. Prolific means A. creating abundantly. B. working secretly. C. important. A prolific grape vine © Aivoges | Dreamstime.com Because female rabbits can produce three families each summer, rabbits have a reputation for creating abundantly. A composer who wrote 104 symphonies plus other works is someone who created abundantly.

Copyright © 2018 Townsend Press. All rights reserved. Unit Two/ Chapter 11 Ten Words in Context 9 reinstate – verb Michiko left work for a year to stay home with her new baby. When she returned, she was relieved and happy to be reinstated in her former job. The college had canceled the course in folklore, but the demand was so great that the class had to be reinstated. Reinstate means A. to recognize. B. to appreciate. C. to put back. See page 59 in textbook ANSWER: C The next slide shows and explains the answer. Copyright © 2018 Townsend Press. All rights reserved.

Ten Words in Context 9 reinstate – verb Michiko left work for a year to stay home with her new baby. When she returned, she was relieved and happy to be reinstated in her former job. The college had canceled the course in folklore, but the demand was so great that the class had to be reinstated. Reinstate means A. to recognize. B. to appreciate. C. to put back. Michiko would be relieved and happy to be put back in her former job when she returned to work. If the demand for the folklore course was great, the canceled course would have to be put back.

10 superfluous – adjective Ten Words in Context 10 superfluous – adjective The tiny horns on a giraffe’s head are superfluous. Scientists have concluded that the horns serve absolutely no purpose at all. Lately, business at the store has been so slow that the three clerks have almost nothing to do. Two of them seem superfluous. Superfluous means A. unnecessary. B. ordinary. C. required. “I had seventeen vice-presidents, but I realized they were superfluous. So I restructured the company and now it’s just me.” Used with the permission of Randy Glasbergen

10 superfluous – adjective Ten Words in Context 10 superfluous – adjective The tiny horns on a giraffe’s head are superfluous. Scientists have concluded that the horns serve absolutely no purpose at all. Lately, business at the store has been so slow that the three clerks have almost nothing to do. Two of them seem superfluous. Superfluous means A. unnecessary. B. ordinary. C. required. “I had seventeen vice-presidents, but I realized they were superfluous. So I restructured the company and now it’s just me.” Used with the permission of Randy Glasbergen Since the horns serve no purpose, they are unnecessary. Since the three clerks have almost nothing to do, two of them would seem unnecessary.

A. clandestine B. contingency C. egocentric D. exonerate Name: Complete the item with the correct word from the box. A. clandestine B. contingency C. egocentric D. exonerate E. incongruous F. indigenous G. liability H. prolific I. reinstate J. superfluous Although our city has never been struck by an earthquake, it has emergency plans for just such a __________________. Gardens in the desert usually feature _________________ plants, such as cactus. Native plants thrive in dry heat and need little watering. Bad handwriting is not a serious __________________ in an age of smartphones and computers. Sharon and Eli have _______________(e)d a Jewish family tradition they hadn’t observed for years: lighting candles on the Sabbath. 5. Agnes is only five feet tall, but her boyfriend is six-foot-four. They make a(n) _______________-looking couple. 6. Nancy is so ________________ that when I told her my car had been stolen, her only reaction was, “Does this mean you can’t drive me to work tomorrow?” 7. “Your writing is too wordy,” the teacher had written on my paper. “Eliminate all those _______________ words and phrases.” 8. Because a submarine is able to hide under water, it can be very useful in __________________ operations. 9. Flies are amazingly _______________. Within a five-month breeding period, one female can produce thousands of offspring. 10. Two students were blamed for starting the fire in the physics lab, but they were ______________(e)d when it was found that the cause was faulty electrical equipment.