1. Lesson 22- the root –ten- 1. extenuation 2. portent 3. pretentious 4. retentive 5. retinue 6. sustenance 7. tenable 8. tenacious 9. tenuous 10. tenure

2. 1. extenuation (noun) a. The act of attempting to lessen the seriousness of by providing a partial justification or excuse. b. A partial justification or excuse Related Words: extenuate; extenuating Ex: The member of Congress wrote to her constituents in extenuation of her recent stand on the foreign trade bill.

3. 2. portent (noun) a) An indication of something momentous or calamitous about to occur; omen. Related Words: portend; portentous Ex: Karen suspected that the error message was a portent of the difficulty she would have in writing her term paper.

4. 3. pretentious (adj) a) Making an extravagant outward show; ostentatious. b) Claiming a position of distinction or merit, especially when unjustified. Related Words: pretentiously; pretentiousness. Ex: The Jones’ ownership of three expensive sports cars seems pretentious to their neighbors.

5. 4. retentive (adj) a) Having the ability to remember or store. Related Words: retain; retention. Ex: Thanks to his retentive memory, Luis recalled the doctor’s telephone number without having to consult the directory.

6. 5. retinue (noun) a) The attendants accompanying a high- ranking person. Ex: The president is surrounded by a retinue of Secret Service agents.

7. 6. sustenance (noun) a) Something, especially food, that supports life, health and good spirits. b) The supplying of the necessities of life. c) The condition of being supplied with these necessities. Related Word: sustain Ex: Survivors of the shipwreck had been without sustenance of any kind for five days.

8. 7. tenable (adj) a) Capable of being defended or sustained; logical; reasonable. Related Word: tenably Ex: Maxwell took the tenable viewpoint that Shakespeare was easily the most influential playwright in Western theater.

9. 8. tenacious (adj) a) Holding firmly; persistent. b) Cohesive c) Adhesive; clinging to another object or surface. d) Tending to retain. Related Words: tenaciously; tenacity Ex: Kathy was becoming a nuisance to the store manager by her tenacious demand for the refund of her money.

10. 9. tenuous (adj) a) Having little substance; flimsy. Related Words: tenuously; tenuousness. Ex: Mai’s love of Mexican food has only a tenuous connection with her love of the Spanish language.

11. 10. tenure (noun) a) The period of holding something, such as property or an office; occupation. b) Permanence of position. Example: during his tenure as senator, Miller was responsible for the passage of many bills that improved the quality of life in our state.