Week 1

1. Week 1

2. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) Kindhearted; good-natured; generous Ben Elephant, what a nice guy! BENEVOLENT (definition) benevolence (n.); benevolently (adv.) (other forms) (PONN-der-uss) adj. Ben Elephant (sounds like) Miserable and greedy for most of his life, the man became benevolent during his last years. (sentence) (my sentence) A kindly old elephant named Ben who lived at the zoo. He saves the peanuts that visitors give him and takes them to the other animals late at night. “That Ben Elephant,” says one bear to another, “what a nice guy!”

3. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) lessen anger; soothe; placate mollify (definition) MOLL-ih-fie verb (other forms) Molly Fly (sounds like) Police try to mollify a hostage-taker to avoid violence. (sentence) (my sentence) Molly Fly follows the Village Fly around; she soothes the feelings of the people he has upset.

4. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) slow; weighty; labored ponderous (definition) ponderously (adv.) (PONN-der-uss) adj. (other forms) pond of rust (sounds like) The music was heavy and ponderous, and I fell asleep. (sentence) (my sentence) Creatures made of metal wading through a pond. As they begin to rust, their movements become slower and more difficult.

5. Week 2

6. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) indecision; feeling of being pulled in two directions Wait! Let’s give him a few more minutes. No, we should go. I’m in labor. Okay, take me to the hospital. No, wait! Maybe he’ll get here soon. ambivalence (definition) ambivalent (adj.); ambivalently (adv.) am-BIV-uh-lence noun (other forms) Val inside an ambulance (looks like) The house had been in the family for generations, so they were ambivalent about selling it. (sentence) (my sentence) Val is about to have a baby. She’s gone into labor while her husband is at work. She’s called for an ambulance to take her to the hospital, but now that she’s inside the ambulance she’s not sure about going without her husband. “Wait! Let’s give him a few more minutes. No, we should go. I’m in labor. No, wait! Maybe he’ll get here soon…”

7. exaggeration; overstatement understatement (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) They’ll have to find you in the grass. Forty-seven touch-downs in our last game! extreme exaggeration hyperbole (definition) hyperbolic (adj.) hi-PURR-boe-lee noun (other forms) Hyper Bowl (looks like) “I’ve told you a million times” is an example of hyperbole. (sentence) (my sentence) Imagine a “Hyper Bowl,” a game that requires the two teams to out-exaggerate each other. The players are lined up, face-to-face. Someone from one side says, “ We won our last game by forty-seven touchdowns.” Someone from the other teams responds, “By the time we’re finished, they’ll have to pick you guys out of the grass with tweezers.” (Picture)

8. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) arouse to action; stir up; foment incite (definition) incitement, incitation (n.); (in-SITE) verb (other forms) ignite (looks like) The angry miner incited his co-workers to strike. (sentence) (my sentence) A small country that has been controlled by a foreign nation for many years. One day, on the tenth anniversary of the country’s takeover, a woman runs through the streets of the capital. She calls for action, urging the citizens to fight for their freedom. Like a spark falling into dry grass, she ignites a fire of anger among the people, and it quickly grows into a blazing revolution. (Picture)

9. Week 3

10. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) harshness of sound; opposite of harmony cacophony (definition) cacophonous (adj.); cacophonously (adv.) (other forms) kuh-KAH-fuh-nee noun cocoon + symphony (looks like) New visitors to the rainforest are struck by the cacophony. (sentence) (my sentence) A cocoon hanging from the branch of a tree. Inside, a caterpillar on his way to becoming a butterfly has decided to make good use of the time by learning to play the violin. On this particular day, the caterpillar is playing an entire symphony, although not very well. Outside, birds and squirrels are covering their ears, trying to escape the cacophony coming from the cocoon.

11. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) the quality of being bubbly or full of life effervescence (definition) effervescent (adj.); effervescently (adv.) (other forms) eff-er-VEH-sense noun ever pheasants (sounds like) She’d had little acting experience, but her effervescence got her the part. (sentence) (my sentence) A large field surrounded by trees. The field is crowded with pheasants who are running around singing, dancing, and blowing enormous bubbles with those gigantic plastic rings and large pans of soap suds. Two beavers look on, one saying to the other, “Ah, pheasant, ever pheasants. So bubbly. So full of life…Well, let’s get back to work.”

12. Where’s my clown? (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) equality or equivalence; balance among a group of rivals parity (definition) PAHR-ih-tee noun (other forms) party (looks like) There is parity in a sports league when no one team dominates every year. (sentence) (my sentence) A boy is having a birthday party at his house. On the same day, the girl next door is having her birthday party. Holding a pair of binoculars, the boy watches everything that happens at the other party, then runs to his mother and demands equality. “Her cake is chocolate with pink frosting. That’s what I want. And a clown just showed up. Where’s my clown? She has…

13. Week 4

14. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) harmful; menacing baleful (definition) balefully (adv.) (other forms) BAIL-full adj. bale fall (sounds like) A hungry wolf is a baleful sight to campers. (sentence) (my sentence) Gigantic, heavy bales of hay falling from the sky. One of the bales is about to fall onto someone.

15. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) admit reluctantly; yield concede (definition) concession (n.) (other forms) kun-SEED verb corn seed (sounds like) The boss had to concede that it was his assistant’s idea. (sentence) (my sentence) Two farmers. One, examining something under a magnifying glass, admits that it is corn seed.

16. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) approve; give consent sanction (definition) (other forms) SANK-shun verb sank Shawn (sounds like) In full support of the president, Congress sanctioned his use of military force. (sentence) (my sentence) You’re rowing a boat out on the lake. Shawn, a man you’ve hated for years, is rowing his boat on the other side of the lake. A friend suddenly shows up in the water right next to your boat and tells you that he just sank Shawn. He still holds the drill he used to bore a hole in the bottom of Shawn’s boat. You smile and say, “Good work. I normally don’t like that kind of behavior, but if you tell me you sank Shawn, I have to approve.”

17. Week 5

18. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) easy to understand; transparent; clear-thinking lucid (definition) lucidity (n.); lucidly (adv.) LOO-sid adj. (other forms) Lou said (sounds like) Jerome was surprisingly lucid for someone who had just fallen on his head. (sentence) (my sentence) A lecture, featuring a speaker named Lou, has just ended. As members of the audience leave the auditorium, one of them can be heard to say, “I understood everything Lou said. It was all so clear.” (Picture)

19. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) To ignore or reject strongly; snub rebuff (definition) re BUFF verb (other forms) re-buff (looks like) Rebuffed repeatedly, Marcia refused to give up and was finally hired. (sentence) (my sentence) A young woman is waxing and buffing her car for the third time that day. Without even looking away from the car, she says to a young man passing by, “No, Jerry, I can’t go out with you tonight. I have to re-buff my car. Quite a few more times. Try me again, maybe in October.” (Picture)

20. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) Overused; common; stale trite (definition) tritely (adv.); triteness (n.) (TRITE) Adj. (other forms) trout (sounds like) Phrases that were once fresh and original now seem trite and dull. (sentence) (my sentence) A trout as the teacher in a ‘school’ of fish. The students are bored with their teacher’s constant use of clichés (dull sayings): “Remember, class, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. It’s a great big ocean out there. It’s sink or swim…” (Picture)

21. Week 6

22. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) calm; pacify APPEASE (definition) appeasement (n.) (other forms) uh-PEEZ verb peas (sounds like) Management tried to appease the strikers with a small salary increase. (sentence) (my sentence) A young child who’s upset because he’s hungry. He calms down when his mother gives him some peas. OR Just think of “please” or “a peace,” all of which sound like appease and suggest its meaning.

23. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) silly; insignificant INANE (definition) inanity (n.); inanely (adv.) (other forms) in-NANE adj. insane (- “s”) (looks like) It’s hard to believe that grown men could argue over such inane matters. (sentence) (my sentence) A man reads a letter from his psychiatrist, then cries to his wife: “He says I’m insane!” When he becomes hysterically upset, she takes the letter and reads it. “No, it says ‘inane,’ ” she tells him. “It’s nothing to worry about. You’re just being silly.”

24. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) grouchiness petulance (definition) petulant (adj.); petulantly (adv.) (other forms) PETCH-oo-lence noun pet chew Lance (sounds like) He felt justified in his petulance, but friends began to avoid him. (sentence) (my sentence) Lance has a dog who like to chew on one of those fake rawhide bones. The dog chews all day and even in his sleep, and has been doing this for years. But today Lance is in a bad mood. He’s not sure why, but he’s cranky, and his pet is just chewing and chewing on that bone and it’s getting on his nerves. Finally, Lance can’t take it any more: “Would you stop chewing on that stupid bone? I’ve been patient, but it’s driving me crazy!”

25. Week 7

26. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) dependent upon other circumstances; conditional CONTINGENT (definition) contingency (n.); contingently (adv.) (other forms) kun-TIN-jent adj. can tin gent (sounds like) His release from jail was contingent upon his promise to show up in court. (sentence) (my sentence) A man made of tin cans. A friend asks if he’s planning to play in the golf tournament next weekend. “It depends,” says the can tin gent. “If it’s sunny, I’ll be there. If it rains, I definitely won’t. I haven’t played in ten years, so I’m rusty enough already.”

27. …so he says to me, “I can’t take blood from a stone. I say, I know, I’ve been trying for years! (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) joking; playful; jesting; witty jocular (definition) jocularity (n.); jocularly (adv.) (other forms) JOCK-yoo-ler adj. Dracula (sounds like) Her jocular personality kept everyone loose during the long flight across the Pacific. (sentence) (my sentence) Count Dracula is working as a stand-up comedian, using the name Count Jocular. “…So he says to me, ‘I can’t take blood from a stone.’ I know, I’ve been trying for years!”

28. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) a strong liking; attraction penchant (definition) (other forms) PENCH-ent noun pendant (sounds like) A penchant for antique cars can be an expensive trait. (sentence) (my sentence) A woman with many pendants around her neck. She obviously has a strong liking for them.

29. Week 8

30. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) spoiled, scratched, blemished MARRED (definition) mar (v.) (other forms) MARD adj. Mars (sounds like) The new table arrived on time, but was marred by scratches and dents. (sentence) (my sentence) The surface of Mars, which is pitted with craters.

31. My work sustains me! (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) support; nurture; take on SUSTAIN (definition) sustenance (n.); sustaining, sustainable (adj.) (other forms) suh-STANE verb Sue Stain (sounds like) During times of tragedy, many people are sustained by their religious faith. (sentence) (my sentence) Sue Stain is the best stain remover in town. Everyone calls Sue, because she does so much more than just remove stains. Sue offers emotional support, sustaining the family through the ordeal. She provides physical strength, as well, often sustaining the weight of a car while cleaning an oil stain on the driveway. She has had many injuries while doing her job, yet she has somehow sustained a love for her work.

32. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) something left behind; a visible trace or evidence of something that has vanished VESTIGE (definition) vestigial (adj.) (other forms) VESS-tij noun vest itch (sounds like) The last vestiges of winter melted away today. (sentence) (my sentence) A man suffering from the itch left behind by his wool vest.

33. Week 9

34. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) unite; grow together COALESCE (definition) coalescent (adj.); coalescence (n.) (other forms) KO-uh-less verb coal S (sounds like) Astronomers believe stars coalesce from huge clouds of gas. (sentence) (my sentence) A man puts some charcoal into his barbecue grill, throws in a match, and goes into the house. When he returns, he sees that the coals have come together to form a large letter “S” at the bottom of the grill. “When they say it makes a Super Fire, they aren’t kidding!”

35. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) moral decay or decline DECADENCE (definition) decadent (adj.); decadently (adv.) (other forms) DEK-uh-dents noun deck of dance (sounds like) Some historians attribute the fall of the Roman Empire to internal decadence. (sentence) (my sentence) Two very conservative ladies aboard a cruise ship. They’re discussing what goes on down on the dance deck. “It’s disgusting,” says one. “They get drunk and they dance all night…” “They’re animals,” Says the other. “That’s all I can say. They’re morally-corrupt, filthy, and decadent.”

36. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) exhibiting religious devotion PIOUS (definition) piety (n.); piously (adv.) (other forms) PIE-us adj. pies (sounds like) He never went to church or temple, but he was pious all the same. (sentence) (my sentence) Pies praying. Or someone praying to a pie.

37. Week 10

38. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) the same throughout; consistent; uniform HOMOGENEOUS (definition) homogeneousness (n.); homogeneously (adv.) (other forms) ho-mo-JEEN-ee-us adj. home of genius (sounds like) If you add chocolate syrup to a glass of milk and stir, you’ll get a homogeneous mixture. (sentence) A genius is being studied by a team of scientists. They’re trying to determine if anything about her home life has contributed to her amazing mental abilities. When they arrive they find that the home of this genius is remarkably consistent: all of the rooms are exactly the same size, the walls are all the same color, and every piece of furniture is the same height and style. In addition, the light bulbs are all 75 watts, the air is always maintained at 70°, and every book in the house contains exactly 384 pages. “Hmmmm,” says one of the scientists, “maybe the home of a genius needs to be homogeneous.”

39. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) very small in size MINUTE (definition) minuteness (n.) (other forms) my-NOOT adj. my newt (sounds like) A deer tick is minute, and can barely be seen on the skin. (sentence) (my sentence) A young boy is holding out his hand and saying to his older sister, “This is my newt.” The sister, looking at the tiny spot on his hand, thinks he said, “This is minute.”

40. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) discard; cast off; shed SLOUGH (definition) (other forms) SLUFF verb stuff (rhymes with) The old dog sloughed off a thick coating of dried mud, then ran into the lake. (sentence) (my sentence) The “Slough and Stuff Clinic,” where snakes go to donate their old skin (which they slough off). Other less fortunate snakes come by to be matched up with the old skins and then stuffed into them. (Says one of the sloughers on his way out: “Hey, if the dinosaurs had recycled, who knows?”

41. Week 11

42. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) raise in rank; elevate; praise EXALT (definition) exalted (adj.); exaltation (n.) (other forms) egg-ZAWLT verb eggs salt (sounds like) The popular queen was exalted by all. (sentence) (my sentence) Hard-boiled eggs worshipping a salt shaker. As they glorify the salt, it is raised into the air elevated by their praise.

43. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) located within the very nature of an object or person; inherent INTRINSIC (definition) intrinsically (adv.) (other forms) in-TRIN-zik adj. in train sick (sounds like) Clean water has intrinsic value, while antique cars have market value. (sentence) (my sentence) A man and woman on a train. The man looks as if he’s about to either throw up or pass out. Meanwhile, his wife explains to the conductor, “No, it isn’t the motion or the speed or the noise, because he doesn’t get sick on cars or airplanes or roller coasters. There’s some quality intrinsic to trains that makes him feel sick.”

44. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) disown; reject REPUDIATE (definition) repudiation (n.) (other forms) reh-PYOOD-ee-ate verb Rep. Rudy Yate (sounds like) Pam repudiated her membership and any connection with the organization. (sentence) (my sentence) Representative Rudy Yate is running for re-election. He recently announced that he would disown, reject, and positively repudiate all those gifts he received from local businesses the last time he campaigned. (“If I can still find ‘em, of course.”

45. Week 12

46. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) known to, or understood by, a limited group of people ESOTERIC (definition) esoterica (n.) (other forms) ess-oh-TERR-ik adj. it’s so Derek (sounds like) The book was filled with esoteric information about a long-lost tribe. (sentence) A group of men and boys attending a convention for people named Derek. Everyone at the Derek Convention is wearing a name tag that says, “Hello, My Name is Derek,” and they’re all standing around talking about famous Dereks in history, telling Derek jokes, and thinking about the things that Dereks think about. An onlooker named Jeffrey says to a friend, “Don’t ask me what they’re talking about. I haven’t understood one word they’ve said since I got here. It’s all so, I don’t know, it’s so Derek.”

47. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) quiet; uncommunicative RETICENT (definition) reticence (n.); reticently (adv.) (other forms) RETT-ih-sent adj. redder cent (sounds like) He was normally a talkative boy, so his sudden reticence seemed to signal a problem. (sentence) (my sentence) A giant penny is being painted red. The penny sits quietly as the artist repeatedly asks, “Redder, Cent. Do you want to be redder? Cent? Huh? Penny for your thoughts. Hello, Cent…”

48. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) the first of its kind UNPRECEDENTED (definition) (other forms) un-PRESS-ih-dent-ed adj. un-presidented (sounds like) Sandra Day O’Connor’s appointment to the Supreme court was unprecedented. (sentence) (my sentence) George Washington’s inauguration. It was an unprecedented event, because he was the first.

49. Week 13

50. (synonym) (antonym or “nonexample”) lacking loyalty; unpredictably changeable; erratic FICKLE (definition) fickleness (n.) (other forms) FIK-uhl adj. pickle and nickle (rhymes with) Audiences are fickle, which is why many celebrities fade from view. (sentence) Pregnant women are very fickle; one moment they want ice cream, the next pickles.