Context Clues

ambivalent: Margaret had ambivalent feelings about attending the concert. She knew she’d enjoy the music, but she didn’t really want to go out in the rainy weather.

yearned: Liam was a good basketball player who yearned for the chance to play professionally. He practiced every day and called coaches at all the professional teams asking for a try-out.

suppressed: No matter how much Jerome felt like being mean to the cranky lady, he knew he needed to keep this job so he suppressed the urge.

plethora: Regina remembered when she had just two pairs of shoes. Now, her closet holds a plethora of shoes in almost every color and every style.

felines: I love all kinds of felines, including tigers, lions, and even my kitty, Fluffy.

symmetrical : Gordon wasn't sure that he cut out the shapes properly. He was afraid that he might have made them uneven, but his teacher assured him that his shapes were perfectly symmetrical.

uncivil: Ladies, please stop the name calling. There is no reason to act uncivil. Let's discuss the problem.

proud: Janine was proud when the teacher used Janine's project as an example for other classes.

disdain: She gives me this look of disdain ever since I donated her dolls to charity.

audacious: Kirstin was so audacious as to take the pen out of the businessman's pocket and begin writing the check for him.

omission: Bobby told Suzy that he went to the party, but not that he went to the party with Brenda. Suzy is upset about this omission.

beneficial: Regular exercise is beneficial to your body, but too much exercise is not good for you.

feign: Jane got it into her mind that she could get out of studying for any test just by feigning illness the night before the exam.

amass: By making his lunches and saving his lunch money, Alex was able to amass enough to pay for his first semester of college.

solemn: The mood in the church became very solemn when the bride began to walk down the aisle.

contemplate: I am disappointed, but I have nothing more to say. I will leave you to contemplate how your mother will react to this news.

moderate: Jamie wants to keep the house spotless all of the time and Shannon is a total slob, but I am a bit more moderate about cleanliness.

conspicuous: The teacher doesn't mind if you chew gum or have a small snack, so long as you are not conspicuous with your consumption. If you put a bag of chips on your desk and start sharing them with everyone, he's going to take your chip

shun: Brian thought that parties were a waste of time, money, and energy, so he shunned these social events.

discordant: The music teacher had difficulty tolerating the discordant noises produced by her kindergarten class.

haberdashery: Mr. Johnson owned a haberdashery where he sold men’s suits, men's shirts, and ties.

immunity: Though all of the other children had either a cold, a flu, or both, Robert had developed an immunity to these illnesses and his play was unaffected

vex: John felt bad about hitting his little sister, but he was so vexed when he saw her playing with his only Lance Power action figure that he lost his temper.

incredulous: I wanted to give the new kid a chance, but when he started telling me that he could ride his skateboard on top of the telephone wires, all I could do was be incredulous of his comment..

adept: The magician is adept at hiding what he does because I can never figure out his magic tricks.

audible: A dog whistle makes a high-pitched sound that is only audible to dogs.

adoration: The movie star enjoyed the adoration of his millions of fans, but he also missed the days when he could just go to a neighborhood spot and get a burger without being encircled by a mob.

contradict: Benjamin felt conflicted because the things he learned in science class contradicted what his momma had taught him on the swamp.

vermin: The abandoned house was infested with vermin, including rats, fleas, and cockroaches.