Building Vocabulary inAmerican Literature

Autonomy

Definition:(on back of card)

Picture Sentence

auto (GRK)– independent, “self”

nom (GRK)– law or custom

-y (OE)– inclined to

Synonym Morphemes

Autonomyfreedom, liberty, self-determination, self-

government, self-rule, sovereignty

America gained its autonomy after they won the war against England.

Independence or freedom

Jettison

Definition: to throw off (something) as an obstacle or burden; discard.

Picture Sentence

(ME) jetteson  

Synonym Morphemes

Jettisonabandon, abdicate, cast off, deep-six, discard, dump, expel, heave, hurl, reject, slough, unload

What happens when aircrafts jettison external tanks?

Obliterate

Definition: destroy completely

Picture Sentence

ob (L)—”to”

litter (L)—”epistle”

ate (L)—noun

Synonym Morphemes

ObliterateAnnihilate, delete, efface, eliminate, eradicate, erase, expunge, exterminate

Nagasaki was obliterated during WWII.

Extricate

Definition: (on back of card)

Picture Sentence

Synonym Morphemes

Extricatedetach, disburden,

disencumber, disengage, disentangle, extract, free, liberate, release, remove,

withdraw

After the crash, rescue teams extricated the

injured driver from his car.

To free from entanglement

(L)ex—out of(L) tric—perplexities(L) ate—suffix used to make verbal

Celestial

Definition:

Picture Sentence

Synonym Morphemes

Celestialangelic, astral, blessed, divine,

ethereal, hallowed, holy, otherworldly, seraphic,

spiritual, sublime, supernatural, transcendental

Through my telescope I saw many celestial bodies.

heavenly, pertaining to the sky

(L) caelesti—heavenly(L) al—pertaining to

ChaosChaos Theory

Conference

Definition: (on back of card)

Picture Sentence

Synonym Morphemes

Chaos

In the midst of the chaos, nobody noticed the thief slip quietly out of the room..

Anarchy, bedlam, disarray, discord, disorder, entropy, lawlessness, pandemonium, tumult, turmoil, unruliness

A state of confusion or disorder

(Grk) khaos—wide open; abyss

Disdain

Definition:

Picture Sentence

Synonym Morphemes

Disdain

Amy had a great deal of disdain for her boyfriend when he hung up on her.

Antipathy, aversion, contempt, derision, despisement, disgust, hatred, insolence, ridicule, scorn

(OF) des—do the opposite of(OFr.)dain--treat as worthy

to look upon with contempt

Behemoth

Definition: large in power or size

Picture Sentence

Synonym Morphemes

Behemothbeast, large, leviathan, mammoth, monster

Hebrew— “beast”

The behemoth defensive line held the other team so they earned no points.

congenial

Definition: pleasant

Picture Sentence

Synonym Morphemes

Congenial

The cashier was congenial and smiled at me while she handed my order.

con (L)—prefix meaning “with”geni (L “genus”)—a kind or typeal (L)—suffix “from the character of”

affable, agreeable, amicable, companionable, cooperative, cordial, delightful, favorable, gracious, harmonious, jovial, kindly, neighborly, sociable

tantalize

Definition: to tease or make frustrated

Picture Sentence

Synonym Morphemes

tantalize

Many cook with chocolate and there are countless wonderful recipes to tantalize one’s taste buds.

Tantalus (Grk)—Tantalos, king of Phyrgia, son of Zeus, punished in the afterlife

annoy, bait, beleaguer, charm, entice, fascinate, frustrate, harass, pester, plague, taunt, thwart, titillate, torment, torture