You know the drill…• Write down the words along with the

definition and memory tip.• Plan for the next assessment to be

on November 3. This means there will only be four weeks worth of words.

Week 1•Hi! Words that relate to being friendly.

Amiable- adj

• Friendly; kind• This word is for you, French

students! What does ami mean in French?• Amiable Amy says only the kindest

things about others.

Convivial- adj

• Sociable; outgoing in a festive way• Use the last part of the word, vivial, to remind

you of a carnival.• The great snacks, awesome dj, and fun crowd

made the Homecoming Dance one of the convivial yet!

Gregarious- adj

• Talkative and outgoing• Think about the gr in group to help you.• I hope that the shy new student from Texas

emerges from her shell and becomes more gregarious.

Jocular- adj• Joking around, liking to be with

people• Joking sounds just like jocular.• Dave Letterman’s jocular personality

makes him a great night show host.

Week 2•Grrr! Not so friendly anymore. Words related to quarreling.

Bellicose- adj• Eager to fight; war-like• Think about the ringing of a bell, like

in boxing.• The bellicose coach lost his job after

he told his players, “Kill them bums!”

Cantankerous- adj• Bad tempered; quarrelsome• Think of one of those canker sores you

can get on your lip or in your mouth.• When Mrs. Jones gets up on the wrong

side of the bed, she’s cantankerous all day long.

Contentious- adj• Belligerent; quarrelsome• Think about that show The Next Big

Contender (or something like that)• If you don’t stop being so

contentious, no one will want to work in a group with you.

Pugnacious- adj• Eager to fight• Think about a growling, snarling pug

dog.• Pugnacious Paul, as you might

expect, was involved in another schoolyard brawl.

Week 3

• “Here! Take mine!”• Words related to generosity

Altruistic- adj• Showing an unselfish concern for

others• Just memorize it.• Barbara’s motives were not

altogether altruistic; she had too much to gain from serving as the blood drive leader.

Benevolent- adj• Giving freely and easily to others;

charitable; kind• The prefix bene always means good.• Bill Gates is a benevolent benefactor to

many charitable organizations.

Munificent- adj• Very generous• The beginning looks and sounds a

bit like “money.”• It’s easy to be munificent when

you have more of everything than you’ll ever need.

Philanthropic- adj

• Charitable; humane• Think of how easily Dr. Phil dispenses

advice!• Bill Gates donates millions of dollars

every year to education, medical research, and other philanthropic causes.

Week 4

• Can you say “tightwad?”•Words related to being cheap

and stingy.

Austere- adj• Showing self control when it comes to

spending money• Link this word to stern, and think about

being stern with money.• The monks led austere lives, foregoing all

luxuries and comforts.

Mercenary- adj• Greedy for self gain• Think of mercenary soldiers.• The soldiers of fortune fought battles

in different countries, thinking more about mercenary desires than safety.

Parsimonious-adj• Overly thrifty or miserly• Think about poor country

parsons.• Gramps is parsimonious with his

words; sometimes he doesn’t speak for days!

Penurious- adj• Relating to great poverty• Link the beginning of the word to

“penny.”• Stop being so penurious and give a

few pennies to the homeless!

Avarice- noun• Greed• Avarice looks like vice, and let’s face

it, being greedy isn’t a virtue.• Avarice motivates many people to

swindle others.