Ch25

Question 1

acquire

Answer 1

verb

to get through one’s own actions; gain something as one’s own;

• While living in England, Brad acquired a little bit of an English accent.
• Before going on the trip, I acquired a good pair of hiking boots.

1. acquisition, noun - something that has been gotten; something owned;

Question 2

commitment

Answer 2

noun

a promise to do something; pledge;

• Nita has made a commitment to stop smoking this year.
• The Greens made a commitment to give a percent of their income to charity.

1. commit, verb - to seriously agree (to doing something);

Question 3

formal

Answer 3

adjective

proper; not casual; according to custom or tradition;

• Because my boss is a rather formal person, I never call him by his first name or try to joke with him.
• A formal wedding can be very expensive, so Julie and Ed have decided on a casual wedding in the park.

1. formality, noun - an act done only to follow a rule;

Question 4

fragment

Answer 4

noun

a small piece broken off something whole;

• Don’t go into the kitchen barefoot. I broke a glass, and there may still be a fragment on the floor.
• Scientists digging up an ancient city found a piece of pottery which they think is a fragment of a bowl.

1. fragmented, adjective - broken up;

Question 5

fundamental

Answer 5

noun

basic; forming a foundation; essential;

• A fundamental rule of water safety is this: Don’t go swimming alone.
• One must learn the fundamental operations of arithmetic before going on to algebra.

Question 6

precede

Answer 6

verb

to come before;

• Do you think that friendship precedes love in a relationship: Or does love come first?
• On the East Coast, the 11 o’clock news precedes the Tonight Show, which begins at 11:30.

1. predecessor, noun - one who held a position or job before another;

Question 7

resent

Answer 7

verb

to feel angered and injured by;

• The voters resent the fact that the mayor made promises he did not keep after his election.
• People often resent being given advice they did not ask for.

1. resentment, noun - bad feelings due to a sense of having been hurt;

Question 8

solemn

Answer 8

adjective

serious and respectful;

• The fire chief told some jokes to get the children’s attention. But when he began to speak about not playing with matches, he became solemn.
• The group of laughing children became solemn when they heard that their friend had been injured.

1. solemnity, noun - seriousness;

Question 9

spite

Answer 9

noun

an unfriendly feeling that causes one to want to hurt or shame another;

• Turning against her former friend, the girl said with spite in her voice, “Everyone thinks you’re a real loser.”
• The disk jockeys’ spite toward each other was obvious - each of them said nasty things about the other on the air.

1. spitefully, adverb - in a manner filled with meanness;

Question 10

symbolize

Answer 10

verb

to stand for; be a symbol of;

• In ancient Egypt, a picture of a small circle with a dot in the middle symbolized the sun.
• During World War II, holding two fingers up in a V stood for victory, during the 1960s, it symbolized peace.

1. symbol, noun - something that stands for something else;
2. symbolic, adjective - using symbols;