IELTS - Lesson 17 Exercise

Size and Shape


1. archaeology: the systematic recovery by the scientific methods of material evidence remaining from man’s life and culture in past ages, and the detailed study of this evidence.

2. elfin: fairylike; delicate; small and charmingly merry or mischievous. In folklore, an elf was a tiny, often prankish fairy who lived in the woods and possessed magical powers, like Shakespeare’s Puck.

3. infinitesimal: too small to be measured. Mathematicians, philosophers, and photographers are accustomed to dealing in concepts that range from the infinite (too large to be measured) to the infinitesimal

4. Lilliputian: very small; tiny, narrow-minded; petty. In Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, the hero was shipwrecked on the island of Lilliput, the inhabitants of which stood six inches tall.

5. megalopolis: an extensive, heavily populated, continuously urban area, including any number of cities. This larger than a metropolis since it includes an inner city, suburbia, and any adjacent towns.

6. minimize: to reduce to a minimum; decrease to the least possible amount or degree; belittle. Again we meet a synonym for “small.” minim, this time combined with the suffix ize , “to make,” and denoting as in the definition for infinitesimal, making something appear to be of the least possible amount, value, or importance.

7. minutiae: small or trivial details; trifling matters. The word is not restricted in meaning to unimportant details since a seemingly minor point can prove to be of major significance

8. palatial: like a palace; large and ornate. A closely related word derived from the same Latin root palatine (palace), refers to royal privileges, a high official, a Roma soldier as well as to the chief of the seven hills upon which Rome was built.

9. peccadillo: a small sin or fault. We admire the person who dresses impeccably, “without fault,” perhaps are tolerant to the peccadillos of our friend; and probably forgive the person who offers his peccavi (confessions, or literally “I have sinned)

10. picayune: of little value or account; petty or prejudiced. Originally, this meant a coin of small value. Inevitably, the meaning was transferred to a person of low esteem because of his or her criticism or bias.

11. simulacrum: a slight, unreal, or superficial likeness or semblance; an image or representation of something

12. soupcon: suspicion; a slight trace or flavor; a very small amount.

13. teeming: swarming; prolific or fertile. The Old English word terman meant “to produce offspring.” Indeed, an obsolete meaning of teeming was “to become pregnant and produce offspring.” What is perhaps more interesting is that our word team also comes from the Old English team, which meant “childbearing” or “brood”

14.titanic: of enormous size, strength, or power. In classical mythology the Titans were a race of giants who ruled the world before gods and goddesses. Cronus, perhaps the most famous (think of our word chronology), swallowed all his children in an attempt to avert a prophecy of doom, but one son, Jupiter (Zeus), survived and eventually overthrew his father.

15. vista: a far-reaching intellectual view, a view or prospect, especially one seen through a long, narrow avenue or passage; a mental view extending over a long period of time or embracing many remembrances or experiences.

Exercises


I. Which Word Comes to Mind?

In each of the following, read the statement, then circle the word that comes to mind.

1. The myriad molecules on the head of a pin

(infinitesimal, vista, picayune)

2. The two cities have grown so quickly you can hardly tell where on ends and the other begins.

(megalopolis, Lilliputian, palatial)

3. Most of their points were scored when out best man was in the penalty box

(amplitude, elfin, minimize)

4. Mac stumbled once over his lines but otherwise his performance was perfect

(minutiae, peccadillo, simulacrum)

5. This is the biggest rocket in our arsenal.

(soupcon, titanic, teeming)

6. The seven dwarfs of Disney

(Lilliputian, palatial, vista)

7. I was bogged down in petty details.

(megalopolis, minutiae, titanic)

8. We took a guided tour of Buckingham Palace

(teeming, palatial, soupcon)

9. The defense kept objecting to every minor point that was raised in court

(picayune, elfin, peccadillo)

10. After climbing to the top of the mountain, we looked out on a marvelous landscape.

(minimize, teeming, vista)

II. True or False?

In the space provided indicate whether each statement is true or false

  • _________ 1. An elfin creature is huge and lumbering
  • _________ 2. Soupcon is the call to dinner
  • _________ 3. You should feel complimented if your mental powers are called Lilliputian
  • _________ 4. Vista galleries are so called because they attract many visitors.
  • _________ 5. A teeming street is dilapidated and deserted.
  • _________ 6. It took a titanic effort to open the car door under water.
  • _________ 7. The amplitude of the harvest gratified the farmers.
  • _________ 8. In summers, we seek to trade our megalopolis for the country air.
  • _________ 9. Don’t minimize Fermi’s contributions to the development of the atomic bomb.
  • _________ 10. My parents are willing to overlook an occasional peccadillo.

III. Synonyms and Antonyms

Find and circle two words on each line which are either synonyms or antonyms.

  1. infinitesimal ----- titanic ----- pompous ----- hopeful
  2. swarming ----- cooperative ----- teeming ----- moderate
  3. economy ----- amplitude ----- pettiness ----- range
  4. picayune ----- searching ----- serviceable ----- unbiased
  5. exaggerate ----- imitate ----- minimize ----- assemble
Home

1

Lesson-1

Jingoist, Lothario, Maverick, Nemesis, Philanderer, Philippic, Procrustean, Protean, Pyrrhic victory, Quixotic, Saturnine, Solecism, Spoonerism, Sybarite, Tawdry

2

Lesson-2

Acidulous, Baleful, Bellicose, Bilious, Bumptious, Captious, Churlish, Complaisant, Contrite, Convivial, Craven, Debonair, Dyspeptic, Lachrymose, Neurasthenic

3

Lesson-3

cabal, camaraderie, caste, cortege, detente, echelon, ecumenical, elite, esprit de corps, freemasonry, genealogy, hierarchy, hobnob, liaison, rapprochement

4

Lesson-4

adagio, andante, arpeggio, bravura, contralto, crescendo, falsetto, fortissimo, imbroglio, intaglio, largo, libretto, salvo, staccato, vendetta

5

Lesson-5

alienist, amanuensis, beadle, cosmetologist, dermatologist, entomologist, farrier, graphologist, internist, lapidary, ophthalmologist, ornithologist, osteopath, pharyngologist, physiologist

6

Lesson-6

Adonis, Bacchanal, Cassandra, Cornucopia, Erotic, Herculean, Hermetic, Hydra, Hymeneal, Iridescent, Narcissism, Odyssey, Olympian, Palladium, Phoenix

7

Lesson-7

aberrant, anthropomorphism, archetype, authoritarian, cathedrals, demography, epidemiology, euthanasia, extrovert, psychic, psychopath, psychotherapy, schizophrenia, subliminal, traums

8

Lesson-8

aficionado, barrio, bonanza, bravado, desperado, flotilla, grandee, hacienda, lariat, machismo, manana, palmetto, renegade, siesta, torero

9

Lesson-9

anachronism, anon, antebellum, antediluvian, atavism, augury, betimes, biennial, diurnal, eon, ephemeral, epoch, generation, score, tercentenary

10

Lesson-10

bane, deign, eke, knell, mete, moot, mulct, plumb, quail, roil, ruck, shunt, svelte, thrall, tryst

11

Lesson-11

abscess, aphasia, arteriosclerosis, biopsy, cadaver, carcinogen, comatose, etiology, malingerer, mastectomy, prosthesis, simian, therapeutic, tumescence, vasectomy

12

Lesson-12

bovine, equine, feline, hircine, leonine, lupine, ophidian, ovine, piscine, porcine, saurian, taurine, ursine, vixen, vulpine

13

Lesson-13

atonement, bicameral, Decalogue, decimate, dichotomy, double-think, millennium, nihilism, penultimate, primeval, protocol, quatrain, quintessence, tessellated, untrammeled

14

Lesson-14

adjudicate, appellate, collusion, deposition, equity, exhume, incommunicado, intestate, ipso facto, lien, litigation, perjury, pettifogger, tort, tribunal

15

Lesson-15

circumspect, demure, dispassionate, dolorous, edacious, effete, feisty, flaccid, flippant, florid, glabrous, imperious, ingenious, intractable, intransigent

16

Lesson-16

alchemy, arcane, conundrum, demonology, exorcise, inscrutable, pallor, phenomenology, polygraph, purloin, ritual, shamus, soothsayer, thaumaturgy, warlock

17

Lesson-17

archaeology, elfin, infinitesimal, Lilliputian, megalopolis, minimize, minutiae, palatial, peccadillo, picayune, simulacrum, soupcon, teeming, titanic, vista

18

Lesson-18

accolade, conclave, dirge, draconian, epicurean, gossamer, immolate, juggernaut, junket, ostracism, proletariat, rigmarole, rubric, Socratic, sycophant

19

Lesson-19

acrophobia, bibliophile, claustrophobia, Francophile, hydrophobia, misanthropy, misogyny, paranoid, philately, Philistine, phylogeny, philology, Russo phobia, triskaidekaphobia, xenophobia

20

Lesson-20

archaeology, cardiology, ecology, endocrinology, gerontology, gynecology, morphology, necrology, neurology, paleontology, pathology, rhinology, seismology, speleology, toxicology

21

Lesson-21

jejune, libidinous, licentious, mercurial, meretricious, minatory, mutable, niggardly, nonchalant, noxious, obdurate, obtuse, officious, omniscient, pusillanimous

22

Lesson-22

amicus curiae, arson, barrister, embezzle, extradition, habeas corpus, immaterial, incarcerate, indeterminate, larceny, litigious, miscreant, perpetrator, plagiarism, probation

23

Lesson-23

avant-garde, bete noire, bot mot, coup de grace, cul-de-sac, dues ex machina, fait accompli, fin de siecle, gauche, junta, laissez-faire, mot juste, non compos mentis, non sequitur, sine qua non

24

Lesson-24

coiffure, demarche, denouement, éclat, élan, entrepreneur, impasse, ingénue, malaise, mélange, repartee, sangfroid, tete-a-tete, tour de force, vignette

25

Lesson-25

acrid, addle, ado, alms, amulet, aperture, askew, bauble, bevy, bilk, blithe, careen, chary, nabob, onus

26

Lesson-26

antaean, argonaut, calliope, cyclopean, gorgon, harpy, Homeric, myrmidon, oracular, paean, plutonian, Promethean, stygian, terpsichorean, thespian

27

Lesson-27

pedantic, pertinacious, pontifical, pretentious, prolix, puerile, quiescent, recalcitrant, restive, ribald, sardonic, sedulous, sleazy, supercilious, voluptuous

28

Lesson-28

a cappella, ad hoc, bon vivant, de facto, gemutlich, leitmotif, nolo contendere, per excellence, parvenu, piece de resistance, postprandlal, quid pro quo, qui vive, savoir faire, sub rosa, vis-à-vis

29

Lesson-29

ambivalent, bucolic, crotchety, dilatory, disconsolate, dudgeon, froward, genteel, jocund, loquacious, splenetic, tendentious, truculent, vacuous, venal

30

Lesson-30

amorphous, gargantuan, iota, lissome, macrocosm, magnitude, magnum opus, microcosm, micrometer, scabrous, scintilla, serpentine, sinuous, smidgen, tenuous

31

Lesson-31

bathos, malapropism, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, panegyric, paradigm, paralipsis, pleonasm, polyglot, semantics, simile, synecdoche, threnody

32

Lesson-32

argot, aspersion, badinage, bombast, braggadocio, censure, countermand, gainsay, gobbledegook, guttural, harangue, jargon, mellifluous, resonant, sententious

33

Lesson-33

canon, hegemony, oligarchy, peonage, pharisaical, plebiscite, plenipotentiary, proxy, recession, regicide, renascent, reprisal, subversion, surrogate, votary

34

Lesson-34

antipodal, cartography, concierge, hegira, hustings, landmark, peripatetic, portmanteau, safari, tandem, transmigrate, traverse, trek, wanderlust, wayfarer

35

Lesson-35

a la carte, assuage, comestible, condiment, cuisine, culinary, gastronomic, gourmand, manna, palatable, piquant, refection, repast, subsistence, viands

36

Lesson-36

antic, beguile, bonhomie, dalliance, divertissement, euphoria, guffaw, insouciance, japery, regale, risible, roguish, roister, squib, waggish

37

Lesson-37

anarchy, bourgeois, bureaucracy, demagogue, ethos, gerrymander, imperialism, Machiavellian,. martial, muckraker, partisan, reactionary, schism, suffrage, totalitarian

38

Lesson-38

abnegation, abscond, affidavit, altercation, battery, bequest, cause celebre, caveat emptor, codicil, contiguous, contraband, contumacious, disenfranchise, injunction, jurisprudence

39

Lesson-39

aphorism, dogma, empirical, epistemology, eschatology, fallacy, hedonism, pragmatism, predestination, ratiocination, syllogism, teleology, tenet, theosophy, utilitarian

40

Lesson-40

agnostic, apocalyptic, apocryphal, apostate, apotheosis, benediction, blasphemy, deist, infidel, mantra, ontology, pantheism, sacrilegious, syncretism, theodicy
  1. Common Terms Related To English Grammer
  2. 400+ IELTS Speaking Questions and Topic Ideas
  3. 10 Most Common English Idioms with Origin and Examples
  4. Improve Your Writing Skills – Set 1 to 10 – Exercises
  5. 200+ Questions and Topics for IELTS Speaking Test
  6. 800+ Most Common Idioms and Phrases
  7. Preposition Exercises (Set 1, Set 2 and Set 3)
  8. Most Commonly Used Synonyms for IELTS
  9. 8 Types of Parts of Speech with Examples
  10. Body Language – Multiple Choice Questions
  11. [IELTS] 50 English Grammar Questions With Answers – Practice Test
  12. Understanding Your IELTS Band Scores
  13. [IELTS] 100+ Useful Vocabulary Words with Examples
  14. 7 Effective Strategies For Active Listening
  15. [English] All You Need To Know About Nonverbal Communication
  16. 16 Ways to Quickly Improve Your English Language Skills
  17. 300+ IELTS Speaking Questions To Be Asked
  18. 100 Most Commonly Used One Word Substitution
  19. 100 Common Words and Mistakes in English
  20. 40 Commonly Used and Popular English Idioms
  21. 150+ Word Roots, Their Meaning and Examples
  22. TOEFL Vocabulary Practice Test – Set 2
  23. TOEFL Vocabulary Practice Test – Set 1
  24. List of Most Commonly Used Prefixes and Suffixes With Their Meanings and Examples
  25. General Tips on Writing Effective Essay for TOEFL Exam
  26. Correct Form of English Word [200 Line of Sentences with Answers]
  27. 70+ TOEFL Practice Test Exercises
  28. TOEFL Vocabulary Practice Test – 60 Questions with Answer
  29. List of Common Terms Related to English Grammer
  30. [English] Verbal Reasoning – Blood Relationship MCQ With Answers
  31. English Tenses Practice Tests – Exercise 1 to 15
  32. English Quantifiers Practice Test – MCQ with Answers
  33. English Articles (A, An and The) – Practice Tests 1 to 20
  34. [English] Passive Voice Exercises
  35. Most Familiar English Proverbs With Their Meanings
  36. English Collocations – Types and Examples
  37. English Verbs – Exercise 1 to 20
  38. Find The Error – 10 Questions With Answers and Explanation
  39. [English] List of Phrasal Verbs with Examples
  40. 250+ One Word Substitutions of Different Categories
  41. 500 Important One Word Substitutions
  42. 100 One Word Substitution – English Learning
  43. [English] Preposition Practice Test Exercises
  44. Find The Error – 100 Questions With Explanations
  45. 100 Idioms With Examples You Need To Know
  46. Commonly Confused English Words With Examples
  47. [Learn English] Using For / Since – Fill In The Blanks
  48. Choose Correct Answer For This English Test
  49. [Learn English] Spot the Errors/Corrections
  50. Fill Suitable Articles (A, AN and THE) – English Practice Test With Answers

Powered by Eduhyme.com