IELTS - Lesson 30 Exercise

Size and Shape

1. amorphous: without definite form; shapeless

2. gargantuan: huge; gigantic; prodigious. The word comes from Rabelais sixteenth-century political satire, Gargantua and Pantagruel

3. iota: very small quantity; a jot. iota is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet

4. lissome: supple; limber; flexible

5. macrocosm: the great world; the universe. The opposite of this is microcosm

6. magnitude: greatness of size or extent; importance of influence

7.magnum opus: a great work, especially of art or literature

8. microcosm: a little world; miniature universe. It is the opposite of macrocosm.

9. micrometer: an instrument for measuring very small distance, angles, diameters. In Latin, micro means small and meter means to measure.

10. scabrous: rough with small points or knobs; bumpy; scaly; full of difficulties. In Latin, scabere means “to scratch”

11. scintilla: the least trace; a particle. In Latin, scintilla means “a spark”

12. serpentine: evilly cunning or subtle; treacherous; coiled; twisting.

13. sinuous: bending; wavy. The word sinus (“a cavity in the bones of the skull”) is related to sinuous.

14. smidgen: a small amount; a bit. This word is related to “midge” or midget.

15. tenuous: unsubstantial; flimsy; physically thin.

Exercises

I. Which word comes to mind?

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

1. A writer spends ten years preparing his masterpiece.

(macrocosm, magnumopus, micrometer)

2. Cyclops had an enormous appetite

(scintilla, gargantuan, microcosm)

3. A graceful gymnast

(lissome, smidgen, iota)

4. An indefinite proposal

(serpentine, scabrous, tenuous)

5. The actress adopted a sexy walk

(amorphous, magnitude, sinuous)

6. A doctor carefully measures the size of the tumor

(amorphous, micrometer, scabrous)

7. The overthrow of the government began with the act of treachery

(serpentine, scabrous, lissome)

8. An insignificant amount

(sinuous, scintilla, gargantuan)

9. A face knotted with bumps and rough spots

(amorphous, tenuous, scabrous)

10. A trace of seasoning

(microcosm, smidgen, magnum opus)

II. True or False?

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

_________ 1. The microcosm of the man reflects the macrocosm of the universe
_________ 2. The magnitude of the Grand Canyon frequently awes travelers
_________ 3. A tenuous idea is often offered hesitantly
_________ 4. Two words in this lesson that are closely related are smidgen and iota
_________ 5. The amorphous scheme was spelled out in such detail that it was grasped by all
_________ 6. The scabrous surface reminded one of the shiny smoothness of a marble table
_________ 7. The million dollar gift exemplified his gargantuan kindness
_________ 8. The lissome ballerina glided through her performance with unparalleled grace
_________ 9. Fielding’s Joseph Andrews was his magnum opus.
_________ 10. Frank’s tenuous explanation was hardly enough to justify his outburst

III. Fill in the Blank

Insert one of the new words in the proper space in each sentence below

Because of the _________________ of the offense, the judge set a high bail
Space exploration advances suggest that our civilization has developed in a very limited ___________________.
Mr. Ludwig would not admit that his business success had been achieved through _________________ tactics
The race was so close it would take a(n) ___________________ to measure who was the winner
Margaret Mitchell’s __________________ Gone With the Wind was her only book
There was not a _____________________ of truth to the accusation
The team had a(n) ________________ hold on first place until a rash of injuries sent them reeling.
The commencement speaker told the graduates that the road to success is full of __________________ turns.
Cleaning up after the parade proved to be a __________________ task.
The strange creature we found on the beach was so __________________, we could not identify its species.

IV. What’s the Antonym?

Which of the new words is most nearly the opposite in meaning to the one provided?

sturdy ________________________
diminutive ________________________
smooth ________________________
having form ________________________
wooden ________________________
straight ________________________
inflexible ________________________
insignificance ________________________
universe ________________________
amateur attempt ________________________

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