Take the

Vocabulary Cartoon
CHALLENGE!
The following ten samples
were taken from:

Vocabulary Cartoons,
SAT WORD Power

7th - 1
Grade 2th
Level

Unlock the power of mnemonics

cartoons in your classroom! Use the
enclosed samples with your students
by making copies for each student or
overheads. Review a word a day with
your class or use one of the teaching
strategies on page 4, then test them
with the review on page 17. Im sure
you will be please with the results.
 LAMENT
(luh MINT) v.
to express sorrow or regret; to mourn
Link: CEMENT

We LAMENT that Joe got

buried in CEMENT.

q The song, Cowboys LAMENT, is a ballad about

the lonely life of those who drive cattle for a living.
q The nation LAMENTS the passing of the
President while at the same time celebrating his
achieve-ments while in office.
q It is LAMENTABLE that Roscoe quit college in
his sophomore year; his professors considered
him the brightest engineering student in his class.

17

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 CACOPHONY
(kuh KAH fuh nee) n.
harsh sounds
Link: COUGH

A CACOPHONY of COUGHING

q A CACOPHONY isnt just noise, it is disturbing

noise such as when people shout all at once.
q Gene thinks all rock music is a CACOPHONY to
be avoided whenever possible.
q An unpleasant CACOPHONY of sound was
produced as the orchestra tuned their
instruments. But once they began to play
together the sounds became euphonious.

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 EGALITARIAN
(ih gal uh TEAR ee un) adj.
advocating the doctrine of equal rights for all citizens
Link: THE GAL IM MARRYIN

THE GAL IM MARRYIN

is an EGALITARIAN.

q The Communists preached an EGALITARIAN

philosophy, but in the end they were the same old
fascists the world has known through the ages.

q Martin Luther King was a true EGALITARIAN, he

preached for equal rights for all citizens.

324

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 CHATTEL
(CHAT ul)
an item of personal,
movable property; slave
Link: CATTLE

Texs CATTLE were his CHATTEL.

q The bank held a CHATTEL mortgage on all our

office equipment, chairs, computers and even our
electric clock.
q Please do not order me around, Lady Boswell, I
am neither your servant nor your CHATTEL.
q The CHATTEL belonging to Herodotos of Athens
at his death were sixteen slaves, seven horses,
six hunting dogs and three dwarf gladiators.

15

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 POTENTATE
(POE tun tate) n.
a powerful ruler; an important person
Link: IMPORTANT TATER

A POTENTATE in Tater Kingdom is

an IMPORTANT TATER.

q POTENTATES are usually not elected officials,

but the descendants of a line of rajahs, sheiks,
or kings.
q The shah of Iran was an Iranian POTENTATE
who lived in the twentieth century.
q Ever since Sarah was elected president of the
junior class, she walks around with her nose in
the air, as if she thinks she is a POTENTATE.

328

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 SURFEIT
(SUR fit) adj.
an overabundant amount, especially
overindulgence in eating and drinking
Link: SURFERS

A SURFEIT of SURFERS is a sure path to

disastrous surfboard accidents.

q Thanksgiving is a time when most families have

large meals that are a SURFEIT for everyone at
the table.
q The beach store had a SURFEIT of bathing suits
and last Saturday put on a bathing suit sale.
q A SURFEIT of recruits showed up to try out for
the team, and Coach Rex had to turn the
freshmen away.

247

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 TRUCULENT
(TRU kyoo lunt) adj.
inclined toward conflict; eager to fight
Link: TRUCK YOU LENT

The TRUCK YOU LENT Uncle Frank

made him TRUCULENT.

q Looking back on it, we never understood what

made Randolph TRUCULENT all through
school; he always had a chip on his shoulder.
q A TRUCULENT attitude seldom wins friends or
influences people in a positive way.
q Just because your birthday cake was full of
bugs, you dont have to be so TRUCULENT
about it.

316

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 CAPACIOUS
(kuh PAY shush) adj.
roomy, able to hold much
Link: CAP SPACIOUS

A SPACIOUS CAP is CAPACIOUS.

q The old castle has a CAPACIOUS dining room

large enough to seat a small army.
q Davids memory for jokes is CAPACIOUS; he
remembers them all.
q Our bed at the hotel was really CAPACIOUS; all
three sisters slept there.

287

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 ARDUOUS
(AHR joo us) adj.
hard, difficult, tiresome
Link: HARD ON US

The ARDUOUS snow-covered trail

is HARD ON US.

q The assignment given the recruits was ARDUOUS:

twenty miles with full packs in the hot sun.
q Swimming three miles was the most ARDUOUS
exercise Jeannie ever had, particularly since she
swam all the way on her back.
q The long, ARDUOUS boat trip was made even
worse by stormy seas and much seasickness.

42

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 FATHOM
(fa THUM) v.
to understand fully;
to penetrate the meaning of
Link: FAT THUMB

Doctors could never FATHOM the reason

for Larrys FAT THUMB.

q Her friends thought they had FATHOMED the

reason Estelle applied for entrance in an all-
boys college: She never had any dates.
q The jury found it hard to FATHOM how the
defendant could commit such a terrible crime.
q (In nautical terms, FATHOM is six feet of water
depth.) We dropped anchor in four FATHOMS of
water and made plans to stay for the night.

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 Match the word with its definition.
__1. lament a. an item of personal, movable property; slave
__2. cacophony b. an overabundant amount
__3. egalitarian c. roomy, able to hold much
__4. chattel d. harsh sounds
__5. potentate e. to understand fully
__6. surfeit f. hard, difficult, tiresome
__7. truculent g. the doctrine of equal rights for all citizens
__8. capacious h. inclined toward conflict; eager to fight
__9. arduous i. to express sorrow or regret; to mourn
__10. fathom j. a powerful ruler; an important person
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word. The word
form may need changing.

1. Martin Luther King was a true _____________, he

preached for equal rights for all citizens.
2. The beach store had a _______ of bathing suits for
sale.
SAT Word Power Review

3. Please do not order me around Lady Boswell, I am not

your _______.
4. Gene thinks all rock music is a _________ to be
avoided whenever possible.
5. Mikes _______ journey of sailing around the world
took him over six months.
6. The nation ________ the passing of the President while
at the same time celebrating his achieve-ments while in
office.
7. The jury found it hard to _______ how the defendant
could commit such a terrible crime.
8. The Shah of Iran was an Iranian _________ who lived
in the twentieth century.
9. Our bed at the hotel was really _________; all three
sisters slept there.
10. A _________ attitude seldom wins friends or
Influences people in a positive way.