Write the word that completes each sentence:

1. The new nanny was _______________, eager to make sure the

children were happy.
2. He had squandered his father’s wealth, and for that he was
_______________.
3. Given the ominous change in government, the family considered
_______________ to Europe.
4. Throughout history, people have attempted to _______________
Shakespeare’s work by removing the text referring to certain parts of
the human anatomy.
5. Up by 10 runs in the last inning of the game, the team became
_______________ and nearly ended up losing.
6. He struggled at trivia games because even when he knew the answer,
it would often _______________ him.

42
Commonly Confused Pairs (PART 3)
elicit (verb) vs. illicit (adjective) ēˈlisət, i(l)ˈlisit
Elicit means “to draw out, usually a reaction.”
Illicit means “illegal.”
His puns, as terrible as they are, never fail to elicit a laugh from his friends.
The illicit drug trade has intensified in recent years.

flounder vs. founder (verbs) floundər, foundər

Flounder means “to flail about, either literally or figuratively.”
Founder means “to sink, either literally or figuratively.”
The three young ducklings floundered in the mud as they tried to keep pace
with their mother.
The space team miscalculated the amount of energy needed to reach Mars,
so the project foundered.

prescribe vs. proscribe (verbs) prəˈskrīb, prōˈskrīb

Prescribe means “to recommend, as a course of treatment.”
Proscribe means “to ban.”
The doctor prescribed rest and lots of ice for the patient with the broken
arm.
The books of James Joyce are proscribed in certain countries for their many
references to bodily excretions.

torturous vs. tortuous (adjectives) tôrCH(ə)rəs, tôrCH(o )əs

Torturous means “extremely painful.”
Tortuous means “full of twists, winding.”
Everyone finds at least one genre of music so torturous that they’d rather
plug their ears than listen to a single second of it.
Though the distance from the base to the summit was only a mile, the ascent
was so tortuous that the hikers took nearly nine hours to reach the top.

ACTIVITY 42
 Write the word that completes each sentence:
1. The start-up _______________ soon after its inception because it
never figured out how to make money.
2. Were this sentence to carry on for an entire paragraph, full of twist
and turns, unnecessary phrases, and the like, it would be
_______________.
3. To minimize the number of on-field injuries, professional football has
_______________ late tackles.
4. She had become so implacable over time that there was no way to
_______________ even a modicum of sympathy.
5. For someone with a bad back, a 12-hour road trip would be
_______________.

43
Annoying Words
The lesson title says it all!

irksome (adj.) ərksəm

Annoying.
His new roommate quickly became irksome as he told one bad joke after
another.
This comes from German, meaning “to annoy.” Good synonyms to know
are galling and exasperating. ingratiate (v.) inˈgrāSHēˌāt
To try to win another’s favor, often through flattery.
Ricky tried to ingratiate himself with the other boys in his school, but many
quickly grew tired of him complimenting them on their attire.
From Latin and Italian, meaning “to seek favor.” Someone who is
ingratiating can often be annoying. cloying (adj.) kloiNG
Overly sentimental to the point of being disgusting.
The newlywed couple repelled many of their friends by calling each other
cloying names like “honey-bunny” and “snuggle-bug.”
This word comes from the Middle English for “being in excess to the point of
loathing.” This word should be reserved for cases in which the
sentimentality is so over the top as to be sickening.

aggravate (v.) agrəˌvāt

To make worse. vex (v.) veks To annoy.

gall (v.) gôl

To annoy. mawkish (adj.) môkiSH
Overly sentimental and cloying.

ACTIVITY 43
Mark “S” if the meanings of the two words are similar, “R” if they are
related, or “NR” if they are not related:
1. mawkish and cloying ______
2. gall and vex ______
3. ingratiate and aggravate ______
 44
What Did You Call Me?
There are many words that mean “to slander or say nasty things about a
person.” For some reason, these seem to outnumber the words that mean
“to praise.” libel

(n.) lībəl
Slander in writing.
The celebrity tweeted false, hurtful things about her rival, and a month later
was sued for libel.
From Latin, describing a small legal book. Libel is typically used when
referring to defamation in writing; slander is defamation in speech.

besmirch (v.) besmirCH

To dirty or hurt another’s reputation.
Just by being seen in public with the gang of criminals, Marty knew his
reputation had been besmirched.
A smirch is a dirty mark. Tarnish, blacken, and sully are three synonyms for
besmirch. raillery (n.) rālərē
Teasing.
To his friends, their jeers were nothing more than raillery; to him they stung
deeply.
From the French for “to tease.” Unlike all these other hurtful words, raillery
refers to good-natured teasing.
 Write the word that completes each sentence:
7. The new nanny was _______________, eager to make sure the
children were happy.
8. He had squandered his father’s wealth, and for that he was
_______________.
9. Given the ominous change in government, the family considered
_______________ to Europe.
10. Throughout history, people have attempted to _______________
Shakespeare’s work by removing the text referring to certain parts of
the human anatomy.
11. Up by 10 runs in the last inning of the game, the team became
_______________ and nearly ended up losing.
12. He struggled at trivia games because even when he knew the
answer, it would often _______________ him.

42
Commonly Confused Pairs (PART 3)
elicit (verb) vs. illicit (adjective) ēˈlisət, i(l)ˈlisit
Elicit means “to draw out, usually a reaction.”
Illicit means “illegal.”
His puns, as terrible as they are, never fail to elicit a laugh from his friends.
The illicit drug trade has intensified in recent years.

flounder vs. founder (verbs) floundər, foundər

Flounder means “to flail about, either literally or figuratively.”
Founder means “to sink, either literally or figuratively.”
The three young ducklings floundered in the mud as they tried to keep pace
with their mother.
The space team miscalculated the amount of energy needed to reach Mars,
so the project foundered.

prescribe vs. proscribe (verbs) prəˈskrīb, prōˈskrīb

Prescribe means “to recommend, as a course of treatment.”
Proscribe means “to ban.”
The doctor prescribed rest and lots of ice for the patient with the broken
arm.
The books of James Joyce are proscribed in certain countries for their many
references to bodily excretions.

torturous vs. tortuous (adjectives) tôrCH(ə)rəs, tôrCH(o )əs

Torturous means “extremely painful.”
Tortuous means “full of twists, winding.”
Everyone finds at least one genre of music so torturous that they’d rather
plug their ears than listen to a single second of it.
Though the distance from the base to the summit was only a mile, the ascent
was so tortuous that the hikers took nearly nine hours to reach the top.

ACTIVITY 42
 Write the word that completes each sentence:
6. The start-up _______________ soon after its inception because it
never figured out how to make money.
7. Were this sentence to carry on for an entire paragraph, full of twist
and turns, unnecessary phrases, and the like, it would be
_______________.
8. To minimize the number of on-field injuries, professional football has
_______________ late tackles.
9. She had become so implacable over time that there was no way to
_______________ even a modicum of sympathy.
10. For someone with a bad back, a 12-hour road trip would be
_______________.

43
Annoying Words
The lesson title says it all!

irksome (adj.) ərksəm

Annoying.
His new roommate quickly became irksome as he told one bad joke after
another.
This comes from German, meaning “to annoy.” Good synonyms to know
are galling and exasperating. ingratiate (v.) inˈgrāSHēˌāt
To try to win another’s favor, often through flattery.
Ricky tried to ingratiate himself with the other boys in his school, but many
quickly grew tired of him complimenting them on their attire.
From Latin and Italian, meaning “to seek favor.” Someone who is
ingratiating can often be annoying. cloying (adj.) kloiNG
Overly sentimental to the point of being disgusting.
The newlywed couple repelled many of their friends by calling each other
cloying names like “honey-bunny” and “snuggle-bug.”
This word comes from the Middle English for “being in excess to the point of
loathing.” This word should be reserved for cases in which the
sentimentality is so over the top as to be sickening.

aggravate (v.) agrəˌvāt

To make worse. vex (v.) veks To annoy.

gall (v.) gôl

To annoy. mawkish (adj.) môkiSH
Overly sentimental and cloying.

ACTIVITY 43
Mark “S” if the meanings of the two words are similar, “R” if they are
related, or “NR” if they are not related:
4. mawkish and cloying ______
5. gall and vex ______
6. ingratiate and aggravate ______
 44
What Did You Call Me?
There are many words that mean “to slander or say nasty things about a
person.” For some reason, these seem to outnumber the words that mean
“to praise.” libel

(n.) lībəl
Slander in writing.
The celebrity tweeted false, hurtful things about her rival, and a month later
was sued for libel.
From Latin, describing a small legal book. Libel is typically used when
referring to defamation in writing; slander is defamation in speech.

besmirch (v.) besmirCH

To dirty or hurt another’s reputation.
Just by being seen in public with the gang of criminals, Marty knew his
reputation had been besmirched.
A smirch is a dirty mark. Tarnish, blacken, and sully are three synonyms for
besmirch. raillery (n.) rālərē
Teasing.
To his friends, their jeers were nothing more than raillery; to him they stung
deeply.
From the French for “to tease.” Unlike all these other hurtful words, raillery
refers to good-natured teasing.