Dictionary, thesaurus and glossary skills
Grade 8 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Thesaurus entry (written by PencilGo)
Benevolent adjective. Group 1, kind and giving: kind (gentle and friendly), generous (giving freely), charitable (giving help to people in need; formal tone), big-hearted (warm and giving; informal tone). Group 2, friendly: cordial (warm and polite; formal tone), chummy (friendly in a casual way; informal tone).
Kira writes: “The ___ society, founded in 1880, still pays for school lunches for families in need.” Which word from the entry fits this formal sentence best?
- cordial
- charitable
- big-hearted
- generous
Dictionary entry (written by PencilGo)
Be·nev·o·lent (buh-NEV-uh-lunt) adjective 1. wishing to do good for others; kindly: a benevolent donor. 2. (formal) organized to give help rather than to make money: a benevolent society. [from Latin bene, 'well' + volens, 'wishing']
Luz sees the label (formal) on sense 2. Which sentence uses benevolent in that formal sense?
- The Benevolent Society of Maple County gave scholarships to students in need.
- The benevolent old man waved to the children who passed him on the street.
- A benevolent smile crossed the teacher's face when the class finished early.
- My uncle is benevolent about sharing his pizza with anyone at the table.
Dictionary entry (written by PencilGo)
Di·lem·ma (dih-LEM-uh) noun 1. a situation that forces a choice between two options, both unwelcome: faced a dilemma. 2. (informal) any hard problem: a dilemma about what to wear. [from Greek di-, 'two' + lemma, 'something taken, an assumption']
Milo uses the origin di-, “two.” Which situation is a dilemma in sense 1?
- Ren must choose between two good prizes, a new bike or a new skateboard.
- Ren has three assignments due on the same day, and a test the day after.
- Ren cannot decide which flavor of ice cream to order at the new shop.
- Ren must pick between missing the big game and missing the concert, both at the same time.
Pia sees the label (informal) on sense 2. Which sentence uses dilemma in that informal sense?
- Pia had a dilemma about which sneakers to wear.
- The coach faced a dilemma: bench the star player or lose the team's trust.
- Jun faced a dilemma: tell the truth and lose a friend, or lie and keep the friendship.
- The mayor faced a dilemma: close the library or raise taxes.
Dictionary entry (written by PencilGo)
Quar·an·tine (KWOR-un-teen) noun 1. a period of isolation to stop a disease from spreading: a ten-day quarantine. 2. (figurative) a state of being kept apart from others: put in quarantine for talking in class. verb to place in quarantine. [from Italian quaranta giorni, 'forty days,' the time ships waited outside Venice]
Ari reads the origin of quarantine. What does it show about how the word began?
- It began as a count of days: forty, the length of time ships were held.
- It began as a rule that forty sailors must be tested before the ship could land.
- It began as the name of a harbor in Italy where ships were held.
- It began as a medical test that lasted forty minutes for each sailor.
Thesaurus entry (written by PencilGo)
Quarantine noun. Group 1, being kept apart: isolation (being kept apart to stay safe), seclusion (privacy that a person chooses), confinement (being kept inside a place), lockdown (a strict limit on movement; informal tone). Group 2, a waiting time: delay (time added before something happens), wait (time spent until something happens).
Bo writes: “The sick traveler stayed in ___ until the doctor said the trip was safe.” Which word from the entry fits best?
- lockdown
- isolation
- delay
- seclusion
Dictionary entry (written by PencilGo)
Quar·an·tine (KWOR-un-teen) noun 1. a period of isolation to stop a disease from spreading: a ten-day quarantine. 2. (figurative) a state of being kept apart from others: put in quarantine for talking in class. verb to place in quarantine. [from Italian quaranta giorni, 'forty days,' the time ships waited outside Venice]
Tala sees the label (figurative) on sense 2. Which sentence uses quarantine in that figurative sense?
- The noisy radio was put in quarantine at the back of the room.
- The ship waited ten days in quarantine outside the harbor at Venice.
- Nurses will quarantine anyone who has caught the illness.
- The ten-day quarantine ended on Friday.
Dictionary entry (written by PencilGo)
Ro·bot (ROH-bot) noun 1. a machine that carries out a series of actions on its own, often shaped like a person: a factory robot. 2. a person who acts mechanically, without feeling: spoke like a robot. 3. (informal) a program that does tasks online by itself; also called a bot. [from Czech robota, 'forced labor'; introduced by the writer Karel Čapek in a 1920 play]
Esme reads the origin of robot: Czech robota, “forced labor.” What does that suggest about how the first robots in the play were imagined?
- As soldiers built to fight in wars.
- As free helpers who chose their work.
- As clever inventors who solved problems.
- As workers made to do hard jobs for people.
Thesaurus entry (written by PencilGo)
Robot noun. Group 1, a self-working machine: machine (any device that does work), automaton (a self-moving device, often clockwork or old-fashioned), android (a robot made to look human), droid (a robot in science fiction; informal tone). Group 2, a mindless follower: puppet (someone controlled by another), drone (someone who works without thinking; informal tone).
Ren writes: “In the museum, a clockwork ___ from the 1700s, a brass duck, flapped its wings and quacked.” Which word from the entry fits best?
- automaton
- puppet
- android
- droid
Dictionary entry (written by PencilGo)
Ro·bot (ROH-bot) noun 1. a machine that carries out a series of actions on its own, often shaped like a person: a factory robot. 2. a person who acts mechanically, without feeling: spoke like a robot. 3. (informal) a program that does tasks online by itself; also called a bot. [from Czech robota, 'forced labor'; introduced by the writer Karel Čapek in a 1920 play]
Zee sees the label (informal) on sense 3. Which sentence uses robot in that informal sense?
- The museum's robot greeted visitors at the door.
- The factory robot welded car doors all night.
- A bot posted the same comment under every video.
- The actor spoke in a flat voice, like a robot.
