Dictionary, glossary and thesaurus skills
Grade 9 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
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Four reference excerpts for the word stubborn.
College dictionary: stubborn adjective unwilling to change one's mind or course; hard to move or remove.
Thesaurus: stubborn: obstinate (negative: refuses to listen), persistent (positive: keeps trying), mulish (informal, negative).
History glossary: stubborn resistance noun a refusal by a government to yield to a rival.
Medical dictionary: stubborn adjective of a symptom, slow to respond to treatment.Ari needs a warmer word than stubborn for a student who keeps working at hard problems. Which line settles the choice?
- History glossary: “a refusal by a government to yield to a rival”
- College dictionary: “unwilling to change one's mind or course”
- Medical dictionary: “slow to respond to treatment”
- Thesaurus: “persistent (positive: keeps trying)”
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Four reference excerpts for the word edema.
College dictionary: edema noun swelling caused by fluid.
Thesaurus: swelling: bulge, lump, puffiness.
Art glossary: relief noun a carving that stands out from a flat surface.
Medical dictionary: edema noun an abnormal buildup of fluid in tissue; pitting edema leaves a dent when pressed, non-pitting does not.Jun is reading a nursing handout. The handout asks whether the swelling leaves a dent when pressed. Which line gives that?
- Thesaurus: “bulge, lump, puffiness,” a list of related words
- Medical dictionary: “pitting edema leaves a dent when pressed, non-pitting does not”
- Art glossary: “a carving that stands out from a flat surface,” a term from another subject
- College dictionary: “swelling caused by fluid,” the general meaning of the word
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The board hired a ___ auditor with no stake in the outcome. Most of the audience seemed ___ and checked their phones.
disinterested adjective fair because there is no personal stake in the result: a disinterested judge. uninterested adjective not interested; bored. Usage: some writers use disinterested to mean uninterested; careful writers keep the two apart.
Kira fills two blanks using the usage note. Which pair of words fits the note in order?
- disinterested, uninterested
- uninterested, uninterested
- disinterested, disinterested
- uninterested, disinterested
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“The class compared how three ___ covered the storm: print, radio and video.”
medium noun 1. a means of communication, plural media. 2. a person who claims to speak with spirits, plural mediums. 3. a size between small and large, plural mediums.
Luz fills the blank. Which plural does the entry give for the sense the sentence uses?
- mediae
- mediums
- medium
- media
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Four reference excerpts for the word quarantine.
College dictionary: quarantine noun a period of isolation for people or animals that may carry disease. Word history: from Italian quaranta giorni, “forty days,” the wait ships served in port.
Thesaurus: quarantine: isolation, segregation, confinement.
Health glossary: quarantine noun a rule that holds ships or travelers for a set time.
Medical dictionary: quarantine noun limits on the movement of people exposed to a disease.Milo wants to know what quarantine first meant and where the word comes from. Which line gives that?
- Medical dictionary: “limits on the movement of people exposed to a disease,” the term today
- Health glossary: “a rule that holds ships or travelers for a set time,” a meaning for one book
- Thesaurus: “isolation, segregation, confinement,” a list of related words
- College dictionary: “from Italian quaranta giorni, ‘forty days,’ the wait ships served in port”
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The editorial seems to ___ that the mayor knew. Readers may ___ that the memo was ignored.
imply verb to suggest something without saying it directly: a writer or speaker implies. infer verb to reach a conclusion from evidence: a reader or listener infers. Usage: using infer to mean imply is common but is not accepted in careful writing.
Noah fills two blanks using the usage note. Which pair of words fits the note in order?
- infer, imply
- infer, infer
- imply, infer
- imply, imply
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“The report's three ___ list the raw data and the survey questions.”
appendix noun 1. a section of extra material at the end of a book or report, plural appendices. 2. a small organ attached to the intestine, plural appendixes.
Pia fills the blank. Which plural does the entry give for the sense the sentence uses?
- appendix
- appendices
- appendici
- appendixes
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Four reference excerpts for the word citation.
College dictionary: citation noun a quotation or source named as evidence; an official award.
Thesaurus: citation: reference, quotation, mention.
History glossary: primary source noun an original document from the time studied.
Style manual: Government report: agency, title in italics, report number, publisher, year, URL.Ren must cite a government report in the format the class uses. Which line gives the pattern to follow?
- History glossary: “an original document from the time studied,” a term for one book
- College dictionary: “a quotation or source named as evidence,” what a citation is
- Thesaurus: “reference, quotation, mention,” a list of related words
- Style manual: “agency, title in italics, report number, publisher, year, URL”
Use this
The bell rang with ___ interruptions all morning. The hum of the generator was ___ all night.
continual adjective repeated again and again, with pauses between. continuous adjective going on without a break. Usage: the two are often mixed up, but careful writers keep continual for repeated events and continuous for unbroken ones.
Tala fills two blanks using the usage note. Which pair of words fits the note in order?
- continual, continual
- continuous, continual
- continuous, continuous
- continual, continuous
Use this
“The committee set three ___ for the award.”
criterion noun a standard used to judge or decide something, plural criteria. Usage: criteria is the plural; criterion is the singular.
Zee fills the blank. Which plural does the entry give?
- criterion
- criterions
- criteria
- criterias