Jazz Up Your Lesson

For advanced students

Believe it or not, but synonyms might be a blessing and a torture at the same time! On the one hand, they make our speech more varied, accurate and precise and thus make us more interesting speakers to talk to. But they can also make such a mess, if you use them incorrectly. So take the test and check yourself afterwards. See if you use the synonym correctly and try not to repeat your mistakes if any, of course!

1. Many of us would prefer to … rather than simply … .

a. ripen

b. mellow

c. mature

d. develop

e. age

2. We call something … when it is utterly inconsistent with what common sense or experience tells us. For example: “She found herself in the … position of having to defend the intelligence of a cockroach.”

a. foolish

b. absurd

c. preposterous

d. ludicrous

e. ridiculous

f. unreasonable

3. … implies voluntary self-denial and is usually associated with the non-indulgence of appetite (for example, total … from cigarettes and alcohol).

a. temperance

b. moderation

c. forbearance

d. continence

e. abstinence

f. abstemiousness

g. abnegation

4. Happiness is one thing; … is another, suggesting a state of utter joy and contentment.

a. transport

b. rapture

c. ecstasy

d. bliss

e. euphoria

KEY:

1. c. mature; e. age

Mature implies gaining wisdom, experience, or sophistication as well as adulthood; when applied to other living things, it indicates fullness of growth and readiness for formal functioning (a mature crop of strawberries). To age, on the other hand, is to undergo the changes that result from the passage of time, often with an emphasis on the negative of destructive changes that accompany growing old (the tragedy aged him five years). Develop is like mature in that it means to undergo a series of positive changes to attain perfection or effectiveness, but it can refer to a part as well as the whole organism (the kitten’s eyesight began to develop at three weeks). Ripen is a less formal word meaning to mature, but it usually applies to fruit (the apples ripened in the sun). Mellow suggests the tempering or moderation of harshness that comes with time or experience. With its connotations of warmth, mildness, and sweetness, it is a more positive word than mature or age.

b. absurd

Ludicrous applies to whatever is so incongruous that it provokes laughter or scorn (a ludicrous suggestion that he might escape unnoticed if he dressed up as a woman), and ridiculous implies that ridicule or mockery is the only appropriate response (she tries to look younger, but succeeded only in making herself look ridiculous). Foolish behaviour shows a lack of intelligence or good judgment (it was foolish to keep that much money under a mattress), while unreasonable behaviour implies that the person has intentionally acted contrary to good sense (his response was totally unreasonable in view of the fact that he’d asked for their honest opinion). Preposterous should be reserved for those acts or situations that are glaringly absurd or ludicrous. For example, it might be unreasonable to judge an entire nation on the basis of one tourist’s experience and foolish to turn down an opportunity to visit that country on those grounds alone, but it would be preposterous to suggest that everyone who comes to the United States will be robbed at gunpoint.

e. abstinence

Abstemiousness is a quality or habit of being abstinent; an abstemious person would be one who is moderate when it comes to eating or drinking. Continence, temperance, and moderation all imply various forms of self-restraint or self-denial: moderation is the avoidance of extremes or excesses (he drank in moderation); temperance is habitual moderation, or even total abstinence, particularly with regard to alcohol (the 19th century temperance movement); and continence refers to self-restraint with regard to sexual activity. Forbearance is self-control, the patient endurance that characterizes deliberately holding back from action or response. Abnegation is the rejection or renunciation of something that is generally held in high esteem (abnegation of the Christian Church), although it can also mean to refuse or deny oneself a particular right, claim, or convenience (abnegation of worldly goods).

d. bliss

Ecstasy is even more extreme, describing a trancelike state in which one loses consciousness of one’s surroundings (the ecstasy of young love). Although rapture originally referred to being raised or lifted out of oneself by divine power, nowadays it is used in much the same sense as ecstasy to describe an elevated sensation of bliss (she listened in speechless rapture to her favourite soprano). Transport applies to any powerful emotion by which one is carried away (a transport of delight). When happiness is carried to an extreme or crosses over into mania, it is called euphoria. Euphoria may outwardly resemble ecstasy or rapture; but upon closer examination, it is usually found to be exaggerated and out of proportion (the euphoria that came over him whenever he touched alcohol).

NOTE: This task can be used as a class activity during the lesson with the immediate checking afterwards. Students may do the test individually or in groups and gain scores for correct answers. Or the teacher might prefer to give this activity as a home assignment asking students to make a detailed search for the correct answer, giving reasons and explanations for their choice.