PUNCT (POINT) PUNCTUATE, PUNCTUAL, PUNCTILIOUS
PUNCT means point.
To punctuate is to insert periods, exclamation points, and other symbols into writing; punctual means at the appointed time; and punctilious means observing points of correct behavior!
Spanish…puntilloso
trib (pay) tribute, retribution, diatribe
TRIB means pay.
A tribute is the paying of honor; retribution is revengeful payback; and a diatribe is a speech of abusive criticism!
Spanish…diatriba
CAP (take) capture, captivate, captious
CAP means take.
To capture someone is to take him prisoner; to captivate someone is to take control of her fascination; and to be captious is to be fault-finding, to say and do things designed to catch someone!
Spanish…capcioso
pond (weight) ponder, preponderance, ponderous
POND means weight.
To ponder is to reflect on weighty matters; the preponderance of the evidence is the bulk of it; and a ponderous load is a heavy one!
Spanish…ponderoso
RECT (right) correct, rectify, rectitude
RECT means right.
To correct is to change from wrong to right; to rectify something is to make it right; and rectitude is moral uprightness!
Spanish…recitud
Advanced Word: DiatribeThe English noun diatribe, from
the Latin diatriba, which came to Rome from the Greek diatribe, means a bitter speech of abusive criticism. A diatribe tends to be prolonged, and ironical, and can even be written, though we think of diatribes primarily as spoken. In Dava Sobel’s book Longitude, about a man’s struggle to invent a reliable marine chronometer, a diatribe is “written in clear, plain English.”
Caesar’s English II Lesson XIX
Stemmeaning Examples
PUNCT POINT punctuate, punctual
TRIB PAY tribute, tributary
CAP take capture, captivate
POND WEIGHT ponder, preponderance
RECTRIGHT correct, rectangle
BALLOON: PONDEROUS ::
a. rectify : correct
b. delay : punctual
c. speak : diatribe
d. burden : heavy
BALLOON: PONDEROUS ::
a. rectify : correct
b. delay : punctual
c. speak : diatribe
d. burden : heavy
PONDER : IDEA ::
a. tribute : pay
b. retribution : vengeance
c. rectify : mistake
d. punctilious : conduct
PONDER : IDEA ::
a. tribute : pay
b. retribution : vengeance
c. rectify : mistake
d. punctilious : conduct
The Roman legions were _____________ by the countryside of Gaul .
a. captivated
b. pondered
c. rectified
d. punctuated
The Roman legions were _____________ by the countryside of Gaul .
a. captivated
b. pondered
c. rectified
d. punctuated
The legions transported their ___________ equipment up the mountainside.
a. captious
b. punctual
c. punctilious
d. ponderous
The legions transported their ___________ equipment up the mountainside.
a. captious
b. punctual
c. punctilious
d. ponderous
The barbarian leader delivered a violent _____________ against the Romans.
a. preponderance
b. rectitude
c. diatribe
d. capture
The barbarian leader delivered a violent _____________ against the Romans.
a. preponderance
b. rectitude
c. diatribe
d. capture
The Grammar of Vocabulary: captious, an adjective.
The captious remark showed his suspicious attitude.
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Caesar’s Classic Words Challenge
From Joseph Heller’s Catch-22
He brooded in _______________ speculation over the cryptic message.
a. punctual
b. ponderous
c. captious
d. punctilious
Caesar’s Classic Words Challenge
From Joseph Heller’s Catch-22
He brooded in _______________ speculation over the cryptic message.
a. punctual
b. ponderous
c. captious
d. punctilious
From Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native
It was an error which could never be ____________.
a. captivated
b. rectified
c. pondered
d. punctuated
From Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native
It was an error which could never be ____________.
a. captivated
b. rectified
c. pondered
d. punctuated
From Jane Austen’s Emma
I…was too cheerful in my views to be _____________ .
a. ponderous
b. punctual
c. punctilious
d. captious