Grade 7 Vocabulary: Unit 6 Name________________________ Hour_____

WORD LIST: COMPOSITION (part 2)

astonish anguish bicker disdain disheveled

distraught envelop exorbitant haggard pandemonium

1. astonish (uh‐STON‐ish) verb

to surprise or amaze
astonishment (noun) surprise
astonishing (adjective) surprising

2. anguish (ANG-gwish)
a. noun—excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or grief
b. verb—to suffer or feel anguish

3. bicker (BICK-er) verb

to engage in a petty argument
 The two young children always bicker about who gets to sit by the window.

4. disdain (dis-DAYN)
a. verb –to treat with contempt or hatred; to despise
 I disdain people who think they know everything about everything.
b. noun—a feeling of contempt or hatred
 The cat viewed the cheap supermarket cat food with disdain and stalked away.

5. disheveled (di-SHEV-uld) adjective

disordered or untidy
 With his wrinkled clothes and mismatched shoes, the disheveled young man did not
make a good first impression at the job interview.

6. distraught (dih-STRAWT) adjective

distracted, troubled, worried
 The news of her son’ s illness made her quite distraught.


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7. envelop (en-VEL-up) verb
to wrap up or cover completely; to surround
 The Golden Gate Bridge is often enveloped in a thick fog.
envelope (noun ) a wrapper or surrounding cover as for a letter

8. exorbitant (ig-SOR-bi-tunt) adjective

excessive, unreasonably high, too much
 Her exorbitant praise made me blush and squirm in my seat.
 The fancy café in my neighborhood charges an exorbitant price for a small cup of
coffee.
exorbitantly (adverb)

9. haggard (HAG-erd) adjective

worn out, tired looking, fatigued
 After working 36 hour shift at the hospital, my sister comes home looking haggard.

10. pandemonium (pan-duh-MOH-nee-um) noun

a wild uproar, utter chaos
 There will be pandemonium in Metrodome if the Vikings make it to the Super Bowl.

Exercise 1: Write the correct word

Next to each given definition, write the correct word in the space provided. Spell correctly.

1. ____________________ over the top; too 6. ____________________ complete disorder,

much utter chaos

2. ____________________ to wrap up 7. ____________________ worn out

3. ____________________ to look down on 8. ____________________ worried or troubled

or despise
9. ___________________ untidy, out of sorts
4. ____________________ to argue over
silly things 10. _____________________ excruciating pain

5. ____________________ to surprise or
amaze


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 Exercise 2: Complete the Sentence
Write the letter for the word that best completes the sentence.

_____ 1. My _____ friend Dave always looks like he just rolled out of bed.
a. bicker b. disheveled c. envelop d. exorbitant

_____ 2. Please do not spend all your time _______ about who will go first.
a. astonishing b. disheveled c. bickering d. pandemonium

_____ 3. The old man looked tired and ______ as she hauled her bags of groceries onto the Metro
Transit bus.
a. haggard b. disdain c. exorbitant d. bicker

_____ 4. It took hours for the police to gain control of the ______.
a. distraught b. pandemonium c. envelop d. disheveled

_____ 5. The mother _____ her sick child in a warm blanket and held him until he fell asleep.
a. disdained b. bickered c. enveloped d. haggard

_____ 6. I find the unseasonably warm weather this fall to be quite ________.
a. astonishing b. pandemonium c. anguishing d. enveloping

_____ 7. Joana knew something was horribly wrong when she saw the look of ______ on her
friend’s face.
a. disheveled b. bicker c. envelop d. anguish

_____ 8.The poor economy and high unemployment have left many people feeling ______ rather
than festive this holiday season.
a. bicker b. exorbitant c. distraught d. envelop

_____ 9. My sister spent an ______ amount of time shopping at the Mall of America last weekend.
a. bicker b. exorbitant c. pandemonium d. envelop

_____ 10. Jeremy ______ rumors, so he refuses to help spread them at school.
a. disdains b. bickers c. astonishes d. disheveled


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 Exercise 3: Reading Comprehension
Read the passage below. Then complete #1-10.

Saturday Morning

Early Saturday morning, I was 1)surprised to find a mysterious package on my front porch
when I went to collect my newspaper. I looked around to see who might have left it there. Across
the street, I saw two of my neighbors 2)arguing about who should have to rake the leaves
between their houses. Down the block, there was an 3) untidy man running with an 4)
exhausted looking dog. No one else was around, and no on looked as though they were
responsible for the package.
I looked at the box again. Feeling 5)troubled, I left the box there and went back inside to
drink an 6)excessive amount of strong black coffee. I was feeling frustrated as I generally
7)despise anything that interrupts my peaceful Saturday mornings. Just then, I heard a loud
crash from outside. I ran to the porch to find 8) complete chaos. There were at least eight people
running around the front yards obviously searching for something. Cars were honking, dogs
were barking, and people running around threatening to call the police. I, however, stayed
inside the door, not wanting to interfere with the bizarre affair. Peeking through the curtain on
my front door, I saw one menacing character sneak around my house. He ran up to my porch, 9)
wrapped the package in his coat, and sprint away.
Moments later, the neighborhood was clear again. The neighbors continued to argue, the
birds resumed singing, and the runner returned with his dog looking more 10) pained than
before. As I looked closer, I saw a square bulge the size of the package under his sweatshirt. He
looked at me with a devious smile, but kept running. Confused and annoyed that my Saturday
morning had gotten off to a tumultuous start, I headed back in to finish my coffee and read the
newspaper.

Each number below refers to a numbered word in the passage above.

Write the letter of the vocab word that best fits into the sentence at the number.

_____ 1. a. pandemonium b. astonished c. bickered d. disdained

_____ 2. a. bickering b. astonishing c. disdaining d. anguished

_____ 3. a. bickered b. pandemonium c. disdaining d. disheveled

_____ 4. a. enveloped b. astonish c. haggard d. pandemonium

_____ 5. a. disdain b. haggard c. anguished d. bickered

_____ 6. a. exorbitant b. bickered c. disdain d. anguished

_____ 7. a. bickered b. disheveled c. disdain d. astonish

_____ 8. a. astonish b. pandemonium c. disdain d. enveloped

_____ 9. a. haggard b. anguished c. disheveled d. enveloped

_____ 10. a. anguished b. disdain c. enveloped d. pandemonium


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 Part 4: Find the Example
Read each question. Then select the example that best answers the question.

_____ 1. What might make you feel haggard?

a. taking a nap c. an 8 hour shift of hauling dirt
b. watching a football game d. a massage

_____ 2. Something that could NOT envelop someone:

a. a blanket b. fog c. a hug d. lunch

_____ 3. What might leave you feeling distraught?

a. bad news b. a pay raise c. a day off d. a compliment

_____ 4. What might be considered an exorbitant gift?

a. a new pencil c. a brand new car
b. a picture frame d. a houseplant

_____ 5. What might cause pandemonium?

a. The Jonas Brothers visiting SLPJH c. turning in your homework on time
b. Mr. Bork walking through the hallway d. riding the bus home after school

_____ 6. Which would NOT make someone look disheveled?

a. wrinkled clothes c. unbrushed hair
b. untied shoes d. a three-piece suit

_____ 7. What might cause people to bicker?

a. a common goal c. an agreement
b. a difference of opinion d. an agreed upon schedule

_____ 8. What someone’s face might look like if they are in anguish:
a. confused c. peaceful
b. excited d. a grimace

_____ 9. Something that would be considered astonishing:

a. a wool sweater c. a pig flying through the air
b. your birthday d. a good night sleep

_____ 10. Something many people disdain:

a. paying taxes c. going on vacation
b. celebrating holidays d. answering the phone


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