Grades 6, 7 and 8 | English Language | Middle School | Vocabulary Words 2

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English Language: Middle School: Grades 6, 7 and 8 Quiz - Vocabulary Words 2 - Stretching the Brain with Words (Questions)

This English Language quiz is called 'Vocabulary Words 2 - Stretching the Brain with Words' and it has been written by teachers to help you if you are studying the subject at middle school. Playing educational quizzes is a fabulous way to learn if you are in the 6th, 7th or 8th grade - aged 11 to 14.

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In middle school your mind (brain) will be really stretched as more and more vocabulary words come your way. You already have a good vocabulary word bank but now it’s time to fill that bank to overflowing. You’ll need these words as you move out of middle school into high school and they will carry you on to college as well.

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Words can be fun to learn and then try them out on your friends and family. In addition, as you begin to have to write more papers now, in several subjects outside of English, it makes it more interesting to use newer words rather than the same old words over and over again. It will impress your teachers as well and help you towards getting a better grade. But before you use new words, make sure you really know what they mean and that you are using them in the proper way.

This quiz will help you to stimulate and stretch your brain into finding the best word that will fit into the list of ten sentences found below. Some of the sentences may have more than one word that can fit into it but your goal is to find a new word rather than use an older or more simple word so don’t be fooled and look for the easy way out. Are you ready for the challenge? Then let’s begin the Stretching the Brain Words quiz.

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Sometimes people can act like _________ idiots.

[ ]	captivating
[ ]	total
[ ]	colossal
[ ]	real

The police tried to ________ information from everyone in the neighborhood.

[ ]	collect
[ ]	extrapolate
[ ]	gather
[ ]	find

Her behavior at the restaurant was __________.

[ ]	despicable
[ ]	desolate
[ ]	frivolous
[ ]	monolithic

Don’t be so _______. Speak plainly.

[ ]	epidemic
[ ]	philosophical
[ ]	convoluted
[ ]	pragmatic

Melanie felt extremely _________ while crawling through the dark tunnel.

[ ]	claustrophobic
[ ]	frightened
[ ]	afraid
[ ]	sympathetic

Carl is always acting so ___________ that it’s hard to know when he is being serious.

[ ]	foreboding
[ ]	facetious
[ ]	antisocial
[ ]	congeal

He made it onto the football team very _________.

[ ]	quick
[ ]	gradually
[ ]	accurately
[ ]	surreptitiously

Harvard is a very ________ university!

[ ]	good
[ ]	popular
[ ]	large
[ ]	prestigious

The soldier _________ to his battle injuries.

[ ]	embellished
[ ]	blighted
[ ]	succumbed
[ ]	dubbed

10.

Many movies present their audience with a __________.

[ ]	conundrum
[ ]	story
[ ]	message
[ ]	sequel

English Language: Middle School: Grades 6, 7 and 8 Quiz - Vocabulary Words 2 - Stretching the Brain with Words (Answers)

Sometimes people can act like _________ idiots.

[ ]	captivating
[ ]	total
[x]	colossal
[ ]	real

Answer (a) “captivating” means to hold attention to or to capture and is not the word for this sentence. Answers (b) and (d) could both be used in the sentence but each of these are too simple and we are looking for a new word that makes the sentence a little more exciting. Answer (c) “colossal” means big or huge and helps to make the sentence more interesting. Therefore, Answer (c) is the correct word we are looking to use here

The police tried to ________ information from everyone in the neighborhood.

[ ]	collect
[x]	extrapolate
[ ]	gather
[ ]	find

With this sentence, all four of the words could fit in but which of the four words is the newest word added to your vocabulary bank and a word that helps to stretch your brain and make the sentence a little more interesting? Of the four, Answer (b) “extrapolate” means to engage in the process of collecting and is a middle school word making it the newest word. Of the four words, it is the most interesting and adds a new level to your writing and vocabulary skills, therefore, Answer (b) correct

Her behavior at the restaurant was __________.

[x]	despicable
[ ]	desolate
[ ]	frivolous
[ ]	monolithic

Answer (b) “desolate” means barren or stark and is clearly not the word that will fit well into this sentence. Answer (c) “frivolous” means trivial or of little worth and it, too, is not the word that will fit into this sentence. Answer (d) monolithic means formed of a single large block of stone, so it also is not the word that we can use. Answer (a) “despicable” means very bad or extremely unpleasant and fits in very well with this sentence making Answer (a) correct

Don’t be so _______. Speak plainly.

[ ]	epidemic
[ ]	philosophical
[x]	convoluted
[ ]	pragmatic

Answer (a) “epidemic” means to spread rapidly such as an infection or disease so it does not appear to fit well in this sentence. Answer (b) “philosophical” means to base everything on philosophy and/or to be calm in the face of trouble. With either definition, it is not the word needed for this sentence. Answer (d) “pragmatic” means to be very opinionated and if someone was pragmatic, they would be speaking too plainly for many, so it, too, does not fit well into this sentence. However, Answer (c) “convoluted” means to be very complicated or difficult to understand and is a good brain stretching word that fits in well with this sentence. Answer (c) is correct

Melanie felt extremely _________ while crawling through the dark tunnel.

[x]	claustrophobic
[ ]	frightened
[ ]	afraid
[ ]	sympathetic

Answer (d) “sympathetic” means to feel compassion for so it does not fit into this sentence well at all. Answers (b) and (c) could both fit into the sentence but both of these words are simple words and do not help to stretch the brain with vocabulary. On the other hand, Answer (a) “claustrophobic” means the fear of being in a closed in space or a narrow space and it fits quite well into the sentence here. Therefore, Answer (a) is the correct answer

Carl is always acting so ___________ that it’s hard to know when he is being serious.

[ ]	foreboding
[x]	facetious
[ ]	antisocial
[ ]	congeal

Answer (a) “foreboding” means an inner feeling of evil so it is not the word that is needed for this sentence. Answer (c) “antisocial” means to stay away from others and/or to avoid the company of others. It has nothing to do with being serious so the second part of the sentence tells us that this is not the correct word to be used here. Answer (d) “congeal” means to make thick or solid. Clearly this is not the word we are looking to add to this sentence. Answer (b) “facetious” means to be funny or joking and not serious making Answer (b) the perfect word that is needed in this sentence

He made it onto the football team very _________.

[ ]	quick
[ ]	gradually
[ ]	accurately
[x]	surreptitiously

Although Answer (a) “quick” could be used, it is a very simple vocabulary word that doesn’t stretch the brain very much so it is not the word of choice to be used here. Answer (b) “gradually” means slowly and doesn’t really fit well as you do not slowly make it onto a team. Answer (c) “accurately” means to be very precise or correct and it, too, does not fit into the sentence. Answer (d) “surreptitiously” means to do something secretly or in a questionable way and it is a good stretch the brain vocabulary word that fits very well into this sentence. Answer (d) is the correct answer

Harvard is a very ________ university!

[ ]	good
[ ]	popular
[ ]	large
[x]	prestigious

With this sentence, all four of the words could fit in but which of the four words is the newest word added to your vocabulary bank and a word that helps to stretch your brain and make the sentence a little more interesting? Of the four, Answer (d) “prestigious” means to have a very high reputation and it is the best and newest vocabulary brain stretching word that is presented here making Answer (d) the correct answer

The soldier _________ to his battle injuries.

[ ]	embellished
[ ]	blighted
[x]	succumbed
[ ]	dubbed

Answer (a) “embellished” means to decorate or improve so it is definitely not the word we need to use in this sentence. Answer (b) “blighted” means the rapid discoloration of or ruin so it, too, is not the word that fits into this sentence. Answer (d) “dubbed” means to give a title to or a name to. It is also clearly not the word that will fit into this sentence. Answer (c) “succumbed” means to give in to, to submit and/or to die. It is the word that fits best into the sentence. Answer (c) is correct

10.

Many movies present their audience with a __________.

[x]	conundrum
[ ]	story
[ ]	message
[ ]	sequel

With this sentence, all four of the words could fit in but which of the four words is the newest word added to your vocabulary bank and a word that helps to stretch your brain and make the sentence a little more interesting? Of the four, Answer (a) “conundrum” means to present a riddle or a difficult problem to be solved. It is a great vocabulary word to help stretch the brain and makes Answer (a) the correct answer