vocabulary exercises

1. List 58
magnify
postpone
presentable
realistic
stun
Magnify—verb; to make larger-looking, amplify, exaggerate, stretch
(mag/ni/fy)
Ma/gni/fi/ca/tion—noun
 My glasses magnify the print on a page so I can see it.
 Scientists use a microscope to magnify the smallest cells.
 What would you like to be able to magnify?
Antonym – make smaller, minimize, understate, play down
Postpone—verb; to put off, delay, hold off, hold up, put on hold
(post/pone)
Post/pone/ment—noun
 We are going to postpone the test until next week.
 She postponed buying a house until she was 30.
 What have you postponed in your life?
Antonym – advance, forward, expedite, hasten, hurry
Presentable—adj; fit to be seen, acceptable, attractive, good enough, not
bad, passable
(pre/sent/a/ble)
 Teachers try to be presentable when they come to work.
 To make her house presentable in a hurry, she stuffs everything
into one room and closes the door.
 How can you make yourself/your house presentable?
Antonym – ugly, unacceptable, unfit, unpresentable
Realistic—adj; true-to-life, practical, rational, real, reasonable, sensible
(re/a/lis/tic)
Re/a/lis/ti/cal/ly—adv
Re/a/li/ty- noun

2.  It is not realistic to believe that it won’t snow in Minnesota in the
winter.
 She is realistic when she says that she won’t ever have children.
 What is a realistic goal for yourself?
Antonym – unrealistic, unreasonable, irrational, impractical
Stun—verb; to amaze, astonish, confuse, overcome, overpower
(stun)
Stun/ning—adj
Stun/ning/ly—adv
 When you watch actresses on the red carpet at the Oscars, they
look stunning.
 I would be stunned if you told me you won the lottery and were
going to give me $5,000,000.
 What is something that would stun you?
Antonym – bore, calm, clarify, clear up, expect
List 58
magnify
postpone
presentable
realistic
stun
Definitions
1. _____________________ to delay until a future time
2. _____________________ seeing or telling things as they are

3. 3. _____________________ to make something appear larger than it
really is
4. _____________________ to shock; greatly surprise
5. _____________________ in good enough condition to be shown to
others
Fill in the Blank
6. When Mary told her friends she would be out of town this week, her
friends had to _____________________ her surprise party.
7. Telescopes _____________________ objects in outer space.
8. Before she went to her job interview, Annette chose clothes that
would make her look _____________________.
9. It would _____________________ the mom if her daughter cleaned her
room without being told.
10. A long term goal may not be _____________________ at first,
but you may reach it by taking one small step at a time.
Complete the Sentence
11. I prefer realistic movies such as
a. Santa Claus versus the Martians.
b. The Basketball Incident.
c. The Little Mermaid.
12. Thomas looked quite presentable after he
a. showered, shaved, and put on a nice outfit.

4. b. came in from playing football on a muddy field.
c. had been sick for several days.
13. In school, the students learned to magnify items using a
a. ruler.
b. calculator.
c. microscope.
14. We had to postpone our family reunion
a. so that more people could attend.
b. to find our dog.
c. for yesterday.
15. Rick was stunned when he met David,
a. his best friend.
b. the twin he never knew he had.
c. his science teacher.
Synonyms
16. realistic
a. lazy
b. strong
c. quick
d. true-to-life
17. postpone
a. delay
b. encourage
c. mail
d. rush
18. stun
a. annoy
b. dare
c. surprise
d. burn
19. magnify
a. look up
b. show off
c. make smaller
d. make larger
20. presentable
a. clean
b. generous
c. messy
d. returnable

5. What/Why/Do/Would
21. Do you think that it is realistic to expect to win the lottery?
Why or why not?
22. What kinds of things do people postpone? Why?
23. Would it stun you to learn that I will go to China for vacation?
Why or why not? What would stun you?
24. What kinds of things do people magnify? Why do they do
this?

6. 25. When is it necessary to be presentable?