Week 4 of 36 · 10 words · ages 17–18

12th Grade spelling words, week 4: -uous endings

Each ends in a u followed by -ous, said as two beats, oo-us, often with a y or ch sound before it. Say it slowly, then write both.

innocuous: Completely harmless.
contemptuous: Showing scorn for someone or something.
sumptuous: Splendidly rich and costly.
tempestuous: Stormy, violent or full of strong feeling.
tortuous: Full of twists and turns.
incongruous: Out of place with its surroundings.
vacuous: Empty of thought or meaning.
fatuous: Silly and pointless.
ingenuous: Frank and innocent; without trickery.
sinuous: Winding and curving like a snake.

Ten minutes a day this week

Short and daily beats long and once. A word met on five separate days is remembered; a word met five times on Thursday night mostly is not.

Monday
Read the list together. Say each word, clap its syllables and find the pattern in it.
Tuesday
Look, say, cover, write, check — each word once from memory, then check the letters.
Wednesday
Use every word in a sentence, out loud or on paper, so each one means something.
Thursday
Practice test: a grown-up reads each word aloud. Circle the misses for tomorrow.
Friday
The test. One try per word, no letters given. The circled words go first.

Practise these 10 words, free

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