MAL=

BAD or EVIL

MALICIOUS

characterized by, or showing spite

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Forms: (adjective) malicious

(noun) maliciousness

(adverb) maliciously

• Their malicious gossip was made worse

since it was intentional.

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Synonyms & Antonyms

MALADY

an illness or disease

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Forms: (noun) malady, maladies

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• All of the women in Edgar Allan Poe’s life died of serious maladies such as tuberculosis.

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Synonyms & Antonyms

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MALFUNCTION

failure to function properly

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Forms: (noun) malfunction

(verb) malfunction –s, -ed, -ing

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• Due to a malfunction with the website, Schoolloop was not working this weekend.
• Yesterday, the microwave malfunctioned, so I could not warm up my food.

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Synonyms & Antonyms

MALEVOLENT

Wishing evil or harm to another or others.

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Forms: (adjective) malevolent

(noun) malevolence

(adverb) malevolently

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A malevolent person deliberately tries to cause harm or evil.

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• The boy was so unhappy that he seemed to have a malevolent desire to destroy the happiness or good fortune of others.

Synonyms & Antonyms

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DISMAL

bad in a sad or depressing way

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Forms: (adjective) dismal

(noun) dismalness

(adverb) dismally

• I could not live in Minnesota because the dismal weather in the winter would be too difficult for me.

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Synonyms & Antonyms

MALEFACTOR

Someone who commits an evil or illegal thing.

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Forms: (noun) malefactor, malefactors

• The malefactor committed numerous

heinous crimes that put him behind bars

for the rest of his life.

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Synonyms & Antonyms

MALCONTENT

Someone that is not content; bad tempered; holding a grudge

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Forms: (adjective) malcontent

• Every day during third period the girl’s

malcontent behavior brought chaos to the

classroom setting.

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Synonyms & Antonyms

LUM/LUC/LUS=

Light

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TRANSLUCENT

Allowing some light to pass through but not so that objects on the other side are clearly visible

You use translucent to describe something that has a glowing appearance, as if light is passing through it.

Forms: (adjective) translucent

(noun) translucence

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In the translucent ocean

water, the surfer could

not distinguish whether

the silhouette belonged

to a shark or dolphin.

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LUCID

Clear and easily understood

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Forms: (Adjective) Lucid

(Noun) Lucidness or Lucidity

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If someone is lucid, they are thinking clearly again after a period of illness or confusion.

Example sentence:

Once the teacher explained it, the main idea of

the poem became lucid to all of the students.

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ELUCIDATE

To make clear or explain; clarify

If you elucidate something, you make it clear/easy to understand.

Forms: (verb) elucidate (-ed, -ing, -es)

(noun) Elucidator

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The student’s explanation elucidated the

reasons why he continually slept

in my class: he went to bed late the night before.

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ILLUMINATE

To supply or brighten with light

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Forms: (verb) illuminate (-ed, -ing, -es)

(noun) illuminator

When the spotlight hit

the dark stage, it

suddenly illuminated

the whole set, which

resembled New York.

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LUSTER

(v)To gleam or to give off light

(n) A glow of reflected light

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Forms:

(noun) luster

(adjective) lustrous

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After she had her diamond ring cleaned, the luster was

brilliant!

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LUMINARY

(n) A person of prominence, a person that shines in their profession

If you refer to someone as a luminary, you mean that they are an expert in a particular subject or activity.

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Forms: (noun) luminary, luminaries

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Benjamin Franklin, a luminary of the science world, invented many things that have impacted our world today.

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