What does serpentine mean?
Word: Serpentine
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Serpentine means twisting and curving like a snake, such as a winding road or river.
Synonyms: winding, twisting, snaking
Antonyms: straight, direct
How do you spell serpentine?
Syllables: ser - pen - tine
Tricky part: The word is built on serpent, so the middle is -pen-, not -pan-. Students write serpantine.
Watch out for: serpantine, serpintine
Memory tip: A serpent is a snake, and a serpentine road moves like one, so the word starts with serpent, spelt in full.
Serpentine in a sentence
Example 1: The serpentine road to Ooty has dozens of hairpin bends.
Example 2: From the hilltop we could see the river's serpentine path through the green fields.
Example 3: The children formed a serpentine line and wound their way around the playground.
Fun Fact
Serpentine is also the name of a group of green rocks with a smooth, mottled surface that can look like a snake's skin.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the misspelt word/s in the given sentence:
Our garden hose lay in a serpentain heap on the lawn after Papa watered the plants.
a) only plants
b) heap and lawn
c) serpentain and watered
d) only serpentain
Show answer
d) only serpentain. The word ends like the number nine, in -ine, with no a.
Word Champ
Which of the following statements are true?
1. A serpentine road has many bends. 2. A rigid ruler bends very easily. 3. Something spherical is shaped like a ball.
a) only 2 and 3
b) only 1 and 3
c) only 1 and 2
d) all three
Show answer
b) only 1 and 3. Rigid means stiff, so a rigid ruler does not bend; the other two statements are true.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the given sentence?
A serpentine queue of pilgrims wound up the hill to the temple, and volunters handed out water and bananas.
a) 3
b) 1
c) 0
d) 2
Show answer
b) 1. Serpentine is right; volunteers needs a double e before the r.
Sound Check
In which word is 'er' pronounced differently?
a) sergeant
b) herbal
c) person
d) serpentine
Show answer
a) sergeant. In sergeant, er sounds like the ar of car; in the other three it is the er of her.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why does a bus take longer on a serpentine road?
a) it must slow down for the many bends
b) the road is closed at night
c) the road is made of sand
d) it has to stop at every shop
Show answer
a) it must slow down for the many bends
2. Which path would a guide call serpentine?
a) a trail that winds round and round a hill
b) a straight road across a desert
c) a flat runway at an airport
d) a short flight of stairs
Show answer
a) a trail that winds round and round a hill
