#15 belligerent ~ benign

Question 1

belligerent

/bəˈlɪdʒərənt/

Answer 1

adj. combative; quarrelsome; waging war
- Al was so belligerent that the party had the feel of a boxing match.
- A bully is belligerent. To be belligerent is to push other people around, to be noisy and argumentative, to threaten other people and generally to make a nuisance of oneself.
- Opposing armies in a war are referred to as belligerents. Sometimes one belligerent in a conflict is more belligerent than the other.

Question 2

bemused

/bɪˈmyuzd/

Answer 2

adj. confused; bewildered
- The two stood bemused in the middle of the parking lot at Disneyland, trying to remember where they had parked their car.
- Ralph was bemused when all lights and appliances in his house began switching on and off for no apparent reason.

Question 3

muse

/myuz/

Answer 3

v. to think about or ponder things

Question 4

benefactor
/ˈbɛnəˌfæktər, ˌbɛnəˈfæk-/
beneficiary
/ˌbɛnəˈfɪʃiˌɛri, -ˈfɪʃəri/

Answer 4

n. one who provides help, esp. in the form of a gift or donation
To give benefits is to be a benefactor. To receive benefits is to be a beneficiary.
If your next-door neighbor rewrites his life insurance policy so that you will receive all his millions when he dies, then you become the beneficiary of the policy. If your neighbor dies, he is your benefactor.

Question 5

malefactor

/ˈmæləˌfæktər/

Answer 5

n. a person who does bad things.

- Batman and Robin made life hell for malefactors in Gotham City.

Question 6

benevolent

/bəˈnɛvələnt/

Answer 6

adj. generous; kind; doing good deeds
Giving money to the poor is a benevolent act. To be benevolent is to bestow benefits. The United Way, like any charity, is a benevolent organization.

Question 7

malevolent

/məˈlɛvələnt/

Answer 7

adj. evil; wishing to do harm

Question 8

benign

Answer 8

adj. gentle; not harmful; kind; mild
- Karla has a benign personality; she is not at all unpleasant to be with.
- The threat of revolution turned out to be benign; nothing much came of it.
- Charlie was worried that he had cancer, but the lump on his leg turned out to be benign.
A benevolent person is actively kind and generous while a benign one is more passive.
Benevolence is usually active generosity or kindness, while benignancy tends to mean simply not causing harm.

Question 9

malignant

/məˈlɪgnənt/

Answer 9

adj. nasty; evil; full of ill will
- The opposite of a benign tumor is a malignant one. This is a tumor that can kill you.
- A malignant personality is one you wish a surgeon would remove.
The word malignant also conveys a sense that evil is spreading, as with a cancer. An adjective that means the same thing is malign.

Question 10

malign (v.)

/məˈlaɪn/

Answer 10

v. to say unfairly bad things about someone; to injure a person by telling evil lies about him or her.
Slander and malign are synonyms.