#2 abstinent ~ acumen

Question 1

abstinent

/ˈæbstənənt/

Answer 1

adj. abstaining; voluntarily not doing something, esp. sth. pleasant that is bad for you or has a bad reputation
- Beulah used to be a chain-smoker; now she’s abstinent (it was just to hard to get those chains lit).
- Cynthia, who was dieting, tried to be abstinent, but when she saw the chocolate cake she realized that she would probably have to eat the entire thing.
A person who abstains from sth. is an abstainer and engages in abstinence.

Question 2

abstract

/æbˈstrækt, ˈæbstrækt/

Answer 2

adj. theoretical; impersonal
- He liked oysters in the abstract, but when he actually tried one he became nauseated.
To like sth. in the abstract is to like the idea of it.
- Bruno doesn’t like abstract art; he thinks that a painting should resemble something real, not a lot of splattered paint.

Question 3

abstruse

/æbˈstrus/

Answer 3

adj. hard to understand
- The professor’s article, on the meaning of meaning, was abstruse. Michael couldn’t even pronounce the words in it.
- Nuclear physics is a subject that is too abstruse for most people.

Question 4

abyss

/əˈbɪs/

Answer 4

n. a bottomless pit; something so deep that it seems bottomless

Question 5

abysmal

/əˈbɪzməl/

Answer 5

adj. extremely hopeless or wretched; bottomless
- Abysmal despair is despair so deep that no hope seems possible.
- The nation’s debt crisis was abysmal; there seemed to be no possible solution.

Question 6

accolade

/ˈækəˌleɪd, -ˌlɑd; ˌækəˈleɪd, -ˈlɑd/

Answer 6

n. an award; an honor
- The first break-dancing troupe to perform in Carnegie Hall, the Teflon Toughs, received accolades from the critics as well as from the fans.

Question 7

accost

/əˈkɔst, əˈkɒst/

Answer 7

v. to approach and speak to someone aggressively
- Amanda karate-chopped the stranger who accosted her in the street and was embarrassed to find he was an old, blind man.

Question 8

acerbic

/əˈsɜrbɪk/

Answer 8

adj. sour; severe; like acid in temper, mood or tone
- Barry sat silently as his friends read the teacher’s acerbic comments on his paper.
Acerb and acerbic are synonyms.

Question 9

acerbity

/əˈsɜrbɪti/

Answer 9

n. the state of being acerbic

Question 10

acquiesce

/ˌækwiˈɛs/

Answer 10

v. to comply passively; to accept; to assent; to agree
- The pirates asked Pete to walk the plank; he took one look at their swords and then acquiesced.
To acquiesce is to do sth. without objection - to do it quietly.
To acquiesce is to exhibit acquiescence.

Question 11

acrid

/ˈækrɪd/

Answer 11

adj. harshly pungent; bitter
- The cheese we had at the party had an acrid taste; it was harsh and unpleasant.
- Long after the fire had been put out, we could feel the acrid sting of smoke in our nostrils.
Acrid is used most often with tastes and smells, but it can be used more broadly to describe anything that is offensive in a similar way.
- A comment that stings like acid could be called acrid, So could a harsh personality.

Question 12

acrimonious

/ˌækrəˈmoʊniəs/

Answer 12

adj. full of spite; bitter; nasty
- George and Elizabeth’s discussion turned acrimonious when Elizabeth introduced the subject of George’s perennial, incorrigible stupidity.
- Relations between the competing candidates were so acrimonious that each refused to acknowledge the presence of the other.

Question 13

acumen

/əˈkyumən, ˈækyə-/

Answer 13

n. keenness of judgment; mental sharpness
- A woman who knows how to turn one dollar into a million overnight might be said to have a lot of business acumen.
- Ernie’s lack of acumen led him to invest all his money in a company that had already gone out of business.