A-B

Question 1

assiduous

Answer 1

diligent

Synonyms: industrious; unremitting; persistent

Question 2

assuage

Answer 2

relieve or reduce in intensity

Synonyms: alleviate, allay, mitigate, ease/lessen (pain), satisfy or appease (hunger), soothe or calm (anger)

Question 3

astringent

Answer 3

harshly biting

Synonyms: sharp and penetrating; bitter in taste, acid, caustic, causing contraction

Question 4

attenuate

Answer 4

to weaken/lessen (in density, force, or degree)

Synonyms: make thinner or finer, become weak or fine, rarefy

Question 5

attrition

Answer 5

gradual decrease in numbers
Synonyms: reduction in the workforce without firing employees; natural wastage; wearing away of opposition by means of harassment

Question 6

audacious

Answer 6

rashly bold, reckless and brave, highly inventive

Synonyms: daring, uninhibited

Question 7

auspicious

Answer 7

promising well for the future

Synonyms: favoring success, fortunate, propitious, favorable, opportune, lucky

Question 8

austere

Answer 8

strict and rigorous

Synonyms: forbiddingly stern, severely simple and unornamented, plain and without luxury

Question 9

autocratic

Answer 9

having absolute, unchecked power

Synonyms: dictatorial, despotic, tyrannical, domineering

Question 10

autonomy

Answer 10

political or personal independence

Synonyms: self-governance; self-rule, sovereignty

Question 11

avarice

Answer 11

insatiable greed for wealth

Synonyms: covetousness, acquistiveness, cupidity

Question 12

aver

Answer 12

assert confidently

Synonyms: affirm, declare, avow, profess, as used in law, state formally as a fact

Question 13

axiomatic

Answer 13

in no need of proof, self-evident

Synonyms: obvious, manifest, aphoristic

Question 14

baleful

Answer 14

threatening harm or misfortune; having a malign influence

Synonyms: deadly, ominous, menacing

Question 15

balk

Answer 15

stop short, as if faced by an obstacle, and refuse to continue
Synonyms: turn away, foil, thwart

Question 16

banality

Answer 16

lack of originality

Synonyms: triteness, staleness, a commonplace expression

Question 17

belabor

Answer 17

explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree

Synonyms: dwell on, overstress, assail verbally

Question 18

belie

Answer 18

give a false impression

Synonyms: contradict, disagree with

Question 19

bellicose

Answer 19

naturally inclined to fight

Synonyms: warlike, pugnacious

Question 20

beneficent

Answer 20

doing good, especially through works of charity

Synonyms: generous, charitable, kindly

Question 21

betoken

Answer 21

be evidence of

Synonyms: indicate, signify, portend

Question 22

blithe

Answer 22

merry in disposition, free of anxieties

Synonyms: carefree, happy, lighthearted

Question 23

bolster

Answer 23

reinforce

Synonyms: support, prop up, strengthen

Question 24

bombastic

Answer 24

pretentious and long-winded

Synonyms: pompous, overbearing, grandiloquent, using inflated language

Question 25

bowdlerize

Answer 25

expurgate by omitting portions considered vulgar

Synonyms: censor, clean up

Question 26

broach

Answer 26

mention or make known for the first time

Synonyms: introduce, open up, pierce

Question 27

brook

Answer 27

put up with

Synonyms: allow, tolerate, permit

Question 28

burgeon

Answer 28

develop rapidly

Synonyms: flourish, mushroom, send out new buds

Question 29

burnish

Answer 29

make shiny by rubbing

Synonyms: shine, polish, buff

Question 30

buttress

Answer 30

shore up with a support

Synonyms: prop up, bolster, reinforce, strength

Question 31

byzantine

Answer 31

devious and complex, relating to the Byzantine Empire

Synonyms: labyrinthine, intricate