Advanced Words X

Question 1

Upbraid

Answer 1

Find fault with, criticize or scold severely

Question 2

Usury

Answer 2

Charging interest on a loan, esp. charging illegally high or excessive interest

Question 3

Vanguard

Answer 3

Leading units at the front of an army; leaders in a trend or movement, people on the “cutting edge”; the forefront of a trend or movement

Question 4

Variegated

Answer 4

Varied in color, having multicolored patches or spots; diverse

Question 5

Verdant

Answer 5

Green, such as with vegetation, plants, grass, etc.; young and inexperienced

Question 6

Verisimilitude

Answer 6

The appearance of being true or real

Question 7

Vernal

Answer 7

Relating to the spring; fresh, youthful

Question 8

Vestige

Answer 8

Trace or sign of something that once existed

Question 9

Vex

Answer 9

Annoy or bother; puzzle or distress

Question 10

Via

Answer 10

Through, by means of, by way of

Question 11

Vicissitude

Answer 11

Changes or variations over time, esp. regular changes from one thing to another

Question 12

Vim

Answer 12

Pep, enthusiasm, vitality, lively, spirit

Question 13

Virulent

Answer 13

Extremely infectious, poisonous, etc.; hateful, bitterly hostile

Question 14

Viscid or viscous

Answer 14

Thick, adhesive, or covered in something sticky

Question 15

Vitriol

Answer 15

Something highly caustic, such as criticism

Question 16

Vociferous

Answer 16

Noisily crying out, as in protest

Question 17

Voluble

Answer 17

Easily fluent in regards to speech

Question 18

Wan

Answer 18

Unnaturally pale or showing some other indication of sickness, unhappiness, etc.; weak, lacking forcefulness

Question 19

Wanton

Answer 19

Reckless, vicious, without regard for what is right; unjustifiable, deliberately done for no reason at all; sexually unrestrained or excessively luxurious

Question 20

Welter

Answer 20

Confused mass or pile, jumble; confusion or turmoil; roll around, wallow, toss about, writhe

Question 21

Whet

Answer 21

Stimulate, make keen or eager

Question 22

Whitewash

Answer 22

A substance used to whiten walls, wood, etc.; deception, covering up of wrongs, errors, misdeed, etc.

Question 23

Winnow

Answer 23

Sift, analyze critically, separate the useful part form the worthless part

Question 24

winsome

Answer 24

Charming, engaging, esp. in a sweet and innocent way

Question 25

Wizened

Answer 25

Withered, shriveled

Question 26

Xenophobia

Answer 26

Fear or hatred of foreigners or that which is foreign

Question 27

Yoke

Answer 27

A burden or something that oppresses; a frame for attaching animals to each other and to a plow or other equipment to be pulled; to unite together or to burden

Question 28

Abasement

Answer 28

To reduce or lower, as in rank, office, reputation, or estimation; humble; degrade.

Question 29

Abated

Answer 29

to reduce in amount, degree, intensity, etc.; lessen; diminish

Question 30

Aberrant

Answer 30

1. Deviating from what is considered proper or normal: aberrant behavior.
2. Deviating from what is typical for a specified thing: an aberrant form of a gene.

Question 31

Abhor

Answer 31

To regard with horror or loathing; detest: “The problem with Establishment Republicans is they abhor the unseemliness of a political brawl” (Patrick J. Buchanan).

Question 32

Abhorrent

Answer 32

1. Disgusting, loathsome, or repellent.

2. Feeling repugnance or loathing.

Question 33

Abjured

Answer 33

1. To recant solemnly; renounce or repudiate: “For nearly 21 years after his resignation as Prime Minister in 1963, he abjured all titles, preferring to remain just plain ‘Mr.’” (Time).
2. To renounce under oath; forswear.

Question 34

Abreast of

Answer 34

1. Keeping pace with someone or something. Charlie finished the race in second place because he could not stay abreast of the winner.
2. Knowing the most current information about a person, thing, or event. Typically used with the verb “keep.” There are so many software vulnerabilities that it’s difficult to keep abreast of them all. I’m worried about Stu, so please keep me abreast of any changes in his health.

Question 35

Abridge

Answer 35

1. To reduce the length of (a written text); condense: The editor abridged the manuscript by cutting out two chapters. See Synonyms at shorten.
2. To limit; curtail: an unconstitutional law that abridged the rights of citizens.

Question 36

Abstruse

Answer 36

Difficult to understand; recondite: The students avoided the professor’s abstruse lectures.

Question 37

Accolades

Answer 37

a. An expression of approval; praise.
b. A special acknowledgment; an award.
2. A ceremonial embrace, as of greeting or salutation.
3. Ceremonial bestowal of knighthood.

Question 38

Accrue

Answer 38

1. To come to one as a gain, addition, or increment: interest accruing in my savings account.
2. To increase, accumulate, or come about as a result of growth: common sense that accrues with experience.
3. To come into existence as a claim that is legally enforceable.

Question 39

Acculturation

Answer 39

1. The modification of the culture of a group or individual as a result of contact with a different culture.
2. The process by which the culture of a particular society is instilled in a human from infancy onward.

Question 40

Acerbic

Answer 40

1. Sour or bitter tasting; acid. See Synonyms at bitter, sour.
2. Sharp or biting, as in character or expression: “At times, the playwright allows an acerbic tone to pierce through otherwise arid or flowery prose” (Alvin Klein).

Question 41

Acrimony

Answer 41

Bitter, sharp animosity, especially as exhibited in speech or behavior.

Question 42

Actuarial

Answer 42

Pertaining to the work of an actuary.

Actuary: A statistician who computes insurance risks and premiums.

Question 43

Acumen

Answer 43

Quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight: “A brilliant acumen in agricultural matters … had made the old man a legend in the district” (James Herriot).

Question 44

Adherent

Answer 44

n.
A supporter, as of a cause or individual: a vote that pleased adherents of education reform.
adj.
1. Sticking or holding fast.
2. Botany Joined but not united. Used of dissimilar parts or organs.

Question 45

Adherence

Answer 45

1. The process or condition of adhering.

2. Faithful attachment; devotion: “rigid adherence to … the teachings of a single man” (Janet Reitman).

Question 46

Adroit

Answer 46

1. expert in using the hands or body; nimble

2. cleverly skillful, resourceful, or ingenious.

Question 47

Adulatory

Answer 47

To praise or admire excessively; fawn on.

Question 48

Aesthetic

Answer 48

1. Relating to the philosophy or theories of aesthetics.
   2.
   a. Of or concerning the appreciation of beauty or good taste: aesthetic judgment; the aesthetic appeal of the exhibit.
   b. Attractive or appealing: the more aesthetic features of the building.
2. Characterized by a heightened sensitivity to beauty: the poet and his aesthetic friends.
3. Being or relating to a work of art; artistic: The play was an aesthetic success.
4. Informal Conforming to accepted notions of good taste.

Question 49

Aesthetics

Answer 49

a. The branch of philosophy that deals with the nature, expression, and perception of beauty, as in the fine arts.
b. The study of the psychological responses to beauty and artistic experiences.

Question 50

Affability

Answer 50

1. Easy and pleasant to speak to; approachable.

2. Gentle and gracious: an affable smile.