After Session 5

Question 1

DIFFIDENT

Answer 1

showing modest reserve

mnemonic: difficult to be confident

The adjective diffident describes someone who is shy and lacking in self-confidence. If you are shy and have a diffident manner, you should probably not choose one of these professions: substitute teacher, stand-up comic, or lion-tamer.

(adj.) showing modest reserve

“she was diffident when offering a comment on the professor’s lecture”

Question 1

ERUDITE

Answer 1

having or showing profound knowledge

mnemotic: rude+ite because people who read seemed to have more knowledge

If you call someone erudite, that means they show great learning. After you’ve earned your second Ph.D., you will be truly erudite.

(adj.) having or showing profound knowledge

“an erudite professor”

Question 2

ESCHEW

Answer 2

avoid and stay away from deliberately

Mnemonic: es+CHEW. Chewing loudly is a bad habit, you should stay away from it.

If you eschew something, you deliberately avoid it. If you live the bohemian life in the city, then most likely you eschew the suburbs.

(v.) avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of

Question 3

ENCOMIUM

Answer 3

a formal expression of praise

Mnemonic: Income. People who earn a high income get a lot of praise.

An encomium is a fancy word for a formal speech or piece of writing that warmly praises someone or something.

(n.) a formal expression of praise

Question 4

SAVANT

Answer 4

a learned person

You know that girl in your school with a 4.0 GPA? She is a savant in the making. A savant is someone over-the-top smart, a scholar. It might take a savant only five minutes to do an entire math test.

(n.) someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field

Question 5

SEDULOUS

Answer 5

marked by care or persistent effort

Mnemonic: To seduce a woman, a man needs to be president and, of course, hard-working.

A sedulous person is someone who works hard and doesn’t give up easily. If you make repeated and sedulous attempts to fix a leaky pipe and it only makes things worse, it might be time to go online and find the number of a plumber.

(adj.) marked by care and persistent effort

“sedulous pursuit of legal and moral principles”

Question 6

HALLMARK

Answer 6

a distinctive characteristic or attribute

A hallmark is a distinctive characteristic of something or someone. That can mean a literal symbol on the bottom of a piece of pottery, or just a rock star’s signature hair style.

(n.) a mark on an article of trade to indicate its origin and authenticity

Question 7

HAPLESS

Answer 7

unfortunate and deserving pity

Mnemonic: related to helpless

Use the adjective hapless to describe someone unlucky and deserving of pity, like the hapless car buyer who gives in to the fast-talking salesperson.

(adj.) deserving or inciting pity

“a hapless victim”

Question 8

HARROW

Answer 8

to cause worry and upset

To harrow is to cause worry and upset, the way a truly scary movie might harrow you, making it hard to sleep without turning on the light.

(v.) cause to feel distress

Question 8

SINECURE

Answer 8

a job that involves minimal duties

If you have a cushy job — one that pays, but involves minimal work — then you have a sinecure. “Because he was the brother of the CEO, he was offered a sinecure in the company: he showed up each day and collected a paycheck, but others actually did his work.”

(n.) an job that involves minimal duties

Question 9

EXHAUSTIVE

Answer 9

performed comprehensively and completely

Exhaustive means performed comprehensively and completely. When you recruit a new employee (or spouse), you undertake an exhaustive search for the best talent.

(adj.) performed comprehensively and completely

“an exhaustive study”

Question 10

HAVEN

Answer 10

a sheltered port where ships can take on or discharge cargo

Need to find shelter, from the weather or from other troubles? Then you need a haven.

(n.) a sheltered port where ships can take on or discharge cargo

Question 11

CLINCH

Answer 11

Secure or confirm

When you clinch something, you confirm it, like when you clinch a deal with your brother to trade chores next week by shaking hands.

(v) secure or fasten by flattening the ends of nails or bolts

“The deal was clinched”

Question 12

STYMIE

Answer 12

to obstruct or hinder

Mnemonic: Stymie means tie me i.e. to prevent from moving forward

The verb stymie means “to obstruct or hinder.” Constantly texting with your friends will stymie your effort to finish your homework.

(v) hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of

Question 13

ENIGMA

Answer 13

a puzzle or mystery

Use the noun enigma to refer to something that is a puzzle or a mystery. Why do you have to learn difficult words like this? That is an enigma.

(n) something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained

Question 14

WELTER

Answer 14

a confused multitude of things

Use the noun welter to describe an enormous, messy pile, like the jumble of papers, coffee mugs, pens, and food wrappers on the desk of the messiest person in the office.

(n) a confused multitude of things

Question 15

ZEALOUS

Answer 15

marked by active interest and enthusiasm

Use the adjective zealous as a way to describe eagerness or enthusiastic activity. If you are too zealous in your efforts to decorate the house with Christmas lights, you might cause a power outage for the whole neighborhood.

(adj.) marked by active interest and enthusiasm

Question 16

SUPPLICATE

Answer 16

ask for humbly or earnestly

If you don’t get the grade you were hoping for on your paper, you could try to rewrite it, or you could meet with your teacher and supplicate. Your humble requests for an ‘A’ may or may not work.

(v) ask for humbly or earnestly, as in prayer

“supplicate God’s blessing”

Question 17

HYPERBOLE

Answer 17

extravagant exaggeration

Praising your favorite sports team is one thing, but if you call the team the most incredible group of humans ever to walk the earth, then you’re going overboard and indulging in hyperbole.

(n) extravagant exaggeration

Question 18

TORRID

Answer 18

characterized by intense emotion

Torrid can mean “emotionally charged and passionate,” like a torrid romance in a soap opera. But if you’re listening to a torrid band, you’re simply hearing musicians that have a lot of energy.

(adj.) characterized by intense emotion
“a torrid love affair”

Question 19

IDYLL

Answer 19

charmingly simple and sincere

A week at the beach that goes perfectly is an idyllic vacation. Idyllic means so wonderful it seems almost magical.

(adj.) suggestive of an idyll; charmingly simple and serene

“his idyllic life in Tahiti”

Question 20

TRAVESTY

Answer 20

a composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody’s style

A travesty is a cheap mockery, usually of something or someone serious, such as a travesty of justice.

(n.) a composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody’s style, usually in a humorous way

Question 21

TURPITUDE

Answer 21

a corrupt or depraved or degenerate act or practice

If you are guilty of turpitude, you should be ashamed of yourself. Turpitude is a word that represents depraved behavior. Prisons are filled with criminals who have engaged in acts of moral turpitude.

(n) a corrupt or depraved or degenerate act or practice
“the various turpitudes of modern society”

Question 22

FERVOR

Answer 22

feelings of great warmth and intensity

Mnemonic: relate to fever

Use fervor to describe an intensity of emotion or expression. Fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers show so much fervor that they “bleed Dodger blue.”

(n) feelings of great warmth and intensity

Question 23

CACOPHONY

Answer 23

loud confusing disagreeable sounds

A cacophony is a mishmash of unpleasant sounds, often at loud volume. It’s what you’d hear if you gave instruments to a group of four-year-olds and asked them to play one of Beethoven’s symphonies.

(n) loud confusing disagreeable sounds

Question 24

FLEDGE

Answer 24

grow feathers

When baby birds fledge, they grow feathers that are big enough for flying. Just after they fledge, birds take their first practice flights.

(v) grow feathers

“The young sparrows are fledging already”

Question 25

IMPASSIVE

Answer 25

having or revealing little emotion or sensibility

Someone who doesn’t seem to react — who is always “taking a pass” in the conversation of life can be described as impassive.

(adJ) having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited

“her impassive remoteness”

Question 26

IMPECUNIOUS

Answer 26

not having enough money to pay for necessities

If you are hard up, broke, penniless, or strapped for cash, you could describe yourself as impecunious. Then maybe you could make some money teaching vocabulary words.

(adj) not having enough money to pay for necessities

Question 27

WARMONGER

Answer 27

a person who advocates war or warlike policies

A warmonger is someone strongly pro-war. Warmongers favor war above all other options.

(n) a person who advocates war or warlike policies

Question 28

IMPEDE

Answer 28

be a hindrance or obstacle to

To impede something is to delay or block its progress or movement. Carrying six heavy bags will impede your progress if you’re trying to walk across town in a hurry.

(v.) be a hindrance or obstacle to

“She is impeding the progress of our project”

Question 29

ABHOR

Answer 29

find repugnant

If you abhor something, it gives you a feeling of complete hatred. Chances are you abhor that kid who used to torture the frogs in biology class.

(v) find repugnant

“She abhors cats”

Question 30

PREVARICATE

Answer 30

be deliberately ambiguous or unclear

When you prevaricate, you lie or mislead. Now, go ahead and tell me whether you already knew that meaning, and don’t prevaricate about it — give me the story straight!

(v.) be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information

Question 31

DIVULGE

Answer 31

make known to the public information that was previously kept secret

If you’ve been sneaking around with your best friend’s boyfriend, that’s probably one secret you don’t want to divulge, because revealing that tidbit of information will probably cut your friendship short.

(v) make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret

Question 32

PRECURSOR

Answer 32

something indicating the approach of something or someone

You’ve heard the old saying, “Pride comes before the fall?” Well, you could just as easily say pride is a precursor to the fall. A precursor is something that happens before something else.

(n) something that precedes and indicates the approach of something or someone

Question 32

OSTENTATIOUS

Answer 32

flashy or showy

Reach for the adjective ostentatious when you want a flashy way to say — well, “flashy” or “showy.”

(adj.) intended to attract notice and impress others

“an ostentatious sable coat”

Question 33

FALLOW

Answer 33

left unused

Something that is fallow is left unused. If you’re smart but lazy, someone might say you have a fallow mind.

(adj.) left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season

“fallow farmland”

Question 34

IMPROBITY

Answer 34

lack of honesty and moral integrity.

(n) Dishonesty; lack of probity (probity = honesty)

Question 35

CONVERSANCE

Answer 35

(n) personal knowledge or information about someone or something

Question 35

QUANDARY

Answer 35

State of perplexity, especially regarding how to proceed

How to define the word quandary? Wow, this is quite a dilemma. What to do, what to do? Hmmm. Looks like this moment itself is a quandary: a tough situation that will be really hard to resolve.

(n) state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options

Question 36

PROPRIETY

Answer 36

correct or appropriate behavior

Propriety is following what is socially acceptable in speech and behavior. Your little brother might offend your sense of propriety by burping loudly at the dinner table.

(n) correct or appropriate behavior

Question 37

IMPUDENT

Answer 37

bold, sassy, shameless

An impudent person is bold, sassy, and shameless. If your teacher asks the class to open their textbooks, and you snap back, “Let’s not and say we did,” you’re being impudent.

(adj.) improperly forward or bold

“an impudent boy given to insulting strangers”

Question 38

DWINDLE

Answer 38

to shrink away

What do love, money, and the earth all have in common? All can dwindle, or shrink away, if we don’t handle them properly.

(v) become smaller or lose substance

“Her savings dwindled down”

Question 39

IMPUGN

Answer 39

attack as false or wrong

To impugn means to call into question or attack as wrong. If your usually grumpy brother is suddenly nice and sweet, you’ll impugn his motives if you’re smart — he probably just wants something from you.

(v) attack as false or wrong

Question 40

CAPRICIOUS

Answer 40

a person or thing that’s impulsive and unpredictable

Capricious is an adjective to describe a person or thing that’s impulsive and unpredictable, like a bride who suddenly leaves her groom standing at the wedding altar.

(adj.) determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason

“a capricious refusal”

Question 41

INADVERTENT

Answer 41

unintentional

When something happens by accident, it’s inadvertent, or unintentional. The gas company assured you that the error in your bill was inadvertent and that they would fix it, but not before you blew off some steam.

(adj.) happening by chance or unexpectedly or unintentionally

“with an inadvertent gesture she swept the vase off the table”

Question 42

RECUMBENT

Answer 42

recline

Bikes on which you recline rather than sit upright are recumbent. Recumbent means leaning back in a reclining position.

(adj.) lying down; in a position of comfort or rest

Question 43

IMPROMPTU

Answer 43

with little or no preparation or forethought

Some of the best kinds of parties are impromptu ones, when you decide at the last minute to get together. The adjective impromptu describes things done or said without previous thought or preparation.

(adj.) with little or no preparation or forethought

“an impromptu speech”

Question 44

ABJURE

Answer 44

swear off

Abjure means to swear off, and it applies to something you once believed. You can abjure a religious faith, you can abjure your love of another person, and you can abjure the practice of using excessive force in interrogation.

(v) formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure

“She abjured her beliefs”

Question 45

PALLID

Answer 45

a pale complexion

Santa looks a little pallid, meaning that he has a pale complexion, from spending too much time at the North Pole. A few days in Hawaii might do wonders to add color to his pale, bearded face.

(adj.) abnormally deficient in color as suggesting physical or emotional distress

“the pallid face of the invalid”

Question 46

REFULGENT

Answer 46

radiating

If someone tells you that you have refulgent eyes, they mean that your eyes shine brightly, like the stars. This suggests that your special someone is the poetic type, since refulgent is a literary way of saying “bright.”

(adj.) radiating or as if radiating light

“a refulgent sunset”