Articles

Question 1

Qualm

Answer 1

an uneasy feeling of doubt, worry, or fear, especially about one’s own conduct; a misgiving.
“military regimes generally have no qualms about controlling the press”

Question 2

Upbraid

Answer 2

find fault with (someone); scold.

“he was upbraided for his slovenly appearance”

Question 3

Preposterous

Answer 3

contrary to reason or common sense; utterly absurd or ridiculous.
e.g. Ray is preposterously rich

Question 4

Pretensions

Answer 4

the use of affectation to impress; ostentatiousness.

“he spoke simply, without pretension”, Ray’s pretensions of his intellectual ambition.

Question 5

Slug

Answer 5

settle a dispute or contest by fighting or competing fiercely.
e.g. “they went outside to slug it out”

Question 6

Hefty

Answer 6

large, heavy, and powerful.

e.g. hedge funds charge clients hefty fees

Question 7

Detract

Answer 7

reduce or take away the worth or value of.

e.g. “these quibbles in no way detract from her achievement”

Question 8

Expunge

Answer 8

erase or remove completely (something unwanted or unpleasant).
e.g. “I’ve kind of expunged that period from my CV”

Question 9

Meddle

Answer 9

interfere in or busy oneself unduly with something that is not one’s concern.
e.g. “I don’t want him meddling in our affairs”

Question 10

Behest

Answer 10

n. a person’s orders or command.

“they had assembled at his behest”

Question 11

Carping

Answer 11

adj. difficult to please; critical.

“she has silenced the carping critics with a successful debut tour”

Question 12

Tenuous

Answer 12

very weak or slight.

“the tenuous link between interest rates and investment”

Question 13

Afterglow

Answer 13

good feelings remaining after a pleasurable or successful experience.
“basking in the afterglow of victory”

Question 14

interloper

Answer 14

a person who interferes or meddles in the affairs of others

e.g. He was an athiest who felt like an interloper in this religious gathering.

Question 15

Defile

Answer 15

desecrate or profane (something sacred).

“the tomb had been defiled and looted”

Question 16

fare

Answer 16

perform

e.g. the kids faring best are Chinese ones

Question 17

posit

Answer 17

assume as a fact; put forward as a basis of argument.

“the Confucian view posits a perfectible human nature”

Question 18

disparaging

Answer 18

expressing the opinion that something is of little worth; derogatory.
“disparaging remarks about UW”

Question 19

Reckon with

Answer 19

take (or fail to take) into account; deal with; face

e.g. White stayed in Thula to reckon with their own history

Question 20

Wistful

Answer 20

having or showing a feeling of vague or regretful longing.

e. g: “a wistful smile”.
syn: nostalgic, yearning

Question 21

glutted

Answer 21

supply or fill to excess.

e. g: “the factories for recycling paper are glutted”
e. g: “he was glutting himself on junk food”.
synonyms: overload, cram, cram full

Question 22

grouse

Answer 22

complain pettily; grumble.

e.g. On Twitter, people groused that Sam Smith ripped off a speech of Adele’s.

Question 23

riveting

Answer 23

completely engrossing; compelling.

e.g: “the book is a riveting account of the legendary freedom fighter”.

Question 24

debacle

Answer 24

fiasco, failure

Question 25

gloat

Answer 25

contemplate or dwell on one’s own success or another’s misfortune with smugness or malignant pleasure.
e.g. “his enemies gloated over his death”

Question 26

brook

Answer 26

(formal) tolerate or allow (something, typically dissent or opposition).
e. g. Moloch brooks no dissent.

Question 27

preclude

Answer 27

prevent from happening; make impossible.

e.g. “the secret nature of his work precluded official recognition”

Question 28

tepid

Answer 28

showing little enthusiasm.

e. g. “the applause was tepid”
e. g. Sex Box received tepid reviews