ch. 2 & 3 vocab

Question 1

a whirlpool; turbulence; an agitated state of mind

Answer 1

maelstrom

Question 2

powerless; lacking strength

Answer 2

impotent

Question 3

correction

Answer 3

emendation

Question 4

to look at or think about with great satisfaction

Answer 4

gloat

Question 5

worn out; barren

Answer 5

effete

Question 6

to pierce with a pointed object; to spear

Answer 6

impale

Question 7

mild; tasteless; dull

Answer 7

bland

Question 8

to lessen seriousness by providing partial excuses

Answer 8

extenuate

Question 9

savage; brutal

Answer 9

bestial

Question 10

very sheer and light

Answer 10

diaphanous

Question 11

a showy but useless thing

Answer 11

bauble

Question 12

a complicated network of winding passages; a maze

Answer 12

labyrinth

Question 13

a barrier; an obstruction

Answer 13

impediment

Question 14

a fragment

Answer 14

shard

Question 15

a total rejection of established laws

Answer 15

nihilism

Question 16

accidental; nonessential

Answer 16

adventitious

Question 17

fertile; productive

Answer 17

fecund

Question 18

ordinary or dull

Answer 18

pedestrian

Question 19

to improve someone morally

Answer 19

edify

Question 20

to ask persistently; to beg

Answer 20

importune

Question 21

to turn aside from a course; to stray

Answer 21

deviate

Question 22

in good faith

Answer 22

bona fide

Question 23

to stare angrily

Answer 23

glower

Question 24

a violent change

Answer 24

cataclysm

Question 25

to confuse; to bewilder

Answer 25

obfuscate

Question 26

an exact opposite; an opposite extreme

Answer 26

antithesis

Question 27

embarrassment; a complete loss of courage

Answer 27

chagrin

Question 28

local; narrow; limited

Answer 28

parochial

Question 29

open to more than one interpretation

Answer 29

ambiguous

Question 30

best; most favorable; ideal

Answer 30

optimum