Challenging Words List 3

Question 1

profane

Answer 1

irreverent for religion

Question 2

renegade

Answer 2

someone who deserts a cause, disloyal, not trustworthy

Question 3

sacrilegious

Answer 3

disrespecting something sacred

Question 4

sacrosanct

Answer 4

sacred

Question 5

seditious

Answer 5

provoking rebellion against established authority

Question 6

solemnize

Answer 6

perform a formal ceremony, make serious or grave

Question 7

sovereign

Answer 7

self-governing, independent

Question 8

aspersion

Answer 8

disparaging remark, slander

Question 9

caluminate

Answer 9

belittle

Question 10

carping

Answer 10

nagging, critical

Question 11

decry, decried

Answer 11

condemn

Question 12

diatribe

Answer 12

critical speech

Question 13

eschew

Answer 13

avoid, shun

Question 14

excoriate

Answer 14

belittle (most extreme)

Question 15

haranguing

Answer 15

ranting

Question 16

malign

Answer 16

to vilify, speak evil of someone or something

Question 17

plaudit

Answer 17

enthusiastic praise

Question 18

reprove

Answer 18

criticize, admonish

Question 19

sardonic

Answer 19

scornfully mocking

Question 20

upbraid

Answer 20

belittle

Question 21

vilify

Answer 21

spread negative information about, defame

Question 22

bravado

Answer 22

swagger, outward display of self-confidence

Question 23

effrontery

Answer 23

excessively bold behavior, presumptuousness

Question 24

grandiloquent

Answer 24

pompous, using pretentious language

Question 25

impertinent

Answer 25

haughty

Question 26

intractable

Answer 26

stubborn, difficult to influence

Question 27

magisterial

Answer 27

commanding, authoritative

Question 28

narcissist

Answer 28

conceited person

Question 29

ostentatious

Answer 29

showy, pretentious

Question 30

unassuming

Answer 30

modest, not arrogant

Question 31

arid

Answer 31

dry

Question 32

conducive

Answer 32

inducive, tending to bring about

Question 33

conflate

Answer 33

combine, fuse

Question 34

corollary

Answer 34

natural consequence

Question 35

desiccate

Answer 35

dry out

Question 36

drought

Answer 36

prolonged period of time with no rainfall

Question 37

engender

Answer 37

produce

Question 38

metamorphose

Answer 38

transform

Question 39

osmosis

Answer 39

gradual absorption

Question 40

ossify

Answer 40

harden, become rigid

Question 41

salutary

Answer 41

favorable to heath, beneficial

Question 42

contiguous

Answer 42

sharing a border

Question 43

distend, distension

Answer 43

swell

Question 44

emanciated

Answer 44

very thin

Question 45

endemic

Answer 45

native to a region

Question 46

epidemic

Answer 46

spread of disease in an area

Question 47

excise

Answer 47

remove

Question 48

flag

Answer 48

weaken or lessen

Question 49

itinerant

Answer 49

traveling

Question 50

juxtaposition

Answer 50

the act of positioning things close together

Question 51

localize

Answer 51

restrict to a particular place

Question 52

myriad

Answer 52

vast number, innumerable

Question 53

paltry

Answer 53

insignificant, meager

Question 54

pandemic

Answer 54

widespread disease

Question 55

populous

Answer 55

having a large population

Question 56

rarefy

Answer 56

make thin or less compact

Question 57

replete

Answer 57

abundantly supplied

Question 58

seclusion

Answer 58

privacy, isolation

Question 59

spareness

Answer 59

the state of being sparse or scanty

Question 60

stratified

Answer 60

layered, hierarchial

Question 61

winnow

Answer 61

sorting, filtering

Question 62

zenith

Answer 62

highest point

Question 63

corpulence

Answer 63

obesity

Question 64

membranous

Answer 64

thin and flexible, like a membrane

Question 65

abstemious

Answer 65

eating and drinking in moderation

Question 66

acrid

Answer 66

pungent, bitter

Question 67

amorphous

Answer 67

shapeless, unstructured

Question 68

aural

Answer 68

relating to the ear, hearing

Question 69

denuded

Answer 69

stripped, bare

Question 70

hedonist

Answer 70

someone driven by pleasure

Question 71

imbue

Answer 71

permeate, soak

Question 72

pallid

Answer 72

pale, wan

Question 73

undefiled

Answer 73

immaculate, pure

Question 74

unsightly

Answer 74

ugly

Question 75

verve

Answer 75

flamboyant style

Question 76

evanescent

Answer 76

tending to vanish, not permanent

Question 77

expedite

Answer 77

speed up, accelerate

Question 78

extemporize

Answer 78

impromptu, spoken or performed without preparation

Question 79

perennial

Answer 79

long-lasting, continual

Question 80

premonition

Answer 80

a feeling of evil to come, foreboding

Question 81

prescient

Answer 81

psychic

Question 82

synchrony

Answer 82

coincidence in time

Question 83

apocryphal

Answer 83

dubious, erroneous

Question 84

conspicuous

Answer 84

clearly visible, obcious

Question 85

demagouge

Answer 85

a leader who influences his followers with emotions

Question 86

dissembler

Answer 86

liar