Chapter 1

Question 1

Ch. 1 #1
assuaged
Verb
(ə-swāj)

Answer 1

1. To make (something burdensome or painful) less intense or severe: assuage her grief. See Synonyms at relieve.
2. To satisfy or appease (hunger or thirst, for example).
3. To appease or calm: assuaged his critics.

Question 2

Ch. 1 #2
apothecary
Noun
(ə-pŏthĭ-kĕr′ē)

Answer 2

1. One that prepares and sells drugs and other medicines; a pharmacist.
2. See pharmacy.

Question 3

Ch. 1 #3
taciturn
Adjective
(tăsĭ-tûrn′)

Answer 3

1. Habitually untalkative. See Synonyms at laconic.

2. Characterized by reserve or a lack of expression: “Beneath his taciturn exterior was an optimist” (Buzz Bissinger).

Question 4

Ch, 1 #4
chattel
noun
(chătl)

Answer 4

1. Law An article of movable personal property.

2. A slave.

Question 5

Ch. 1 #5
unsullied
Adjective
(ənˈsəlēd)

Answer 5

1. not spoiled or made impure.

Question 6

Ch. 1 #6
dictum
Noun
(dĭktəm)

Answer 6

1. An authoritative, often formal pronouncement: “He cites Augustine’s dictum that ‘If you understand it, it is not God’” (Joseph Sobran).
2. Law A side remark made in a judicial opinion that is not necessary for the decision in the case and therefore is not to be regarded as establishing the law of the case or setting legal precedent. Also called obiter dictum.

Question 7

Ch, 1 #7
strictures
Noun
(strĭkchər)

Answer 7

1. A restraint, limit, or restriction: strictures placed on free assembly; strictures against food in the library; the strictures of traditional gender roles.
2. An abnormal narrowing of a bodily duct or passage.
3. An adverse remark or criticism: “my writing … which he praises sufficiently to give his strictures a good deal of force” (Virginia Woolf).

Question 8

Ch. 1 #8
dispatched
Verb
(dĭ-spăch)

Answer 8

1. To relegate to a specific destination or send on specific business. See Synonyms at send1.
2. a. To complete, transact, or dispose of promptly: dispatch an errand.

b. To eat up (food); finish off (a dish or meal).
3. To put to death summarily.

Question 9

ch. 1 #9
ambled
Verb
(ămbəl)

Answer 9

1. To walk slowly or leisurely; stroll.

2. To move along at an easy gait by using both legs on one side alternately with both on the other. Used of a horse.

Question 10

Ch. 1 #10
detention
Noun
(dĭ-tĕnshən)

Answer 10

1. The act of detaining.
2. The state or a period of being detained, especially:
   a. A period of temporary custody while awaiting trial.

b. A holding of a person in custody or confinement by authorities for political or military reasons.
c. A form of punishment by which a student is made to stay after regular school hours.

Question 11

Ch, 1 #11
dispatched
Verb
(dĭ-spăch)

Answer 11

1. To relegate to a specific destination or send on specific business. See Synonyms at send1.
2. a. To complete, transact, or dispose of promptly: dispatch an errand.

b. To eat up (food); finish off (a dish or meal).
3. To put to death summarily.

Question 12

Ch. 1 #12
detachment
Noun
(dĭ-tăchmənt)

Answer 12

1. The act or process of disconnecting or detaching; separation.
2. The state of being separate or detached.
3. Indifference to or remoteness from the concerns of others; aloofness: preserved a chilly detachment in his relations with the family.
4. Absence of prejudice or bias; disinterest: strove to maintain her professional detachment in the case.

Question 13

Ch. 1 #13
repertoire
Noun
(rĕpər-twär′)

Answer 13

1. The stock of songs, plays, operas, readings, or other pieces that a player or company is prepared to perform.
2. The class of compositions in a genre: has excellent command of the chanteuse repertoire.
3. The range or number of skills, aptitudes, or special accomplishments of a particular person or group.

Question 14

Ch. 1 #14
malevolent
Adjective
(mə-lĕvə-lənt)

Answer 14

1. Having or exhibiting ill will; wishing harm to others; malicious.
2. Having a harmful influence: malevolent stars.

Question 15

Ch. 1 #15
vapid
Adjective
(văpĭd, vāpĭd)

Answer 15

1. Lacking liveliness, animation, or interest; dull: vapid conversation.
2. Lacking taste, zest, or flavor; flat: vapid beer.

Question 16

Ch. 1 #16
morbid
Adjective
(môrbĭd)

Answer 16

1. Given to or characterized by unwholesome thoughts or feelings, especially of death or disease: read the account of the murder with a morbid interest.
2. a. Of, relating to, or caused by disease; pathological or diseased: morbid changes in tissues.

b. Psychologically unhealthy or unwholesome: a morbid fear of heights.

Question 17

Ch. 1 #17
nocturnal
Adjective
(nŏk-tûrnəl)

Answer 17

1. Of, relating to, or occurring in the night: nocturnal stillness.
2. Botany Opening at night. Used of flowers.
3. Zoology Most active at night: nocturnal lizards.

Question 18

Ch. 1 #18
stealthy
Adjective
(stĕlthē)

Answer 18

Marked by or acting with quiet, caution, and secrecy intended to avoid notice. See Synonyms at secret.

Question 19

Ch.1 #19
mutilated
Verb
(mytl-āt′)

Answer 19

1. To injure severely or disfigure, especially by cutting off tissue or body parts. See Synonyms at mangle1.
2. To damage or mar (an object): mutilate a statue.

Question 20

Ch. 1 #20
predilection
noun
(prĕd′l-ĕkshən, prēd′-)

Answer 20

A special liking for something; a preference.

Question 21

Ch. 1 #21
domiciled
noun
(dŏmĭ-sīl′, -səl, dōmĭ-)

Answer 21

1. A residence; a home.

2. One’s legal residence.

Question 22

Ch. 1 #22
flivver
noun
(flĭvər)

Answer 22

An automobile, especially one that is small, inexpensive, and old.

Question 23

Ch. 1 #23
intimidation
verb
(ĭn-tĭmĭ-dāt′)

Answer 23

1. To make timid; fill with fear: The size of the opposing players intimidated us.
2. To coerce or deter, as with threats: The police intimidated the suspect into signing a false statement.

Question 24

Ch, 1 #24
nebulous
adjective
(nĕby ə-ləs)

Answer 24

1. Cloudy, misty, or hazy.
2. Lacking definite form or limits; vague: nebulous assurances of future cooperation.
3. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a nebula.

Question 25

Ch. 1 #25
transition
noun
(trăn-zĭshən, -sĭsh-)

Answer 25

1. Change from one form, state, style, or place to another.
2. a. Change from one subject to another in discourse.

b. A word, phrase, sentence, or series of sentences connecting one part of a discourse to another.

3. Music
   a. Change from one key or tonality to another.

b. A passage connecting two themes or sections, usually changing to a new key or tonality.
4. Genetics A point mutation in which a pyrimidine is replaced by another pyrimidine, or a purine is replaced by another purine.
5. Sports The process of changing from defense to offense or offense to defense without a stoppage in play, as in basketball or hockey.
6. A period during childbirth that precedes the expulsive phase of labor, characterized by strong uterine contractions and nearly complete cervical dilation.

intr. v. tran·si·tioned, tran·si·tion·ing, tran·si·tions
1. To make a transition.

2. Sports To change from defense to offense or offense to defense without a stoppage in play.

Question 26

Ch. 1 #26
concession
noun
(kən-sĕshən)

Answer 26

1. The act of conceding.
2. a. Something, such as a point previously claimed in argument, that is later conceded.

b. An acknowledgment or admission.
3. A grant of a tract of land made by a government or other controlling authority in return for stipulated services or a promise that the land will be used for a specific purpose.

4.