Chapter 12

Question 1

whimsical

Answer 1

unusual, strange and often amusing. SYN Fanciful, unusual

Karla is known for her whimsical paintings.

Question 2

haphazard

Answer 2

happening or done in way that is not planned or organized

new employees have to deal with a haphazard filing system.

Question 3

unimpeachable

Answer 3

so good or definite that criticism or doubt is impossible

The candidate presented unimpeachable statistical proof.

Question 4

incongruous

Answer 4

seeming to be wrong, inappropriate, strange or unexpected in a particular situation
The high-tech building is incongruous with its rural surroundings.

Question 5

unscathed

Answer 5

not hurt by a bad or dangerous situation

Few retailers were left unscathed by the economic crisis.

Question 6

homogenous

Answer 6

consisting of people or things that are all the same uniform

Question 7

kindle

Answer 7

1. to make something start burning

2. to make someone interested, excited, etc.

Question 8

peripheral

Answer 8

1. involved in or connected with an activity or situation, but not as one of the main features of people
2. what you can see to the side of you when you look straight ahead
3. in the outer area of something, or relating to this area
4. peripheral equipment can be connected to with a computer and used with it

Question 9

deter

Answer 9

1. to stop something from happening, or to stop someone from doing something, by making it seem difficult or threatening people with punishment

Question 10

ubiquitous

Answer 10

seeming to be everywhere

Question 11

elaborate

Answer 11

1. having a lot of small details or parts that are connected to each other in a complicated way
2. carefully planned and produced with many details
3. to give more details or new information about something

Question 12

iconoclast

Answer 12

someone who attacks established ideas or customs

Question 13

paradigm

Answer 13

1. a particular way of doing something or thinking about something which is generally accepted or copied
2. formal a very clear or typical example of something
3. technical an example or pattern of a word, showing all its forms in grammar

Question 14

precipitate

Answer 14

1. formal to make something serious happen suddenly or more quickly than it was expected
2. technical to separate a solid substance from a liquid by chemical action, or to be separated in this way
3. formal to make someone fall down or forward with great force

Question 15

unethical

Answer 15

not obeying rules of moral behavior, especially those concerning a profession

Question 16

vindictive

Answer 16

deliberately cruel or unfair to someone you believed has harmed in a way that seems unreasonable to others

Question 17

voluminous

Answer 17

1. documents or books that are very long and contain a lot of detail
2. a piece of clothing is very large and loose
3. a container is very large and can hold a lot of things

Question 18

voracious

Answer 18

1. eating or desiring large quantities of food

2. extremely eager to read books, gain knowledge

Question 19

precocious

Answer 19

a precocious child behaves like an adult in some ways, for example by asking difficult and intelligent questions

Question 20

propensity

Answer 20

a natural tendency to behave in a particular way or cause something

Question 21

virulent

Answer 21

1. a poison or disease that is very dangerous and affects people very quickly
2. full of hatred for something, or expressing this in a strong way

Question 22

turbulent

Answer 22

1. a turbulent situation or period of time is one in which there are a lot of sudden changes and often wars or violence
2. air or water that moves around a lot because of the wind
3. turbulent crowds or people are noisy and violent

Question 23

tacit

Answer 23

a tacit agreement, approval, support etc is given without actually being spoken or officially agreed to
Ron’s remarks indicated a tacit acceptance of the high-level talks.

Question 24

discord

Answer 24

1. formal disagreement between people

2. an annoying sound produced by a group of musical notes that do not go together well