Chapter 20

Question 1

perjury

Answer 1

n.
Law.
1. The crime of willfully and knowingly making a false statement about a material fact while under oath.
2. An act of committing such a crime: testimony full of perjuries.

Question 2

ebullient

Answer 2

adj.

1. Zestfully enthusiastic.
2. Boiling or seeming to boil; bubbling.

Question 3

garrulous

Answer 3

adj.

1. Given to excessive and often trivial or rambling talk; tiresomely talkative.
2. Wordy and rambling: a garrulous speech.

Question 4

invidious

Answer 4

adj.

1. Tending to rouse ill will, animosity, or resentment: invidious accusations.
2. Offensive and unfair: invidious distinctions.
3. Arousing envy

Question 5

moribund

Answer 5

adj.

1. Approaching death; about to die.
2. On the verge of becoming obsolete: moribund customs; a moribund way of life.

Question 6

pernicious

Answer 6

adj.

1. Tending to cause death or serious injury; deadly: a pernicious virus.
2. Causing great harm; destructive: pernicious rumors.

Question 7

strident

Answer 7

adj.

1. Loud, harsh, grating, or shrill: a strident voice.
2. Forcefully assertive or severely critical: strident rhetoric.

Question 8

vociferous

Answer 8

adj.

Making, given to, or marked by noisy and vehement outcry.

Question 9

gaunt

Answer 9

adj.

1. Thin or emaciated: gaunt face
2. Bleak or desolate: old gaunt houses

Question 10

morose

Answer 10

adj.

Sullenly melancholy; gloomy.

Question 11

persnickety

Answer 11

adj.
1.
a. Over particular about trivial details; fastidious; fussy.
b. Snobbish; pretentious.
2. Requiring strict attention to detail; demanding: a persnickety job.

Question 12

ramification

Answer 12

n.
1. A development or consequence growing out of and sometimes complicating a problem, plan, or statement: the ramifications of a court decision.
2.
a. The act or process of branching out or dividing into branches.
b. A subordinate part extending from a main body; a branch.
c. An arrangement of branches or branching parts.

Question 13

condone

Answer 13

v.

To overlook, forgive, or disregard (an offence) without protest or censure.

Question 14

eclectic

Answer 14

adj.

1. Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles: an eclectic taste in music; an eclectic approach to managing the economy.
2. Made up of or combining elements from a variety of sources: an eclectic collection of artists and writers

Question 15

irascible

Answer 15

adj.

1. Prone to outbursts of temper; easily angered.
2. Characterized by or resulting from anger.

Question 16

voluble

Answer 16

adj.

Marked by a ready flow of speech; fluent.

Question 17

bard

Answer 17

n.

1. One of an ancient Celtic order of minstrel poets who composed and recited verses celebrating the legendary exploits of chieftains and heroes.
2. A poet, especially a lyric poet.

Question 18

edifice

Answer 18

n.

1. A building, especially one of imposing appearance or size.
2. An elaborate conceptual structure: edifice of evolutionary theory.

Question 19

germane

Answer 19

adj.

Related to a matter at hand, especially to a subject under discussion; relevant.

Question 20

ire

Answer 20

n.

Anger; wrath.

Question 21

munificent

Answer 21

adj.

1. Very liberal in giving; generous: a munificent benefactor.
2. Showing great generosity: a munificent gift.

Question 22

bastion

Answer 22

n.

1. A projecting part of a fortification.
2. A well-fortified position; fortress; stronghold.
3. One that upholds or defends something, as against neglect or unpopularity: a college that is a bastion of traditionalism.

Question 23

conflagration

Answer 23

n.

A large destructive fire.

Question 24

efface

Answer 24

v.

1. To rub or wipe out; erase
2. To remove or make indistinct: efface the people’s memory
3. To conduct (oneself) inconspicuously

Question 25

germinal

Answer 25

adj.

1. Of, relating to, or having the nature of a germ cell.
2. Of, relating to, or occurring in the earliest stage of development