Common to still go over

Question 1

calumny

Answer 1

calumny
noun: making of a false statement meant to injure a person’s reputation

With the presidential primaries well under way, the air is thick with calumny, and the mud already waist-high.

Question 2

demur

Answer 2

demur
verb: to object or show reluctance

Wallace disliked the cold, so he demurred when his friends suggested they go skiing in the Alps.

He demured the fact that he had to walk 10 miles in the cold that day.

Question 3

parochial

Answer 3

parochial
adjective: narrowly restricted in scope or outlook

Jasmine was sad to admit it, but her fledgling relationship with Jacob did not work out because his culinary tastes were simply too parochial; “After all,” she quipped on her blog, “he considered Chef Boyardee ethnic food.”

Question 4

impertinent

Answer 4

impertinent
adjective: being disrespectful; improperly forward or bold

Dexter, distraught over losing his pet dachshund, Madeline, found the police officer’s questions impertinent—after all, he thought, did she have to pry into such details as to what Madeline’s favorite snack was?

Question 5

commensurate

Answer 5

commensurate
adjective: to be in proportion or corresponding in degree or amount

The convicted felon’s life sentence was commensurate with the heinousness of his crime.

Question 6

involved

Answer 6

involved
adjective: complicated, and difficult to comprehend

The physics lecture became so involved that the undergraduate’s eyes glazed over.

Question 7

censure

Answer 7

censure
verb: to express strong disapproval

After being caught in bed with a mistress, the mayor was quickly censured by the city council.

Question 8

iconoclast

Answer 8

iconoclast

noun: somebody who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions

Question 9

gainsay

Answer 9

gainsay
verb: deny or contradict; speak against or oppose

I can’t gainsay a single piece of evidence James has presented, but I still don’t trust his conclusion.

Question 10

vociferous

Answer 10

vociferous
adjective: conspicuously and offensively loud; given to vehement outcry

In giving Marcia a particular vociferous response, Paul caused people at every other table in the restaurant to turn around and look at them angrily.

Question 11

volubility

Answer 11

volubility
noun: the quality of talking or writing easily and continuously

The professor’s volubility knows no bounds; he could talk through a hurricane and elaborate a point from one St. Patrick’s Day to the next.

Volume over ability

Question 12

recondite

Answer 12

recondite
adjective: difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge

I found Ulysses recondite and never finished the book, waiting instead to read it with someone else so we could penetrate its meaning together.

Question 13

inexorable

Answer 13

inexorable
adjective: impossible to stop or prevent

The rise of the computer was an inexorable shift in technology and culture.

Question 14

reticent

Answer 14

reticent
adjective: disinclined to talk, not revealing one’s thoughts

When asked about her father, Helen lost her outward enthusiasm and became rather reticent.

Question 15

eschew

Answer 15

eschew
verb: avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of

Politicians are the masters of eschewing morals; academics are the masters of eschewing clarity.

Question 16

didactic

Answer 16

didactic
adjective: instructive (especially excessively)

Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a didactic novel, instructing the reader on how to live a good life.

Question 17

torpor

Answer 17

torpor
noun: inactivity resulting from lethargy and lack of vigor or energy

After work, I was expecting my colleagues to be enthusiastic about the outing, but I found them in a state of complete torpor.

Question 18

preclude

Answer 18

preclude
verb: keep from happening or arising; make impossible

The manager specified that all other gates be locked, to preclude the possibility of persons without tickets entering the arena undetected.

Question 19

delineate

Answer 19

delineate
verb: describe in detail

After a brief summary of proper swimming technique, the coach delineated the specifics of each stroke, spending 30 minutes alone on the backstroke.

Question 20

unequivocal

Answer 20

unequivocal
adjective: admitting of no doubt or misunderstanding; having only one meaning or interpretation and leading to only one conclusion

The President’s first statement on the subject was vague and open to competing interpretations, so when he spoke to Congress about the same subject later, he was careful to make his position completely unequivocal.

Question 21

quotidian

Answer 21

quotidian
adjective: found in the ordinary course of events

Phil gets so involved thinking about Aristotle’s arguments that he totally forgets quotidian concerns, such as exercising and eating regularly.

Question 22

refractory

Answer 22

refractory
adjective: stubbornly resistant to authority or control

Used to studious high school students, Martha was unprepared for the refractory Kindergarteners who neither sat still nor listened to a single word she said.

Question 23

disaffected

Answer 23

disaffected
adjective: discontented as toward authority

After watching his superior take rations from the soldiers, he quickly became disaffected and rebelled.

Question 24

spurious

Answer 24

spurious
adjective: plausible but false

When listening to a politician speak, it is hard to distinguish the spurious claims from the authentic ones.

Question 25

tenacious

Answer 25

tenacious
adjective: stubbornly unyielding

Even the most tenacious advocates for gun ownership must admit some of the dangers that firearms present.

Question 26

frustrate

Answer 26

frustrate
verb: hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of

I thought I would finish writing the paper by lunchtime, but a number of urgent interruptions served to frustrate my plan.

Question 27

contrive

Answer 27

contrive
verb: to pull off a plan or scheme, usually through skill or trickery

Despite a low GPA, he contrived to get into college, going so far as to write his own glowing letters of recommendation.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 28

insidiously

Answer 28

adjective: working in a subtle but destructive way

Plaque is insidious: we cannot see it, but each day it eats away at our enamel, causing cavities and other dental problems.

Question 29

circumscribe

Answer 29

circumscribe
verb: restrict or confine

Their tour of South America was circumscribed so that they saw only popular destinations and avoided the dangerous parts of cities.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 30

fallacious

Answer 30

adjective: of a belief that is based on faulty reasoning

The widespread belief that Eskimos have forty different words for snow is fallacious, based on one false report.

Question 31

ascetic

Answer 31

adjective: of a belief that is based on faulty reasoning

The widespread belief that Eskimos have forty different words for snow is fallacious, based on one false report.

Question 32

espouse

Answer 32

espouse
verb: to adopt or support an idea or cause

As a college student, Charlie espoused Marxism, growing his beard out and railing against the evils of the free-market.

Question 33

incorrigible

Answer 33

incorrigible
adjective: impervious to correction by punishment

Tom Sawyer seems like an incorrigible youth until Huck Finn enters the novel; even Sawyer can’t match his fierce individual spirit.

Question 34

abstruse

Answer 34

abstruse
adjective: difficult to understand; incomprehensible

Physics textbooks can seem so abstruse to the uninitiated that readers feel as though they are looking at hieroglyphics.

Question 35

largess

Answer 35

largess
noun: extreme generosity and giving

Uncle Frank was known for his largess, so his nephew was sad when he did not receive a present for his birthday.

Question 36

petulant

Answer 36

petulant
adjective: easily irritated or annoyed

Although the three year old was often described as mature for his age, he was petulant and whiny whenever his father forgot to remove the crust from his sandwiches.

Question 37

denigrate

Answer 37

denigrate
verb: charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

Count Rumford denigrated the new theory of heat, demonstrating that it was wholly inadequate to explain the observations.

Question 38

reconcile

Answer 38

reconcile
verb: make (one thing) compatible with (another)

Peggy was unable to reconcile her kind friend Jane with the cruel and merciless character Jane played on television.

Question 39

temperance

Answer 39

temperance
noun: the trait of avoiding excesses

Welles wasn’t known for his temperance–he usually ate enough for two and drank enough for three.

Question 40

ingratiate

Answer 40

ingratiate
verb: gain favor with somebody by deliberate efforts

Even though Tom didn’t like his new boss, he decided to ingratiate himself to her in order to advance his career.

Question 41

exacting

Answer 41

exacting
adjective: requiring and demanding accuracy

Though his childhood piano teacher was so exacting, Max is thankful now, as a professional pianist.

Question 42

hackneyed

Answer 42

hackneyed
adjective: lacking significance through having been overused

Cheryl rolled her eyes when she heard the lecturer’s hackneyed advice to “be true to yourself.”

Question 43

expound

Answer 43

expound
verb: add details or explanation; clarify the meaning; state in depth

The CEO refused to expound on the decision to merge our department with another one, and so I quit.

Question 44

foment

Answer 44

foment
verb: try to stir up public opinion

After having his pay cut, Phil spread vicious rumors about his boss, hoping to foment a general feeling of discontent.

Question 45

sycophant

Answer 45

sycophant
noun: a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage

The CEO was unaware of the damaging consequences of his choices, largely because he surrounded himself with sycophants who would never dare criticize him.

Question 46

taciturn

Answer 46

taciturn
adjective: habitually reserved and uncommunicative

While the CEO enthusiastically shares his plans and agenda with all who will listen, the CFO is far more taciturn, rarely revealing his perspective.

Question 47

inveterate

Answer 47

inveterate
adjective: habitual

He is an inveterate smoker and has told his family and friends that there is no way he will ever quit.

Question 48

poignant

Answer 48

poignant
adjective: emotionally touching

After the Montagues and Capulets discover the dead bodies of Romeo and Juliet, in the play’s most poignant moment, the two griefstricken families agree to end their feud once and for all.

Question 49

dilettante

Answer 49

dilettante
noun: an amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge

Fred has no formal medical training; while he likes to claim authority on medical issues, he is little more than a dilettante.

Question 50

obsequious

Answer 50

obsequious
adjective: attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner; attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery

The obsequious waiter did not give the couple a moment’s peace all through the meal, constantly returning to their table to refill their water glasses and to tell them what a handsome pair they made.

Question 51

antithetical

Answer 51

antithetical
adjective: sharply contrasted in character or purpose

His deep emotional involvement with these ideas is, in fact, antithetical to the detachment Buddhism preaches.

Question 52

tractable

Answer 52

tractable
adjective: readily reacting to suggestions and influences; easily managed (controlled or taught or molded)

Compared to middle school students, who have an untamed wildness about them, high school students are somewhat more tractable.

Question 53

subversive

Answer 53

subversive
adjective: in opposition to an established system or institution.

The ruling political party has begun a campaign to shut down subversive websites that it deems as a threat to “national safety.”

Question 54

prodigious

Answer 54

prodigious
adjective: so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe

After the relatively small homerun totals in the “dead ball” era, Babe Ruth’s homerun totals were truly prodigious: every year, he set a new all-time record.

Question 55

pernicious

Answer 55

pernicious
adjective: exceedingly harmful; working or spreading in a hidden and injurious way

The most successful viruses are pernicious: an infected person may feel perfectly healthy for several months while incubating and spreading the virus.

Question 56

precipitous

Answer 56

precipitous
adjective: done with very great haste and without due deliberation

Instead of calling his financial advisor, Harold acted precipitously, buying 4,000 shares of the latest “hot” stock, only to find out that the company had a history of inflating its year end numbers.

Question 57

repudiate

Answer 57

repudiate
verb: reject as untrue or unfounded

Many in the public believed the rumors of a UFO crash outside town, so the chief of police did everything he could to repudiate the rumors.

Question 58

flux

Answer 58

flux
noun: a state of uncertainty about what should be done (usually following some important event)

Ever since Elvira resigned as the head of marketing, everything about our sales strategy has been in a state of flux.

Question 59

harried

Answer 59

harried
adjective: troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances

With a team of new hires to train, Martha was constantly harried with little questions and could not focus on her projects.

Question 60

contrition

Answer 60

contrition
noun: the feeling of remorse or guilt that comes from doing something bad

Those who show contrition during their prison terms–especially when under review by a parole board–often get shortened sentences.

Question 61

nonplussed

Answer 61

nonplussed
adjective: unsure how to act or respond

Shirley was totally nonplussed when the angry motorist cut her off and then stuck his finger out the window.

Question 62

placate

Answer 62

placate
verb: cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of

I was able to placate the angry mob of students by promising to bring cookies on Monday.

Question 63

specious

Answer 63

specious
adjective: based on pretense; deceptively pleasing

Almost every image on TV is specious and not to be trusted.

adjective: plausible but false

He made a career out of specious arguments and fictional lab results, but lost his job and reputation when his lies were exposed by an article in The New York Times.

Question 64

imprudent

Answer 64

imprudent
adjective: not wise

Hitler, like Napoleon, made the imprudent move of invading Russia in winter, suffering even more casualties than Napoleon had.

Question 65

capricious

Answer 65

capricious
adjective: determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason

Nearly every month our capricious CEO had a new plan to turn the company around, and none of them worked because we never gave them the time they needed to succeed.