Common V

Question 1

austere

Answer 1

austere
adjective: practicing self-denial

His lifestyle of revelry and luxurious excess could hardly be called austere.

adjective: unadorned in style or appearance

Late Soviet architecture, although remaining largely austere, moved into experimental territory that employed previously unused shapes and structures.

adjective: harsh in manner of temperament

The principal of my elementary school was a cold, austere woman; I could never understand why she chose to work with children.

Question 2

inimical

Answer 2

inimical
adjective: hostile (usually describes conditions or environments)

Venus, with a surface temperature that would turn rubber to liquid, is inimical to any form of life.

Question 3

propitious

Answer 3

propitious
adjective: presenting favorable circumstances; likely to result in or show signs of success

The child’s heartbeat is still weak, but I am seeing many propitious signs and I think that she may be healing.

Question 4

irrevocable

Answer 4

irrevocable
adjective: incapable of being retracted or revoked

Once you enter your plea to the court, it is irrevocable so think carefully about what you will say.

Question 5

foment

Answer 5

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 6

admonish

Answer 6

admonish
verb: to warn strongly, even to the point of reprimanding

Before the concert began, security personnel admonished the crowd not to come up on stage during the performance.

Question 7

vacillate

Answer 7

vacillate
verb: be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action

Some students vacillate between schools when deciding which to attend, while others focus only on one school.

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

Question 8

sporadic

Answer 8

sporadic
adjective: recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances

The signals were at first sporadic, but now we detect a clear, consistent pattern of electromagnetic radiation emanating from deep space.

Question 9

lionize

Answer 9

lionize
verb: assign great social importance to

Students in the U.S. learn to lionize Jefferson, Franklin, and Washington because they are the founding fathers of the nation.

Question 10

reverent

Answer 10

reverent
adjective: feeling or showing profound respect or veneration

The professor could speak objectively about the other composers, but he always lectured about Brahms with a particularly reverent air, unable to offer a single criticism of his compositions.

Question 11

brazen

Answer 11

brazen
adjective: unrestrained by convention or propriety

Their large “donations” to the local police department gave the drug cartel the brazen confidence to do their business out in the open.

Question 12

ostracize

Answer 12

ostracize
verb: exclude from a community or group

Later in his life, Leo Tolstoy was ostracized from the Russian Orthodox Church for his writings that contradicted church doctrine.

Question 13

winsome

Answer 13

winsome
adjective: charming in a childlike or naive way

She was winsome by nature, and many people were drawn to this free and playful spirit.

Question 14

circumscribe

Answer 14

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 15

sycophant

Answer 15

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 16

arcane

Answer 16

arcane
adjective: requiring secret or mysterious knowledge

Most college fraternities are known for arcane rituals that those hoping to join the fraternity must learn.

Question 17

gauche

Answer 17

gauche
adjective: lacking social polish

Sylvester says the most gauche things, such as telling a girl he liked that she was much prettier when she wore makeup.

Question 18

taciturn

Answer 18

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 19

inveterate

Answer 19

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 20

munificent

Answer 20

munificent
adjective: very generous

Uncle Charley was known for his munificence, giving all seven of his nephews lavish Christmas presents each year.

Question 21

pedestrian

Answer 21

pedestrian
adjective: lacking imagination

While Nan was always engaged in philosophical speculation, her brother was occupied with far more pedestrian concerns: how to earn a salary and run a household.

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

Question 22

ravenous

Answer 22

ravenous
adjective: extremely hungry; devouring or craving food in great quantities

John didn’t eat much at all during the week he had the flu, so now that he is regaining his health, it’s not surprising that he has a ravenous appetite.

Question 23

poignant

Answer 23

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 24

hegemony

Answer 24

hegemony
noun: dominance over a certain area

Until the Spanish Armada was defeated in 1587, Spain had hegemony over the seas, controlling waters stretching as far as the Americas.

Question 25

dillettante

Answer 25

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 26

insolent

Answer 26

insolent
adjective: rude and arrogant

Lilian could not help herself from being insolent, commenting that the Queen’s shoes were showing too much toe.

Question 27

tempered

Answer 27

tempered
adjective: moderated in effect

The wide-eyed optimism of her youth was now tempered after she had worked many years in the criminal justice system.

Question 28

obsequious

Answer 28

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 29

rescind

Answer 29

rescind
verb: cancel officially

The man’s driver’s license was rescinded after his tenth car accident, which meant he would never be allowed to legally drive again.

Question 30

antithetical

Answer 30

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 31

prolific

Answer 31

prolific
adjective: intellectually productive

Schubert was the most prolific composer, producing hundreds of hours of music before he died at the age of 31.

Question 32

constituent

Answer 32

constituent
noun: a citizen who is represented in a government by officials for whom he or she votes

The mayor’s constituents are no longer happy with her performance and plan to vote for another candidate in the upcoming election.

noun: an abstract part of something

The constituents of the metal alloy are nickel, copper, and tin.

Question 33

intrepid

Answer 33

intrepid
adjective: fearless

Captain Ahab was an intrepid captain whose reckless and fearless style ultimately lead to his downfall.

Question 34

tractable

Answer 34

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 35

haphazard

Answer 35

haphazard
adjective: marked by great carelessness; dependent upon or characterized by chance

Many golf courses are designed with great care, but the greens on the county golf course seem entirely haphazard.

Question 36

resurgent

Answer 36

resurgent
adjective: rising again as to new life and vigor

The team sank to fourth place in June, but is now resurgent and about to win the division.

Question 37

audacity

Answer 37

audacity
noun: aggressive boldness in social situations

Mike was upset at the man who not only cut in front of him at the ticket counter but also had the audacity to cut in front of him at the bathroom line.

Question 38

subversive

Answer 38

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 39

myriad

Answer 39

myriad
noun: a large indefinite number

There are a myriad of internet sites hawking pills that claim to boost energy for hours on end.

Question 40

prodigious

Answer 40

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 41

garrulous

Answer 41

garrulous
adjective: full of trivial conversation

Lynne was garrulous: once, she had a fifteen minute conversation with a stranger before she realized the woman didn’t speak English.

Question 42

sanction

Answer 42

sanction
verb: give authority or permission to

The authorities have sanctioned the use of the wilderness reserve for public use; many expect to see hikers and campers enjoying the park in the coming months.

noun: a legal penalty for a forbidden action

International sanctions have been placed on certain shipping lanes that were thought to be involved in human trafficking.

Question 43

pernicious

Answer 43

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 44

accolade

Answer 44

accolade
noun: an award or praise granted as a special honor

Jean Paul-Sartre was not a fan of accolades, and as such, he refused to accept the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964.

Question 45

inscrutable

Answer 45

inscrutable
adjective: not easily understood; unfathomable

His speech was so dense and confusing that many in the audience found it inscrutable.

Question 46

trite

Answer 46

trite
adjective: repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

Many style guides recommend not using idioms in writing because these trite expressions are uninteresting and show a lack of imagination on the part of the writer.

Question 47

precipitous

Answer 47

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 48

arbitrary

Answer 48

arbitrary
adjective: based on a random, groundless decision

One of the arbitrary decrees in place during the emperor’s rule is that all citizens pay him weekly homage at his palace.

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

Question 49

scrupulous

Answer 49

scrupulous
adjective: characterized by extreme care and great effort

Because of his scrupulous nature, Mary put him in charge of numbering and cataloging the entire collection of rare stamps.

adjective: having a sense of right and wrong; principled

Everyone trusted what he said and followed his example because he was scrupulous and honest.

Question 50

repudiate

Answer 50

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.