Day 6

Question 1

august

Answer 1

/impressive; majestic. Visiting the palace at Versailles, she was impressed by
the august surroundings in which she found herself.

Question 2

aureole

Answer 2

/sun’s corona; halo. Many medieval paintings depict saintly characters with aureoles around their
heads.

Question 3

auroral

Answer 3

/pertaining to the aurora borealis. The auroral display was particularly spectacular that
evening.

Question 4

auspicious

Answer 4

/favoring success. With favorable weather conditions, it was an auspicious moment to
set sail. Thomas, however, had doubts about sailing: a paranoid, he became suspicious whenever
conditions seemed auspicious.

Question 5

austere

Answer 5

forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented. The headmaster’s austere
demeanor tended to scare off the more timid students, who never visited his study willingly. The room
reflected the man, austere and bare, like a monk’s cell, with no touches of luxury to moderate its
austerity.

Question 6

automaton

Answer 6

/mechanism that imitates actions of humans. Long before science fiction readers became
aware of robots, writers were presenting stories of automatons who could outperform men.

Question 7

avarice

Answer 7

/greediness for wealth. King Midas is a perfect example of avarice, for he was so greedy
that he wished everything he touched would turn to gold.

Question 8

avocation

Answer 8

/secondary or minor occupation. His hobby proved to be so fascinating and
profitable that gradually he abandoned his regular occupation and concentrated on his avocation.

Question 9

avuncular

Answer 9

/like an uncle. Avuncular pride did not prevent him from noticing his nephew’s
shortcomings.

Question 10

awry

Answer 10

distorted; crooked. He held his head awry, giving the impression that he had
caught cold in his neck during the night. alsoADJ.

Question 11

axiom

Answer 11

/self-evident truth requiring no proof. Before a student can begin to think along the
lines of Euclidean geometry, he must accept certain principles or axioms.

Question 12

azure

Answer 12

/sky blue. Azure skies are indicative of good weather.

Question 13

badinage

Answer 13

teasing conversation. Her friends at work greeted the news of her engagement
with cheerful badinage.

Question 14

baleful

Answer 14

/deadly; having a malign influence; ominous. The fortune teller made baleful
predictions of terrible things to come.

Question 15

balk

Answer 15

/foil or thwart; stop short; refuse to go on. When the warden learned that several inmates
were planning to escape, he took steps to balk their attempt. However, he balked at punishing them
by shackling them to the walls of their cells.

Question 16

ballast

Answer 16

/heavy substance used to add stability or weight. The ship was listing badly to one side;
it was necessary to shift the ballast in the hold to get her back on an even keel. alsoV.

Question 17

bandy

Answer 17

discuss lightly or glibly; exchange (words) heatedly. While the president was happy to bandy
patriotic generalizations with anyone who would listen to him, he refused to bandy words with
unfriendly reporters at the press conference.

Question 18

bane

Answer 18

cause of ruin; curse. Lucy’s little brother was the bane of her existence: his attempts to make
her life miserable worked so well that she could have poisoned him with ratsbane for having such a
baneful effect.

Question 19

bard

Answer 19

/poet. The ancient bard Homer sang of the fall of Troy

Question 20

baroque

Answer 20

highly ornate. Accustomed to the severe lines of contemporary buildings, the architecture
students found the flamboyance of baroque architecture amusing. They simply didn’t go for baroque.