Direct Hits 10 The Toughest Words I

Question 1

lambaste

Answer 1

denounce; strongly criticize

Question 2

quiescent

Answer 2

marked by inactivity; in a state of quiet repose

Question 3

provisional

Answer 3

tentative; temporary; for the time being (like a provisional driver’s license)

Question 4

lurid

Answer 4

sensational; shocking; ghastly

Question 5

truculent, pugnacious, belligerent

Answer 5

defiantly aggressive; eager to fight

Question 6

propitiate

Answer 6

to appease; to conciliate; to regain the favor or goodwill of

Question 7

élan

Answer 7

a vigorous spirit; great enthusiasm

Question 8

perfunctory

Answer 8

something performed in a spiritless, mechanical, and routine manner

Question 9

aplomb

Answer 9

self-assurance; confident composure; admirable poise under pressure

Question 10

opaque

Answer 10

hard to understand; impenetrably dense and obscure

Question 11

craven

Answer 11

cowardly; contemptibly faint-hearted

Question 12

venal

Answer 12

corrupt; dishonest; open to bribery

Question 13

licentious

Answer 13

immoral; dissolute; debauched

Question 14

noxious

Answer 14

harmful; injurious to physical, mental, or moral health

Question 15

superfluous, extraneous

Answer 15

unnecessary; extra

Question 16

duplicitous

Answer 16

deliberately deceptive in behavior or speech

Question 17

profligate

Answer 17

wasteful; squandering time and money by living for the moment

Question 18

epiphany

Answer 18

a sudden realization; an insightful moment

Question 19

insidious

Answer 19

causing harm in a subtle or stealthy manner; devious

Question 20

vacuous, inane

Answer 20

empty; lacking serious purpose; vapid

Question 21

harbinger, portent, presage

Answer 21

indications or omens that something important or calamitous is about to occur

Question 22

beleaguer

Answer 22

to beset; to surround with problems

Question 23

burgeon

Answer 23

to grow rapidly; to expand

Question 24

imperious

Answer 24

domineering and arrogant; haughty

Question 25

petulant

Answer 25

peevish, irritable

Question 26

complaisant

Answer 26

agreeable; marked by a pleasing personality; affable; amiable

Question 27

fawn

Answer 27

behaving in a servile, obsequious, or subservient manner

Question 28

obdurate, intransigent

Answer 28

very stubborn; obstinate; unyieldingly persistent; inflexible; intractable

Question 29

redolent

Answer 29

exuding fragrance; full of a specified smell; suggestive of

Question 30

chicanery

Answer 30

deception by subterfuge; deliberate trickery

Question 31

conundrum

Answer 31

a difficult problem; a dilemma with no easy solution

Question 32

slight

Answer 32

to treat in a disparaging manner; to deliberately ignore

Question 33

capitulate

Answer 33

to surrender; to comply without protest

Question 34

disheartening

Answer 34

very discouraging; dismaying; dispiriting

Question 35

apocryphal

Answer 35

of doubtful authenticity; false; spurious

Question 36

magisterial

Answer 36

learned and authoritative

Question 37

plastic, malleable, pliable

Answer 37

flexible; easily shaped, especially by outside influences or forces

Question 38

chagrin

Answer 38

the feeling of distress caused by humiliation, failure, or embarrassment

Question 39

obstreperous

Answer 39

noisily and stubbornly defiant; unruly; boisterous

Question 40

idyllic

Answer 40

charmingly simple and carefree

Question 41

dilapidated

Answer 41

having fallen into a state of disrepair; broken-down; in deplorable condition

Question 42

extemporize, improvise

Answer 42

to lecture or speak without notes

Question 43

myriad

Answer 43

many; numerous

Question 44

ungainly

Answer 44

awkward; clumsy; not graceful

Question 45

dilatory

Answer 45

habitually late; tardy

Question 46

vituperative

Answer 46

characterized by verbal abuse and bitter criticism

Question 47

discordant

Answer 47

not in harmony; incompatible; at variance with, as in a discordant detail that doesn’t fit a pattern

Question 48

perfidious

Answer 48

treacherous; traitorous; deceitful

Question 49

proliferate

Answer 49

to increase rapidly

Question 50

indomitable, resolute

Answer 50

very determined; unwavering

Question 51

moribund

Answer 51

approaching death; about to become obsolete

Question 52

nuance

Answer 52

a subtle shade of meaning or feeling; a slight degree of difference

Question 53

flippant, facetious

Answer 53

treating serious matters with lighthearted humor or lack of respect

Question 54

credulous

Answer 54

easily convinced; tending to believe too readily; gullible; incredulous—disbelieving, skeptical

Question 55

florid

Answer 55

flowery in style; very ornate

Question 56

excoriating, scathing

Answer 56

expressing strong disapproval; condemning; loudly decrying

Question 57

interloper

Answer 57

an intruder; a gatecrasher

Question 58

cerebral

Answer 58

intellectual rather than emotional

Question 59

visceral

Answer 59

instinctive rather than rational

Question 60

nonplussed, confounded

Answer 60

utterly perplexed; completely puzzled; totally bewildered

Question 61

ignominious

Answer 61

humiliating; shameful; disgraceful

Question 62

euphony

Answer 62

soothing or pleasant sounds; harmony

Question 63

cacophony

Answer 63

harsh, clashing, jarring, grating sounds; disharmony

Question 64

obsequious

Answer 64

promptly obedient, submissive; marked by or exhibiting fawning attentiveness

Question 65

timorous

Answer 65

showing nervousness or fear