English Midterm vocab

Question 1

able to get or retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or poverty

Answer 1

acquisitive

Question 2

to claim or take without right

Answer 2

arrogate

Question 3

hackneyed. trite, commonplace

Answer 3

banal

Question 4

to work on excessively; to thrash soundly

Answer 4

belabor

Question 5

tending to find fault, especially in petty, nasty, or hairsplitting ways

Answer 5

carping

Question 6

holding or sticking together

Answer 6

coherent

Question 7

to change from a liquid to a solid, thicken

Answer 7

congeal

Question 8

to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model

Answer 8

emulate

Question 9

a formal expression of praise

Answer 9

encomium

Question 10

to avoid, shun, keep away from

Answer 10

eschew

Question 11

relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

Answer 11

germane

Question 12

so great or demanding as not to be satisfied

Answer 12

insatiable

Question 13

refusing to compromise

Answer 13

intransigent

Question 14

offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment

Answer 14

invidious

Question 15

generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions

Answer 15

largesse

Question 16

a survey made for military purposes

Answer 16

reconnaissance

Question 17

to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to

Answer 17

substantiate

Question 18

habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little

Answer 18

taciturn

Question 19

to stall or act evasively in order to gain time

Answer 19

temporize

Question 20

capable of being held or defended

Answer 20

tenable

Question 21

to approach nd speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way

Answer 21

accost

Question 22

a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

Answer 22

animadversion

Question 23

desirous of something to the point of greed

Answer 23

avid

Question 24

having a salty taste or unpleasant to drink

Answer 24

brackish

Question 25

swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

Answer 25

celerity

Question 26

staying or wandering from a straight or direct course

Answer 26

devious

Question 27

in chess, an opening move that involves a risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage

Answer 27

gambit

Question 28

a legendary bird

Answer 28

halcyon

Question 29

pertaining to actors and their techniques

Answer 29

histrionic

Question 30

deliberately setting or causing fires

Answer 30

incendiary

Question 31

a whirlpool of great size and violence

Answer 31

maelstrom

Question 32

nearsighted, lacking of broad

Answer 32

myopic

Question 33

open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized

Answer 33

overt

Question 34

tending to make worse, expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, belittling

Answer 34

pejorative

Question 35

the state of being proper, appropriateness

Answer 35

propriety

Question 36

improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred

Answer 36

sacrilege

Question 37

without delay or formality

Answer 37

summarily

Question 38

asking humbly and earnestly

Answer 38

suppliant

Question 39

an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical power

Answer 39

talisman

Question 40

to move in waves or with a wavelike motion

Answer 40

undulate

Question 41

to romp or prance around

Answer 41

cavort

Question 42

belief, mental acceptance

Answer 42

credence

Question 43

to condemn, express strong disproval

Answer 43

decry

Question 44

to disguise or conceal

Answer 44

dissemble

Question 45

very much agitated or upset as result to emotion or metal conflict

Answer 45

distraught

Question 46

a formal statement of condemnation; high praise

Answer 46

eulogy

Question 47

to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke

Answer 47

evince

Question 48

to remove from a grave, to bring to light

Answer 48

exhume

Question 49

lacking in spirit and strength

Answer 49

feckless

Question 50

dark and gloomy, obscure; lacking in clarity and precision

Answer 50

murky

Question 51

wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards

Answer 51

nefarious

Question 52

stimulating to the taste or mind, spicy

Answer 52

piquant

Question 53

developed or created at the very beginning

Answer 53

primordial

Question 54

nearness in place or time

Answer 54

propinquity

Question 55

real, having a solid basis

Answer 55

substantive

Question 56

not usual or expected; not in character

Answer 56

unwonted

Question 57

founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world

Answer 57

utopian

Question 58

language that is too wordy or inflated

Answer 58

verbiage

Question 59

green or tint in color; immature

Answer 59

verdant

Question 60

having a gelatinous or gluey quality

Answer 60

viscous

Question 61

the wasting away of a body organ or tissue

Answer 61

atrophy

Question 62

a fortified place, stronghold

Answer 62

bastion

Question 63

a state of agreement, harmony, unanimity

Answer 63

concord

Question 64

complete or perfect in the highest degree

Answer 64

consummate

Question 65

disorder, confusion

Answer 65

disarray

Question 66

urgency, pressure; urgent demand

Answer 66

exigency

Question 67

floating debris, homeless

Answer 67

flotsam

Question 68

frenzied, highly agitated

Answer 68

frenetic

Question 69

to gather bit by bit

Answer 69

glean

Question 70

a type of game bird

Answer 70

grouse

Question 71

to imprison, confine, jail

Answer 71

incarcerate

Question 72

obligatory, required

Answer 72

incumbent

Question 73

humorous, jesting, jolly, joking

Answer 73

jocular

Question 74

ridiculous, laughable, absurd

Answer 74

ludicrous

Question 75

biting or caustic in thought

Answer 75

mordant

Question 76

a prickly or stinging plant; to arouse displeasure

Answer 76

nettle

Question 77

consisting of or measured in money

Answer 77

pecuniary

Question 78

contemptibly cowardly or mean spirited

Answer 78

pusillanimous

Question 79

in a reclining position

Answer 79

recumbent

Question 80

a scheme to outwit or deceive an opponent or to gain an end

Answer 80

stratagem

Question 81

sharpness

Answer 81

acuity

Question 82

to portray, sketch, or describe in accurate and vivid detail

Answer 82

delineate

Question 83

marked by evil and corruption

Answer 83

depraved

Question 84

to weaken or lessen the mental, moral, or physical vigor of

Answer 84

enervate

Question 85

intended for or understood by only a select few

Answer 85

esoteric

Question 86

fruitful in offspring or vegetation

Answer 86

fecund

Question 87

an arbitrary order or decree; a command or act of will

Answer 87

fiat

Question 88

a fabrication of the mind

Answer 88

figment

Question 89

to acquire as the result of effort ; to gather and store away

Answer 89

garner

Question 90

to set apart as holy or sacred, sanctify

Answer 90

hallow

Question 91

a peculiarity that serves to distinguish or identify

Answer 91

idiosyncrasy

Question 92

earthly, worldly, relating to practical and material affairs

Answer 92

mundane

Question 93

a subtle or slight variation

Answer 93

nuance

Question 94

conceited, presumptuous, excessive

Answer 94

overweening

Question 95

a strong attraction or inclination

Answer 95

penchant

Question 96

according to reputation or general belief

Answer 96

reputed

Question 97

reasoning that seems plausible but is actually unsound

Answer 97

sophistry

Question 98

costly, rich, magnificent

Answer 98

sumptuous

Question 99

present or existing everywhere

Answer 99

ubiquitous

Question 100

shame and disgrace

Answer 100

ignominy

Question 101

degraded

Answer 101

abject

Question 102

one who believes that nothing can be known about God

Answer 102

Agnostic

Question 103

involvement in wrongdoing

Answer 103

complicity

Question 104

someone or something that is abandoned or neglected

Answer 104

derelict

Question 105

a bitter and prolonged verbal attack

Answer 105

diatribe

Question 106

a crude image of a despised person

Answer 106

effigy

Question 107

the state or quality of being just, fair

Answer 107

equity

Question 108

silly, empty of meaning or value

Answer 108

inane

Question 109

the act of accusing

Answer 109

indictment

Question 110

certain, not to be doubted

Answer 110

indubitable

Question 111

stopping or beginning again

Answer 111

intermittent

Question 112

open to discussion and debate

Answer 112

moot

Question 113

a principle idea, feature, theme

Answer 113

motif

Question 114

a new convert, beginner, novice

Answer 114

neophyte

Question 115

keenness in observing and understanding

Answer 115

perspicacity

Question 116

complete in all aspects or essentials

Answer 116

plenary

Question 117

a watch or kept over a person

Answer 117

surveillance

Question 118

pertaining to or characteristic of forests

Answer 118

sylvan

Question 119

easily irritated, characterized by impatience

Answer 119

testy

Question 120

a grotesque or grossly inferior imitation

Answer 120

travesty