ETS

Question 1

Penitential

Answer 1

Expressing sorrow

“penitential tears”

Question 2

Austerity

Answer 2

(1) Sternness
“he was noted for his austerity and authority”

2) Plainness
“the room was decorated to the point of austerity”

Question 3

Prolixity

Answer 3

Tediously prolonged, unnecessary length, excessively wordy

“the speech was unnecessarily prolix”

Question 4

Accede, acceding

Answer 4

Assent or agree to a demand or request

“they did not accede to the terrorists’ demands”

Question 5

Frivolity

Answer 5

Lack of seriousness, lightheartedness

“a night of fun and frivolity”

Question 6

Prosaic

Answer 6

Commonplace, lacking poetic beauty

“prosaic language cannot describe the experience”

Question 7

Hackneyed

Answer 7

Overused, unoriginal and trite

“hackneyed old sayings”

Question 8

Restive

Answer 8

Difficult to control or keep quite

“the horse became increasingly restive”

Question 9

Prodigality

Answer 9

Being wasteful, foolish, prodigal

“prodigal outlays for her clothes”

Question 10

Taciturnity

Answer 10

Reserved, uncommunicative

“a somewhat taciturn young man”

Question 11

Pellucidity

Answer 11

Clear, comprehensive, easy to understand

“the pellucid waters that lap upon that island’s beaches”

Question 12

Miserliness

Answer 12

Saving money or lacking, meagerness
“a reputation of miserliness but cutting expenses”
“the miserliness of the prizes involved”

Question 13

Inconsequential

Answer 13

Unimportant, trivial

“an inconsequential topic”

Question 14

Diffidence

Answer 14

Shyness, modestly resulting from a lack of self-confidence

“I say this with some diffidence”

Question 15

Capricious

Answer 15

Given to sudden, unpredictable changes in behavior or mood

“a capricious and brutal administration”

Question 16

Corroborating

Answer 16

Confirm or give support to a statement

“the witness corroborated the person’s testimony”

Question 17

Copious

Answer 17

Abundance

“she took copious notes”

Question 18

Acerbic

Answer 18

Sharp or forthright

“the acerbic comments”

Question 19

Illiberality

Answer 19

Stubborn, close-mindedness, adherence to only one’s principals

Question 20

Disseminate

Answer 20

Spread or distribute something

“it is good practice to disseminate information”

Question 21

Eminence

Answer 21

Fame or recognized authority

“the eminence of the king”

Question 22

Improvisation

Answer 22

Something that is improvised

“the music improvisation”

Question 23

Patent

Answer 23

Copyright something or easily recognizable, obvious

“he was smiling with patent insincerity”

Question 24

Harbingers

Answer 24

Something that signifies the approach of another or something
“flowers are harbingers of spring”

Question 25

Monotonous

Answer 25

Dull, boring, repetitious | “the statistics he quotes with monotonous regularity”

Question 26

Dissimilar

Answer 26

Not alike, different | “a number of dissimilar nations lacking commonality to unite”

Question 27

Fortuitous

Answer 27

Happening by luck or chance | “the similarity between the two paintings may not be just fortuitous”

Question 28

Incongruous

Answer 28

Not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings | “the coat looked incongruous with that dress”

Question 29

Polemical

Answer 29

Involving controversial writings or speech | “a polemical essay”

Question 30

Didacticism

Answer 30

Desired or intended to educate people | "the poet's works became increasingly didactic after his religious conversion"

Question 31

Iconoclasm

Answer 31

Attacking or rejecting cherished beliefs, destroying religious symbols "there is much iconoclasm in atheistic communities"

Question 32

Circumscribed

Answer 32

Restrict something in limits or put something inside another | “their movements were strictly monitored and circumscribed”