ETS words

Question 1

inimical

Answer 1

Not friendly

Censorship is inimical to freedom. So, most teenagers would argue, are curfews. To be inimical is to be harmful, antagonistic, or opposed to — like smoking two packs a day is to healthy lungs.

Question 2

Venal

Answer 2

Someone with venal motives is corrupt and maybe a little evil. Nobody wants to be thought of as venal.

Venal actions include taking bribes, giving jobs to your friends, and cheating. Venal means about the same thing as “corrupt” or “corruptible.” Venal people are considered sleazy and untrustworthy. They’re often criminals. No one is perfect, and most of us have venal motives at some point.

Question 3

temperance

Answer 3

Temperance means restraint and moderation, but if you’re talking about alcohol, temperance means not just drinking in moderation, it means not having it at all.

Question 4

Providential

Answer 4

If your best friend pulls up beside you in her convertible just as your bike gets a flat tire, you could call it providential, or magically lucky.

The Latin root of providential is providentia, “foresight or precaution.” Providence changed over the years; it usually referred specifically to the care of God, and it was spelled with a capital P. Providential, likewise, has another meaning that’s purely religious, “resulting from God’s intervention.” Whether you’re talking about God or not, if something is providential, it feels a little miraculous.

Question 5

fastidious

Answer 5

If you want to describe a person who insists on perfection or pays much attention to food, clothing and cleanliness, the right word is fastidious.

Fastidious is a funny-sounding adjective from the Latin fastidium “loathing” that has several equally strange-sounding synonyms — persnickety, fussbudgety, finicky and punctilious. Fussy and hard to please will also do the trick. Fastidious is occasionally used as a compliment to describe someone whose attention to detail gives them good organizing abilities, but it is usually used as a disapproving term.

Question 6

Polemical

Answer 6

The adjective polemical describes something related to an argument or controversy. To keep the peace, avoid discussing politics at Thanksgiving, which usually deteriorates into a polemical argument with Uncle Bob. Better stick to football or apple versus pumpkin pie.

Polemical is the adjective form of the noun polemic, which itself comes from the Greek word, polemos, meaning “war.” Use polemical to describe a controversy or argument that could end up as a huge conflict, because polemical refers to a major disagreement. The word is often used to describe speech and writing — a polemical discussion or a polemical essay — that usually starts a war of words.

Question 7

injudicious

Answer 7

A decision that’s not very smart or well thought out can be called injudicious. It would be injudicious to spend your last five dollars on a fancy coffee drink.

When you regret something you’ve done, you might decide in retrospect that it was injudicious. It’s injudicious to spread rumors about a friend, because it’s not thoughtful. It’s also injudicious to ride in a fast-moving car without a seat belt, because it’s dangerous. Judicious means “showing good judgment,” from the Latin root iudicium, or “judgment.”

Question 8

didacticism

Answer 8

communication that is suitable for or intended to be instructive

Question 9

belie

Answer 9

To belie means to contradict. If you are 93 but look like you are 53, then your young looks belie your age.

We get belie from the Old English beleogan, which meant “to deceive by lying.” It suggests characteristics or behavior that inadvertently or deliberately hide the truth. To remember it, just think “be lying.” Snow White’s decision to barge into the Seven Dwarfs’ home without invitation belied her gentle nature.

Question 10

vociferous

Answer 10

Vociferous describes loudmouths, such as the vociferous mob at the soccer game.

Vociferous is from the Latin vociferari meaning “to shout, yell.” If you break it down to the first part, take vox meaning “voice” and add it to ferre meaning “to carry,” then vociferous describes voices that carry; you can hear a vociferous person from across the room at a dance party. Vociferous isn’t just loud, but annoying, too, like when the vociferous fans of the opposing team chant insults in unison. Try yanking a cookie out of a little kid’s hand if you want to hear a vociferous reaction.

Question 11

circumscribed

Answer 11

Limited

Question 12

syntactical

Answer 12

of or relating to or conforming to the rules of syntax

Question 13

synoptic

Answer 13

If you’ve heard of a movie synopsis, which gives an overview of the plot, you can guess what synoptic means: summarizing. At the end of your 900-page treatise on morals, try to give a synoptic conclusion to drive your ideas home.

Synoptic can be broken down to syn-, meaning together, and -optic, meaning view or sight. So something that is synoptic pulls everything together. At the end of a long day touring your great aunt’s ancestral home, hearing endless stories about every dinner party she ever gave and all the people that ever stayed there, you might synoptically comment, “Basically she cooks well and has lots of fancy friends.”

Question 14

sartorial

Answer 14

If it’s the day before a big event and you have no idea what to wear and nothing in your closet is going to cut it, you are facing a sartorial dilemma — one that pertains to clothing, fashion, or dressing.

Sartorial comes from the Modern Latin word sartor which means “tailor,” literally “one who patches and mends.” In English the adjectives sartorial and sartorially are used to refer to any matter pertaining to the consideration of clothing or fashion. The root word sartor has also made its way into the field of biology. The sartorius — a muscle in the leg and the longest muscle in the human body — gets its name because it is used when crossing the legs, also known as the “tailor’s position.”

Question 15

Panache

Answer 15

To have panache is to have a stylish flair. You might wear your giant polka-dotted scarf with great panache.

Panache comes from the Latin word pinnaculum, which means “small wing” or “tuft of feathers.” When you decorate yourself with a flourish, have an elegant appearance, or do something with style, you are said to have panache. You might wear your beret with new-found panache. Your aunt Milly may throw a party with unmatched panache. Or you brother’s ability to turn a phrase may show an uncommon panache.

Question 16

quixotic

Answer 16

Use quixotic for someone or something that is romantic and unrealistic, or possessed by almost impossible hopes. Your quixotic task is easy to understand, if difficult to achieve: establish world peace.

What a wonderful word quixotic is! While it is most often used to mean equally impractical and idealistic, it also has the sense of romantic nobility. Its source is from the great Spanish novel “Don Quixote,” whose title character is given to unrealistic schemes and great chivalry. In the middle of a recession and high unemployment, it would be quixotic to imagine that you could quit your job and find another easily.

Question 17

Exacting

Answer 17

Use the adjective exacting to describe something or someone very precise or strict in its requirements. If your teacher has exacting standards about spelling and punctuation, you better carefully check your final paper.

Question 18

profundity

Answer 18

Profundity describes being thoughtful, deep, and wise. Your profundity might inspire friends to come to you for advice.

Profundity comes from the word profound and it means a quality of depth or wisdom that is meaningful or even transformational. The profundity of a piece of music might move you to tears, and the profundity of certain philosophies can be deep — and a bit confusing. Profundity can describe something that’s intense, like the profundity of the silence in the room following the announcement of bad news.

Question 19

virulence

Answer 19

Virulence is a harmful quality possessed by microorganisms that can cause disease. You can also use the noun virulence to describe someone’s malicious actions.

A virus spreads disease, and virulence is a quality possessed by viruses that are on the loose and spreading. This could be as common as the flu or as unusual as chemical warfare. You can also speak of the virulence of hostile, harmful words and actions. Publicly insulting and discrediting someone is an example of virulence. With either meaning, virulence indicates danger and harm. The Latin root is virulentus, “poisonous.”

Question 20

immure

Answer 20

When you immure someone or something, you put it behind a wall, as in a jail or some other kind of confining space.

You may recognize the -mur- in immure as the root for “wall,” as in mural, which is a painting on a wall, or intramural, literally “inside the walls,” as, for instance, the walls of a school — intramural sports are played among teams from the same school. You don’t need a jail to immure someone. Rapunzel was immured in her tower. At the end of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the lovers are immured in the tomb.

Question 21

indemnify

Answer 21

To pay compensation for a loss, damages, or similar expense is to indemnify. “The insurance company indemnified its customers for their claims after the severe storm — one customer lost three cars, a row boat, and a golf cart.”

The verb indemnify also means to secure against future loss. The farmers bought insurance to indemnify themselves and their animals against catastrophic loss. The word indemnify comes from the Latin word indemnis, which means “to unhurt.” The city wanted to shut down an old local landmark because they were afraid it no longer met modern safety standards, but local citizens wanted it to remain. In a compromise, the owners agreed to indemnify the city against possible loss and the landmark was allowed to remain.

Question 22

manacled

Answer 22

If a police officer has to manacle your hands behind your back, you’re in big trouble. That’s just a fancy way of saying that you’ve been handcuffed.

Used as a noun, manacle is a synonym for shackle, meaning “a metal chain or band, used to fasten someone’s hands or ankles together.” You’re more likely to see the noun form of this word in its plural form manacles, since — like socks or mittens — a pair is usually required. (Quite unlike socks or mittens, manacles are not at all comfortable or pleasant to wear.) You can say that someone who has been restrained using manacles has been manacled.

Question 23

Bridling

Answer 23

anger or take offense

“She bridled at his suggestion to elope”

Question 24

Clerical

Answer 24

In older times clerical had an additional common meaning of referring to anything to do with the clergy — those ordained for religious work, usually in the Christian faith. Clerical comes from the old Latin term clericus, meaning a “churchman,” from which cleric later came, meaning a priest or religious leader. To have “a clerical air” means to be clearly identifiable either as an ink-stained office wretch or a member of the cloth.

Question 25

Vigorous

Answer 25

1 : done with vigor : carried out forcefully and energetically vigorous exercises
2 : possessing vigor : full of physical or mental strength or active force : strong a vigorous youth a vigorous plant

Question 26

punctilious

Answer 26

A punctilious person pays attention to details. Are you always precisely on time? Is your room perfectly neat? Do you never forget a birthday or a library book’s due date? Then you are one of the punctilious people.

The adjective punctilious, pronounced “punk-TIL-ee-us,” is related to the Italian word puntiglio, meaning “fine point.” For someone who is punctilious no point is too fine, no detail too small, to be overlooked. The word is often used to describe people, but it can be used more broadly to apply to observations, behavior, or anything else that is characterized by close attention to detail.

Question 27

veracious

Answer 27

Someone who is veracious speaks the truth — like your brutally honest friend who always lets you know what she thinks about your outfits, your hairstyle, your lasagna recipe, and your taste in movies.

Question 28

doctrinaire

Answer 28

You’ve doubtless met someone doctrinaire at some point. You know them by their complete unwillingness to accept any belief other than their own.

If you’re familiar with the noun “doctrine” — a formal idea or system of belief — you’ll have no problem with the adjective doctrinaire. It’s a just a way of describing a person or group of people who are set in their ways. The Pope and his cardinals are unfailingly doctrinaire: they won’t allow any ideas beyond those they’ve already approved. Parents can start out doctrinaire, but children soon force them to be flexible in how they bring them up.

Question 29

equivocal

Answer 29

Equivocal means uncertain or ambiguous. If you ask your teacher what’s on an upcoming test and she gives you an equivocal answer, you won’t be able to narrow down your studying.

Equivocal is from the Latin aequus “equal, the same” + vocare “to call, to speak” and describes when something is too close to call. An editorial in your local newspaper might make a strong case for new taxes on soda, while another editorial is more equivocal. The fact that equivocal means “uncertain” and unequivocal means “certain” is tricky, and a lot of people get stumped.

Question 30

sanguine

Answer 30

If you’re sanguine about a situation, that means you’re optimistic that everything’s going to work out fine.

Question 31

sanguinary

Answer 31

When something is sanguinary it involves a lot of blood or, at least, the pursuit of blood. Vampire movies are sanguinary: Romper Room is not.

Question 32

premonitory

Answer 32

Use the adjective premonitory to describe something that predicts something bad will happen, like a premonitory sneezing fit that comes before you come down with an awful cold.

The adjective premonitory is related to the Latin word praemonere, from prae, meaning “before,” and monere, meaning “warn.” The dark premonitory clouds that roll in before a storm can ruin your day at the beach, or the premonitory feeling that a new friend isn’t trustworthy are warnings to pack up and get out before something disastrous happens.

Question 33

provincial

Answer 33

A provincial person comes from the backwaters. Someone from a small province outside of Provence, France, might seem a little more provincial and less worldly than someone from, say, Paris.

Something or someone provincial belongs to a province, or region outside of the city. Provincial has a straightforward meaning when describing where someone is from, but it has some other shades of meaning too. Something provincial can be quaint and in a pleasing rural or country style, but it also can imply someone less sophisticated, as in someone with provincial, or simple, tastes. Individuals or groups of people who are considered narrow-minded are often labeled provincial, even if they’re from the city.

Question 34

adulatory

Answer 34

obsequiously complimentary

Question 35

blithe

Answer 35

The adjective blithe used to mean happy and carefree, but over time it has also come to describe someone who isn’t paying attention the way they should.

If you have a blithe disregard for authority, you might just smile vaguely when a teacher is yelling at you and continue writing on the lockers with a Sharpie. If you’re dancing to music while driving, and pass blithely through a red light, chances are you will be pulled over and given either a ticket or a lecture.

Question 36

obduracy

Answer 36

resoluteness by virtue of being unyielding and inflexible

Question 37

caprice

Answer 37

On a whim, he sold everything and left the city for the beautiful wilderness of Alaska, but his act of caprice felt a lot less whimsical when he realized how freezing cold Alaska is.

The word caprice has its roots in the French for “whim,” which comes from the Italian word capriccio for “fright” or “sudden start.” A caprice can be just a fun impulsive act, but it also can be something done on a quick whim, without thinking it through or preparing for the change in direction. Having a sudden liking, or caprice, for someone or something can be short-lived too.

Question 38

inestimable

Answer 38

If something is so big you can’t even guess at its size, you’d call it inestimable. It can describe physical size (the inestimable universe) or a degree of something (your inestimable handsomeness with that new haircut).

The prefix in- means “not,” and estimable has the same root as the word estimate, which means “to take an educated guess.” Sometimes a thing is so great that you cannot even guess. A tsunami causes inestimable destruction. You’d need to travel inestimable miles to reach the edge of the universe. The love you have for your pet raccoon is inestimable, but the number of times she gets into your trash every week is quite estimable.

Question 39

perspicacity

Answer 39

If you devote long hours to the arts of attention and analysis, you might develop the perspicacity required to become a really good detective.

Perspicacity comes from the Latin word for penetrating sight. If you have perspicacity, you are good at discerning what is really going on where others might only see surface clues. Perspicacity is a quality that many professionals need, from detectives to doctors to therapists. If someone is perspicacious, we might also say they have a “shrewd mind,” or a “keen intelligence.”

Question 40

perspicacious

Answer 40

Perspicacious is an adjective that means “shrewd” and “wise.” A perspicacious child can’t be fooled when her parents try to keep a secret by talking in Pig Latin.

The adjective perspicacious is a long word for a short definition: “keen” or “shrewd.” This word is descended from the Latin word perspicere, which means “to look closely.” In other words, if you look closely at something you are paying attention to it and know it well. A definition of perspicacious that is out of date but still relevant is “having keen eyesight” and people who can see clearly are also aware and attentive!