Final Exam 1

Question 1

abashed - M felt abashed by her inability to remember her lines.

Answer 1

(uh BASH) v - to embarrass

Question 2

agrarian - Politics often pit the rural, agrarian interests against the urban interests.

Answer 2

(uh GRAR ee un) adj - relating to land

Question 3

culpable - We all felt culpable when the homeless old man died in the doorway of our apartment building.

Answer 3

(KUL puh bul) adj - guilty

Question 4

decorous - The crowd was decorous until midnight, when they went wild.

Answer 4

(DEK ur us, di KORE us) adj - proper

Question 5

decimated - The locusts decimated the crop, leaving very little that’s fit for human consumption.

Answer 5

(DES uh MATE) v - to destroy a large part of

Question 6

derogatory - O couldn’t think of anything nice to say to anyone; all his comments were derogatory.

Answer 6

(di ROG uh TOHR ee) adj - degrading

Question 7

despondent - After the death of his wife, the man was despondent for many months.

Answer 7

(di SPON dunt) adj - extremely depressed

Question 8

dissonant - The dissonant chords and primitive rhythms had a still more unnerving effect upon the audience.

Answer 8

(DIS uh nuhnt) adj - in disagreement

Question 9

docile - The docile students quietly memorized all the lies their teacher told them.

Answer 9

(DOS ul) adj - obedient

Question 10

fatuous - P is so pretty that her suitors are often drive to fatuous acts of devotion.

Answer 10

(FACH oo us) adj - foolish

Question 11

heresy - Galileo was tried for the heresy of suggesting that the sun did not revolve around the earth.

Answer 11

(HER i see) n - any belief that is strongly opposed to established beliefs

Question 12

indiscreet - Much of this book contains previously unheard and highly indiscreet quotations.

Answer 12

(in di SKREET) adj - lacking good judgment

Question 13

indiscrete - The problem is discrete since the steel reinforcements are available indiscrete sizes only.

Answer 13

(in di SKREET) adj - not divisible

Question 14

ineffable - The beauty of nature is so ineffable that it brings tears to our eyes.

Answer 14

(in EF uh bul) adj - incapable of being described

Question 15

irascible - A grouch is irascible.

Answer 15

(i RAS uh bul) adj - easily angered or provoked

Question 16

laconic - The manager’s laconic dismissal letter left the fired employees angry and hurt.

Answer 16

(luh KON ik) adj - using few words; especially to the point of seeming rude

Question 17

nefarious - The convicted murderer had committed a myriad of nefarious acts.

Answer 17

(ni FAIR ee us) adj - evil

Question 18

paternal - F is paternal towards his niece.

Answer 18

(puh TUR nul) adj - fatherlike

Question 19

peripatetic - Groupies are a peripatetic bunch, traveling around to follow their favorite rock stars.

Answer 19

(PER uh peh TET ik) adj - traveling continually

Question 20

precipitous - A mountain can be precipitous, meaning that it is either steep or that it compromises lots of steep cliffs.

Answer 20

(pri SIP i tus) adj - steep

Question 21

prepossess - The new girl was prepossessing. As soon as she walked into the room, all the boys rushed over to introduce themselves.

Answer 21

(PREE puh ZES) v - to influence beforehand or prejudice

Question 22

rapacious - Wall Street bankers are often accused of being rapacious.

Answer 22

(run PAY shus) adj - greedy

Question 23

stigmatize - S’s jeans were Lee’s instead of Levi’s, and this mistake stigmatized him for the rest of his high school career.

Answer 23

(STIG muh TIZE) v - to brand with disgrace

Question 24

unremitting - Superman waged an unremitting battle against evildoers everywhere.

Answer 24

(UN ri MIT ing) adj - relentless

Question 25

wanton - Terrorists commit wanton acts on a helpless populace to make their point.

Answer 25

(WON tun) adj - malicious