General Vocabulary 22

Question 1

Calisthenics (n)

Answer 1

A form of strength training that utilizes an individual’s body weight as resistance to perform multi-joint, compound movements with little or no equipment.

Three women swung Indian clubs while performing calisthenics in unison

Question 2

Hoi polloi (n)

Answer 2

The masses; the common people.

Avoid mixing with the hoi polloi.

Question 3

Proforma (adj) (n)

Answer 3

As a matter of form or politeness.

He nodded to him pro forma.

Question 4

Pettifogging

Answer 4

Placing undue emphasis on petty details; petty or trivial.

Pettifogging attorneys were the bane of civil society.

Question 5

Agitprop (n)

Answer 5

Political (originally communist) propaganda, especially in art or literature.

A typeface which made it resemble student agitprop of the Eighties.

Question 6

Emetic (n)
[A metic]

Answer 6

A medicine or other substance which causes vomiting.

Question 7

Acreage (n)

Answer 7

An area of land, typically when used for agricultural purposes, but not necessarily measured in acres.

A 35 per cent increase in net acreage.

Question 8

Kerfuffle (n)

Answer 8

A commotion or fuss, especially one caused by conflicting views.

There was a kerfuffle over the chairmanship.

Question 9

Elegiac (adj)

Answer 9

Relating to or characteristic of an elegy.

Haunting and elegiac poems.

Question 10

Rambunctious (adj)

Answer 10

Uncontrollably exuberant; boisterous.

A rambunctious tyke.

Question 11

Cinch (n)

Answer 11

An extremely easy task.

The program was a cinch to use.

Question 12

Scatological (adj)

Answer 12

Relating to or characterized by an interest in excrement and excretion.

The entertainment industry was painted as scatological and hedonistic.

Question 13

Cannonade (n)

Answer 13

A period of continuous heavy gunfire.

The French attack began with a cannonade.

Question 14

Foofaraw (n)

Answer 14

Make a great fuss about something insignificant

How enduring can the foofaraw of a marketing campaign be?

Question 15

Scrumptious (adj)

Answer 15

Extremely tasty; delicious (of food).

A scrumptious chocolate tart.

Question 16

Hectored (v)

Answer 16

Talk to (someone) in a bullying way.

She doesn’t hector us about giving up things.

Question 17

Redux (adj)

Answer 17

Brought back or revived.

Khan made an equally impressive redux of the famous film.

Question 18

Prestidigitation (n)

Answer 18

Magic tricks, especially ones performed in a very skillful way using the hands.

Question 19

Monopsonist (n)

Answer 19

A single buyer in a market place as opposed to a monopoly.

The monopsonist antediluvian structure of the APMC must be done away with.

Question 20

Shellacking (v)

Answer 20

Varnish (something) with shellac.

He shellacked the box, paying special attention to the top and sides.

Question 21

Cyclopean (adj)

Answer 21

Denoting a type of ancient masonry made with massive irregular blocks.

Cyclopean stone walls.

Question 22

Carpetbagger (n)

Answer 22

Someone who tries to be elected as a politician in a place away from their home because they think there is a greater chance of succeeding there.

Question 23

Abecedarian (adj)
[A B Cedarian]

Answer 23

Arranged alphabetically

An abecedarian sequence.

Question 24

Discombobulate (v)

Answer 24

Disconcert or confuse (someone).

This attitude totally discombobulated Bruce.

Question 25

Bogarting (v)

Answer 25

Selfishly appropriate or keep for oneself instead of sharing. Don't bogart that joint, my friend.

Question 26

Bodacious (adj)

Answer 26

Bold, audacious, and brazen A bodacious woman.

Question 27

Grandstanding (n)

Answer 27

An action of behaving in a showy or ostentatious manner in an attempt to attract favorable attention from spectators or the media. They accused him of political grandstanding.

Question 28

Vivified (v)

Answer 28

To make more lively or interesting. I felt like a tree after a rain - new and vivified.

Question 29

Gnaw (v)

Answer 29

To bite or nibble something persistently. Take a piece of chapati and gnawed on it.

Question 30

Pith (n)

Answer 30

The soft spongy tissue lining the rind of lemons and oranges.

Question 31

Disquisition (n)

Answer 31

A long elaborate essay or discussion on a subject.

Question 32

Indemnity (n)

Answer 32

Security or protection against loss or financial burden. OR Exemption from legal liability of one’s actions.

Question 33

Irrefrangible (adj)

Answer 33

That which cannot be broken or ignored. The irrefrangible law protected the forest.

Question 34

Stouthearted (adj)

Answer 34

Brave and determined. She showed stouthearted courage in the face of danger.

Question 35

Analeptic (adj)

Answer 35

Boosting your brains alertness and energy. Coffee can have an analeptic effect.

Question 36

Synthesist (n)

Answer 36

A person who combines ideas creatively. The synthesist merged art and science beautifully.

Question 37

Adjuration (n)

Answer 37

A strong and earnest request. He made an adjuration for peace.

Question 38

Entelechy (n)

Answer 38

The perfect realisation of something’s potential. The garden reached its entelechy in spring.

Question 39

Crepuscule (n)

Answer 39

Twilight the time just after sunset. Crepuscular creatures abound at sunset.

Question 40

Intromit (v)

Answer 40

To put something inside. He intromitted the key into the lock.

Question 41

Divagation (n)

Answer 41

To stray or wander from the main path. His talks was full of divagation.

Question 42

Peripeteia (n)

Answer 42

A sudden change in events. The story’s peripeteia shocked everyone.

Question 43

Homonyms (n)

Answer 43

Words that sound the same but are spelt differently and have different meanings

Question 44

Etiology (n)

Answer 44

The cause or set of causes of a disease. The most common etiology of Vertebrate fracture is osteoporosis.

Question 45

Contraindication (n)

Answer 45

A condition that suggests a particular remedy or drug should not be used for treatment. Aspirin is inappropriate for patients with known contraindications.

Question 46

Incontinence (n)

Answer 46

Lack of voluntary control over urination or bowel movements. VF patients generally exhibit incontinence.

Question 47

Malignant (n)

Answer 47

Of disease: Very virulent or infectious.

Question 48

Caveat Emptor (n) [Let the buyer beware]

Answer 48

The principle that the buyer itself is responsible to ensure the quality of goods being purchased.

Question 49

Troglodyte (n)

Answer 49

A prehistoric person who lived in a cage.

Question 50

Hypochondria (n)

Answer 50

Obsessed with the erroneous idea of being beset with a serious illness. His hypochondria led him to visit multiple doctors frequently.

Question 51

Liturgy (n)

Answer 51

A form through which religious worship is conducted formally. At the end of the liturgy the bishop distributed certificates.

Question 52

Febrile (adj)

Answer 52

Characterised by a feverish nervous excitement. The febrile atmosphere of the city.

Question 53

Mercantile (adj)

Answer 53

Commerce or profit motive. He was purely motivated by mercantile motives.

Question 54

Dissimulate (v)

Answer 54

Conceal or disguise A country gentleman who dissimulates his wealth beneath ragged pullovers.