Hit Parade 1

Question 1

abscond

Answer 1

verb - to steal off and hide

After robbing the museum, the criminal absconded with his plunder.

Question 2

aberrant

Answer 2

adjective - deviating from the norm (noun = aberration)

Aberrant behavior in children, such as violent outbursts or hallucinations, often subjects them to psychologist visits.

Question 3

alacrity

Answer 3

noun - eager and enthusiastic willingness

Despite the difficult task in front of them for the day, she approached the work with alacrity, smiling and volunteering for every sub division of the task.

Question 4

anomaly

Answer 4

noun - abnormality (adjective = anomalous)

People with 11 fingers and 11 toes are considered to be an anomaly.

Question 5

approbation

Answer 5

noun - an expression of approval or praise

She showed warm approbation when her daughter shared she had been accepted into medical school.

Question 6

arduous

Answer 6

adjective - strenuous; taxing

After their arduous journey across ten states and two continents, they were ready to sleep for three days.

Question 7

assuage

Answer 7

verb - to ease or lessen; to pacify

Taking the GRE left Jon stressed and anxious; her assurances he did well on the test assuaged his worries.

Question 8

audacious

Answer 8

adjective - daring/fearless; recklessly bold

She was known for her audacious behavior, such as bungee jumping and motorcycle riding.

Question 9

austere

Answer 9

adjective - severely simple, ascetic

Her room was austere in appearance, with only her bed, a dresser, and a small desk inside of it.

Question 10

axiomatic

Answer 10

adj - taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth (noun = axiom)

The absolute separation of the legislative and executive powers had been an axiom throughout the revolution.
The heresy of an elder day has come to seem almost an axiomatic truth.

Question 11

canonical

Answer 11

adj - following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards (noun = canon)

Sandra Cisneros’ novels are not considered canonical literary works because her work is not that of an 18th century British man.

Question 12

capricious

Answer 12

adj - unpredictable, impulsively changing one’s mind

Adults sometimes admire the capricious nature of children, who are able to play as much as they want and act without reason.

Question 13

censure

Answer 13

verb - criticize severely

Her parents censured her for even thinking about becoming an elementary school teacher instead of a dentist, mainly because of the pay.

Question 14

chicanery

Answer 14

noun - trickery or subterfuge

You can smell the chicanery from a dishonest politician.

Question 15

connoisseur

Answer 15

noun - an expert

She was a wine connoisseur, able to tell the type of a wine simply by smelling it.

Question 16

convoluted

Answer 16

adj - complex/complicated

When attempting to lie to her mother about where she had been, she offered a convoluted story involving six friends, two robbers, and three vehicles.

Question 17

disabuse

Answer 17

verb - to undeceive/set right

She disabused her younger sister’s belief in Santa Clause by showing her where their parents had hid their gifts.

Question 18

discordant

Answer 18

adj - conflicting; dissonant/harsh in sound

The little boy’s mashing of the piano key’s resulted in a discordant cacophony of sound.

Question 19

disparate

Answer 19

adj - fundamentally dissimilar

The two girls’ stories were so disparate regarding where they had been and what they had done, their mother knew they were lying.

Question 20

effrontery

Answer 20

noun - extreme boldness; presumptuousness

I was shocked by the mugger’s effrontery to kiss me after stealing my bag.

Question 21

eloquent

Answer 21

adj - well spoken, articulate

He is a very eloquent man, able to enthrall his readers with his writing.

Question 22

enervate

Answer 22

verb - to weaken

Running six miles had enervated her; she collapsed at the finish line.

Question 23

ennui

Answer 23

noun - restlessness resulting from boredom

An old fashioned man would have lost his senses or died of ennui before changing his ways.

Question 24

equivocate

Answer 24

verb - to use ambiguous language with deceptive intent (adj = equivocal)

When asked by his mother where he had been all night, the teenager equivocated, mentioning no specific friends or locations.

Question 25

erudite

Answer 25

adj - scholarly (noun = erudition)

He was an erudite scholar, devoting most of his time to researching scholarly journals and starting debates with his academic peers.