Hit Parade Group 1

Question 1

abscond

Answer 1

to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide

Question 2

aberrant

Answer 2

deviating from the norm (noun form: aberration)

Question 3

alacrity

Answer 3

eager and enthusiastic willingness

e.g. ‘she accepted the invitation with alacrity’

Question 4

approbation

Answer 4

an expression of approval or praise

Question 5

austere

Answer 5

without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic

Question 6

axiomatic

Answer 6

taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth

Question 7

canonical

Answer 7

following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards

Question 8

capricious

Answer 8

inclined to change one’s mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable

Question 9

censure

Answer 9

to criticize severely; to officially rebuke

Question 10

chicanery

Answer 10

trickery or subterfuge

Question 11

disabuse

Answer 11

to undeceive; to set right

Question 12

discordant

Answer 12

conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound

Question 13

disparate

Answer 13

fundamentally distinct or dissimilar

Question 14

effrontery

Answer 14

extreme boldness; presumptuousness

e.g. ‘had the effrontery to challenge the decision’

Question 15

eloquent

Answer 15

well-spoken, expressive, articulate

Question 16

enervate

Answer 16

to weaken; to reduce in vitality

Question 17

ennui

Answer 17

dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy

Question 18

equivocate

Answer 18

to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent (adj form: equivocal)

Question 19

erudite

Answer 19

very learned; scholarly (noun form: erudition)

Question 20

exculpate

Answer 20

exonerate; to clear of blame

Question 21

exigent

Answer 21

urgent, pressing; requiring immediate immediate action or attention

Question 22

extemporaneous

Answer 22

improvised; done without preparation

Question 23

filibuster

Answer 23

intentional obstruction, esp using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action

Question 24

fulminate

Answer 24

to loudly attack or denounce

e.g. ‘fulminate a decree’

Question 25

ingenuous

Answer 25

artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication

e.g. ‘ingenuous in their brutality’

Question 26

inured

Answer 26

accustomed to accepting something undesirable

e.g. ‘inured to violence’

Question 27

irascible

Answer 27

easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts

Question 28

nebulous

Answer 28

vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form

Question 29

neologism

Answer 29

a new word, expression or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses

Question 30

obtuse

Answer 30

lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression

Question 31

obviate

Answer 31

to anticipate and make unnecessary

e.g. ‘a parachute can be used to obviate disaster’

Question 32

perfidy

Answer 32

disloyalty; treachery (adj: perfidious)

Question 33

perspicacious

Answer 33

acutely perceptive; having keen discernment (noun: perspicacity)

Question 34

precipitate (adj)

Answer 34

acting with excessive haste and impulse

e.g. ‘their actions were precipitate’

Question 35

precipitate (verb)

Answer 35

to cause or happen before anticipated or required

Question 36

predilection

Answer 36

a disposition in favour of something; preference

Question 37

prescience

Answer 37

foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring (adj: prescient)

Question 38

prevaricate

Answer 38

to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead

Question 39

recant

Answer 39

to retract, esp a previously held belief

Question 40

solicitous

Answer 40

concerned and attentive; eager

e.g. ‘she was solicitous about the welfare of her students’

Question 41

sordid

Answer 41

characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul

Question 42

truculent

Answer 42

fierce and cruel; eager to fight; harsh

e.g. ‘truculent criticism’

Question 43

veracity

Answer 43

truthfulness, honesty

Question 44

virulent

Answer 44

extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic