Kaplan Vocab I (C)

Question 1

Noisome

Answer 1

adj.
Having an extremely offensive smell.

It filled my head, that muttering sound, like thick oily smoke from a fat-rendering vat or an odour of noisome decay.

late Middle English: from obsolete noy (shortened form of annoy) + -some

Question 2

Putative

Answer 2

adj.
Commonly regarded as such; reputed; supposed.

The putative leader of the terrorist cell was arrested yesterday.

late Middle English: from Old French putatif, -ive or late Latin putativus, from Latin putat- ‘thought’, from the verb putare

Question 3

Riposte

Answer 3

noun, verb
(Make) a quick, clever reply to an insult or criticism.

Piquette is wine’s riposte to hard seltzer — a light, low-alcohol wine made by refermenting grape skins that would normally go to compost or be thrown away.

early 18th century: from French risposte (noun), risposter (verb), from Italian risposta ‘response’

Question 4

Pulchritude

Answer 4

noun.
Beauty

Portraits of two icons of pulchritude hang on the walls—namely, Marilyn Monroe and the very 2019 version of Marilyn: Cardi.

late Middle English: from Latin pulchritudo, from pulcher, pulchr- ‘beautiful’

Question 5

Adumbrate

Answer 5

verb.
Foreshadow, suggest.
Or: overshadow

The strife in Bloody Kansas in the 1850s adumbrated the civil war that would follow.

late 16th century: from Latin adumbrat- ‘shaded’, from the verb adumbrare, from ad- ‘to’ (as an intensifier) + umbrare ‘cast a shadow’ (from umbra ‘shade’).

Question 6

Escutcheon

Answer 6

noun.
A shield, a protective or ornamental plate.
Or: ‘a mark on one’s escutcheon’ is a stain on your reputation.

Like a new Boy Scout, transported with enthusiasm, he would have stuck the cross on his escutcheon, on his coat, on his helm, on his saddle, and on the horse’s curb.

late 15th century: from Anglo-Norman French escuchon, based on Latin scutum ‘shield’

Question 7

Fervid

Answer 7

adj.
Intensely or excessively passionate.
Or: hot.

In stadium negotiations, fervid decades-long support for the Bills throughout Western New York strengthened the team’s hand.

late 16th century (in the sense ‘glowing, hot’): from Latin fervidus, from fervere ‘to boil’.

Question 8

Truculent

Answer 8

adj.
Eager to argue, aggressively defiant.

If talks collapse, many fear that France’s famously truculent fishermen could blockade ports to stop movements of British fish.

mid 16th century: from Latin truculentus, from trux, truc- ‘fierce’

Question 9

Desultory

Answer 9

adj.
Marked by a lack of a definite plan, regularity, or purpose.

The Ávila family moved out in 1869, and the place slipped into desultory habitation.

late 16th century (also in the literal sense ‘skipping about’): from Latin desultorius ‘superficial’ (literally ‘relating to a vaulter’), from desultor ‘vaulter’, from the verb desilire

Question 10

Parsimonious

Answer 10

adj.
Frugal to the point of stinginess

Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United have spent a lot, and therefore their prospects are brighter than the (comparatively parsimonious) Liverpool.

late Middle English: from Latin parsimonia, parcimonia, from parcere ‘be sparing’.

Question 11

Approbation

Answer 11

noun.
Approval or praise.

Aside from pay, benefits and the approbation of their fellow citizens, a universal correlate of job satisfaction is a belief that the people in charge are making good decisions.

late Middle English: via Old French from Latin approbatio(n- ), from the verb approbare

Question 12

Inchoate

Answer 12

adj.
Rudimentary, not fully formed or developed.

At the end of the song, Ye’s language becomes almost inchoate, like scat or the communication attempts of a child just learning to use their words.

mid 16th century: from Latin inchoatus, past participle of inchoare, variant of incohare ‘begin’

Question 13

Incipient

Answer 13

adj.
Beginning to happen or develop.

These unfortunate incidents could potentially throw India’s incipient EV revolution off track.

late 16th century (as a noun denoting a beginner): from Latin incipient- ‘undertaking, beginning’, from the verb incipere, from in- ‘into, towards’ + capere ‘take’.

Question 14

Irrefragable

Answer 14

adj.
Not able to be refuted or disproved, irrefutable.

The prosecutor painstakingly built an irrefragable case.

mid 16th century: from late Latin irrefragabilis, from in- ‘not’ + refragari ‘oppose’.

Question 15

Fecund

Answer 15

adj.
fruitful, productive, inventive

For as fecund as Peak TV has been during the past decade, the glut hasn’t exactly yielded boundless perfection.

late Middle English: from French fécond or Latin fecundus (fruitful)

Question 16

Paean

Answer 16

noun.
A work that praises or honors its subject.

Kelly’s book is sublime, a true paean to the power of good food and even better love.

late 16th century: via Latin from Greek paian ‘hymn of thanksgiving to Apollo’ (invoked by the name Paian, originally the Homeric name for the physician of the gods)

Question 17

Panegyric

Answer 17

noun.
Formal or elaborate praise, in written or spoken form.

And all of the above is unbeknownst to Grace, who, in her speech at the wedding feast, delivers a panegyric to her parents for their total fabulosity, and whose life is about to be upended.

early 17th century: from French panégyrique, via Latin from Greek panēgurikos ‘of public assembly’, from pan ‘all’ + aguris ‘agora, assembly’.

Question 18

Diffident

Answer 18

adj.
Hesitant, lacking self-confidence.

For someone who makes a living performing for other people, the actress is remarkably diffident in real life.

late Middle English (in the sense ‘lacking confidence or trust in someone or something’): from Latin diffident- ‘failing in trust’, from the verb diffidere, from dis- (expressing reversal) + fidere ‘to trust’.

Question 19

Mendacious

Answer 19

adj.
Lying, dishonest

Mildred had become great friends with her and had given her an elaborate but mendacious account of the circumstances which had brought her to the pass she was in.

early 17th century: from Latin mendax, mendac- ‘lying’ (related to mendum ‘fault’)

Question 20

Cromulent

Answer 20

adj.
Acceptable or adequate

‘Embiggen’, like ‘cromulent’ itself, is a perfectly cromulent word.

1996, the Simpsons.

Question 21

Inimical

Answer 21

adj.
Tending to obstruct or harm, hostile

Academic life is inimical to the Taliban’s ideology, Mashal says.

early 16th century: from late Latin inimicalis, from Latin inimicus, from in- ‘not’ + amicus ‘friend’

Question 22

Abstruse

Answer 22

adj.
Difficult to comprehend

The procedures are so abstruse that a parliamentarian must sit below the presiding officer and, essentially, tell him or her what to say.

late 16th century: from Latin abstrusus ‘put away, hidden’, from abstrudere ‘conceal’, from ab- ‘from’ + trudere ‘to push’

Question 23

Recondite

Answer 23

adj.
Difficult to comprehend, of/relating to/dealing with something little known or obscure.

By all accounts, Mr. Wilson was erudite about the recondite, a prolific author of some 60 books on topics ranging from angels to pirate utopias and all manner of renegade religions.

mid 17th century: from Latin reconditus ‘hidden, put away’, past participle of recondere, from re- ‘back’ + condere ‘put together, secrete’

Question 24

Laconic

Answer 24

adj.
Concise, possibly to the point of seeming rude or mysterious.

And Fez gets a visit from another drug dealer who insinuates that laconic Laurie might know about Mouse—the dealer Fez and Ashtray totally smoked.

mid 16th century (in the sense ‘Laconian’): via Latin from Greek Lakōnikos, from Lakōn ‘Laconia, Sparta’, the Spartans being known for their terse speech.

Question 25

Euphony

Answer 25

noun.
A pleasing sound, especially the effect produced by words formed and combined to be pleasant to the ear.

For all the euphony and alliteration of the phrase, winter white is more of a squirrel-meat gray.

late Middle English: from French euphonie, via late Latin from Greek euphōnia, from euphōnos ‘well sounding’ (based on phōnē ‘sound’)

Question 26

Soporific

Answer 26

adj, noun.
Tending to cause drowsiness, marked by sleepiness or lethargy. Also a drug which produces this effect.

His music has been described as bland and soporific – like an aural hit of Ambien.

mid 17th century: from Latin sopor ‘sleep’

Question 27

Deleterious

Answer 27

adj.
Harmful, especially in a subtle or unexpected way.

Most everyone now knows the action of pressing mouse keys is far more deleterious to the tender structures of the wrist and hand than typing is.

mid 17th century: via medieval Latin from Greek dēlētērios ‘noxious’

Question 28

Scurrilous

Answer 28

adj.
Using coarse language, vulgar or evil, containing abuse or slander.

Their neat, sometimes strict attire, and placid meins were a good foil for their often scurrilous motives.

late 16th century: from French scurrile or Latin scurrilus (from scurra ‘buffoon’)

Question 29

Obsequious

Answer 29

adj.
Exhibiting a fawning attentiveness, to an excessive or servile degree.

But the Democratic presidential nominee is commonly referred to as Elvis, and his running mate as Eddie Haskell, that obsequious weenie from ’50s TV.

late 15th century (not depreciatory in sense in early use): from Latin obsequiosus, from obsequium ‘compliance’, from obsequi ‘follow, comply with’

Question 30

Vagary

Answer 30

noun.
An unexpected and inexplicable change in a behavior or situation.

New York has long prided itself on being a sort of cultural and political city-state, able to hold its own against any vagaries emanating from the White House.

late 16th century (also as a verb in the sense ‘roam’): from Latin vagari ‘wander’

Question 31

Picayune

Answer 31

adj.
Petty, of little significance.

Vance’s investigation, which appears to be focussed largely on business practices that Trump engaged in before taking office, may seem picayune in comparison with the outrageous offenses to democratic norms that Trump committed as President.

early 19th Century: from French picaillon, denoting a copper coin, from Occitan picaioun (small coin), from Occitan pica (jingle, the sound the coins would make)

Question 32

Supercilious

Answer 32

adj.
Coolly and patronizingly haughty, behaving or looking as if one is superior to others.

The middle class may not have been as supercilious as the elites it replaced, but middle-class reformers were every bit as strident as those elites in condemning … working-class entertainments.

early 16th century: from Latin superciliosus ‘haughty’, from supercilium ‘eyebrow’

Question 33

Prolix

Answer 33

adj.
Unduly drawn out, marked by an excess of words.

It began, as such matters are wont to do in the “land of poets and thinkers,” with a prolix treatise by a philosopher.

late Middle English: from Old French prolixe or Latin prolixus ‘poured forth, extended’, from pro- ‘outward’ + liquere ‘be liquid’

Question 34

Intransigent

Answer 34

adj.
Characterized by refusal to compromise or abandon a position, especially an extreme one.

China is different now—more self-confident, more intransigent, and probably more militarily competent as well.

late 19th century: from French intransigeant, from Spanish los intransigentes (a name adopted by the extreme republicans in the Cortes, 1873–4); based on Latin in- ‘not’ + transigere ‘come to an understanding’.

Question 35

Extirpate

Answer 35

verb.
Destroy completely, pull up by the root.

In Indonesia, the V.O.C. eventually followed up the massacre of a people with an effort to extirpate a botanical species.

late Middle English (as extirpation ): from Latin exstirpare, from ex- ‘out’ + stirps ‘a stem’

Question 36

Punctilious

Answer 36

adj.
Showing great attention to detail and correct behavior

Ironically, the Daily Punctilio was anything but punctilious.

mid 17th century: from French pointilleux, from pointille, from Italian puntiglio and Spanish puntillo, diminutive of punto ‘a point’

Question 37

Waggish

Answer 37

adj.
Humorous in a playful, mischievous or facetious manner.

Carney’s attitude is waggish but jovial, never crossing into anger.

mid 16th century (denoting a young man or mischievous boy, also used as a term of endearment to an infant): probably from obsolete waghalter ‘person likely to be hanged’

Question 38

Precipitate

Answer 38

verb, adj.
To throw violently
Done, made or acting suddenly or without careful consideration.

Almost at once I began to remember why drive-ins went into such a precipitate decline. To begin with, it is not remotely comfortable to sit in a car to watch a movie.

early 16th century: from Latin praecipitat- ‘thrown headlong’, from the verb praecipitare, from praeceps, praecip(it)- ‘headlong’, from prae ‘before’ + caput ‘head’. The original sense of the verb was ‘hurl down, send violently’; hence ‘cause to move rapidly’

Question 39

Mainstay

Answer 39

noun.
Chief support, something/someone on which another relies.

While Eddie’s death was sad, thankfully none of the mainstay players were killed off in ST4.

Originally a nautical term meaning the rope that stabilizes two masts on a sailboat, used in current sence since 1780s

Question 40

Munificent

Answer 40

adj.
Characterized by great liberality or generosity.

La Nueva España, a casual lunch counter off Broadway, is one of Inwood’s many Dominican restaurants with hearty food and munificent portions.

late 16th century: from Latin munificent- (stem of munificentior, comparative of munificus ‘bountiful’), from munus ‘gift’.

Question 41

Bilious

Answer 41

adj.
Associated with nausea, sickly yellow, peevish and ill-natured.

It’s a common refrain these days: enter the bilious environs of social media at your peril.

mid 16th century (in the sense ‘biliary’): from Latin biliosus, from bilis ‘bile’

Question 42

Dudgeon

Answer 42

noun.
Indignation, deep resentment

Last year, Cruz was in high dudgeon because – horrors! – Big Bird received a coronavirus vaccine on Sesame Street

~unknown origin~

Question 43

Querulous

Answer 43

adj.
Habitually complaining, whiny

Then a querulous voice piped up behind me. ‘Excuse me! You just pushed past me and my bike.’

late 15th century: from late Latin querulosus, from Latin querulus, from queri ‘complain’.

Question 44

Waspish

Answer 44

adj.
Readily expressing anger or irritation.

The waspish Queen – played by Rebecca Trehearn, whose deliciously withering grandeur would give Marie Antoinette pause — is not, to put it mildly, pleased.

…like a wasp

Question 45

Proselyte

Answer 45

noun, verb
(One who did) convert

Christian Angermayer is an unlikely proselyte of psychedelia: The German financier didn’t drink so much as a sip of beer for the first three decades of his life.

late Middle English: via late Latin from Greek prosēluthos ‘stranger, convert’, from prosēluth-, past stem of proserkhesthai ‘approach’.

Question 46

Callow

Answer 46

adj.
Inexperienced, immature.

There’s little overt menace to this Paul, who mostly registers as a sincere, sensitive, if callow hero-in-the-making.

Old English calu ‘bald’, of West Germanic origin, probably from Latin calvus ‘bald’. This was extended to mean ‘unfledged’, which led to the present sense ‘immature’.

Question 47

Acidulous

Answer 47

adj.
Harsh in taste or manner

Sharp observations like these show us glimpses of the acidulous social satirist of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

mid 18th century: from Latin acidulus (from acidus ‘sour’) + -ous.

Question 48

Asperity

Answer 48

noun.
Roughness, severity.

Imagine Don Draper’s grasp of American psychopathology delivered with the pithy asperity of Emily Dickinson.

Middle English (in the sense ‘hardship, rigour’): from Old French asperite, or Latin asperitas, from asper ‘rough’.

Question 49

Mordacious/Mordant

Answer 49

adj.
(Especially of a sense of humor) sharp, biting

But Stewart’s take on Diana gives this film a wicked sense of humor too, emphasizing how her mordant sarcasm clashed just as uncomfortably with the royal family as her independent streak did.

late 15th century: from French, present participle of mordre ‘to bite’, from Latin mordere .

Question 50

Trenchant

Answer 50

adj.
Vigorous, incisive, sharp

They Live cuts its trenchant social critique with action-movie silliness — case in point: an infamous, hilarious fight sequence that goes on for six minutes for no particular reason — and highly quotable dialogue.

Middle English: from Old French, literally ‘cutting’, present participle of trenchier