Last Basic/Common

Question 1

calumny

Answer 1

calumny
noun: making of a false statement meant to injure a person’s reputation

With the presidential primaries well under way, the air is thick with calumny, and the mud already waist-high.

Question 2

impertinent

Answer 2

impertinent
adjective: being disrespectful; improperly forward or bold

Dexter, distraught over losing his pet dachshund, Madeline, found the police officer’s questions impertinent—after all, he thought, did she have to pry into such details as to what Madeline’s favorite snack was?

Question 3

commensurate

Answer 3

commensurate
adjective: to be in proportion or corresponding in degree or amount

The convicted felon’s life sentence was commensurate with the heinousness of his crime.

Question 4

censure

Answer 4

censure
verb: to express strong disapproval

After being caught in bed with a mistress, the mayor was quickly censured by the city council.

Question 5

inexorable

Answer 5

inexorable
adjective: impossible to stop or prevent

The rise of the computer was an inexorable shift in technology and culture.

Question 6

tenacious

Answer 6

tenacious
adjective: stubbornly unyielding

Even the most tenacious advocates for gun ownership must admit some of the dangers that firearms present.

Question 7

ascetic

Answer 7

ascetic
characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.

Question 8

denigrate

Answer 8

denigrate
verb: charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

Count Rumford denigrated the new theory of heat, demonstrating that it was wholly inadequate to explain the observations.

Question 9

temperance

Answer 9

temperance
noun: the trait of avoiding excesses

Welles wasn’t known for his temperance–he usually ate enough for two and drank enough for three.

Question 10

inveterate

Answer 10

inveterate
adjective: habitual

He is an inveterate smoker and has told his family and friends that there is no way he will ever quit.

Question 11

antithetical

Answer 11

antithetical
adjective: sharply contrasted in character or purpose

His deep emotional involvement with these ideas is, in fact, antithetical to the detachment Buddhism preaches.

Question 12

tractable

Answer 12

tractable
adjective: readily reacting to suggestions and influences; easily managed (controlled or taught or molded)

Compared to middle school students, who have an untamed wildness about them, high school students are somewhat more tractable.

Question 13

subversive

Answer 13

subversive
adjective: in opposition to an established system or institution.

The ruling political party has begun a campaign to shut down subversive websites that it deems as a threat to “national safety.”

Question 14

prodigious

Answer 14

prodigious
adjective: so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe

After the relatively small homerun totals in the “dead ball” era, Babe Ruth’s homerun totals were truly prodigious: every year, he set a new all-time record.

Question 15

pernicious

Answer 15

pernicious
adjective: exceedingly harmful; working or spreading in a hidden and injurious way

The most successful viruses are pernicious: an infected person may feel perfectly healthy for several months while incubating and spreading the virus.

Question 16

repudiate

Answer 16

repudiate
verb: reject as untrue or unfounded

Many in the public believed the rumors of a UFO crash outside town, so the chief of police did everything he could to repudiate the rumors.

Question 17

impurent

Answer 17

imprudent
adjective: not wise

Hitler, like Napoleon, made the imprudent move of invading Russia in winter, suffering even more casualties than Napoleon had.

Question 18

lassitude

Answer 18

lassitude
noun: extreme tiredness, either mental or physical

Upon finishing a 6-hour standardized exam, Dahlia emerged from the testing center overcome by lassitude.

Question 19

ascendancy

Answer 19

ascendancy
noun: the state that exists when one person or group has power over another

The ascendancy of the Carlsbad water polo team is clear—they have a decade of championships behind them.

Question 20

consummate

Answer 20

consummate
adjective: having or revealing supreme mastery or skill

Tyler was the consummate musician: he was able to play the guitar, harmonica, and the drum at the same time.

verb: to make perfect and complete in every respect

The restoration of the ancient church was only consummated after a twenty years of labor.

Question 21

genial

Answer 21

genial
adjective: agreeable, conducive to comfort

Betty is a genial young woman: everyone she meets is put at ease by her elegance and grace.

Question 22

hamstrug

Answer 22

hamstrung
verb: made ineffective or powerless

The FBI has made so many restrictions on the local police that they are absolutely hamstrung, unable to accomplish anything.

Question 23

assuage

Answer 23

assuage
verb: make something intense less severe

Her fear that the new college would be filled with unknown faces was assuaged when she recognized her childhood friend standing in line.

Question 24

obstinate

Answer 24

obstinate
adjective: resistant to guidance or discipline; stubbornly persistent

The coach suggested improvements Sarah might make on the balance beam, but she remained obstinate, unwilling to modify any of the habits that made her successful in the past.

Question 25

destitute

Answer 25

destitute
adjective: poor enough to need help from others

Jean Valjean, is at first destitute, but through the grace of a priest, he makes something of his life.

adjective: completely wanting or lacking (usually “destitute of”)

Now that the mine is closed, the town is destitute of any economic activity.

Question 26

travail

Answer 26

travail
noun: use of physical or mental energy; hard work; agony or anguish

While they experienced nothing but travails in refinishing the kitchen, they completed the master bedroom in less than a weekend.

Question 27

incumbent

Answer 27

incumbent
adjective: necessary (for someone) as a duty or responsibility

Middle managers at times make important decisions, but real responsibility for the financial well-being of the corporation is ultimately incumbent on the CEO.

Question 28

provisional

Answer 28

provisional
adjective: under terms not final or fully worked out or agreed upon

Until the corporate office hands down a definitive decision on use of the extra offices, we will share their use in a provisional arrangement.