Lesson 4

Question 1

Intimidate (vt.)

Answer 1

Syn: to overawe; to make afraid

• Y2K concerns of the problems with computer failed to intimidate our company.

Question 2

Feint (n.) (vi.)

Answer 2

Syn: a false attack

• The Germans were duped by the allies feint toward the south, leaving the way open for the Normandy invasion.

Question 3

Alacrity (n.)

Answer 3

Syn: briskness, lively action

• The waiter moved with alacrity because he perceived they were big tippers.

Question 4

Belligerent (adj.) (n)

Answer 4

Syn: warlike; aggressive

• His belligerent manner caused him to lose one friend after another.

Question 5

Disdain (vt.) (n)

Answer 5

Syn: belittle

• When the curtain came down the critic’s face registered the disdain she felt for the lackluster play.

Question 6

To throw down the gauntlet (idiom)

Answer 6

To challenge someone

• The principle of rival school throw down the gauntlet, and we had no choice but to accept the challenge.

Question 7

Promulgate (vt.)

Answer 7

Syn: to make known officially; make public; proclaim

• We implored the faculty advisor to promulgate the requirements for the presidency of the club.

Question 8

Brash (adj.)

Answer 8

Syn: impudent

• My mother liked salesman’s brash personality, but he irritated most people.

Question 9

Scoff (n.) (vi.)

Answer 9

Syn: to sneer at

• I don’t understand modern art, but I neither loathe nor scoff at it.

Question 10

Pugnacious (adj.)

Answer 10

Syn: quarrelsome

• Since everyone can out punch my cousin he can not afford to be pugnacious.

Question 11

Belittle (vt.)

Answer 11

Syn: to make seen less important

• Although Ralph can’t play, he doesn’t hesitate to belittle the efforts of our football team.

Question 12

Feeling no pain (idiom)

Answer 12

Drunk

• After his first drink he was feeling no pain.

Question 13

Laceration (n.)

Answer 13

Syn: jagged wound

• The medic reached into his kit to find bandage for the ugly laceration.

Question 14

Tangible (adj.)

Answer 14

Syn: actual, real, touchable

• Mr. Dixon belittled our request for tangible proof of his loyalty.

Question 15

Castigate (vt.)

Answer 15

Syn: correct; punish

• The kindly foreman was too reticent to openly castigate the clumsy new worker.

Question 16

Octogenarian (adj.) (n.)

Answer 16

Syn: person in his or her eighties

• When the teenager announced her engagement to the octogenarian, the public suspected it to be publicity stunt.

Question 17

Sordid (adj.)

Answer 17

Syn: dirty; unclean; ignoble

• stories of the sordid youth poured forth from the unhappy felons.

Question 18

Hobson’s choice (idiom)

Answer 18

To have no choice at all

• My father usually gives the rest of us Hobson’s choice.

Question 19

scurrilous (adj.)

Answer 19

Syn: coarse; offensive

• Vigilante censors protect the public from listening to scurrilous language on television.

Question 20

Aspirant (n.) (adj.)

Answer 20

Syn: candidate for high position, hopeful

• The publisher scoffed at the reports that he was an aspiring for the job of Secretary of State.

Question 21

Frenzy (n.)

Answer 21

Syn: wild fit

• In a frenzy, the teenager overturned every drawer while searching for the car keys.

Question 22

Dregs (n.)

Answer 22

Syn: trash; waste; most worthless part

• At the bottom of beautiful wine bottles, only the dregs remained.

Question 23

Solace (n.) (vt.)

Answer 23

Syn: condolence

• In trying to offer solace to the pilot’s wife, the reporter inadvertently made the situation worse.

Question 24

To rule the roost (idiom)

Answer 24

Be the boss; lay down the laws

• he rules the roost at home.