Magoosh common words - V

Question 1

inveterate

Answer 1

adjective: habitual

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

Question 2

trite

Answer 2

adjective: repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

Many style guides recommend not using idioms in writing because these trite expressions are uninteresting and show a lack of imagination on the part of the writer.

Question 3

reverent

Answer 3

adjective: feeling or showing profound respect or veneration

The professor could speak objectively about the other composers, but he always lectured about Brahms with a particularly reverent air, unable to offer a single criticism of his compositions.

Question 4

accolade

Answer 4

noun: an award or praise granted as a special honor

Jean Paul-Sartre was not a fan of accolades, and as such, he refused to accept the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964.

Question 5

inimical

Answer 5

adjective: hostile (usually describes conditions or environments)

Venus, with a surface temperature that would turn rubber to liquid, is inimical to any form of life.

Question 6

propitious

Answer 6

adjective: presenting favorable circumstances; likely to result in or show signs of success

The child’s heartbeat is still weak, but I am seeing many propitious signs and I think that she may be healing.

Question 7

rescind

Answer 7

verb: cancel officially

The man’s driver’s license was rescinded after his tenth car accident, which meant he would never be allowed to legally drive again.

Question 8

pernicious

Answer 8

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 9

brazen

Answer 9

adjective: If you describe a person or their behavior as brazen, you mean that they are very bold and do not care what other people think about them or their behavior.

Their large “donations” to the local police department gave the drug cartel the brazen confidence to do their business out in the open.

Question 10

audacity

Answer 10

noun: aggressive boldness in social situations

Mike was upset at the man who not only cut in front of him at the ticket counter but also had the audacity to cut in front of him at the bathroom line.

Question 11

myriad

Answer 11

noun: a large indefinite number

There are a myriad of internet sites hawking pills that claim to boost energy for hours on end.

Question 12

obsequious

Answer 12

adjective: too eager to praise or obey someone:

The obsequious waiter did not give the couple a moment’s peace all through the meal, constantly returning to their table to refill their water glasses and to tell them what a handsome pair they made.

Question 13

ravenous

Answer 13

adjective: extremely hungry; devouring or craving food in great quantities

John didn’t eat much at all during the week he had the flu, so now that he is regaining his health, it’s not surprising that he has a ravenous appetite.

Question 14

arcane

Answer 14

adjective: Something that is arcane is secret or mysterious.
Most college fraternities are known for arcane rituals that those hoping to join the fraternity must learn.

Question 15

tempered

Answer 15

adjective: moderated in effect

• The wide-eyed optimism of her youth was now tempered after she had worked many years in the criminal justice system.
• Her ambitions are tempered by the scale of the task.

Question 16

haphazard

Answer 16

adjective: not having an obvious order or plan:

Many golf courses are designed with great care, but the greens on the county golf course seem entirely haphazard.

Question 17

austere

Answer 17

adjective: practicing self-denial

His lifestyle of revelry and luxurious excess could hardly be called austere.

adjective: unadorned in style or appearance

Late Soviet architecture, although remaining largely austere, moved into experimental territory that employed previously unused shapes and structures.

adjective: harsh in manner of temperament

The principal of my elementary school was a cold, austere woman; I could never understand why she chose to work with children.

Question 18

resurgent

Answer 18

adjective: rising again as to new life and vigor

The team sank to fourth place in June, but is now resurgent and about to win the division.

Question 19

scrupulous

Answer 19

adjective: characterized by extreme care and great effort

Because of his scrupulous nature, Mary put him in charge of numbering and cataloging the entire collection of rare stamps.

adjective: having a sense of right and wrong; principled

Everyone trusted what he said and followed his example because he was scrupulous and honest.

Question 20

arbitrary

Answer 20

adjective: based on a random, groundless decision

One of the arbitrary decrees in place during the emperor’s rule is that all citizens pay him weekly homage at his palace.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 21

tractable

Answer 21

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 22

hegemony

Answer 22

noun: dominance over a certain area

Until the Spanish Armada was defeated in 1587, Spain had hegemony over the seas, controlling waters stretching as far as the Americas.

Question 23

antithetical

Answer 23

adjective: sharply contrasted in character or purpose

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

Question 24

pedestrian

Answer 24

adjective: lacking imagination

While Nan was always engaged in philosophical speculation, her brother was occupied with far more pedestrian concerns: how to earn a salary and run a household.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 25

sycophant

Answer 25

noun: a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage

The CEO was unaware of the damaging consequences of his choices, largely because he surrounded himself with sycophants who would never dare criticize him.

Question 26

winsome

Answer 26

adjective: charming in a childlike or naive way

She was winsome by nature, and many people were drawn to this free and playful spirit.

Question 27

poignant

Answer 27

adjective: emotionally touching

• The photograph awakens poignant memories of happier days.
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before the wedding.

Question 28

intrepid

Answer 28

adjective: fearless

Captain Ahab was an intrepid captain whose reckless and fearless style ultimately led to his downfall.

Question 29

irrevocable

Answer 29

adjective: incapable of being retracted or revoked

Once you enter your plea to the court, it is irrevocable so think carefully about what you will say.

Question 30

prolific

Answer 30

adjective: intellectually productive

Schubert was the most prolific composer, producing hundreds of hours of music before he died at the age of 31.

Question 31

sycophant

Answer 31

noun: a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage

The CEO was unaware of the damaging consequences of his choices, largely because he surrounded himself with sycophants who would never dare criticize him.

Question 32

taciturn

Answer 32

adjective: habitually reserved and uncommunicative

While the CEO enthusiastically shares his plans and agenda with all who will listen, the CFO is far more taciturn, rarely revealing his perspective.

Question 33

sporadic

Answer 33

adjective: recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances

The signals were at first sporadic, but now we detect a clear, consistent pattern of electromagnetic radiation emanating from deep space.

Question 34

pedestrian

Answer 34

adjective: lacking imagination

While Nan was always engaged in philosophical speculation, her brother was occupied with far more pedestrian concerns: how to earn a salary and run a household.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 35

repudiate

Answer 35

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 36

admonish

Answer 36

verb: to warn strongly, even to the point of reprimanding

Before the concert began, security personnel admonished the crowd not to come up on stage during the performance.

Question 37

constituent

Answer 37

noun: a voter (= person who can vote) in a particular area of the country:

The mayor’s constituents are no longer happy with her performance and plan to vote for another candidate in the upcoming election.

noun: an abstract part of something

The constituents of the metal alloy are nickel, copper, and tin.

Question 38

garrulous

Answer 38

adjective: full of trivial conversation

Lynne was garrulous: once, she had a fifteen minute conversation with a stranger before she realized the woman didn’t speak English.

Question 39

subversive

Answer 39

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 40

prodigious

Answer 40

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

• She wrote a truly prodigious number of novels.
• 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 41

inscrutable

Answer 41

adjective: If a person or their expression is inscrutable, it is very hard to know what they are really thinking or what they mean.

His speech was so dense and confusing that many in the audience found it inscrutable.

Question 42

foment

Answer 42

verb: If someone or something foments trouble or violent opposition, they cause it to develop.

After having his pay cut, Phil spread vicious rumors about his boss, hoping to foment a general feeling of discontent.

Question 43

dilettante

Answer 43

noun: a person who is or seems to be interested in a subject, but whose understanding of it is not very deep or serious:

• He’s a bit of a dilettante as far as wine is concerned.
• Fred has no formal medical training; while he likes to claim authority on medical issues, he is little more than a dilettante.

Question 44

vacillate

Answer 44

verb: to be uncertain what to do, or to change often between two opinions:

Some students vacillate between schools when deciding which to attend, while others focus only on one school.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 45

munificent

Answer 45

adjective: very generous with money:

Uncle Charley was known for his munificence, giving all seven of his nephews lavish Christmas presents each year.

Question 46

insolent

Answer 46

adjective: rude and arrogant

Lilian could not help herself from being insolent, commenting that the Queen’s shoes were showing too much toe.

Question 47

circumscribe

Answer 47

verb: restrict or confine

Their tour of South America was circumscribed so that they saw only popular destinations and avoided the dangerous parts of cities.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 48

sanction

Answer 48

verb: give authority or permission to

The authorities have sanctioned the use of the wilderness reserve for public use; many expect to see hikers and campers enjoying the park in the coming months.

noun: a legal penalty for a forbidden action

International sanctions have been placed on certain shipping lanes that were thought to be involved in human trafficking.

Question 48

lionize

Answer 48

verb: assign great social importance to

Students in the U.S. learn to lionize Jefferson, Franklin, and Washington because they are the founding fathers of the nation.

Question 49

ostracize

Answer 49

verb: exclude from a community or group

Later in his life, Leo Tolstoy was ostracized from the Russian Orthodox Church for his writings that contradicted church doctrine.