Man's Search For Meaning

Question 1

uncanny

Answer 1

strange or mysterious, especially in an unsettling way

• an uncanny feeling that she was being watched.

Question 2

commiseration

Answer 2

sympathy and sorrow for the misfortunes of others; compassion

• the other actors offered him clumsy commiseration.

Question 3

perdition

Answer 3

1. (in Christian theology) a state of eternal punishment and damnation into which a sinful and unrepentant person passes after death.
2. complete and utter ruin
   • she used her last banknote to buy herself a square meal before perdition.

Question 4

desolate

Answer 4

adjective — desolate /ˈdɛs(ə)lət /

1. (of a place) uninhabited and giving an impression of bleak emptiness
   • a desolate Pennine moor.
2. feeling or showing great unhappiness or loneliness
   • I suddenly felt desolate and bereft.

Question 5

immense

Answer 5

adjective

extremely large or great, especially in scale or degree
• the cost of restoration has been immense
• a factor of immense importance.

Question 6

grotesque

Answer 6

adjective

1. comically or repulsively ugly or distorted
   • a figure wearing a grotesque mask.
2. incongruous or inappropriate to a shocking degree
   • a lifestyle of grotesque luxury.

Question 7

reprieve

Answer 7

verb — [with obj.]

1. cancel or postpone the punishment of (someone, especially someone condemned to death)
   • under the new regime, prisoners under sentence of death were reprieved.
2. abandon or postpone plans to close or abolish (something)
   • the threatened pits could be reprieved.

Question 8

oblivion

Answer 8

noun — [ mass noun]

1. the state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening around one
   • they drank themselves into oblivion.
2. the state of being forgotten, especially by the public
   • his name will fade into oblivion.
3. destruction or extinction
   • only our armed forces stood between us and oblivion.

Question 9

suppurate

Answer 9

verb — [no obj.]

1. undergo the formation of pus; fester.

Question 10

emaciated

Answer 10

adjective

abnormally thin or weak, especially because of illness or a lack of food
• she was so emaciated she could hardly stand.

Question 11

apathy

Answer 11

noun — [ mass noun]

1. lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern
   • widespread apathy among students.

Question 12

hasten

Answer 12

verb — [no obj., with infinitive]

1. be quick to do something
   • he hastened to refute the assertion.
2. [with adverbial of direction] — move or travel hurriedly
   • we hastened back to Paris.
3. [with obj.] — cause (something, especially something undesirable) to happen sooner than it otherwise would
   • this tragedy probably hastened his own death from heart disease.

Question 13

delirious

Answer 13

adjective

1. in an acutely disturbed state of mind characterized by restlessness, illusions, and incoherence; affected by delirium.
   • he became delirious and couldn’t recognize people.
2. in a state of wild excitement or ecstasy
   • there was a great roar from the delirious crowd.

Question 14

moribund

Answer 14

adjective

1. (of a person) at the point of death.
   • on examination she was moribund and dehydrated.
2. (of a thing) in terminal decline; lacking vitality or vigour
   • the moribund commercial property market.

Question 15

trivial

Answer 15

1. of little value or importance
   • huge fines were imposed for trivial offences
   • trivial details.
2. (of a person) concerned only with petty things.

Question 16

incorrigible

Answer 16

adjective (of a person or their behaviour)

not able to be changed or reformed
• she’s an incorrigible flirt.

Question 17

irrepressible

Answer 17

adjective

not able to be controlled or restrained
• an irrepressible rogue
• a great shout of irrepressible laughter.

Question 18

aversion

Answer 18

noun

1. a strong dislike or disinclination
   • they made plain their aversion to the use of force.
2. someone or something that arouses a strong dislike or disinclination.
   • my dog’s pet aversion is visitors, particularly males.

Question 19

desolation

Answer 19

noun — [ mass noun]

1. a state of complete emptiness or destruction
   • the stony desolation of the desert.
2. great unhappiness or loneliness
   • in choked desolation, she watched him leave.

Question 20

trifling

Answer 20

adjective unimportant or trivial

• a trifling sum.

Question 21

transcend

Answer 21

verb — [with obj.]

1. be or go beyond the range or limits of (a field of activity or conceptual sphere)
   • this was an issue transcending party politics.
2. surpass (a person or achievement).
   • he doubts that he will ever transcend Shakespeare.

Question 22

conspicuous

Answer 22

adjective

1. clearly visible
   • he was very thin, with a conspicuous Adam’s apple.
2. attracting notice or attention
   • he showed conspicuous bravery.

Question 23

sublimate

Answer 23

verb

1. [with obj.] — (in psychoanalytic theory) divert or modify (an instinctual impulse) into a culturally higher or socially more acceptable activity
   • people who sublimate sexuality into activities which help to build up and preserve civilization.
2. transform (something) into a purer or idealized form
   • attractive rhythms are sublimated into a much larger context.

Question 24

void

Answer 24

Adjective

1. not valid or legally binding
   • the contract was void.
2. (of speech or action) ineffectual; useless
   • all the stratagems you’ve worked out are rendered void.
3. completely empty
   • void spaces surround the tanks.
4. ( void of) — free from; lacking
   • what were once the masterpieces of literature are now void of meaning.

Question 25

predicament

Answer 25

noun 1. a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation • the club's financial predicament.

Question 26

contend

Answer 26

verb 1. [no obj.] ( contend with/against) — struggle to surmount (a difficulty) • she had to contend with his uncertain temper. 2. ( contend for) — compete with others in a struggle to achieve (something) • factions within the government were contending for the succession to the presidency.

Question 27

conceivable

Answer 27

adjective capable of being imagined or grasped mentally • a mass uprising was entirely conceivable • in every conceivable way that action was entirely wrong • the body was photographed from every conceivable angle.

Question 28

content

Answer 28

adjective 1. in a state of peaceful happiness • he seemed more content, less bitter. 2. willing to accept something; satisfied • he had to be content with third place

Question 29

transitory

Answer 29

adjective not permanent • transitory periods of medieval greatness.

Question 30

panacea

Answer 30

noun a solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases • the panacea for all corporate ills

Question 31

consolation

Answer 31

noun — [ mass noun] 1. the comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment • there was consolation in knowing that others were worse off. 2. [ count noun] — a person or thing providing consolation • the Church was the main consolation in a short and hard life.

Question 32

tantamount

Answer 32

adjective — ( tantamount to) 1. equivalent in seriousness to; virtually the same as • the resignations were tantamount to an admission of guilt.

Question 33

abhor

Answer 33

verb — [with obj.] 1. regard with disgust and hatred • he abhorred sexism in every form.

Question 34

cognizant

Answer 34

adjective ‹formal› having knowledge or awareness • statesmen must be cognizant of the political boundaries within which they work.

Question 35

promulgate

Answer 35

verb — [with obj.] 1. promote or make widely known (an idea or cause) • these objectives have to be promulgated within the organization. 2. put (a law or decree) into effect by official proclamation • in January 1852 the new Constitution was promulgated.

Question 36

complacency

Answer 36

noun — [ mass noun] 1. a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements • the figures are better, but there are no grounds for complacency.

Question 37

smug

Answer 37

adjective having or showing an excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements • he was feeling smug after his win.

Question 38

steadfast

Answer 38

adjective resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering • steadfast loyalty.

Question 39

upheaval

Answer 39

noun 1. a violent or sudden change or disruption to something • major upheavals in the financial markets • [ mass noun] times of political upheaval. 2. an upward displacement of part of the earth's crust. • the first upheaval produced a hill which was called Roof Mountain.