May 7th

Question 1

Solipsistic

Answer 1

The theory that only the self exists or can be proved to exist.

Solipsism is the philosophical theory that what’s in your mind is the only reality that can be known and verified.

Question 2

Obsequious

Answer 2

Obedient or attentive to a servile degree

Question 3

Prodigal

Answer 3

Recklessly spendthrift

Question 4

Efficacy

Answer 4

the power to produce an effect

Question 5

Gainsay

Answer 5

To deny or dispute

Gainsay, a verb, means “contradict” or “speak out against.” When you challenge authority, you gainsay, as in teachers don’t like it when unruly students gainsay them.

Question 6

Precipitate

Answer 6

To bring about hastily or suddenly

Precipitate usually means “bringing something on” or “making it happen” — and not always in a good way. An unpopular verdict might “precipitate violence” or one false step at the Grand Canyon could precipitate you down into the gorge.

Question 7

Exculpate

Answer 7

To clear from charge of guilt

To exculpate means to find someone not guilty of criminal charges. If you’ve been wrongly accused of robbery, you’d better hope a judge will exculpate you, unless you want to go to jail because you’ve heard prison food is amazing.

Question 8

Capricious

Answer 8

Impulsive, Unpredictable

Capricious is an adjective to describe a person or thing that’s impulsive and unpredictable, like a bride who suddenly leaves her groom standing at the wedding altar.

Question 9

Facetious

Answer 9

Waggish. Joking or jesting often inappropriately.

Question 10

Ameliorate

Answer 10

To make better or more tolerable. Medicine to ameliorate the pain.

Question 11

Denigrate

Answer 11

Defame. To attack the reputation of. Belittle

To denigrate is to say bad things — true or false — about a person or thing. Your reputation as a math whiz might be hurt if your jealous classmate manages to denigrate you, even though the accusations are unfounded.

Question 12

Intransigent

Answer 12

Uncompromising

Intransigent means inflexible, stubborn, entrenched. Argue all you like with an intransigent three-year-old. He will never back down from the position that he wants the lollipop NOW.

Question 13

Stolid

Answer 13

Unemotional

A stolid person can’t be moved to smile or show much sign of life, in much the same way as something solid, like a giant boulder, is immovable. Both are expressionless.

Question 14

Hackneyed

Answer 14

Lacking in freshness or originality

Question 15

Craven

Dastardly

Pusillanimous

Answer 15

Cowardly

Craven and its synonyms “dastardly” and “pusillanimous” are all basically fancy words for “cowardly.” Don’t be afraid to use them - here’s a little information to help you recognize the subtle distinctions in their connotations. “Craven” suggests extreme defeatism and complete lack of resistance. One might speak of “craven yes-men.” “Dastardly” often implies behavior that is both cowardly and treacherous or skulking or outrageous, as in this example: “a dastardly attack on unarmed civilians.” “Pusillanimous” suggests a contemptible lack of courage (e.g., “After the attack, one editorialist characterized the witnesses as ‘the pusillanimous bystanders’”).

Question 16

Sedulous

Answer 16

Hardworking. Diligent

Question 17

Perfidy

Answer 17

Disloyal

If you shared your most embarrassing secrets with a friend who then told them to everyone he knows, his betrayal could be described as perfidy.

Question 18

Alacrity

Answer 18

promptness in response. Cheerful readiness

Someone with alacrity shows cheerful willingness and eager behavior, like a kid whose mother has told him he can buy anything in a candy store.

Question 19

Dissemble

Answer 19

To hide your true feelings or opinions.

To dissemble is to hide under a false appearance, to deceive. “When confronted about their human rights record, the Chinese government typically dissembles.”

Question 20

Demur

Answer 20

Raise objection or show reluctance.

Question 21

Propitiate

Answer 21

Appease.
“the pagans thought it was important to propitiate the gods with sacrifices”

If you forgot flowers on your Mom’s birthday, you can still propitiate her by sending a bouquet the next day. Propitiate means to appease someone or make them happy by doing a particular thing. Handy strategy for lovers, too.

Question 22

Calumny

Answer 22

Slander

Use the noun calumny to characterize verbal attacks that are meant to destroy reputations or friendships. You’ve probably seen political ads during election time that rely on calumny to move voters.

Question 23

Didactic

Answer 23

intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.
“a didactic novel that set out to expose social injustice”

Question 24

Profligate

Answer 24

recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources.

Question 25

Salubrious

Answer 25

health-giving; healthy.

Question 26

Abjure

Answer 26

solemnly renounce (a belief, cause, or claim).

Abjure means to swear off, and it applies to something you once believed. You can abjure a religious faith, you can abjure your love of another person, and you can abjure the practice of using excessive force in interrogation.

Question 27

Repudiate

Answer 27

Reject

To repudiate something is to reject it, or to refuse to accept or support it. If you grow up religious, but repudiate all organized religion as an adult, you might start spending holidays at the movies, or just going to work.

Question 28

Prevaricate

Answer 28

Speak or act in an evasive way

When you prevaricate, you lie or mislead. Now, go ahead and tell me whether you already knew that meaning, and don’t prevaricate about it — give me the story straight!

Question 29

Bucolic

Answer 29

relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life.

Question 30

Gauche

Answer 30

unsophisticated and socially awkward.

Question 31

Obdurate

Answer 31

stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action.

Obdurate is a formal word meaning stubborn. If you want to major in English, but your parents are obdurate that you should go pre-med, they might go so far as to threaten not to pay your tuition.

This adjective descends from Latin obdurare “to harden.” A near synonym is adamant, from Latin adamas “hard metal, diamond.” So both of these synonyms derive from the quality of hardness being associated with a stubborn personality.

Question 32

Hyperbole

Answer 32

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Question 33

Paucity

Answer 33

the presence of something in only small or insufficient quantities or amounts.

Question 34

Disinterested

Answer 34

not influenced by considerations of personal advantage.

Question 35

Equivocate

Answer 35

use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself.

Question 36

Taciturn

Answer 36

(of a person) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little.

Question 37

Perfidious

Answer 37

deceitful and untrustworthy.

Question 38

Phlegmatic

Answer 38

(of a person) having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition.

Yes, phlegmatic has roots in that colorless, mucousy stuff called phlegm, but people who are phlegmatic aren’t called that because they have lots of mucus. They are just a little dull in expressing feelings or showing emotion.

Question 39

Untenable

Answer 39

(especially of a position or view) not able to be maintained or defended against attack or objection.
“this budget is clearly untenable”

If something is untenable, you can’t defend it or justify it. If your disagreement with your teacher puts you in an untenable position, you better just admit you made a mistake and get on with it.

Question 40

Egregious

Answer 40

outstandingly bad; shocking.

“egregious abuses of copyright”

Question 41

Deleterious

Answer 41

causing harm or damage.

If something is deleterious, it does harm or makes things worse. Smoking has obvious deleterious effects on your health, not to mention your social life.

Question 42

Dilatory

Answer 42

slow to act.

Something dilatory creates a delay. If you are a high school student, once in a while you might have used dilatory tactics if you forgot to do your homework.

Question 43

Incongruous

Answer 43

not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something.
“the duffel coat looked incongruous with the black dress she wore underneath”

Question 44

Languid

Answer 44

of a person, manner, or gesture) having or showing a disinclination for physical exertion or effort.
“his languid demeanour irritated her”