Medium Level Words 1

Question 1

overlook

Answer 1

to pay no attention to or to fail to notice (something)

In my haste to respond, I overlooked the most important fact.

Question 2

oddity

Answer 2

something that is strange, peculiar, or unusual

Even today, a stay-at-home dad is an oddity.

Question 3

reprieve

Answer 3

a temporary halt in an activity or condition that is unpleasant, painful, or worse

The swimming pool offers a reprieve from the summer heat.

Question 4

tranquil
tranquility

Answer 4

calm, peaceful

We stayed at a hotel on a tranquil island and heard nothing but birds for hours.

Question 5

undermine

Answer 5

to gradually weaken or destroy something or someone

Her efforts at learning to play music were undermined by the lack of a good instrument with which to practice.

Question 6

inconclusive

Answer 6

uncertain, not leading to a conclusion or result

The study’s results were inconclusive: it was unclear whether or not taking the supplement would really improve one’s health.

Question 7

feasible

Answer 7

capable of being done, possible

It is feasible to build a house in one month, with enough help.

Question 8

insurmountable

Answer 8

not possible to do or to get past

The idea posed by the President will face insurmountable opposition, and will therefore never be approved.

Question 9

counteract

Answer 9

to work against something with the goal of reducing it or eliminating it

To counteract the negative publicity, the candidate put out a series of ads with glowing endorsements.

Question 10

obscure

Answer 10

(verb): to hide or conceal
(adjective): unclear or difficult to see or understand

The dust on the painting obscured the beauty of the work.

Question 11

efficacy

Answer 11

effectiveness or the capability to produce a desired result

The positive experimental results show that the drug has great efficacy against the disease.

Question 12

meager

Answer 12

small, or deficient in amount, quality, or extent

Since he started his new diet, he has been eating a meager amount of carbs.

Question 13

supplant

Answer 13

to replace or supercede

Every day, more and more traditional books are being supplanted by e-books.

Question 14

conjecture

Answer 14

guess or supposition

Until the Hubble telescope sent clear photographs of the Supernova 1997A, the believed composition was little more than a conjecture.

Question 15

oversee

Answer 15

to watch over or supervise

As part of her job, she needs to oversee the installation of the new furniture to ensure it placed correctly.

Question 16

dispassionate

Answer 16

not swayed by emotions,
able to think objectively

Studies done by dispassionate researchers have found no truth to the rumors.

Question 17

adept

Answer 17

skilled or proficient at something

He is adept at speaking all four languages.

Question 18

enduring

Answer 18

lasting

More than 50 years later, the tours are still going strong, and it remains one of the most enduring and popular attractions in Seattle.

Question 19

intermittent
sporadic

Answer 19

coming and going at irregular intervals, not steady or regular

The intermittent rain had us opening and closing our umbrellas all day.

The new rules are good, but they are being sporadically enforced, so no one is following them.

Question 20

consensus

Answer 20

a general agreement

Since no one voted against the bill, there was a consensus to proceed.

Question 21

mitigate

Answer 21

to make something less severe or intense (similar to ameliorate and alleviate)

In order to mitigate the damage, the city extended additonal help to the residents.

Question 22

amass

Answer 22

to gather or accumulate

He has amassed an enormous number of comic books.

Question 23

demarcate

Answer 23

to set boundaries or limits

The stone wall demarcated the northern end of her property.

Question 24

palatable

Answer 24

having a pleasant or acceptable taste, also used metaphorically as “acceptable”

The tax increase was made more palatable to the citizens by the inclusion of a tax rebate.

Question 25

intercede

Answer 25

to get involved or intervene on someone's behalf My mom was so angry at me until my teacher interceded and made her understand that it was not my fault.

Question 26

discretion

Answer 26

two meanings: 1) option Prosecutors have discretion in responding to requests from the defense: prosecutors don't have to respond in a particular way. 2) the ability to act in a way that doesn't bring attention or embarrassment. In that job you'll be expected to show discretion and act like a professional at all times

Question 27

conventional

Answer 27

normal, typical The conventional wisdom on what constitutes a healthy diet has been upended by the new research.

Question 28

register

Answer 28

(as a verb) to record or to indicate When someone starts to use only negative words, that can register feelings of sadness.

Question 29

radical

Answer 29

extreme, far from the center The baggy trousers that Amelia Bloomer introduced in the 1850s were considered a radical form of dress for women at the time.

Question 30

discern

Answer 30

figure out, detect, or recognize The new high resolution microscope has allowed scientists to discern differences between the two species.

Question 31

dynamic

Answer 31

constantly changing or moving Weather patterns across the Pacific Ocean and dynamic, and the continuously changing factors make predictions difficult.

Question 32

continuity

Answer 32

an uninterrupted connection or succession In order to maintain continuity in the company's management, the senior vice president will now become the president.

Question 33

revere

Answer 33

to strongly respect and admire Nelson Mandela is revered for his fight against apartheid.

Question 34

pretentious

Answer 34

attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed At first she seemed pretentious because she talked only about 19th century art and used words that only a professor would use.

Question 35

provocative provoke

Answer 35

done with the intent of causing a strong reaction to cause a reaction The tv show had provocative storylines which often provoked people to become angry or, conversely, very thoughtful.

Question 36

arbitrary

Answer 36

randomly chosen or decided, based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system He made an arbitrary decision to start the meeting at 9 am; no one knows why.

Question 37

entice

Answer 37

to attract by offering promises of something The new store tried to entice people to shop there by offering 50% off the price of all purchases.

Question 38

appraise

Answer 38

to evaluate, to assess the value or quality of something After the storm, the homeowners returned to appraise the damage. He is going to appraise the situation carefully before he makes a decision.

Question 39

yield

Answer 39

1) to produce or provide Her hard work yielded results: she got the highest grade in the class 2) to give in to demands or pressure Even though they knew she was wrong, the employees had to yield to the boss on the issue.

Question 40

abrupt

Answer 40

1) sudden and unexpected I was surprised by the abrupt change in topic. 2) dismissive and rude He was not nice and quite abrupt with the customer.

Question 41

reconstitute

Answer 41

remake, reconstruct, restore They have plans to reconstitute the bankrupt company.

Question 42

turbulent

Answer 42

agitated or disturbed Since they were always fighting, they had a turbulent relationship. In a river, water is turbulent around rapids.

Question 43

misgivings

Answer 43

a feeling of doubt or suspicion especially concerning a future event Many people have misgivings about his true reasons for taking the new position.

Question 44

warranted unwarranted

Answer 44

warranted means "needed, necessary", so unwarranted means unneeded or unnecessary. The changes to the rules were warranted because they were unfair.

Question 45

negligible

Answer 45

too slight or small in amount to be of importance, insignificant Ukraine does produce titanium, but their production and reserves are negligible.

Question 46

chastise castigate

Answer 46

to criticize severely The coach chastised (castigated) the team when they lost the game 50 to 0.

Question 47

disentangle

Answer 47

to separate one thing from another Often it is hard to disentangle the truth from the fiction.

Question 48

immutable

Answer 48

not able to be changed Nature is full of immutable laws that scientists must always work with.

Question 49

static

Answer 49

not changing at all. (Antonym: dynamic) The population of the town has remained static: there are still only 20 people living here.

Question 50

dispassionate

Answer 50

impartial, not influenced by personal or strong emotions Policymakers should look at the data dispassionately when making important decisions, keeping biases out of the equation.

Question 51

nonchalant

Answer 51

seemingly calm and appearing to be not worried She anxiously waited for her turn to audition, trying to look nonchalant.

Question 52

imperative

Answer 52

crucial, absolutely necessary Lady Bird Johnson (wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson) said "We had a long and interesting evening with the Katzenbachs. Nicholas and Lyndon discussed the imperative need to make Washington a law-abiding city and how to go about it." It is imperative to stop at a stop sign, even it there are no other cars visible.

Question 53

enumerate

Answer 53

to name things separately, one by one He carefully enumerated the benefits of the new plan to everyone in the company.

Question 54

dearth paucity

Answer 54

a lack of There is a dearth (or paucity) of information about what actually happened, as few details emerged.

Question 55

reciprocity

Answer 55

the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit If you are a paying member of the health club, you have reciprocity with other clubs in other cities, meaning that you can visit these other clubs for free.

Question 56

substantiate

Answer 56

provide evidence to support or prove the truth of (similar to corroborate) She substantiated her claim that she was at the restaurant that night by producing a credit card receipt.

Question 57

stipulate stipulation (noun)

Answer 57

to say exactly how something must be or must be done The rules stipulate that everyone must wear the school uniform, but this stipulation is unpopular among the students.

Question 58

lethargy

Answer 58

extreme tiredness, mentally or physically I snapped out of my lethargy and began cleaning the house.

Question 59

myriad

Answer 59

very numerous and diverse While the movie sounded interesting, there are myriad reasons why it was incredibly boring to watch.