Pile 2

Question 1

cacophony

Answer 1

(n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious sound (The elementary school orchestra created a cacophony at the recital.)

Question 2

cajole

Answer 2

(v.) to urge, coax (Fred’s buddies cajoled him into attending the bachelor party

Question 3

calibrate

Answer 3

(v.) to set, standardize (The mechanic calibrated the car’s transmission to make the motor run most efficiently

Question 4

calamity

Answer 4

(n.) an event with disastrous consequences (The earthquake in San Francisco
was a calamity worse than any other natural disaster in history.)

Question 5

callous

Answer 5

(adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer’s callous lack of remorse shocked the jury.)

Question 6

(n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious sound

Answer 6

cacophony

Question 7

(v.) to urge, coax

Answer 7

Cajole

Question 9

(n.) an event with disastrous consequences

Answer 9

Calamity

Question 9

(v.) to set, standardize

Answer 9

Calibrate

Question 10

(adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling

Answer 10

Callous

Question 11

Calumny

Answer 11

(n.) an attempt to spoil someone else’s reputation by spreading lies (The local official’s calumny ended up ruining his opponent’s prospect of winning the election.)

Question 12

camaraderie

Answer 12

(n.) brotherhood, jovial unity (Camaraderie among employees usually leads to success in business.)

Question 13

candor

Answer 13

(n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the mayor’s speech because he is usually rather evasive.)

Question 14

Canny

Answer 14

(adj.) shrewd, careful (The canny runner hung at the back of the pack through much of the race to watch the other runners, and then sprinted past them at the end.)

Question 15

(n.) an attempt to spoil someone else’s reputation by spreading lies

Answer 15

Calumny

Question 17

(n.) brotherhood, jovial unity

Answer 17

Camaraderie

Question 17

(adj.) shrewd, careful

Answer 17

Canny

Question 18

canvas

Answer 18

1. (n.) a piece of cloth on which an artist paints (Picasso liked to work on canvas rather than on bare cement.) 2. (v.) to cover, inspect (We canvassed the neighborhood looking for clues.)

Question 19

daunting

Answer 19

(adj.) intimidating, causing one to lose courage (He kept delaying the daunting act of asking for a promotion.)

Question 20

dearth

Answer 20

(n.) a lack, scarcity (An eager reader, she was dismayed by the dearth of classic books at the library.)

Question 21

debacle

Answer 21

(n.) a disastrous failure, disruption (The elaborately designed fireworks show turned into a debacle when the fireworks started firing in random directions.)

Question 22

(n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the mayor’s speech because he is usually rather evasive.)

Answer 22

Candor

Question 24

1. (n.) a piece of cloth on which an artist paints

2. (v.) to cover, inspect

Answer 24

Canvas

Question 24

(adj.) intimidating, causing one to lose courage

Answer 24

Daunting

Question 25

(n.) a disastrous failure, disruption

Answer 25

Debacle

Question 26

debase

Answer 26

(v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave himself debased his motives for running the charity.)

Question 27

debauch

Answer 27

(v.) to corrupt by means of sensual pleasures (An endless amount of good wine and cheese debauched the traveler.)

Question 28

debunk

Answer 28

(v.) to expose the falseness of something (He debunked her claim to be the world’s greatest chess player by defeating her in 18 consecutive matches.)

Question 29

Decorous

Answer 29

(adj.) socially proper, appropriate (The appreciative guest displayed decorous behavior toward his host.)

Question 30

decry

Answer 30

(v.) to criticize openly (The kind video rental clerk decried the policy of charging customers late fees.)

Question 31

(n.) a lack, scarcity

Answer 31

Dearth

Question 33

(v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something

Answer 33

debase

Question 34

(v.) to corrupt by means of sensual pleasures

Answer 34

Debauch

Question 34

(v.) to expose the falseness of something

Answer 34

Debunk

Question 35

(v.) to criticize openly

Answer 35

Decry

Question 36

deface

Answer 36

(v.) to ruin or injure something’s appearance (The brothers used eggs and shaving cream to deface their neighbor’s mailbox.)

Question 37

defamatory

Answer 37

(adj.) harmful toward another’s reputation (The defamatory gossip spreading about the actor made the public less willing to see the actor’s new movie.)

Question 38

defer

Answer 38

(v.) to postpone something; to yield to another’s wisdom (Ron deferred to Diane, the expert on musical instruments, when he was asked about buying a piano.)

Question 39

(adj.) socially proper, appropriate

Answer 39

Decorous

Question 40

(v.) to ruin or injure something’s appearance

Answer 40

Deface

Question 41

(v.) to postpone something; to yield to another’s wisdom

Answer 41

Defer

Question 42

(adj.) harmful toward another’s reputation

Answer 42

Defamatory