Random Vocab/Knowledge

Question 1

What does this latin phrase mean:

A mari usque ad mare

Answer 1

From sea to sea.

Canadian national motto from the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible ,, Psalms 72

“And he shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the Earth”

*It is also on all Cdn currency and our passports*

Question 2

Define: ASININE

Answer 2

extremely stupid or foolish.

“Lydia ignored his asinine remark”

Question 3

Define: FIDELITY

Answer 3

Meaning:

1. faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support (“he sought only the strictest fidelity to justice”)
2. sexual faithfuless to a partner
3. the degree of exactness with which something is copied or reproduced (“the 1949 recording provides reasonable fidelity”)

Question 4

When something forks into two equal parts from one main branch.

ex. tree branches, ancestral lines

&

to separate into at least 2 parts or many parts

Answer 4

BIFURCATE

&

DIVIDE

Question 5

showing or expressing respect and high regard due to a superior or an elder

showing or expressing deference

Answer 5

DEFERENCE

(DEFERENTIAL)

Question 6

honor or respect that is felt for or shown to (someone or something)

Answer 6

REVERENCE

(REVERENTIAL)

ex:Her poems are treated with reverence by other poets.

Question 7

a naive girl or young woman

Answer 7

INGENUE

Question 8

to speak or express opinions in a pompous or dogmatic way (unnecessarily)

Answer 8

PONTIFICATE

Question 9

the belief that traditional morals, ideas, beliefs, etc., have no worth or value

the belief that a society’s political and social institutions are so bad that they should be destroyed

Answer 9

NIHILISM

(noun: NIHILIST)

Question 10

CONCLAVE

Answer 10

A conclave can be a private meeting, a secret assembly, or a general gathering.

// A conclave of regional leaders of the international organization is meeting in June.

Question 11

sagacious

Answer 11

Sagacious means “having or showing an ability to understand difficult ideas and situations and to make good decisions.” It implies being wise or discerning.

// Student reviews paint the writing professor as a sagacious mentor and a compassionate teacher.

Question 12

mollify

Answer 12

Mollify means “to soothe in temper or disposition” or “to reduce in intensity.”

// The company attempted to mollify its employees by offering them more flexible work schedules.

// The explanation was intended to mollify the manager’s anger.

Question 13

fractious

Answer 13

Fractious means “troublesome,” “unruly,” “quarrelsome,” or “irritable.”

// The political party is more organized and coherent and less fractious.

Question 14

leviathan

Answer 14

A leviathan is something large or formidable.

// Towering leviathans of the forest, these giant sequoias often reach heights of more than 200 feet.

Question 15

elicit

Answer 15

Elicit means “to get (a response, information, etc.) from someone.”

// The final amount raised by the charity walk elicited cheers from the crowd.

// The teacher’s question elicited no response.

Question 16

opportune

Answer 16

Opportune means “suitable or convenient for a particular situation” or “occurring at an appropriate time.”

// It is an opportune time to invest in the stock market.

// The book’s publication is opportune.

Question 17

bemuse

Answer 17

Bemuse means “to bewilder” or “to confuse.”

// The contestant seemed somewhat bemused by the question; however, she gave the correct answer.

// The actor was bemused by all the attention she was receiving for her role in the movie.

Question 18

zoomorphic

Answer 18

Zoomorphoric means “having the form of an animal.”

// Using cookie cutters, the children made zoomorphic treats to bring to the bake sale

Question 19

chagrin

Answer 19

Chagrin refers to “a distress of mind caused by humiliation, disappointment, or failure.”

// To the chef’s chagrin, the sauce was too sweet.

CHAGRIN in Context

“Baseball has invested a lot to keep casual fans interested. It has changed rules, to the chagrin of old-school fans like me, to shorten games.” — Paul Muschick, The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania), 6 Mar. 2022

Question 20

decimate

Answer 20

Definition of decimate

transitive verb

1: to select by lot and kill every tenth man of (decimate a regiment)
2: to exact a tax of 10 percent from( poor as a decimated Cavalier— John Dryden)
3a: to reduce drastically especially in number (cholera decimated the population)(Kamieniecki’s return comes at a crucial time for a pitching staff that has been decimated by injuries.— Jason Diamos)
b: to cause great destruction or harm to (firebombs decimated the city)(an industry decimated by recession)

Question 21

reciprocate

Answer 21

Reciprocate means “to do something for or to someone who has done something similar for or to you.”

// It was kind of my friend to give me a ride to the airport, and on the flight I was thinking of how to reciprocate the favor.

Question 22

ostensible

Answer 22

Definition of ostensible

1: intended for display : open to view
2: being such in appearance : plausible rather than demonstrably true or realthe ostensible purpose for the trip

Question 23

Deepfake

Answer 23

We define deepfake as “an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.” The word, which is written as a closed compound, rather than as two words, has been in written use since at least 2018.

Question 24

furtive

Answer 24

Definition of furtive

1a: done in a quiet and secretive way to avoid being noticed : SURREPTITIOUS (a furtive glanceexchanged furtive smiles)
b: expressive of stealth : SLY (had a furtive look about him)
2: obtained underhandedly : STOLEN (furtive gains)

Question 25

nascent

Answer 25

What It Means

Nascent means “coming or having recently come into existence.”

// The actress is now focusing on her nascent singing career..

Mr Menon has co-founded multiple organizations and has invested in over 20 nascent startups in the previous year alone.” — Business World, 2 Mar. 2022

Question 26

intersperse

Answer 26

Intersperse means “to place or insert something at intervals in or among other things.”

// The author has interspersed the guidebook with pictures of the different animals tourists might encounter on the safari.

Question 27

gregarious

Answer 27

Gregarious means “tending to associate with others of one’s kind” and “enjoying or tending to enjoy the company of others,” which makes it synonymous with social and sociable.

//The documentary is filmed inside the burrows of the gregarious prairie dogs.

//The new hire is quite outgoing and gregarious.

Question 28

cryptography

Answer 28

Cryptography is the enciphering and deciphering of messages in secret code or cipher. It is also the computerized encoding and decoding of information.

// Effective cryptography is essential for secure exchanges of sensitive information in cyberspace.

Question 29

kitsch

Answer 29

“She got off at the next stop and found herself standing in front of an old coffee shop with fake-pine garlands and fake-velvet bows on its doors. … At the thought of yet another year without having a coffee shop of her own to run (though with less kitsch)….” — Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake, 2022

Kitsch is “something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality.”

// Kitsch and tacky but collectable items can be found at the flea market.

Question 30

prosaic

Answer 30

Prosaic is a synonym of dull, unimaginative, everyday, or ordinary, but its original meaning is “characteristic of prose as distinguished from poetry.”

// Retirement can lead to a prosaic lifestyle unless you will yourself to seek adventure.

// The poem is filled with prosaic lines; however, there is much to contemplate in between.

Question 31

arbitrary

Answer 31

Arbitrary means “determined, planned, or chosen seemingly at random or by chance.”

// Because the committee wasn’t transparent about the selection process, the results of the process appeared to be wholly arbitrary.

// People often make arbitrary decisions on where to go out to eat.

Question 32

wherewithal

Answer 32

Wherewithal refers to the means, resources, or money that is needed to get or do something.

// News reports suggest that the company does not have the wherewithal from investors to prevent a buyout.

Question 33

transpire

Answer 33

Transpire means “to happen” or “to become known.”

// The police are still trying to determine what transpired on the night of the accident.

// After the business magnate was arrested for financial-related crimes, it transpired that he has been in insurmountable debt for years.

Question 34

candor

Answer 34

Candor is “unreserved, honest, or sincere expression.”

// During the interview, the comedian spoke with candor about the nervousness she feels every time she takes the stage.

Question 35

nonchalant

Answer 35

Nonchalant means “having an air of easy unconcern or indifference.”

// The most experienced public speakers are able to address audiences with a nonchalant ease.

Question 36

peremptory

puh-REMP-tuh-ree

Answer 36

Peremptory means “expressive of urgency or command” or “marked by arrogant self-assurance.”

// The soldiers were given a peremptory order to abandon the mission.

// The company’s president has a peremptory manner about her especially at the negotiating table.

Question 37

nonpareil

adjective | nahn-puh-REL

Answer 37

Nonpareil means “having no equal.”

// The singer’s stunning performance was nonpareil.

Question 38

hark back

Answer 38

Hark back means “to turn back to an earlier topic or circumstance” or “to go back to something as an origin or source.”

// The sisters’ stories hark back to the good old days of their youth.

// The diner’s interior harks back to the 1950s.

Question 39

verdant

Answer 39

Verdant means “green in tint or color,” “green with growing plants,” or “unripe in experience or judgment.”

// The golf course is noted for its tricky hazards and lush, verdant borders along its fairways.

Question 40

turpitude

Answer 40

Turpitude refers to inherent lack of integrity or morality, or to an evil or immoral act. It is frequently used in legal contexts in the phrase “moral turpitude.”

// Crimes such as theft and perjury may involve moral turpitude.

Question 41

bloviate

Answer 41

Bloviate means “to speak or write verbosely and windily.”

// The columnist tends to bloviate on topics about which he is not particularly knowledgeable.

Question 42

ramshackle

Answer 42

Ramshackle means “in a very bad condition and needing to be repaired” or “carelessly or loosely constructed.”

// The company was contracted to demolish the ramshackle apartments.

// The reviewer of the book said it had a ramshackle plot that was confusing and unbelievable.

Question 43

indoctrinate

Answer 43

Indoctrinate means “to teach (someone) to fully accept the ideas, opinions, and beliefs of a particular group and to not consider other ideas, opinions, and beliefs.”

// The goal of the professor is to teach politics, rather than to indoctrinate students with a narrow set of political beliefs.

Question 44

epithet

noun | EP-uh-thet

Answer 44

An epithet is “a characterizing word or phrase that accompanies, or occurs in place of, the name of a person or thing” or “a disparaging or abusive word or phrase.”

// Richard the First is frequently referred to by the epithet “Lionheart.”

// The school’s policy makes it clear that derogatory epithets will not be tolerated.

Question 45

mercurial

adjective | mer-KYUR-ee-ul

Answer 45

Mercurial means “changing often” or “characterized by rapid and unpredictable changeableness of mood.” It can also mean “having qualities of eloquence, ingenuity, or thievishness attributed to the god Mercury or to the influence of the planet Mercury.”

// The boss has a mercurial temperament when at jobsites but she was relaxed and happy at the company picnic.

// The iconic brand has somehow always managed to maintain its esteemed position in the mercurial fashion world.

Question 46

galumph

verb | guh-LUMF

Answer 46

Galumph means “to move with a clumsy heavy tread.”

// After long days at his landscaping job, their teenage son galumphs into the house and flings himself onto the couch, sighing heavily.

Question 47

ad hoc

adjective

Answer 47

Ad hoc means “concerned with a particular end or purpose” or “formed or used for specific or immediate problems or needs.”

// An ad hoc committee was formed to investigate the matter.

// There was an unexpected change of plans and ad hoc solutions had to be made.

Question 48

oblige

verb | uh-BLYJE

Answer 48

Oblige is usually used to mean “to do a favor for someone,” or “to do something as a favor, or as though it is a favor.” In more technical use, it means “to force or require someone to do something.”

// They needed help organizing the event, and I was happy to oblige.

// The law obliges the government to make this information public.

Question 49

redolent

adjective | RED-uh-lunt

Answer 49

As a synonym of aromatic, the word redolent can describe something that has a noticeable smell without specifying the scent, but more often it is accompanied by of or with and means “full of a specified fragrance,” as in “redolent with smoke.”

// No matter what time of year he visited, his grandmother’s house was always redolent of cloves and other warm spices.

Question 50

evanescent

adjective | ev-uh-NESS-unt

Answer 50

Something that is evanescent vanishes quickly like a vapor.

// The joy of winning the last game was evanescent, as the team quickly turned its focus to the upcoming championships.

Question 51

adulation

noun | aj-uh-LAY-shun

Answer 51

Adulation means extreme or excessive admiration or flattery.

// The movie star basked in the adulation of her many fans as she walked down the red carpet.

Question 52

credulous

adjective | KREJ-uh-lus

Answer 52

A credulous person is ready to believe things based on slight or uncertain evidence. A credulous thing, such as a report or statement, likewise shows that same readiness to believe.

// Margo smiled as she watched her credulous siblings listening with rapt attention to their aunt’s tall tales.

Question 53

festoon

verb | fess-TOON

Answer 53

Festoon means “to cover or decorate (something) with many small objects, pieces of paper, etc.,” or “to hang decorative chains or strips on.”

// Tiny wildflowers festooned the meadow.

// The students festooned the gymnasium with streamers and bunting for the dance.

Question 54

panacea

noun | pan-uh-SEE-uh

Answer 54

A panacea is something that is regarded as a cure-all—that is, a remedy for all ills or difficulties.

// The new program should help with the city’s housing crisis, but it’s no panacea.

Question 55

lout

noun | LOUT

Answer 55

A lout is a person who is both awkward and brutish.

// To get away from the obnoxious louts they’d been seated near, Jared and Fiona asked the waiter if they could be moved to another table.

Question 56

sumptuous

adjective | SUMP-shuh-wus

Answer 56

Sumptuous is used to describe things that are extremely costly, rich, luxurious, or magnificent.

// The hotel’s most sumptuous suite overlooks the lush gardens and includes a palatial marble bathroom with a spa and a commodious, intricately tiled walk-in shower.

Question 57

arrogate

verb | AIR-uh-gayt

Answer 57

Arrogate is a formal word that usually means “to take or claim (something, such as a right or a privilege) in a way that is not fair or legal.”

// The city council has accused the mayor of arrogating to himself decision-making authority that rightly belongs with the council.

Question 58

vocation

noun | voh-KAY-shun

Answer 58

Vocation can refer simply to an occupation, or it can refer to a strong desire to pursue a particular kind of work or course of action.

// Since he was a teenager, he knew that he would find his vocation in religious work.

// She is headed to medical school to pursue her vocation as a doctor.

Question 59

fidelity

noun | fuh-DELL-uh-tee

Answer 59

Fidelity refers to the quality or state of being faithful to someone, such as a spouse, or something, such as one’s country. Fidelity can also refer to accuracy in details. When applied to electronic devices, fidelity is the degree to which those devices accurately reproduce something, such as sound or images.

// The movie takes full advantage of the film medium while maintaining fidelity to the book.

Question 60

behest

noun | bih-HEST

Answer 60

A behest is an authoritative order or an urgent prompting.

// The committee met again at the behest of the senator.

Question 61

decry

verb | dih-KRY

Answer 61

Decry is a formal word that means “to express strong disapproval of.”

// The editorial decried the shuttering of the movie theater, which has been a local landmark for many years.

Question 62

perfunctory

adjective | per-FUNK-tuh-ree

Answer 62

Perfunctory is used to describe something that is done without energy or enthusiasm, as a duty or out of habit.

// Clearly exhausted after a long day on her feet, our server gave us only a perfunctory greeting before taking our drink orders.

Question 63

ephemeral

adjective | ih-FEM-uh-rul

Answer 63

Ephemeral means “lasting a very short time.”

// The performance was not recorded, a fact that made its ephemeral nature all the more poignant.

Question 65

prescience

noun | PRESH-ee-unss

Answer 65

Prescience is the ability to see or anticipate what will or might happen in the future.

// Stacy had the prescience to know that the stock’s value wasn’t going to remain high forever, and she managed to sell it just before it started to decrease.

Question 66

garrulous

adjective | GAIR-uh-lus

Answer 66

Garrulous can mean “chatty” or “excessively talkative” when describing a person (or even a bird that calls or sings rapidly and constantly), or it can mean “wordy” when referring to a piece of language itself, such as a letter or speech.

// Annie’s garrulous and outgoing nature is a stark contrast to her brother’s more retiring demeanor.

// His garrulous, rapid-fire presentation hyping the new feature was exciting at first, but soon became repetitive and tiresome.

Question 67

emancipation

noun | ih-man-suh-PAY-shun

Answer 67

Emancipation is the act of freeing someone from the restraint, control, or power of another. It is especially used for the act of freeing someone from slavery.

// Jomo Kenyatta played a key role in the emancipation of Kenya from European rule in the 1960s and became the first president of the newly independent nation.