reverse common words - 6

Question 1

adjective: (of people) behaving secretly and often dishonestly, or (of actions) done secretly and often dishonestly:

While at work, George and his boss Regina felt the need to be as furtive as possible about their romantic relationship.

Answer 1

furtive

Question 2

adjective: (of a person) friendly and in a good mood, or (of a situation) enjoyable because of being friendly and pleasant:

The presidential candidate and her supporters were jovial once it was clear that she had won.

Answer 2

jovial

Question 3

noun: the tendency to be untruthful

I can forgive her for her mendacity but only because she is a child and is seeing what she can get away with.

Answer 3

mendacity

Question 4

verb: cause to become widely known

Before the effects of anesthesia were disseminated, patients had to experience the full pain of a surgery.

Answer 4

disseminate

Question 5

adjective: having or showing profound knowledge

Before the Internet, the library was typically where you would find erudite readers.

Answer 5

erudite

Question 6

verb: criticize severely or angrily; censure

The police chief rebuked the two officers whose irresponsible decisions almost led to the deaths of seven innocent by-standers.

Answer 6

rebuke

Question 7

noun: a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something.

The professor launched into a polemic, claiming that Freudian theory was a pack of lies that absolutely destroyed European literary theory.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Answer 7

polemic

Question 8

adjective: improving your mind:

I recently read an article in the Times about whether good literature is edifying or not; specifically, does reading more make a person more moral.

Answer 8

edifying

Question 9

noun: an intense feeling of dislike or aversion

Maria had an antipathy for tour groups, often bolting to the other side of the museum as soon as she saw a chaperone leading a group of wide-eyed tourists.

Answer 9

antipathy

Question 10

noun: a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude

Because of the nuances involved in this case, I hired an outside consultant to advise us and help.

Answer 10

nuance

Question 11

noun: the quality of being boring, ordinary, and not original, or something that is like this:

Herbert regarded the minister’s remark as a mere banality until Sharon pointed out profound implications to the seemingly obvious words.

Answer 11

banality

Question 12

verb: call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)

Just smiling–even if you are depressed–can elicit feelings of pleasure and happiness

Answer 12

elicit

Question 13

verb: pacify by acceding to the demands of

Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister during WWII, tried to appease Hitler and in doing so sent a clear message: you can walk all over us.

Answer 13

appease

Question 14

noun: something that is not normal, standard, or expected

After finding an anomaly in the data, she knew that she would have to conduct her experiment again.

Answer 14

anomaly

Question 15

adjective: harmful to living things

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was deleterious to the fishing industry in the southern states.

Answer 15

deleterious

Question 16

adjective: producing the intended result

Since Maggie’s cough syrup, which had expired five years back, was no longer efficacious, she coughed through the night.

Answer 16

efficacious

Question 17

noun: compulsory force or threat

The witness said he signed the contract under duress and argued that the court should cancel the agreement.

Answer 17

duress

Question 18

adjective: demanding strict attention to rules and procedures

Most of the students disliked the teacher because of his stringent homework policy, but many students would later thank him for demanding so much from them.

Answer 18

stringent

Question 19

adjective: unsure how to act or respond

Shirley was totally nonplussed when the angry motorist cut her off and then stuck his finger out the window.

Answer 19

nonplussed

Question 20

adjective: unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice

A good scientist should be dispassionate, focusing purely on what the evidence says, without personal attachment.

Answer 20

dispassionate

Question 21

adjective: clumsy

As a child she was quite maladroit, but as an adult, she has become an adept dancer.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Answer 21

maladroit

Question 22

adjective: Someone who is sullen is bad-tempered and does not speak much.
Herbert took board games too seriously, often appearing sullen after losing.

Answer 22

sullen

Question 23

adjective: demanding considerable mental effort and skill; testing powers of endurance

In order to deal with the arduous cross-country journey, truck drivers often survive on a string of caffeinated drinks, staying awake for up to 30 hours at a time.

Answer 23

arduous

Question 24

adjective: very unusual and understood or liked by only a small number of people, especially those with special knowledge:
Map collecting is an esoteric hobby to most, but to geography geeks it is a highly enjoyable pastime.

Answer 24

esoteric

Question 25

adjective: free from undue bias or preconceived opinions The judge was not impartial since he had been bribed by the witness's family.

Answer 25

impartial

Question 26

adjective: wasting time Lawyers use dilatory tactics so that it takes years before the case is actually decided.

Answer 26

dilatory

Question 27

adverb: with a look of suspicion or disapproval The old couple looked askance on the teenagers seated next to them, whispering to each other, "They've got rings through their noses and purple hair!"

Answer 27

askance

Question 28

noun: the quality of being expensive and luxurious: Russian oligarchs are famous for their opulence, living in fancy homes and dining on expensive caviar.

Answer 28

opulence

Question 29

adjective: pathetically cowardly Though the man could have at least alerted the police, he crouched cravenly in the corner as the old woman was mugged.

Answer 29

craven

Question 30

adjective: expressing disapproval (usu. refers to a term) Most psychologists object to the pejorative term "shrink", believing that they expand the human mind, not limit it. This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Answer 30

pejorative

Question 31

verb: assume as fact Initially, Einstein posited a repulsive force to balance Gravity, but then rejected that idea as a blunder.

Answer 31

posit

Question 32

adjective: not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society Eating with elbows on the table is considered indecorous in refined circles.

Answer 32

indecorous

Question 33

noun: the feeling of remorse or guilt that comes from doing something bad Those who show contrition during their prison terms--especially when under review by a parole board--often get shortened sentences.

Answer 33

contrition

Question 34

verb: interpret in the wrong way The politician never trusted journalists because he thought that they would misconstrue his words and misrepresent his positions.

Answer 34

misconstrue

Question 35

adjective: (used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame Since the politician preached ethics and morality, his texting of revealing photographs was ignominious, bringing shame on both himself and his party.

Answer 35

ignominious

Question 36

adjective: troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances With a team of new hires to train, Martha was constantly harried with little questions and could not focus on her projects.

Answer 36

harried

Question 37

noun: someone who exhibits great independence in thought and action Officer Kelly was a maverick, rarely following police protocols or adopting the conventions for speech common among his fellow officers.

Answer 37

maverick

Question 38

adjective: plausible but false He made a career out of specious arguments and fictional lab results, but lost his job and reputation when his lies were exposed by an article in The New York Times.

Answer 38

specious

Question 39

verb: If you placate someone, you do or say something to make them stop feeling angry. I was able to placate the angry mob of students by promising to bring cookies on Monday.

Answer 39

placate

Question 40

adjective: avoiding waste, efficient Journalists favor an economical style of writing, in which no unnecessary words are used and every sentence is as short as possible.

Answer 40

economical

Question 41

adjective: not wise Hitler, like Napoleon, made the imprudent move of invading Russia in winter, suffering even more casualties than Napoleon had.

Answer 41

imprudent

Question 42

adjective: timid; nervous and without much confidence Since this was her first time debating on stage and before an audience, Di's voice was timorous and quiet for the first 10 minutes.

Answer 42

timorous

Question 43

adjective: repetitive and boring; not spiritual Nancy found doing dishes a thoroughly mundane task, although Peter found a kind of Zen pleasure in the chore. adjective: relating to the ordinary world Though we think of the pope as someone always dealing in holy matters, he is also concerned with mundane events, such as deciding when to set his alarm each morning.

Answer 43

mundane

Question 44

verb: to criticize someone, especially for not being successful or not doing what is expected: At first, Sarah was going to yell at the boy, but she didn't want to reproach him for telling the truth about the situation.

Answer 44

reproach

Question 45

verb: support and strengthen The case for the suspect's innocence was bolstered considerably by the fact that neither fingerprints nor DNA were found at the scene. This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Answer 45

bolster

Question 46

adjective: Someone who is capricious often changes their mind unexpectedly. Nearly every month our capricious CEO had a new plan to turn the company around, and none of them worked because we never gave them the time they needed to succeed.

Answer 46

capricious

Question 47

verb: reduce the length of something The soccer game was truncated when the monsoon rain began to fall.

Answer 47

truncate

Question 48

noun: a state of uncertainty about what should be done (usually following some important event) Ever since Elvira resigned as the head of marketing, everything about our sales strategy has been in a state of flux. This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Answer 48

flux

Question 49

adjective: overly concerned with details; fussy Whitney is fastidious about her shoes, arranging them on a shelf in a specific order, each pair evenly spaced.

Answer 49

fastidious

Question 50

adjective: lasting a very short time The unpredictable and transient nature of deja vu makes it a very difficult phenomenon to study properly.

Answer 50

transient