SAT Vocabulary

Question 0

abase

Answer 0

(v.) to humiliate, degrade (After being overthrown and abased, the deposed leader offered to bow down to his conqueror.)

Question 1

abate

Answer 1

(v.) to reduce, lessen (The rain poured down for a while, then abated.)

Question 2

abdicate

Answer 2

(v.) to give up a position, usually one of leadership (When he realized that the revolutionaries would surely win, the king abdicated his throne.)

Question 3

abduct

Answer 3

(v.) to kidnap, take by force (The evildoers abducted the fairy princess from her happy home.)

Question 4

aberration

Answer 4

(n.) something that differs from the norm (In 1918, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and the Red Sox have not won a World Series since.)

Question 5

abet

Answer 5

(v.) to aid, help, encourage (The spy succeeded only because he had a friend on the inside to abet him.)

Question 6

abhor

Answer 6

(v.) to hate, detest (Because he always wound up kicking himself in the head when he tried to play soccer, Oswald began to abhor the sport.)

Question 7

abide

Answer 7

1. (v.) to put up with (Though he did not agree with the decision, Chuck decided to abide by it.) 2. (v.) to remain (Despite the beating they’ve taken from the weather throughout the millennia, the mountains abide.)

Question 8

abject

Answer 8

(adj.) wretched, pitiful (After losing all her money, falling into a puddle, and breaking her ankle, Eloise was abject.)

Question 9

abjure

Answer 9

(v.) to reject, renounce (To prove his honesty, the President abjured the evil policies of his wicked predecessor.)

Question 10

abnegation

Answer 10

(n.) denial of comfort to oneself (The holy man slept on the floor, took only cold showers, and generally followed other practices of abnegation.)

Question 11

abort

Answer 11

(v.) to give up on a half-finished project or effort (After they ran out of food, the men, attempting to jump rope around the world, had to abort and go home.)

Question 12

abridge

Answer 12

1. (v.) to cut down, shorten (The publisher thought the dictionary was too long and abridged it.) 2. (adj.) shortened (Moby-Dick is such a long book that even the abridged version is longer than most normal books.)

Question 13

abrogate

Answer 13

(v.) to abolish, usually by authority (The Bill of Rights assures that the government cannot abrogate our right to a free press.)

Question 14

abscond

Answer 14

(v.) to sneak away and hide (In the confusion, the super-spy absconded into the night with the secret plans.)

Question 15

absolution

Answer 15

(n.) freedom from blame, guilt, sin (Once all the facts were known, the jury gave Angela absolution by giving a verdict of not guilty.)

Question 16

abstain

Answer 16

(v.) to freely choose not to commit an action (Everyone demanded that Angus put on the kilt, but he did not want to do it and abstained.)

Question 17

abstruse

Answer 17

(adj.) hard to comprehend (Everyone else in the class understood geometry easily, but John found the subject abstruse.)

Question 18

accede

Answer 18

(v.) to agree (When the class asked the teacher whether they could play baseball instead of learn grammar they expected him to refuse, but instead he acceded to their request.)

Question 19

accentuate

Answer 19

(v.) to stress, highlight (Psychologists agree that those people who are happiest accentuate the positive in life.)

Question 20

accessible

Answer 20

(adj.) obtainable, reachable (After studying with SparkNotes and getting a great score on the SAT, Marlena happily realized that her goal of getting into an Ivy-League college was accessible.)

Question 21

acclaim

Answer 21

(n.) high praise (Greg’s excellent poem won the acclaim of his friends.) accolade (n.) high praise, special distinction (Everyone offered accolades to Sam after he won the Noble Prize.)

Question 22

accolade

Answer 22

(n.) high praise, special distinction (Everyone offered accolades to Sam after he won the Noble Prize.)

Question 23

accommodating

Answer 23

(adj.) helpful, obliging, polite (Though the apartment was not big enough for three people, Arnold, Mark, and Zebulon were all friends and were accommodating to each other.)

Question 24

accord

Answer 24

(n.) an agreement (After much negotiating, England and Iceland finally came to a mutually beneficial accord about fishing rights off the cost of Greenland.)

Question 25

accost

Answer 25

(v.) to confront verbally (Though Antoinette was normally quite calm, when the waiter spilled soup on her for the fourth time in 15 minutes she stood up and accosted the man.)

Question 26

accretion

Answer 26

(n.) slow growth in size or amount (Stalactites are formed by the accretion of minerals from the roofs of caves.)

Question 27

acerbic

Answer 27

(adj.) biting, bitter in tone or taste (Jill became extremely acerbic and began to cruelly make fun of all her friends.)

Question 28

acquiesce

Answer 28

(v.) to agree without protesting (Though Mr. Correlli wanted to stay outside and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner, he acquiesced to her demands.)

Question 29

acrimony

Answer 29

(n.) bitterness, discord (Though they vowed that no girl would ever come between them, Biff and Trevor could not keep acrimony from overwhelming their friendship after they both fell in love with the lovely Teresa.)

Question 30

acumen

Answer 30

(n.) keen insight (Because of his mathematical acumen, Larry was able to figure out in minutes problems that took other students hours.)

Question 31

acute

Answer 31

1. (adj.) sharp, severe (Arnold could not walk because the pain in his foot was so acute.) 2. (adj.) having keen insight (Because she was so acute, Libby instantly figured out how the magician pulled off his "magic.")

Question 32

adamant

Answer 32

(adj.) impervious, immovable, unyielding (Though public pressure was intense, the President remained adamant about his proposal.)

Question 33

adept

Answer 33

(adj.) extremely skilled (Tarzan was adept at jumping from tree to tree like a monkey.)

Question 34

adhere

Answer 34

1. (n.) to stick to something (We adhered the poster to the wall with tape.) 2. (n.) to follow devoutly (He adhered to the dictates of his religion without question.)

Question 35

admonish

Answer 35

(v.) to caution, criticize, reprove (Joe's mother admonished him not to ruin his appetite by eating cookies before dinner.)

Question 36

adorn

Answer 36

(v.) to decorate (We adorned the tree with ornaments.)

Question 37

adroit

Answer 37

(adj.) skillful, dexterous (The adroit thief could pick someone's pocket without attracting notice.)

Question 38

adulation

Answer 38

(n.) extreme praise (Though the book was pretty good, Marcy did not believe it deserved the adulation it received.)

Question 39

adumbrate

Answer 39

(v.) to sketch out in a vague way (The coach adumbrated a game plan, but none of the players knew precisely what to do.)

Question 40

adverse

Answer 40

(adj.) antagonistic, unfavorable, dangerous (Because of adverse conditions, the hikers decided to give up trying to climb the mountain.)

Question 41

advocate

Answer 41

1. (v.) to argue in favor of something (Arnold advocated turning left at the stop sign, even though everyone else thought we should turn right.) 2. (n.) a person who argues in favor of something (In addition to wanting to turn left at every stop sign, Arnold was also a great advocate of increasing national defense spending.)

Question 42

aerial

Answer 42

(adj.) somehow related to the air (We watched as the fighter planes conducted aerial maneuvers.)

Question 43

aesthetic

Answer 43

(adj.) artistic, related to the appreciation of beauty (We hired Susan as our interior decorator because she has such a fine aesthetic sense.)

Question 44

affable

Answer 44

(adj.) friendly, amiable (People like to be around George because he is so affable and good-natured.)

Question 45

affinity

Answer 45

(n.)a spontaneous feeling of closeness (Jerry didn't know why, but he felt an incredible affinity for Kramer the first time they met.)

Question 46

affluent

Answer 46

(adj.) rich, wealthy (Mrs. Grebelski was affluent, owning a huge house, three cars, and an island near Maine.)

Question 47

affront

Answer 47

(n.) an insult (Bernardo was very touchy, and took any slight as an affront to his honor.)

Question 48

aggrandize

Answer 48

(v.) to increase or make greater (Joseph always dropped the names of the famous people his father knew as a way to aggrandize his personal stature.)

Question 49

aggregate

Answer 49

1. (n.) a whole or total (The three branches of the U.S. Government form an aggregate much more powerful than its individual parts.) 2. (v.) to gather into a mass (The dictator tried to aggregate as many people into his army as he possibly could.)

Question 50

aggrieved

Answer 50

(adj.) distressed, wronged, injured (The foreman mercilessly overworked his aggrieved employees.)

Question 51

agile

Answer 51

(adj.) quick, nimble (The dogs were too slow to catch the agile rabbit.) agnostic (adj.) believing that the existence of God cannot be proven or disproven (Joey's parents are very religious, but he is agnostic.)

Question 52

agriculture

Answer 52

(n.) farming (It was a huge step in the progress of civilization when tribes left hunting and gathering and began to develop more sustainable methods of obtaining food, such as agriculture.)

Question 53

aisle

Answer 53

(n.) a passageway between rows of seats (Once we got inside the stadium we walked down the aisle to our seats.)

Question 54

alacrity

Answer 54

(n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason, Chuck loved to help his mother whenever he could, so when his mother asked him to set the table he did so with alacrity.)

Question 55

alias

Answer 55

(n.) a false name or identity (He snuck past the guards by using an alias and fake ID.)

Question 56

allay

Answer 56

(v.) to soothe, ease (The chairman of the Federal Reserve gave a speech to try to allay investors' fears about an economic downturn.)

Question 57

allege

Answer 57

(v.) to assert, usually without proof (The policeman had alleged that Marshall committed the crime, but after the investigation turned up no evidence, Marshall was set free.)

Question 58

alleviate

Answer 58

(v.) to relieve, make more bearable (This drug will alleviate the symptoms of the terrible disease, but only for a while.)

Question 59

allocate

Answer 59

(v.) to distribute, set aside (The Mayor allocated 30 percent of the funds for improving the town's schools.)

Question 60

aloof

Answer 60

(adj.) reserved, distant (The scientist could sometimes seem aloof, as if he didn't care about his friends or family, but really he was just thinking about quantum mechanics.)

Question 61

altercation

Answer 61

(n.) a dispute, fight (Jason and Lionel blamed one another for the car accident, leading to an altercation.)

Question 62

amalgamate

Answer 62

(v.) to bring together, unite (Because of his great charisma, the presidential candidate was able to amalgamate all democrats and republicans under his banner.)

Question 63

ambiguous

Answer 63

(adj.) uncertain, variably interpretable (Some people think Caesar married Cleopatra for her power, others believe he was charmed by her beauty. His actual reasons are ambiguous.)

Question 64

ambivalent

Answer 64

(adj.) having opposing feelings (My feelings about Calvin are ambivalent because on one hand he is a loyal friend, but on the other, he is a cruel and vicious thief.)

Question 65

ameliorate

Answer 65

(v.) to improve (The tense situation was ameliorated when Sam proposed a solution everyone could agree upon.)

Question 66

amenable

Answer 66

(adj.) willing, compliant (Our father was amenable when we asked him to drive us to the farm so we could go apple picking.)

Question 67

amenity

Answer 67

(n.) an item that increases comfort (Bill Gates's house is stocked with so many amenities, he never has to do anything for himself.)

Question 68

amiable

Answer 68

(adj.) friendly (An amiable fellow, Harry got along with just about everyone.) amicable (adj.) friendly (Claudia and Jimmy got divorced, but amicably and without hard feelings.)

Question 69

amorous

Answer 69

(adj.) showing love, particularly sexual (Whenever Albert saw Mariah wear her slinky red dress, he began to feel quite amorous.)

Question 70

amorphous

Answer 70

(adj.) without definite shape or type (The effort was doomed from the start, because the reasons behind it were so amorphous and hard to pin down.)

Question 71

anachronistic

Answer 71

(adj.) being out of correct chronological order (In this book you're writing, you say that the Pyramids were built after the Titanic sank, which is anachronistic.)

Question 72

analgesic

Answer 72

(n.) something that reduces pain (Put this analgesic on the wound so that the poor man at least feels a little better.)

Question 73

analogous

Answer 73

(adj.) similar to, so that an analogy can be drawn (Though they are unrelated genetically, the bone structure of whales and fish is quite analogous.)

Question 74

anarchist

Answer 74

(n.) one who wants to eliminate all government (An anarchist, Carmine wanted to dissolve every government everywhere.)

Question 75

anathema

Answer 75

(n.) a cursed, detested person (I never want to see that murderer. He is an anathema to me.)

Question 76

anecdote

Answer 76

(n.) a short, humorous account (After dinner, Marlon told an anecdote about the time he got his nose stuck in a toaster.)

Question 77

anesthesia

Answer 77

(n.) loss of sensation (When the nerves in his spine were damaged, Mr. Hollins suffered anesthesia in his legs.)

Question 78

anguish

Answer 78

(n.) extreme sadness, torment (Angelos suffered terrible anguish when he learned that Buffy had died while combating a strange mystical force of evil.)

Question 79

animated

Answer 79

(adj.) lively (When he begins to talk about drama, which is his true passion, he becomes very animated.)

Question 80

annex

Answer 80

1. (v.) to incorporate territory or space (After defeating them in battle, the Russians annexed Poland.) 2. (n.) a room attached to a larger room or space (He likes to do his studying in a little annex attached to the main reading room in the library.)

Question 81

annul

Answer 81

(v.) to make void or invalid (After seeing its unforeseen and catastrophic effects, Congress sought to annul the law.)

Question 82

anomaly

Answer 82

(n.) something that does not fit into the normal order ("That rip in the space- time continuum is certainly a spatial anomaly," said Spock to Captain Kirk.)

Question 83

anonymous

Answer 83

(adj.) being unknown, unrecognized (Mary received a love poem from an anonymous admirer.)

Question 84

antagonism

Answer 84

(n.) hostility (Superman and Bizarro Superman shared a mutual antagonism, and often fought.)

Question 85

antecedent

Answer 85

(n.) something that came before (The great tradition of Western culture had its antecedent in the culture of Ancient Greece.)

Question 86

antediluvian

Answer 86

(adj.) ancient (The antediluvian man still believed that Eisenhower was president of the United States and that hot dogs cost a nickel.)

Question 87

anthology

Answer 87

(n.) a selected collection of writings, songs, etc. (The new anthology of Bob Dylan songs contains all his greatest hits and a few songs that you might never have heard before.)

Question 88

antipathy

Answer 88

(n.) a strong dislike, repugnance (I know you love me, but because you are a liar and a thief, I feel nothing but antipathy for you.)

Question 89

antiquated

Answer 89

(adj.) old, out of date (That antiquated car has none of the features, like power windows and steering, that make modern cars so great.)

Question 90

antiseptic

Answer 90

(adj.) clean, sterile (The antiseptic hospital was very bare, but its cleanliness helped to keep patients healthy.)

Question 91

antithesis

Answer 91

(n.) the absolute opposite (Your values, which hold war and violence in the highest esteem, are the antithesis of my pacifist beliefs.)

Question 92

anxiety

Answer 92

(n.) intense uneasiness (When he heard about the car crash, he felt anxiety because he knew that his girlfriend had been driving on the road where the accident occurred.)

Question 93

apathetic

Answer 93

(adj.) lacking concern, emotion (Uninterested in politics, Bruno was apathetic about whether he lived under a capitalist or communist regime.)

Question 94

apocryphal

Answer 94

(adj.) fictitious, false, wrong (Because I am standing before you, it seems obvious that the stories circulating about my demise were apocryphal.)

Question 95

appalling

Answer 95

(adj.) inspiring shock, horror, disgust (The judge found the murderer's crimes and lack of remorse appalling.)

Question 96

appease

Answer 96

(v.) to calm, satisfy (When the child cries, the mother gives him candy to appease him.)

Question 97

appraise

Answer 97

(v.) to assess the worth or value of (A realtor will come over tonight to appraise our house.)

Question 98

apprehend

Answer 98

1. (v.) to seize, arrest (The criminal was apprehended at the scene.) 2. (v.) to perceive, understand, grasp (The student has trouble apprehending concepts in math and science.)

Question 99

approbation

Answer 99

(n.) praise (The crowd welcomed the heroes with approbation.)

Question 100

appropriate

Answer 100

(v.) to take, make use of (The government appropriated the farmer's land without justification.)

Question 101

aquatic

Answer 101

(adj.) relating to water (The marine biologist studies starfish and other aquatic creatures.)

Question 102

arable

Answer 102

(adj.) suitable for growing crops (The farmer purchased a plot of arable land on which he will grow corn and sprouts.)

Question 103

arbiter

Answer 103

(n.) one who can resolve a dispute, make a decision (The divorce court judge will serve as the arbiter between the estranged husband and wife.)

Question 104

arbitrary

Answer 104

(adj.) based on factors that appear random (The boy's decision to choose one college over another seems arbitrary.)

Question 105

arbitration

Answer 105

(n.) the process or act of resolving a dispute (The employee sought official arbitration when he could not resolve a disagreement with his supervisor.)

Question 106

arboreal

Answer 106

(adj.) of or relating to trees (Leaves, roots, and bark are a few arboreal traits.)

Question 107

arcane

Answer 107

(adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few (The professor is an expert in arcane Lithuanian literature.)

Question 108

archaic

Answer 108

(adj.) of or relating to an earlier period in time, outdated (In a few select regions of Western Mongolian, an archaic Chinese dialect is still spoken.)

Question 109

archetypal

Answer 109

(adj.) the most representative or typical example of something (Some believe George Washington, with his flowing white hair and commanding stature, was the archetypal politician.)

Question 110

ardor

Answer 110

(n.) extreme vigor, energy, enthusiasm (The soldiers conveyed their ardor with impassioned battle cries.)

Question 111

arid

Answer 111

(adj.) excessively dry (Little other than palm trees and cacti grow successfully in arid environments.)

Question 112

arrogate

Answer 112

(v.) to take without justification (The king arrogated the right to order executions to himself exclusively.)

Question 113

artifact

Answer 113

(n.) a remaining piece from an extinct culture or place (The scientists spent all day searching the cave for artifacts from the ancient Mayan civilization.)

Question 114

artisan

Answer 114

(n.) a craftsman (The artisan uses wood to make walking sticks.)

Question 115

ascertain

Answer 115

(v.) to perceive, learn (With a bit of research, the student ascertained that some plants can live for weeks without water.)

Question 116

ascetic

Answer 116

(adj.) practicing restraint as a means of self-discipline, usually religious (The priest lives an ascetic life devoid of television, savory foods, and other pleasures.)

Question 117

ascribe

Answer 117

(v.) to assign, credit, attribute to (Some ascribe the invention of fireworks and dynamite to the Chinese.)

Question 118

aspersion

Answer 118

(n.) a curse, expression of ill-will (The rival politicians repeatedly cast aspersions on each others' integrity.)

Question 119

aspire

Answer 119

(v.) to long for, aim toward (The young poet aspires to publish a book of verse someday.)

Question 120

assail

Answer 120

(v.) to attack (At dawn, the war planes assailed the boats in the harbor.)

Question 121

assess

Answer 121

(v.) to evaluate (A crew arrived to assess the damage after the crash.)

Question 122

assiduous

Answer 122

(adj.) hard-working, diligent (The construction workers erected the skyscraper during two years of assiduous labor.)

Question 123

assuage

Answer 123

(v.) to ease, pacify (The mother held the baby to assuage its fears.)

Question 124

astute

Answer 124

(adj.) very clever, crafty (Much of Roger's success in politics results from his ability to provide astute answers to reporters' questions.)

Question 125

asylum

Answer 125

1. (n.) a place of refuge, protection, a sanctuary (For Thoreau, the forest served as an asylum from the pressures of urban life.) 2. (n.) an institution in which the insane are kept (Once diagnosed by a certified psychiatrist, the man was put in an asylum.)

Question 126

atone

Answer 126

(v.) to repent, make amends (The man atoned for forgetting his wife's birthday by buying her five dozen roses.)

Question 127

atrophy

Answer 127

(v.) to wither away, decay (If muscles do not receive enough blood, they will soon atrophy and die.)

Question 128

attain

Answer 128

(v.) to achieve, arrive at (The athletes strived to attain their best times in competition.)

Question 129

attribute

Answer 129

1. (v.) to credit, assign (He attributes all of his success to his mother's undying encouragement.) 2. (n.) a facet or trait (Among the beetle's most peculiar attributes is its thorny protruding eyes.)

Question 130

atypical

Answer 130

(adj.) not typical, unusual (Screaming and crying is atypical adult behavior.) audacious (adj.) excessively bold (The security guard was shocked by the fan's

Question 131

audacious

Answer 131

attempt to offer him a bribe.)

Question 132

audible

Answer 132

(adj.) able to be heard (The missing person's shouts were unfortunately not audible.)

Question 133

augment

Answer 133

(v.) to add to, expand (The eager student seeks to augment his knowledge of French vocabulary by reading French literature.)

Question 134

auspicious

Answer 134

(adj.) favorable, indicative of good things (The tennis player considered the sunny forecast an auspicious sign that she would win her match.)

Question 135

austere

Answer 135

(adj.) very bare, bleak (The austere furniture inside the abandoned house made the place feel haunted.)

Question 136

avarice

Answer 136

(n.) excessive greed (The banker's avarice led him to amass a tremendous personal fortune.)

Question 137

avenge

Answer 137

(v.) to seek revenge (The victims will take justice into their own hands and strive to avenge themselves against the men who robbed them.)

Question 138

aversion

Answer 138

(n.) a particular dislike for something (Because he's from Hawaii, Ben has an aversion to autumn, winter, and cold climates in general.)

Question 139

balk

Answer 139

(v.) to stop, block abruptly (Edna's boss balked at her request for another raise.)

Question 140

ballad

Answer 140

(n.) a love song (Greta's boyfriend played her a ballad on the guitar during their walk through the dark woods.)

Question 141

banal

Answer 141

(adj.) dull, commonplace (The client rejected our proposal because they found our presentation banal and unimpressive.)

Question 142

bane

Answer 142

(n.) a burden (Advanced physics is the bane of many students' academic lives.)

Question 143

bard

Answer 143

(n.) a poet, often a singer as well (Shakespeare is often considered the greatest bard in the history of the English language.)

Question 144

bashful

Answer 144

(adj.) shy, excessively timid (Frankie's mother told him not to be bashful when he refused to attend the birthday party.)

Question 145

battery

Answer 145

1.(n.) a device that supplies power (Most cars run on a combination of power from a battery and gasoline.) 2. (n.)assault, beating (Her husband was accused of assault and battery after he attacked a man on the sidewalk.)

Question 146

beguile

Answer 146

(v.) to trick, deceive (The thief beguiled his partners into surrendering all of their money to him.)

Question 147

behemoth

Answer 147

(n.) something of tremendous power or size (The new aircraft carrier is among several behemoths that the Air Force has added to its fleet.)

Question 148

benevolent

Answer 148

(adj.) marked by goodness or doing good (Police officers should be commended for their benevolent service to the community.)

Question 149

benign

Answer 149

(adj.) favorable, not threatening, mild (We were all relieved to hear that the medical tests determined her tumor to be benign.)

Question 150

bequeath

Answer 150

(v.) to pass on, give (Jon's father bequeathed his entire estate to his mother.)

Question 151

berate

Answer 151

(v.) to scold vehemently (The angry boss berated his employees for failing to meet their deadline.)

Question 152

bereft

Answer 152

(adj.) devoid of, without (His family was bereft of food and shelter following the tornado.)

Question 153

beseech

Answer 153

(v.) to beg, plead, implore (The servant beseeched the king for food to feed his starving family.)

Question 154

bias

Answer 154

(n.) a tendency, inclination, prejudice (The judge's hidden bias against smokers led him to make an unfair decision.)

Question 155

bilk

Answer 155

(v.) cheat, defraud (The lawyer discovered that this firm had bilked several clients out of thousands of dollars.)

Question 156

blandish

Answer 156

(v.) to coax by using flattery (Rachel's assistant tried to blandish her into accepting the deal.)

Question 157

blemish

Answer 157

(n.) an imperfection, flaw (The dealer agreed to lower the price because of the many blemishes on the surface of the wooden furniture.)

Question 158

blight

Answer 158

1. (n.) a plague, disease (The potato blight destroyed the harvest and bankrupted many families.) 2. (n.) something that destroys hope (His bad morale is a blight upon this entire operation.)

Question 159

boisterous

Answer 159

(adj.) loud and full of energy (The candidate won the vote after giving several boisterous speeches on television.)

Question 160

bombastic

Answer 160

(adj.) excessively confident, pompous (The singer's bombastic performance disgusted the crowd.)

Question 161

boon

Answer 161

(n.) a gift or blessing (The good weather has been a boon for many businesses located near the beach.)

Question 162

bourgeois

Answer 162

(n.) a middle-class person, capitalist (Many businessmen receive criticism for their bourgeois approach to life.)

Question 163

brazen

Answer 163

(adj.) excessively bold, brash (Critics condemned the novelist's brazen attempt to plagiarize Hemingway's story.)

Question 164

brusque

Answer 164

(adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (The captain's brusque manner offended the passengers.)

Question 165

buffet

Answer 165

1. (v.) to strike with force (The strong winds buffeted the ships, threatening to capsize them.) 2. (n.) an arrangement of food set out on a table (Rather than sitting around a table, the guests took food from our buffet and ate standing up.)

Question 166

burnish

Answer 166

(v.) to polish, shine (His mother asked him to burnish the silverware before setting the table.)

Question 167

buttress

Answer 167

1. (v.) to support, hold up (The column buttresses the roof above the statue.) 2. (n.) something that offers support (The buttress supports the roof above the statues.)

Question 168

cacophony

Answer 168

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

Question 169

cadence

Answer 169

(n.) a rhythm, progression of sound (The pianist used the foot pedal to emphasize the cadence of the sonata.)

Question 170

cajole

Answer 170

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

Question 171

calamity

Answer 171

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

Question 172

calibrate

Answer 172

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

Question 173

callous

Answer 173

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

Question 174

calumny

Answer 174

(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 175

camaraderie

Answer 175

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

Question 176

candor

Answer 176

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

Question 177

canny

Answer 177

(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 178

canvas

Answer 178

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 179

capacious

Answer 179

(adj.) very spacious (The workers delighted in their new capacious office space.)

Question 180

capitulate

Answer 180

(v.) to surrender (The army finally capitulated after fighting a long costly battle.)

Question 181

capricious

Answer 181

(adj.) subject to whim, fickle (The young girl's capricious tendencies made it difficult for her to focus on achieving her goals.)

Question 182

captivate

Answer 182

(v.) to get the attention of, hold (The fireworks captivated the young boy, who had never seen such things before.)

Question 183

carouse

Answer 183

(v.) to party, celebrate (We caroused all night after getting married.)

Question 184

carp

Answer 184

(v.) to annoy, pester (The husband divorced his wife after listening to her carping voice for decades.)

Question 185

catalog

Answer 185

1. (v.) to list, enter into a list (The judge cataloged the victim's injuries before calculating how much money he would award.) 2. (n.) a list or collection (We received a catalog from J. Crew that displayed all of their new items.)

Question 186

catalyze

Answer 186

(v.) to charge, inspire (The president's speech catalyzed the nation and resuscitated the economy.)

Question 187

caucus

Answer 187

(n.) a meeting usually held by people working toward the same goal (The ironworkers held a caucus to determine how much of a pay increase they would request.)

Question 188

caustic

Answer 188

(adj.) bitter, biting, acidic (The politicians exchanged caustic insults for over an hour during the debate.)

Question 189

cavort

Answer 189

(v.) to leap about, behave boisterously (The adults ate their dinners on the patio, while the children cavorted around the pool.)

Question 190

censure

Answer 190

1. (n.) harsh criticism (The frustrated teenager could not put up with anymore of her critical mother's censure.) 2. (v.) to rebuke formally (The principal censured the head of the English Department for forcing students to learn esoteric vocabulary.)

Question 191

cerebral

Answer 191

(adj.) related to the intellect (The books we read in this class are too cerebral— they don't engage my emotions at all.)

Question 192

chaos

Answer 192

(n.) absolute disorder (Mr. Thornton's sudden departure for the lavatory plunged his classroom into chaos.)

Question 193

chastise

Answer 193

(v.) to criticize severely (After being chastised by her peers for mimicking Britney Spears, Miranda dyed her hair black and affected a Gothic style.)

Question 194

cherish

Answer 194

(v.) to feel or show affection toward something (She continued to cherish her red plaid trousers, even though they had gone out of style and no longer fit her.)

Question 195

chide

Answer 195

(v.) to voice disapproval (Lucy chided Russell for his vulgar habits and sloppy appearance.)

Question 196

choreography

Answer 196

(n.) the arrangement of dances (The plot of the musical was banal, but the choreography was stunning.)

Question 197

chronicle

Answer 197

1. (n.) a written history (The library featured the newly updated chronicle of World War II.) 2. (v.) to write a history (Albert's diary chronicled the day-to-day growth of his obsession with Cynthia.)

Question 198

chronological

Answer 198

(adj.) arranged in order of time (Lionel carefully arranged the snapshots of his former girlfriends in chronological order, and then set fire to them.)

Question 199

circuitous

Answer 199

(adj.) roundabout (The bus's circuitous route took us through numerous outlying suburbs.)

Question 200

circumlocution

Answer 200

(n.) indirect and wordy language (The professor's habit of speaking in circumlocutions made it difficult to follow his lectures.)

Question 201

circumscribed

Answer 201

(adj.) marked off, bounded (The children were permitted to play tag only within a carefully circumscribed area of the lawn.)

Question 202

circumspect

Answer 202

(adj.) cautious (Though I promised Rachel's father I would bring her home promptly by midnight, it would have been more circumspect not to have specified a time.)

Question 203

circumvent

Answer 203

(v.) to get around (The school's dress code forbidding navel-baring jeans was circumvented by the determined students, who were careful to cover up with long coats when administrators were nearby.)

Question 204

clairvoyant

Answer 204

(adj.) able to perceive things that normal people cannot (Zelda's uncanny ability to detect my lies was nothing short of clairvoyant.)

Question 205

clamor

Answer 205

1. (n.) loud noise (Each morning the birds outside my window make such a clamor that they wake me up.) 2. (v.)to loudly insist (Neville's fans clamored for him to appear on stage, but he had passed out on the floor of his dressing room.)

Question 206

clandestine

Answer 206

(adj.) secret (Announcing to her boyfriend that she was going to the gym, Sophie actually went to meet Joseph for a clandestine liaison.)

Question 207

cleave

Answer 207

1. (v.) to divide into parts (Following the scandalous disgrace of their leader, the entire political party cleaved into warring factions.) 2. (v.) to stick together firmly (After resolving their marital problems, Junior and Rosa cleaved to one another all the more tightly.)

Question 208

clemency

Answer 208

(n.) mercy (After he forgot their anniversary, Martin could only beg Maria for clemency.)

Question 209

clergy

Answer 209

(n.) members of Christian holy orders (Though the villagers viewed the church rectory as quaint and charming, the clergy who lived there regarded it as a mildewy and dusty place that aggravated their allergies.)

Question 210

cloying

Answer 210

(adj.) sickeningly sweet (Though Ronald was physically attractive, Maud found his constant compliments and solicitous remarks cloying.)

Question 211

coagulate

Answer 211

(v.) to thicken, clot (The top layer of the pudding had coagulated into a thick skin.)

Question 212

coalesce

Answer 212

(v.) to fuse into a whole (Gordon's ensemble of thrift-shop garments coalesced into a surprisingly handsome outfit.)

Question 213

cobbler

Answer 213

(n.) a person who makes or repairs shoes (I had my neighborhood cobbler replace my worn-out leather soles with new ones.)

Question 214

coerce

Answer 214

(v.) to make somebody do something by force or threat (The court decided that Vanilla Ice did not have to honor the contract because he had been coerced into signing it.)

Question 215

cogent

Answer 215

(adj.) intellectually convincing (Irene's arguments in favor of abstinence were so cogent that I could not resist them.)

Question 216

cognizant

Answer 216

(adj.) aware, mindful (Jake avoided speaking to women in bars because he was cognizant of the fact that drinking impairs his judgment.)

Question 217

coherent

Answer 217

(adj.) logically consistent, intelligible (Renee could not figure out what Monroe had seen because he was too distraught to deliver a coherent statement.)

Question 218

collateral

Answer 218

1. (adj.) secondary (Divorcing my wife had the collateral effect of making me poor, as she was the only one of us with a job or money.) 2. (n.) security for a debt (Jacob left his watch as collateral for the $500 loan.)

Question 219

colloquial

Answer 219

(adj.) characteristic of informal conversation (Adam's essay on sexual response in primates was marked down because it contained too many colloquial expressions.)

Question 220

collusion

Answer 220

(n.) secret agreement, conspiracy (The three law students worked in collusion to steal the final exam.)

Question 221

colossus

Answer 221

(n.) a gigantic statue or thing (For 56 years, the ancient city of Rhodes featured a colossus standing astride its harbor.)

Question 222

combustion

Answer 222

(n.) the act or process of burning (The unexpected combustion of the prosecution's evidence forced the judge to dismiss the case against Ramirez.)

Question 223

commendation

Answer 223

(n.) a notice of approval or recognition (Jared received a commendation from Linda, his supervisor, for his stellar performance.)

Question 224

commensurate

Answer 224

(adj.) corresponding in size or amount (Ahab selected a very long roll and proceeded to prepare a tuna salad sandwich commensurate with his enormous appetite.)

Question 225

commodious

Answer 225

(adj.) roomy (Holden invited the three women to join him in the back seat of the taxicab, assuring them that the car was quite commodious.)

Question 226

compelling

Answer 226

(adj.) forceful, demanding attention (Eliot's speech was so compelling that Lenore accepted his proposal on the spot.)

Question 227

compensate

Answer 227

(v.) to make an appropriate payment for something (Reginald bought Sharona a new dress to compensate her for the one he'd spilled his ice cream on.)

Question 228

complacency

Answer 228

(n.) self-satisfied ignorance of danger (Colin tried to shock his friends out of their complacency by painting a frightening picture of what might happen to them.)

Question 229

complement

Answer 229

(v.) to complete, make perfect (Ann's scarf complements her blouse beautifully, making her seem fully dressed even though she isn't wearing a coat.)

Question 230

compliant

Answer 230

(adj.) ready to adapt oneself to another's wishes (Sue had very strong opinions about what to do on a first date, and Ted was absolutely compliant.)

Question 231

complicit

Answer 231

(adj.) being an accomplice in a wrongful act (By keeping her daughter's affair a secret, Maddie became complicit in it.)

Question 232

compliment

Answer 232

(n.) an expression of esteem or approval (I blushed crimson when Emma gave me a compliment on my new haircut.)

Question 233

compound

Answer 233

1. (v.) to combine parts (The difficulty of finding a fire escape amid the smoke was compounded with the dangers posed by the panicking crowds.) 2. (n.) a combination of different parts (My attraction to Donna was a compound of curiosity about the unknown, physical desire, and intellectual admiration.) 3. (n.) a walled area containing a group of buildings (When the fighting started, Joseph rushed into the family compound because it was safe and well defended.)

Question 234

comprehensive

Answer 234

(adj.) including everything (She sent me a comprehensive list of the ingredients needed to cook rabbit soufflé.)

Question 235

compress

Answer 235

(v.) to apply pressure, squeeze together (Lynn compressed her lips into a frown.)

Question 236

compunction

Answer 236

(n.) distress caused by feeling guilty (He felt compunction for the shabby way he'd treated her.)

Question 237

concede

Answer 237

(v.) to accept as valid (Andrew had to concede that what his mother said about Diana made sense.)

Question 238

conciliatory

Answer 238

(adj.) friendly, agreeable (I took Amanda's invitation to dinner as a very conciliatory gesture.)

Question 239

concise

Answer 239

(adj.) brief and direct in expression (Gordon did not like to waste time, and his instructions to Brenda were nothing if not concise.)

Question 240

concoct

Answer 240

(v.) to fabricate, make up (She concocted the most ridiculous story to explain her absence.)

Question 241

concomitant

Answer 241

(adj.) accompanying in a subordinate fashion (His dislike of hard work carried with it a concomitant lack of funds.)

Question 242

concord

Answer 242

(n.) harmonious agreement (Julie and Harold began the evening with a disagreement, but ended it in a state of perfect concord.)

Question 243

condolence

Answer 243

(n.) an expression of sympathy in sorrow (Brian lamely offered his condolences on the loss of his sister's roommate's cat.)

Question 244

condone

Answer 244

(v.) to pardon, deliberately overlook (He refused to condone his brother's crime.)

Question 245

conduit

Answer 245

(n.) a pipe or channel through which something passes (The water flowed through the conduit into the container.)

Question 246

confection

Answer 246

(n.) a sweet, fancy food (We went to the mall food court and purchased a delicious confection.)

Question 247

confidant

Answer 247

(n.) a person entrusted with secrets (Shortly after we met, she became my chief confidant.)

Question 248

conflagration

Answer 248

(n.) great fire (The conflagration consumed the entire building.) (n.) a gathering together (A confluence of different factors made tonight the

Question 249

confluence

Answer 249

(n.) a gathering together (A confluence of different factors made tonight the perfect night.)

Question 250

conformist

Answer 250

(n.) one who behaves the same as others (Julian was such a conformist that he had to wait and see if his friends would do something before he would commit.)

Question 251

confound

Answer 251

(v.) to frustrate, confuse (MacGuyver confounded the policemen pursuing him by covering his tracks.)

Question 252

congeal

Answer 252

(v.) to thicken into a solid (The sauce had congealed into a thick paste.)

Question 253

congenial

Answer 253

(adj.) pleasantly agreeable (His congenial manner made him popular wherever he went.)

Question 254

congregation

Answer 254

(n.) a gathering of people, especially for religious services (The priest told the congregation that he would be retiring.)

Question 255

congruity

Answer 255

(n.) the quality of being in agreement (Bill and Veronica achieved a perfect congruity of opinion.)

Question 256

connive

Answer 256

(v.) to plot, scheme (She connived to get me to give up my vacation plans.)

Question 257

consecrate

Answer 257

(v.) to dedicate something to a holy purpose (Arvin consecrated his spare bedroom as a shrine to Christina.)

Question 258

consensus

Answer 258

(n.) an agreement of opinion (The jury was able to reach a consensus only after days of deliberation.)

Question 259

consign

Answer 259

(v.) to give something over to another's care (Unwillingly, he consigned his mother to a nursing home.)

Question 260

consolation

Answer 260

(n.) an act of comforting (Darren found Alexandra's presence to be a consolation for his suffering.)

Question 261

consonant

Answer 261

(adj.) in harmony (The singers' consonant voices were beautiful.)

Question 262

constituent

Answer 262

(n.) an essential part (The most important constituent of her perfume is something called ambergris.)

Question 263

constrain

Answer 263

(v.)to forcibly restrict (His belief in nonviolence constrained him from taking revenge on his attackers.)

Question 264

construe

Answer 264

(v.) to interpret (He construed her throwing his clothes out the window as a signal that she wanted him to leave.)

Question 265

consummate

Answer 265

(v.) to complete a deal; to complete a marriage ceremony through sexual intercourse (Erica and Donald consummated their agreement in the executive boardroom.)

Question 266

consumption

Answer 266

(n.) the act of consuming (Consumption of intoxicating beverages is not permitted on these premises.)

Question 267

contemporaneous

Answer 267

(adj.) existing during the same time (Though her novels do not feature the themes of Romanticism, Jane Austen's work was contemporaneous with that of Wordsworth and Byron.)

Question 268

contentious

Answer 268

(adj.) having a tendency to quarrel or dispute (George's contentious personality made him unpopular with his classmates.)

Question 269

contravene

Answer 269

(v.) to contradict, oppose, violate (Edwidge contravened his landlady's rule against overnight guests.)

Question 270

contrite

Answer 270

(adj.) penitent, eager to be forgiven (Blake's contrite behavior made it impossible to stay angry at him.)

Question 271

contusion

Answer 271

(n.) bruise, injury (The contusions on his face suggested he'd been in a fight.)

Question 272

conundrum

Answer 272

(n.) puzzle, problem (Interpreting Jane's behavior was a constant conundrum.)

Question 273

convene

Answer 273

(v.) to call together (Jason convened his entire extended family for a discussion.)

Question 274

convention

Answer 274

1. (n.) an assembly of people (The hotel was full because of the cattle- ranchers' convention.) 2. (n.) a rule, custom (The cattle-ranchers have a convention that you take off your boots before entering their houses.)

Question 275

convivial

Answer 275

(adj.) characterized by feasting, drinking, merriment (The restaurant's convivial atmosphere put me immediately at ease.)

Question 276

convoluted

Answer 276

(adj.) intricate, complicated (Grace's story was so convoluted that I couldn't follow it.)

Question 277

copious

Answer 277

(adj.) profuse, abundant (Copious amounts of Snapple were imbibed in the cafeteria.)

Question 278

cordial

Answer 278

(adj.) warm, affectionate (His cordial greeting melted my anger at once.)

Question 279

coronation

Answer 279

(n.) the act of crowning (The new king's coronation occurred the day after his father's death.)

Question 280

corpulence

Answer 280

(adj.)extreme fatness (Henry's corpulence did not make him any less attractive to his charming, svelte wife.)

Question 281

corroborate

Answer 281

(v.) to support with evidence (Luke's seemingly outrageous claim was corroborated by witnesses.)

Question 282

corrosive

Answer 282

(adj.) having the tendency to erode or eat away (The effect of the chemical was highly corrosive.)

Question 283

cosmopolitan

Answer 283

(adj.) sophisticated, worldly (Lloyd's education and upbringing were cosmopolitan, so he felt right at home among the powerful and learned.)

Question 284

counteract

Answer 284

(v.) to neutralize, make ineffective (The antidote counteracted the effect of the poison.)

Question 285

coup

Answer 285

1. (n.) a brilliant, unexpected act (Alexander pulled off an amazing coup when he got a date with Cynthia by purposely getting hit by her car.) 2. (n.) the overthrow of a government and assumption of authority (In their coup attempt, the army officers stormed the Parliament and took all the legislators hostage.)

Question 286

covet

Answer 286

(v.) to desire enviously (I coveted Moses's house, wife, and car.)

Question 287

covert

Answer 287

(adj.) secretly engaged in (Nerwin waged a covert campaign against his enemies, while outwardly appearing to remain friendly.)

Question 288

credulity

Answer 288

(n.) readiness to believe (His credulity made him an easy target for con men.)

Question 289

crescendo

Answer 289

(n.) a steady increase in intensity or volume (The crescendo of the brass instruments gave the piece a patriotic feel.)

Question 290

criteria

Answer 290

(n.) standards by which something is judged (Among Mrs. Fields's criteria for good cookies are that they be moist and chewy.)

Question 291

culmination

Answer 291

(n.) the climax toward which something progresses (The culmination of the couple's argument was the decision to divorce.)

Question 292

culpable

Answer 292

(adj.) deserving blame (He was culpable of the crime, and was sentenced to perform community service for 75 years.)

Question 293

cultivate

Answer 293

(v.) to nurture, improve, refine (At the library, she cultivated her interest in spy novels.)

Question 294

cumulative

Answer 294

(adj.) increasing, building upon itself (The cumulative effect of hours spent in the sun was a deep tan.)

Question 295

cunning

Answer 295

(adj.) sly, clever at being deceitful (The general devised a cunning plan to surprise the enemy.)

Question 296

cupidity

Answer 296

(n.) greed, strong desire (His cupidity made him enter the abandoned gold mine despite the obvious dangers.)

Question 297

cursory

Answer 297

(adj.) brief to the point of being superficial (Late for the meeting, she cast a cursory glance at the agenda.)

Question 298

curt

Answer 298

(adj.) abruptly and rudely short (Her curt reply to my question made me realize that she was upset at me.)

Question 299

curtail

Answer 299

(v.) to lessen, reduce (Since losing his job, he had to curtail his spending.)

Question 300

daunting

Answer 300

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

Question 301

dearth

Answer 301

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

Question 302

debacle

Answer 302

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

Question 303

debase

Answer 303

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

Question 304

debauch

Answer 304

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

Question 305

debunk

Answer 305

(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 306

decorous

Answer 306

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

Question 307

decry

Answer 307

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

Question 308

deface

Answer 308

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

Question 309

defamatory

Answer 309

(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 310

defer

Answer 310

(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 311

deferential

Answer 311

(adj.) showing respect for another's authority (His deferential attitude toward her made her more confident in her ability to run the company.)

Question 312

defile

Answer 312

(v.) to make unclean, impure (She defiled the calm of the religious building by playing her banjo.)

Question 313

deft

Answer 313

(adj.) skillful, capable (Having worked in a bakery for many years, Marcus was a deft bread maker.)

Question 314

defunct

Answer 314

(adj.) no longer used or existing (They planned to turn the defunct schoolhouse into a community center.)

Question 315

delegate

Answer 315

(v.) to hand over responsibility for something (The dean delegated the task of finding a new professor to a special hiring committee.)

Question 316

deleterious

Answer 316

(adj.) harmful (She experienced the deleterious effects of running a marathon without stretching her muscles enough beforehand.)

Question 317

deliberate

Answer 317

(adj.) intentional, reflecting careful consideration (Though Mary was quite upset, her actions to resolve the dispute were deliberate.)

Question 318

delineate

Answer 318

(v.) to describe, outline, shed light on (She neatly delineated her reasons for canceling the project's funding.)

Question 319

demagogue

Answer 319

(n.) a leader who appeals to a people's prejudices (The demagogue strengthened his hold over his people by blaming immigrants for the lack of jobs.)

Question 320

demarcation

Answer 320

(n.) the marking of boundaries or categories (Different cultures have different demarcations of good and evil.)

Question 321

demean

Answer 321

(v.) to lower the status or stature of something (She refused to demean her secretary by making him order her lunch.)

Question 322

demure

Answer 322

(adj.) quiet, modest, reserved (Though everyone else at the party was dancing and going crazy, she remained demure.)

Question 323

denigrate

Answer 323

(v.) to belittle, diminish the opinion of (The company decided that its advertisements would no longer denigrate the company's competitors.)

Question 324

denounce

Answer 324

(v.) to criticize publicly (The senator denounced her opponent as a greedy politician.)

Question 325

deplore

Answer 325

(v.) to feel or express sorrow, disapproval (We all deplored the miserable working conditions in the factory.)

Question 326

depravity

Answer 326

(n.) wickedness (Rumors of the ogre's depravity made the children afraid to enter the forest.)

Question 327

deprecate

Answer 327

(v.) to belittle, depreciate (Always over-modest, he deprecated his contribution to the local charity.)

Question 328

derelict

Answer 328

(adj.) abandoned, run-down (Even though it was dangerous, the children enjoyed going to the deserted lot and playing in the derelict house.)

Question 329

deride

Answer 329

(v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The bullies derided the foreign student's accent.)

Question 330

derivative

Answer 330

(adj.) taken directly from a source, unoriginal (She was bored by his music because she felt that it was derivative and that she had heard it before.)

Question 331

desecrate

Answer 331

(v.) to violate the sacredness of a thing or place (They feared that the construction of a golf course would desecrate the preserved wilderness.)

Question 332

desiccated

Answer 332

(adj.) dried up, dehydrated (The skin of the desiccated mummy looked like old paper.)

Question 333

desolate

Answer 333

(adj.) deserted, dreary, lifeless (She found the desolate landscape quite a contrast to the hustle and bustle of the overcrowded city.)

Question 334

despondent

Answer 334

(adj.) feeling depressed, discouraged, hopeless (Having failed the first math test, the despondent child saw no use in studying for the next and failed that one too.)

Question 335

despot

Answer 335

(n.) one who has total power and rules brutally (The despot issued a death sentence for anyone who disobeyed his laws.)

Question 336

destitute

Answer 336

(adj.) impoverished, utterly lacking (The hurricane destroyed many homes and left many families destitute.)

Question 337

deter

Answer 337

(v.) to discourage, prevent from doing (Bob's description of scary snakes couldn't deter Marcia from traveling in the rainforests.)

Question 338

devious

Answer 338

(adj.) not straightforward, deceitful (Not wanting to be punished, the devious girl blamed the broken vase on the cat.)

Question 339

dialect

Answer 339

(n.) a variation of a language (In the country's remote, mountainous regions, the inhabitants spoke a dialect that the country's other inhabitants had difficulty understanding.)

Question 340

diaphanous

Answer 340

(adj.) light, airy, transparent (Sunlight poured in through the diaphanous curtains, brightening the room.)

Question 341

didactic

Answer 341

1. (adj.) intended to instruct (She wrote up a didactic document showing new employees how to handle the company's customers.) 2. (adj.) overly moralistic (His didactic style of teaching made it seem like he wanted to persuade his students not to understand history fully, but to understand it from only one point of view.)

Question 342

diffident

Answer 342

(adj.) shy, quiet, modest (While eating dinner with the adults, the diffident youth did not speak for fear of seeming presumptuous.)

Question 343

diffuse

Answer 343

1. (v.) to scatter, thin out, break up (He diffused the tension in the room by making in a joke.) 2. (adj.) not concentrated, scattered, disorganized (In her writings, she tried unsuccessfully to make others understand her diffuse thoughts.)

Question 344

dilatory

Answer 344

(adj.) tending to delay, causing delay (The general's dilatory strategy enabled the enemy to regroup.)

Question 345

diligent

Answer 345

(adj.) showing care in doing one's work (The diligent researcher made sure to check her measurements multiple times.)

Question 346

diminutive

Answer 346

(adj.) small or miniature (The bullies, tall and strong, picked on the diminutive child.)

Question 347

dirge

Answer 347

(n.) a mournful song, especially for a funeral (The bagpipers played a dirge as the casket was carried to the cemetery.)

Question 348

disaffected

Answer 348

(adj.) rebellious, resentful of authority (Dismayed by Bobby's poor behavior, the parents sent their disaffected son to a military academy to be disciplined.)

Question 349

disavow

Answer 349

(v.) to deny knowledge of or responsibility for (Not wanting others to criticize her, she disavowed any involvement in the company's hiring scandal.)

Question 350

discern

Answer 350

(v.) to perceive, detect (Though he hid his emotions, she discerned from his body language that he was angry.)

Question 351

disclose

Answer 351

(v.) to reveal, make public (The CEO disclosed to the press that the company would have to fire several employees.)

Question 352

discomfit

Answer 352

(v.) to thwart, baffle (The normally cheery and playful children's sudden misery discomfited the teacher.)

Question 353

discordant

Answer 353

(adj.) not agreeing, not in harmony with (The girls' sobs were a discordant sound amid the general laughter that filled the restaurant.)

Question 354

discrepancy

Answer 354

(n.) difference, failure of things to correspond (He was troubled by the discrepancy between what he remembered paying for the appliance and what his receipt showed he paid for it.)

Question 355

discretion

Answer 355

(n.) the quality of being reserved in speech or action; good judgment (Not wanting her patient to get overly anxious, the doctor used discretion in deciding how much to tell the patient about his condition.)

Question 356

discursive

Answer 356

(adj.) rambling, lacking order (The professor's discursive lectures seemed to be about every subject except the one initially described.)

Question 357

disdain

Answer 357

1. (v.) to scorn, hold in low esteem (Insecure about their jobs, the older employees disdained the recently hired ones, who were young and capable.) 2. (n.) scorn, low esteem (After learning of his immoral actions, Justine held Lawrence in disdain.)

Question 358

disgruntled

Answer 358

(adj.) upset, not content (The child believed that his parents had unjustly grounded him, and remained disgruntled for a week.)

Question 359

disheartened

Answer 359

(adj.) feeling a loss of spirit or morale (The team was disheartened after losing in the finals of the tournament.)

Question 360

disparage

Answer 360

(v.) to criticize or speak ill of (The saleswoman disparaged the competitor's products to persuade her customers to buy what she was selling.)

Question 361

disparate

Answer 361

(adj.) sharply differing, containing sharply contrasting elements (Having widely varying interests, the students had disparate responses toward the novel.)

Question 362

dispatch

Answer 362

(v.) to send off to accomplish a duty (The carpenter dispatched his assistant to fetch wood.)

Question 363

dispel

Answer 363

(v.) to drive away, scatter (She entered the office as usual on Monday, dispelling the rumor that she had been fired.)

Question 364

disperse

Answer 364

(v.) to scatter, cause to scatter (When the rain began to pour, the crowd at the baseball game quickly dispersed.)

Question 365

disrepute

Answer 365

(n.) a state of being held in low regard (The officer fell into disrepute after it was learned that he had disobeyed the orders he had given to his own soldiers.)

Question 366

dissemble

Answer 366

(v.) to conceal, fake (Not wanting to appear heartlessly greedy, she dissembled and hid her intention to sell her ailing father's stamp collection.)

Question 367

disseminate

Answer 367

(v.) to spread widely (The politician disseminated his ideas across the town before the election.)

Question 368

dissent

Answer 368

1. (v.) to disagree (The principal argued that the child should repeat the fourth grade, but the unhappy parents dissented.) 2. (n.) the act of disagreeing (Unconvinced that the defendant was guilty, the last juror voiced his dissent with the rest of the jury.)

Question 369

dissipate

Answer 369

1. (v.) to disappear, cause to disappear (The sun finally came out and dissipated the haze.) 2. (v.) to waste (She dissipated her fortune on a series of bad investments.)

Question 370

dissonance

Answer 370

(n.) lack of harmony or consistency (Though the president of the company often spoke of the company as reliant solely upon its workers, her decision to increase her own salary rather than reward her employees revealed a striking dissonance between her alleged beliefs and her actions.)

Question 371

dissuade

Answer 371

(v.) to persuade someone not to do something (Worried that he would catch a cold, she tried to dissuade him from going out on winter nights.)

Question 372

distend

Answer 372

(v.) to swell out (Years of drinking beer caused his stomach to distend.)

Question 373

dither

Answer 373

(v.) to be indecisive (Not wanting to offend either friend, he dithered about which of the two birthday parties he should attend.)

Question 374

divine

Answer 374

(adj.) godly, exceedingly wonderful (Terribly fond of desserts, she found the rich chocolate cake to be divine.)

Question 375

divisive

Answer 375

(adj.) causing dissent, discord (Her divisive tactics turned her two friends against each other.)

Question 376

divulge

Answer 376

(v.) to reveal something secret (Pressured by the press, the government finally divulged the previously unknown information.)

Question 377

docile

Answer 377

(adj.) easily taught or trained (She successfully taught the docile puppy several tricks.)

Question 378

dogmatic

Answer 378

(adj.) aggressively and arrogantly certain about unproved principles (His dogmatic claim that men were better than women at fixing appliances angered everyone.)

Question 379

dormant

Answer 379

(adj.) sleeping, temporarily inactive (Though she pretended everything was fine, her anger lay dormant throughout the dinner party and exploded in screams of rage after everyone had left.)

Question 380

dour

Answer 380

(adj.)stern, joyless (The children feared their dour neighbor because the old man would take their toys if he believed they were being too loud.)

Question 381

dubious

Answer 381

(adj.) doubtful, of uncertain quality (Suspicious that he was only trying to get a raise, she found his praise dubious.)

Question 382

duplicity

Answer 382

(n.) crafty dishonesty (His duplicity involved convincing his employees to let him lower their salaries and increase their stock options, and then to steal the money he saved and run the company into the ground.)

Question 383

duress

Answer 383

(n.) hardship, threat (It was only under intense duress that he, who was normally against killing, fired his gun.)

Question 384

dynamic

Answer 384

(adj.) actively changing (The parents found it hard to keep up with the dynamic music scene with which their children had become very familiar.)

Question 385

ebullient

Answer 385

(adj.) extremely lively, enthusiastic (She became ebullient upon receiving an acceptance letter from her first-choice college.)

Question 386

eclectic

Answer 386

(adj.) consisting of a diverse variety of elements (That bar attracts an eclectic crowd: lawyers, artists, circus clowns, and investment bankers.)

Question 387

ecstatic

Answer 387

(adj.) intensely and overpoweringly happy (The couple was ecstatic when they learned that they had won the lottery.)

Question 388

edict

Answer 388

(n.) an order, decree (The ruler issued an edict requiring all of his subjects to bow down before him.)

Question 389

efface

Answer 389

(v.) to wipe out, obliterate, rub away (The husband was so angry at his wife for leaving him that he effaced all evidence of her presence; he threw out pictures of her and gave away all her belongings.)

Question 390

effervescent

Answer 390

(adj.) bubbly, lively (My friend is so effervescent that she makes everyone smile.)

Question 391

efficacious

Answer 391

(adj.) effective (My doctor promised me that the cold medicine was efficacious, but I'm still sniffling.)

Question 392

effrontery

Answer 392

(n.) impudence, nerve, insolence (When I told my aunt that she was boring, my mother scolded me for my effrontery.)

Question 393

effulgent

Answer 393

(adj.) radiant, splendorous (The golden palace was effulgent.)

Question 394

egregious

Answer 394

(adj.) extremely bad (The student who threw sloppy joes across the cafeteria was punished for his egregious behavior.)

Question 395

elaborate

Answer 395

(adj.) complex, detailed, intricate (Dan always beats me at chess because he develops such an elaborate game plan that I can never predict his next move.)

Question 396

elated

Answer 396

(adj.) overjoyed, thrilled (When she found out she had won the lottery, the writer was elated.)

Question 397

elegy

Answer 397

(n.) a speech given in honor of a dead person (At the funeral, the widow gave a moving elegy describing her love for her husband.)

Question 398

elicit

Answer 398

(v.) to bring forth, draw out, evoke (Although I asked several times where the exit was, I elicited no response from the stone-faced policeman.)

Question 399

eloquent

Answer 399

(adj.) expressive, articulate, moving (The priest gave such an eloquent sermon that most churchgoers were crying.)

Question 400

elucidate

Answer 400

(v.) to clarify, explain (I didn't understand why my friend was so angry with me, so I asked Janine to elucidate her feelings.)

Question 401

elude

Answer 401

(v.) to evade, escape (Despite an intense search, the robber continues to elude the police.)

Question 402

emaciated

Answer 402

(adj.) very thin, enfeebled looking (My sister eats a lot of pastries and chocolate but still looks emaciated.)

Question 403

embellish

Answer 403

1. (v.) to decorate, adorn (My mom embellished the living room by adding lace curtains.) 2. (v.)to add details to, enhance (When Harry told me that he had "done stuff" on his vacation, I asked him to embellish upon his account.)

Question 404

embezzle

Answer 404

(v.) to steal money by falsifying records (The accountant was fired for embezzling $10,000 of the company's funds.)

Question 405

emend

Answer 405

(v.) to correct or revise a written text (If my sentence is incorrect, the editor will emend what I have written.)

Question 406

eminent

Answer 406

1. (adj.) distinguished, prominent, famous (Mr. Phillips is such an eminent scholar that every professor on campus has come to hear him lecture.) 2. (adj.) conspicuous (There is an eminent stain on that shirt.)

Question 407

emollient

Answer 407

(adj.) soothing (This emollient cream makes my skin very smooth.)

Question 408

emote

Answer 408

(v.) to express emotion (The director told the actor he had to emote, or else the audience would have no idea what his character was going through.)

Question 409

empathy

Answer 409

(n.) sensitivity to another's feelings as if they were one's own (I feel such empathy for my sister when she's in pain that I cry too.)

Question 410

empirical

Answer 410

1. (adj.) based on observation or experience (The scientist gathered empirical data on the growth rate of dandelions by studying the dandelions behind his house.) 2. (adj.) capable of being proved or disproved by experiment (That all cats hate getting wet is an empirical statement: I can test it by bathing my cat, Trinket.)

Question 411

emulate

Answer 411

(v.) to imitate (I idolize Britney Spears so much that I emulate everything she does: I wear her outfits, sing along to her songs, and date a boy named Justin.)

Question 412

enamor

Answer 412

(v.) to fill with love, fascinate, usually used in passive form followed by "of" or "with" (I grew enamored of that boy when he quoted my favorite love poem.)

Question 413

encore

Answer 413

(n.) the audience's demand for a repeat performance; also the artist's performance in response to that demand (At the end of the concert, all the fans yelled, "Encore! Encore!" but the band did not come out to play again.)

Question 414

encumber

Answer 414

(v.) to weigh down, burden (At the airport, my friend was encumbered by her luggage, so I offered to carry two of her bags.)

Question 415

enervate

Answer 415

(v.) to weaken, exhaust (Writing these sentences enervates me so much that I will have to take a nap after I finish.)

Question 416

enfranchise

Answer 416

(v.) to grant the vote to (The Nineteenth Amendment enfranchised women.)

Question 417

engender

Answer 417

(v.) to bring about, create, generate (During the Olympics, the victories of U.S. athletes engender a patriotic spirit among Americans.)

Question 418

enigmatic

Answer 418

(adj.) mystifying, cryptic (That man wearing the dark suit and dark glasses is so enigmatic that no one even knows his name.)

Question 419

enmity

Answer 419

(n.) ill will, hatred, hostility (Mark and Andy have clearly not forgiven each other, because the enmity between them is obvious to anyone in their presence.)

Question 420

ennui

Answer 420

(n.) boredom, weariness (I feel such ennui that I don't look forward to anything, not even my birthday party.)

Question 421

entail

Answer 421

(v.) to include as a necessary step (Building a new fence entails tearing down the old one.)

Question 422

enthrall

Answer 422

(v.) to charm, hold spellbound (The sailor's stories of fighting off sharks and finding ancient treasures enthralled his young son.)

Question 423

ephemeral

Answer 423

(adj.) short-lived, fleeting (She promised she'd love me forever, but her "forever" was only ephemeral: she left me after one week.)

Question 424

epistolary

Answer 424

(adj.) relating to or contained in letters (Some people call me "Auntie's boy," because my aunt and I have such a close epistolary relationship that we write each other every day.)

Question 425

epitome

Answer 425

(n.) a perfect example, embodiment (My mother, the epitome of good taste, always dresses more elegantly than I do.)

Question 426

equanimity

Answer 426

(n.) composure (Even though he had just been fired, Mr. Simms showed great equanimity by neatly packing up his desk and wishing everyone in the office well.)

Question 427

equivocal

Answer 427

(adj.) ambiguous, uncertain, undecided (His intentions were so equivocal that I didn't know whether he was being chivalrous or sleazy.)

Question 428

erudite

Answer 428

(adj.) learned (My Latin teacher is such an erudite scholar that he has translated some of the most difficult and abstruse ancient poetry.)

Question 429

eschew

Answer 429

(v.) to shun, avoid (George hates the color green so much that he eschews all green food.)

Question 430

esoteric

Answer 430

(adj.) understood by only a select few (Even the most advanced students cannot understand the physicist's esoteric theories.)

Question 431

espouse

Answer 431

(v.) to take up as a cause, support (I love animals so much that I espouse animal rights.)

Question 432

ethereal

Answer 432

(adj.) heavenly, exceptionally delicate or refined (In her flowing silk gown and lace veil, the bride looked ethereal.)

Question 433

etymology

Answer 433

(n.) the history of words, their origin and development (From the study of etymology, I know that the word "quixotic" derives from Don Quixote and the word "gaudy" refers to the Spanish architect Gaudí.)

Question 434

euphoric

Answer 434

(adj.) elated, uplifted (I was euphoric when I found out that my sister had given birth to twins.)

Question 435

evanescent

Answer 435

(adj.) fleeting, momentary (My joy at getting promoted was evanescent because I discovered that I would have to work much longer hours in a less friendly office.)

Question 436

evince

Answer 436

(v.) to show, reveal (Christopher's hand-wringing and nail-biting evince how nervous he is about the upcoming English test.)

Question 437

exacerbate

Answer 437

(v.) to make more violent, intense (The gruesome and scary movie I saw last night exacerbated my fears of the dark.)

Question 438

exalt

Answer 438

(v.) to glorify, praise (Michael Jordan is the figure in basketball we exalt the most.)

Question 439

exasperate

Answer 439

(v.) to irritate, irk (George's endless complaints exasperated his roomate.)

Question 440

excavate

Answer 440

(v.) to dig out of the ground and remove (The pharaoh's treasures were excavated by archeologists in Egypt.)

Question 441

exculpate

Answer 441

(v.) to free from guilt or blame, exonerate (My discovery of the ring behind the dresser exculpated me from the charge of having stolen it.)

Question 442

excursion

Answer 442

(n.) a trip or outing (After taking an excursion to the Bronx Zoo, I dreamed about pandas and monkeys.)

Question 443

execrable

Answer 443

(adj.) loathsome, detestable (Her pudding is so execrable that it makes me sick.)

Question 444

exhort

Answer 444

(v.) to urge, prod, spur (Henry exhorted his colleagues to join him in protesting against the university's hiring policies.)

Question 445

exigent

Answer 445

(adj.) urgent, critical (The patient has an exigent need for medication, or else he will lose his sight.)

Question 446

exonerate

Answer 446

(v.) to free from guilt or blame, exculpate (The true thief's confession exonerated the man who had been held in custody for the crime.)

Question 447

exorbitant

Answer 447

(adj.) excessive (Her exorbitant praise made me blush and squirm in my seat.)

Question 448

expedient

Answer 448

(adj.) advisable, advantageous, serving one's self-interest (In his bid for reelection, the governor made an expedient move by tabling all controversial legislation.)

Question 449

expiate

Answer 449

(v.) to make amends for, atone (To expiate my selfishness, I gave all my profits to charity.)

Question 450

expunge

Answer 450

(v.) to obliterate, eradicate (Fearful of an IRS investigation, Paul tried to expunge all incriminating evidence from his tax files.)

Question 451

expurgate

Answer 451

(v.) to remove offensive or incorrect parts, usually of a book (The history editors expurgated from the text all disparaging and inflammatory comments about the Republican Party.)

Question 452

extant

Answer 452

(adj.) existing, not destroyed or lost (My mother's extant love letters to my father are in the attic trunk.)

Question 453

extol

Answer 453

(v.) to praise, revere (Violet extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat- loving brother.)

Question 454

extraneous

Answer 454

(adj.) irrelevant, extra, not necessary (Personal political ambitions should always remain extraneous to legislative policy, but, unfortunately, they rarely are.)

Question 455

extricate

Answer 455

(v.) to disentangle (Instead of trying to mediate between my brother and sister, I extricated myself from the family tension entirely and left the house for the day.)

Question 456

exult

Answer 456

(v.) to rejoice (When she found out she won the literature prize, Mary exulted by dancing and singing through the school's halls.)

Question 457

fabricate

Answer 457

(v.) to make up, invent (When I arrived an hour late to class, I fabricated some excuse about my car breaking down on the way to school.)

Question 458

façade

Answer 458

1. (n.) the wall of a building (Meet me in front of the museum's main façade.) 2. (n.) a deceptive appearance or attitude (Despite my smiling façade, I am feeling melancholy.)

Question 459

facile

Answer 459

1. (adj.) easy, requiring little effort (This game is so facile that even a four-year- old can master it.) 2. (adj.) superficial, achieved with minimal thought or care, insincere (The business was in such shambles that any solution seemed facile at best; nothing could really helpit in the long-run.)

Question 460

fallacious

Answer 460

(adj.) incorrect, misleading (Emily offered me cigarettes on the fallacious assumption that I smoked.)

Question 461

fastidious

Answer 461

(adj.) meticulous, demanding, having high and often unattainable standards (Mark is so fastidious that he is never able to finish a project because it always seems imperfect to him.)

Question 462

fathom

Answer 462

(v.) to understand, comprehend (I cannot fathom why you like that crabby and mean-spirited neighbor of ours.)

Question 463

fatuous

Answer 463

(adj.) silly, foolish (He considers himself a serious poet, but in truth, he only writes fatuous limericks.)

Question 464

fecund

Answer 464

(adj.) fruitful, fertile (The fecund tree bore enough apples to last us through the entire season.)

Question 465

felicitous

Answer 465

1. (adj.) well suited, apt (While his comments were idiotic and rambling, mine were felicitous and helpful.) 2. (adj.) delightful, pleasing (I spent a felicitous afternoon visiting old friends.)

Question 466

feral

Answer 466

(adj.) wild, savage (That beast looks so feral that I would fear being alone with it.)

Question 467

fervent

Answer 467

(adj.) ardent, passionate (The fervent protestors chained themselves to the building and shouted all night long.)

Question 468

fetid

Answer 468

(adj.) having a foul odor (I can tell from the fetid smell in your refrigerator that your milk has spoiled.)

Question 469

fetter

Answer 469

(v.) to chain, restrain (The dog was fettered to the parking meter.)

Question 470

fickle

Answer 470

(adj.) shifting in character, inconstant (In Greek dramas, the fickle gods help Achilles one day, and then harm him the next.)

Question 471

fidelity

Answer 471

(n.) loyalty, devotion (Guard dogs are known for the great fidelity they show toward their masters.)

Question 472

figurative

Answer 472

(adj.) symbolic (Using figurative language, Jane likened the storm to an angry bull.)

Question 473

flabbergasted

Answer 473

(adj.) astounded (Whenever I read an Agatha Christie mystery novel, I am always flabbergasted when I learn the identity of the murderer.)

Question 474

flaccid

Answer 474

(adj.) limp, not firm or strong (If a plant is not watered enough, its leaves become droopy and flaccid.)

Question 475

flagrant

Answer 475

(adj.) offensive, egregious (The judge's decision to set the man free simply because that man was his brother was a flagrant abuse of power.)

Question 476

florid

Answer 476

(adj.) flowery, ornate (The writer's florid prose belongs on a sentimental Hallmark card.)

Question 477

flout

Answer 477

(v.) to disregard or disobey openly (I flouted the school's dress code by wearing a tie-dyed tank top and a pair of cut-off jeans.)

Question 478

foil

Answer 478

(v.) to thwart, frustrate, defeat (Inspector Wilkens foiled the thieves by locking them in the bank along with their stolen money.)

Question 479

forage

Answer 479

(v.) to graze, rummage for food (When we got lost on our hiking trip, we foraged for berries and nuts in order to survive.)

Question 480

forbearance

Answer 480

(n.) patience, restraint, toleration (The doctor showed great forbearance in calming down the angry patient who shouted insults at him.)

Question 481

forestall

Answer 481

(v.) to prevent, thwart, delay (I forestalled the cold I was getting by taking plenty of vitamin C pills and wearing a scarf.)

Question 482

forlorn

Answer 482

(adj.) lonely, abandoned, hopeless (Even though I had the flu, my family decided to go skiing for the weekend and leave me home alone, feeling feverish and forlorn.)

Question 483

forsake

Answer 483

(v.) to give up, renounce (My New Year's resolution is to forsake smoking and drinking.)

Question 484

fortitude

Answer 484

(n.) strength, guts (Achilles' fortitude in battle is legendary.)

Question 485

fortuitous

Answer 485

(adj.) happening by chance, often lucky or fortunate (After looking for Manuel and not finding him at home, Harriet had a fortuitous encounter with him at the post office.)

Question 486

forum

Answer 486

(n.) a medium for lecture or discussion (Some radio talk-shows provide a good forum for political debate.)

Question 487

foster

Answer 487

(v.) to stimulate, promote, encourage (To foster good health in the city, the mayor started a "Get out and exercise!" campaign.)

Question 488

fractious

Answer 488

(adj.) troublesome or irritable (Although the child insisted he wasn't tired, his fractious behavior—especially his decision to crush his cheese and crackers all over the floor—convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.)

Question 489

fraught

Answer 489

(adj.) (usually used with "with") filled or accompanied with (Her glances in his direction were fraught with meaning, though precisely what meaning remained unclear.)

Question 490

frenetic

Answer 490

(adj.) frenzied, hectic, frantic (In the hours between night and morning, the frenetic pace of city life slows to a lull.)

Question 491

frivolous

Answer 491

(adj.) of little importance, trifling (Someday, all that anxiety about whether your zit will disappear before the prom will seem totally frivolous.)

Question 492

frugal

Answer 492

(adj.) thrifty, economical (Richard is so frugal that his diet consists almost exclusively of catfish and chicken liver—the two most inexpensive foods in the store.)

Question 493

furtive

Answer 493

(adj.) secretive, sly (Jane's placement of her drugs in her sock drawer was not as furtive as she thought, as the sock drawer is the first place most parents look.)

Question 494

garish

Answer 494

(adj.) gaudy, in bad taste (Mrs. Watson has poor taste and covers every object in her house with a garish gold lamé.)

Question 495

garrulous

Answer 495

(adj.) talkative, wordy (Some talk show hosts are so garrulous that their guests can't get a word in edgewise.)

Question 496

genial

Answer 496

(adj.) friendly, affable (Although he's been known to behave like a real jerk, I would say that my brother is an overall genial guy.)

Question 497

gluttony

Answer 497

(n.) overindulgence in food or drink (Ada's fried chicken tastes so divine, I don't know how anyone can call gluttony a sin.)

Question 498

goad

Answer 498

(v.) to urge, spur, incite to action (Jim may think he's not going to fight Billy, but Billy will goad Jim on with insults until he throws a punch.)

Question 499

gourmand

Answer 499

(n.) someone fond of eating and drinking (My parents, who used to eat little more than crackers and salad, have become real gourmands in their old age.)

Question 500

grandiloquence

Answer 500

(n.) lofty, pompous language (The student thought her grandiloquence would make her sound smart, but neither the class nor the teacher bought it.)

Question 501

grandiose

Answer 501

(adj.) on a magnificent or exaggerated scale (Margaret planned a grandiose party, replete with elephants, trapeze artists, and clowns.)

Question 502

gratuitous

Answer 502

(adj.) uncalled for, unwarranted (Every morning the guy at the donut shop gives me a gratuitous helping of ketchup packets.)

Question 503

gregarious

Answer 503

(adj.) drawn to the company of others, sociable (Well, if you're not gregarious, I don't know why you would want to go to a singles party!)

Question 504

grievous

Answer 504

(adj.) injurious, hurtful; serious or grave in nature (Electrocuting the inmate without being sure of his guilt would be a truly grievous mistake.)

Question 505

guile

Answer 505

(n.) deceitful, cunning, sly behavior (Because of his great guile, the politician was able to survive scandal after scandal.)

Question 506

hackneyed

Answer 506

(adj.) unoriginal, trite (A girl can only hear "I love you" so many times before it begins to sound hackneyed and meaningless.)

Question 507

hallowed

Answer 507

(adj.) revered, consecrated (In the hallowed corridors of the cathedral, the disturbed professor felt himself to be at peace.)

Question 508

hapless

Answer 508

(adj.) unlucky (My poor, hapless family never seems to pick a sunny week to go on vacation.)

Question 509

harangue

Answer 509

1. (n.) a ranting speech (Everyone had heard the teacher's harangue about gum chewing in class before.) 2. (v.) to give such a speech (But this time the teacher harangued the class about the importance of brushing your teeth after chewing gum.)

Question 510

hardy

Answer 510

(adj.) robust, capable of surviving through adverse conditions (I too would have expected the plants to be dead by mid-November, but apparently they're very hardy.)

Question 511

harrowing

Answer 511

(adj.) greatly distressing, vexing (The car crash was a harrowing experience, but I have a feeling that the increase in my insurance premiums will be even more upsetting.)

Question 512

haughty

Answer 512

(adj.) disdainfully proud (The superstar's haughty dismissal of her costars will backfire on her someday.)

Question 513

hedonist

Answer 513

(n.) one who believes pleasure should be the primary pursuit of humans (Because he's such a hedonist, I knew Murray would appreciate the 11 cases of wine I bought him for his birthday.)

Question 514

hegemony

Answer 514

(n.) domination over others (Britain's hegemony over its colonies was threatened once nationalist sentiment began to spread around the world.)

Question 515

heinous

Answer 515

(adj.) shockingly wicked, repugnant (The killings were made all the more heinous by the fact that the murderer first tortured his victims for three days.)

Question 516

heterogeneous

Answer 516

(adj.) varied, diverse in character (I hate having only one flavor so I always buy the swirled, or should I say heterogeneous, type of ice cream.)

Question 517

hiatus

Answer 517

(n.) a break or gap in duration or continuity (The hiatus in service should last two or three months—until the cable lines are repaired .)

Question 518

hierarchy

Answer 518

(n.) a system with ranked groups, usually according to social, economic, or professional class (Women found it very difficult to break into the upper ranks of the department's hierarchy.)

Question 519

hypocrisy

Answer 519

(n.) pretending to believe what one does not (Once the politician began passing legislation that contradicted his campaign promises, his hypocrisy became apparent.)

Question 520

hypothetical

Answer 520

(adj.) supposed or assumed true, but unproven (Even though it has been celebrated by seven major newspapers, that the drug will be a success when tested in humans is still hypothetical.)

Question 521

iconoclast

Answer 521

(n.) one who attacks common beliefs or institutions (Jane goes to one protest after another, but she seems to be an iconoclast rather than an activist with a progressive agenda.)

Question 522

idiosyncratic

Answer 522

(adj.) peculiar to one person; highly individualized (I know you had trouble with the last test, but because your mistakes were highly idiosyncratic, I'm going to deny your request that the class be given a new test.)

Question 523

idolatrous

Answer 523

(adj.) excessively worshipping one object or person (Xena's idolatrous fawning over the band—following them on tour, starting their fan club, filming their documentary—is really beginning to get on my nerves.)

Question 524

ignominious

Answer 524

(adj.) humiliating, disgracing (It was really ignominious to be kicked out of the dorm for having an illegal gas stove in my room.)

Question 525

illicit

Answer 525

(adj.) forbidden, not permitted (The fourth-grader learned many illicit words from a pamphlet that was being passed around school.)

Question 526

immerse

Answer 526

(v.) to absorb, deeply involve, engross (After breaking up with her boyfriend, Nancy decided to immerse herself in her work in order to avoid crying.)

Question 527

immutable

Answer 527

(adj.) not changeable (The laws of physics are immutable and constant.)

Question 528

impassive

Answer 528

(adj.) stoic, not susceptible to suffering (Stop being so impassive; it's healthy to cry every now and then.)

Question 529

impeccable

Answer 529

(adj.) exemplary, flawless (If your grades were as impeccable as your sister's, then you too would receive a car for a graduation present.)

Question 530

impecunious

Answer 530

(adj.) poor ("I fear he's too impecunious to take me out tonight," the bratty girl whined.)

Question 531

imperative

Answer 531

1. (adj.) necessary, pressing (It is imperative that you have these folders organized by midday.) 2. (n.) a rule, command, or order (Her imperative to have the folders organized by midday was perceived as ridiculous by the others.)

Question 532

imperious

Answer 532

(adj.) commanding, domineering (The imperious nature of your manner led me to dislike you at once.)

Question 533

impertinent

Answer 533

(adj.) rude, insolent (Most of your comments are so impertinent that I don't wish to dignify them with an answer.)

Question 534

impervious

Answer 534

(adj.) impenetrable, incapable of being affected (Because of their thick layer of fur, many seals are almost impervious to the cold.)

Question 535

impetuous

Answer 535

(adj.) rash; hastily done (Hilda's hasty slaying of the king was an impetuous, thoughtless action.)

Question 536

impinge

Answer 536

1. (v.) to impact, affect, make an impression (The hail impinged the roof, leaving large dents.) 2. (v.) to encroach, infringe (I apologize for impinging upon you like this, but I really need to use your bathroom. Now.)

Question 537

implacable

Answer 537

(adj.) incapable of being appeased or mitigated (Watch out: once you shun Grandma's cooking, she is totally implacable.)

Question 538

implement

Answer 538

1. (n.) an instrument, utensil, tool (Do you have a knife or some other sort of implement that I could use to pry the lid off of this jar?) 2. (v.) to put into effect, to institute (After the first town curfew failed to stop the graffiti problem, the mayor implemented a new policy to use security cameras to catch perpetrators in the act.)

Question 539

implicate

Answer 539

(v.) to involve in an incriminating way, incriminate (Even though Tom wasn't present at the time of the shooting, he was implicated by the evidence suggesting that he had supplied the shooters with guns.)

Question 540

implicit

Answer 540

(adj.) understood but not outwardly obvious, implied (I know Professor Smith didn't actually say not to write from personal experience, but I think such a message was implicit in her instruction to use scholarly sources.)

Question 541

impregnable

Answer 541

(adj.) resistant to capture or penetration (Though the invaders used battering rams, catapults, and rain dances, the fortress proved impregnable and resisted all attacks.)

Question 542

impudent

Answer 542

(adj.) casually rude, insolent, impertinent (The impudent young man looked the princess up and down and told her she was hot even though she hadn't asked him.)

Question 543

impute

Answer 543

(v.) to ascribe, blame (The CEO imputed the many typos in the letter to his lazy secretary.)

Question 544

inane

Answer 544

(adj.) silly and meaningless (Some films are so inane that the psychology of the characters makes absolutely no sense.)

Question 545

inarticulate

Answer 545

(adj.) incapable of expressing oneself clearly through speech (Though he spoke for over an hour, the lecturer was completely inarticulate and the students had no idea what he was talking about.)

Question 546

incarnate

Answer 546

1. (adj.) existing in the flesh, embodied (In the church pageant, I play the role of greed incarnate.) 2. (v.) to give human form to (The alien evaded detection by incarnating himself in a human form.)

Question 547

incendiary

Answer 547

1. (n.) a person who agitates (If we catch the incendiary who screamed "bomb" in the middle of the soccer match, we're going to put him in jail.) 2. (adj.) inflammatory, causing combustion (Gas and lighter fluid are incendiary materials that should be kept out of hot storage areas.)

Question 548

incessant

Answer 548

(adj.) unending (We wanted to go outside and play, but the incessant rain kept us indoors for two days.)

Question 549

inchoate

Answer 549

(adj.) unformed or formless, in a beginning stage (The country's government is still inchoate and, because it has no great tradition, quite unstable.)

Question 550

incisive

Answer 550

(adj.) clear, sharp, direct (The discussion wasn't going anywhere until her incisive comment allowed everyone to see what the true issues were.)

Question 551

inclination

Answer 551

(n.) a tendency, propensity (Sarah has an inclination to see every foreign film she hears about, even when she's sure that she won't like it.)

Question 552

incontrovertible

Answer 552

(adj.) indisputable (Only stubborn Tina would attempt to disprove the incontrovertible laws of physics.)

Question 553

incorrigible

Answer 553

(adj.) incapable of correction, delinquent (You can buy Grandma nicotine gum all you want, but I think that after sixty-five years of smoking she's incorrigible.)

Question 554

increment

Answer 554

(n.) an enlargement; the process of increasing(The workmen made the wall longer, increment by increment.)

Question 555

incumbent

Answer 555

1. (n.) one who holds an office (The incumbent senator is already serving his fifth term.) 2. (adj.) obligatory (It is incumbent upon this organization to offer aid to all who seek it.)

Question 556

indefatigable

Answer 556

(adj.) incapable of defeat, failure, decay (Even after traveling 62 miles, the indefatigable runner kept on moving.)

Question 557

indigenous

Answer 557

(adj.) originating in a region (Some fear that these plants, which are not indigenous to the region, may choke out the vegetation that is native to the area.)

Question 558

indigent

Answer 558

(adj.) very poor, impoverished (I would rather donate money to help the indigent population than to the park sculpture fund.)

Question 559

indignation

Answer 559

(n.) anger sparked by something unjust or unfair (I resigned from the sorority because of my indignation at its hazing of new members.)

Question 560

indolent

Answer 560

(adj.) lazy (Why should my indolent children, who can't even pick themselves up off the couch to pour their own juice, be rewarded with a trip to the mall?)

Question 561

indomitable

Answer 561

(adj.) not capable of being conquered (To be honest, Jim, my indomitable nature means I could never take orders from anyone, and especially not from a jerk like you.)

Question 562

induce

Answer 562

(v.) to bring about, stimulate (Who knew that our decision to boycott school lunch would induce a huge riot?)

Question 563

ineffable

Answer 563

(adj.) unspeakable, incapable of being expressed through words (It is said that the experience of playing with a dolphin is ineffable and can only be understood through direct encounter.)

Question 564

inept

Answer 564

(adj.) not suitable or capable, unqualified (She proved how inept she was when she forgot three orders and spilled a beer in a customer's lap.)

Question 565

inexorable

Answer 565

(adj.) incapable of being persuaded or placated (Although I begged for hours, Mom was inexorable and refused to let me stay out all night after the prom.)

Question 566

inextricable

Answer 566

(adj.) hopelessly tangled or entangled (Unless I look at the solution manual, I have no way of solving this inextricable problem.)

Question 567

infamy

Answer 567

(n.) notoriety, extreme ill repute (The infamy of his crime will not lessen as the decades pass.)

Question 568

infusion

Answer 568

(n.) an injection of one substance into another; the permeation of one substance by another (The infusion of Eastern religion into Western philosophy created interesting new schools of thought.)

Question 569

ingenious

Answer 569

(adj.) clever, resourceful (Her ingenious use of walnuts instead of the peanuts called for by the recipe was lauded by the other garden club members who found her cake delicious.)

Question 570

ingenuous

Answer 570

(adj.) not devious; innocent and candid (He must have writers, but his speeches seem so ingenuous it's hard to believe he's not speaking from his own heart.)

Question 571

inhibit

Answer 571

(v.) to prevent, restrain, stop (When I told you I needed the car last night, I certainly never meant to inhibit you from going out.)

Question 572

inimical

Answer 572

(adj.) hostile, enemylike (I don't see how I could ever work for a company that was so cold and inimical to me during my interviews.)

Question 573

iniquity

Answer 573

(n.) wickedness or sin ("Your iniquity," said the priest to the practical jokester, "will be forgiven.")

Question 574

injunction

Answer 574

(n.) an order of official warning (After his house was toilet-papered for the fifth time, the mayor issued an injunction against anyone younger than 21 buying toilet paper.)

Question 575

innate

Answer 575

(adj.) inborn, native, inherent (His incredible athletic talent is innate, he never trains, lifts weights, or practices.)

Question 576

innocuous

Answer 576

(adj.) harmless, inoffensive (In spite of their innocuous appearance, these mushrooms are actually quite poisonous.)

Question 577

innovate

Answer 577

(v.) to do something in an unprecedented way (Because of the stiff competition, the company knew it needed to pour a lot of energy into innovating new and better products.)

Question 578

innuendo

Answer 578

(n.) an insinuation (During the debate, the politician made several innuendos about the sexual activities of his opponent.)

Question 579

inoculate

Answer 579

(v.) to introduce a microorganism, serum, or vaccine into an organism in order to increase immunity to illness; to vaccinate (I've feared needles ever since I was inoculated against 37 diseases at age one; but I have also never been sick.)

Question 580

inquisitor

Answer 580

(n.) one who inquires, especially in a hostile manner (The inquisitor was instructed to knock on every door in town in order to find the fugitive.)

Question 581

insatiable

Answer 581

(adj.) incapable of being satisfied (My insatiable appetite for melons can be a real problem in the winter.)

Question 582

insidious

Answer 582

(adj.) appealing but imperceptibly harmful, seductive (Lisa's insidious chocolate cake tastes so good but makes you feel so sick later on!)

Question 583

insinuate

Answer 583

(v.) to suggest indirectly or subtly (I wish Luke and Spencer would stop insinuating that my perfect report card is the result of anything other than my superior intelligence and good work habits.)

Question 584

insipid

Answer 584

(adj.) dull, boring (The play was so insipid, I fell asleep halfway through.)

Question 585

insolent

Answer 585

(adj.) rude, arrogant, overbearing (That celebrity is so insolent, making fun of his fans right to their faces.)

Question 586

instigate

Answer 586

(v.) to urge, goad (The demagogue instigated the crowd into a fury by telling them that they had been cheated by the federal government.)

Question 587

insular

Answer 587

(adj.) separated and narrow-minded; tight-knit, closed off (Because of the sensitive nature of their jobs, those who work for the CIA must remain insular and generally only spend time with each other.)

Question 588

insurgent

Answer 588

(n.) one who rebels (The insurgent snuck into and defaced a different classroom each night until the administration agreed to meet his demands.)

Question 589

integral

Answer 589

(adj.) necessary for completeness (Without the integral ingredient of flour, you wouldn't be able to make bread.)

Question 590

interject

Answer 590

(v.) to insert between other things (During our conversation, the cab driver occasionally interjected his opinion.)

Question 591

interlocutor

Answer 591

(n.) someone who participates in a dialogue or conversation (When the officials could not come to an agreement over the correct cover of the flags, the prime minister acted as an interlocutor.)

Question 592

interminable

Answer 592

(adj.) without possibility of end (The fact that biology lectures came just before lunch made them seem interminable.)

Question 593

intimation

Answer 593

(n.) an indirect suggestion (Mr. Brinford's intimation that he would soon pass away occurred when he began to discuss how to distribute his belongings among his children.)

Question 594

intractable

Answer 594

(adj.) difficult to manipulate, unmanageable (There was no end in sight to the intractable conflict between the warring countries.)

Question 595

intransigent

Answer 595

(adj.) refusing to compromise, often on an extreme opinion (The intransigent child said he would have 12 scoops of ice cream, or he would bang his head against the wall until his mother fainted from fear.)

Question 596

intrepid

Answer 596

(adj.) brave in the face of danger (After scaling a live volcano prior to its eruption, the explorer was praised for his intrepid attitude.)

Question 597

inundate

Answer 597

(v.) to flood with abundance (Because I am the star of a new sitcom, my fans are sure to inundate me with fan mail and praise.)

Question 598

inure

Answer 598

(v.) to cause someone or something to become accustomed to a situation (Twenty years in the salt mines inured the man to the discomforts of dirt and grime.)

Question 599

invective

Answer 599

(n.) an angry verbal attack (My mother's irrational invective against the way I dress only made me decide to dye my hair green.)

Question 600

inveterate

Answer 600

(adj.) stubbornly established by habit (I'm the first to admit that I'm an inveterate coffee drinker—I drink four cups a day.)

Question 601

inviolable

Answer 601

(adj.) secure from assault (Nobody was ever able to break into Batman's inviolable Batcave.)

Question 602

irascible

Answer 602

(adj.) easily angered (At the smallest provocation, my irascible cat will begin scratching and clawing.)

Question 603

iridescent

Answer 603

(adj.) showing rainbow colors (The bride's large diamond ring was iridescent in the afternoon sun.)

Question 604

irreverence

Answer 604

(n.) disrespect (The irreverence displayed by the band that marched through the chapel disturbed many churchgoers.)

Question 605

irrevocable

Answer 605

(adj.) incapable of being taken back (The Bill of Rights is an irrevocable part of American law.)

Question 606

jubilant

Answer 606

(adj.) extremely joyful, happy (The crowd was jubilant when the firefighter carried the woman from the flaming building.)

Question 607

judicious

Answer 607

(adj.) having or exercising sound judgment (When the judicious king decided to compromise rather than send his army to its certain death, he was applauded.)

Question 608

juxtaposition

Answer 608

(n.) the act of placing two things next to each other for implicit comparison (The interior designer admired my juxtaposition of the yellow couch and green table.)

Question 609

knell

Answer 609

(n.) the solemn sound of a bell, often indicating a death (Echoing throughout our village, the funeral knell made the stormy day even more grim.)

Question 610

kudos

Answer 610

(n.) praise for an achievement (After the performance, the reviewers gave the opera singer kudos for a job well done.)

Question 611

laceration

Answer 611

(n.) a cut, tear (Because he fell off his bike into a rosebush, the paperboy's skin was covered with lacerations.)

Question 612

laconic

Answer 612

(adj.) terse in speech or writing (The author's laconic style has won him many followers who dislike wordiness.)

Question 613

languid

Answer 613

(adj.) sluggish from fatigue or weakness (In the summer months, the great heat makes people languid and lazy.)

Question 614

larceny

Answer 614

(n.) obtaining another's property by theft or trickery (When my car was not where I had left it, I realized that I was a victim of larceny.)

Question 615

largess

Answer 615

(n.) the generous giving of lavish gifts (My boss demonstrated great largess by giving me a new car.)

Question 616

latent

Answer 616

(adj.) hidden, but capable of being exposed (Sigmund's dream represented his latent paranoid obsession with other people's shoes.)

Question 617

laudatory

Answer 617

(adj.) expressing admiration or praise (Such laudatory comments are unusual from someone who is usually so reserved in his opinions.)

Question 618

lavish

Answer 618

1. (adj.) given without limits (Because they had worked very hard, the performers appreciated the critic's lavish praise.) 2. (v.) to give without limits (Because the performers had worked hard, they deserved the praise that the critic lavished on them.)

Question 619

legerdemain

Answer 619

(n.) deception, slight-of-hand (Smuggling the French plants through customs by claiming that they were fake was a remarkable bit of legerdemain.)

Question 620

lenient

Answer 620

(adj.) demonstrating tolerance or gentleness (Because Professor Oglethorpe allowed his students to choose their final grades, the other teachers believed that he was excessively lenient.)

Question 621

lethargic

Answer 621

(adj.) in a state of sluggishness or apathy (When Jean Claude explained to his boss that he was lethargic and didn't feel like working that day, the boss fired him.)

Question 622

liability

Answer 622

1. (n.) something for which one is legally responsible, usually involving a disadvantage or risk (The bungee-jumping tower was a great liability for the owners of the carnival.) 2. (n.) a handicap, burden (Because she often lost her concentration and didn't play defense, Marcy was a liability to the team.)

Question 623

libertarian

Answer 623

(adj.) advocating principles of liberty and free will (The dissatisfied subjects overthrew the monarch and replaced him with a libertarian ruler who respected their democratic principles.)

Question 624

licentious

Answer 624

(adj.) displaying a lack of moral or legal restraints (Marilee has always been fascinated by the licentious private lives of politicians.)

Question 625

limpid

Answer 625

(adj.) clear, transparent (Mr. Johnson's limpid writing style greatly pleased readers who disliked complicated novels.)

Question 626

linchpin

Answer 626

(n.) something that holds separate parts together (The linchpin in the prosecution's case was the hair from the defendant's head, which was found at the scene of the crime.)

Question 627

lithe

Answer 627

(adj.) graceful, flexible, supple (Although the dancers were all outstanding, Jae Sun's control of her lithe body was particularly impressive.)

Question 628

litigant

Answer 628

(n.) someone engaged in a lawsuit (When the litigants began screaming at each other, Judge Koch ordered them to be silent.)

Question 629

lucid

Answer 629

(adj.) clear, easily understandable (Because Guenevere's essay was so lucid, I only had to read it once to understand her reasoning.)

Question 630

luminous

Answer 630

(adj.) brightly shining (The light of the luminous moon graced the shoulders of the beautiful maiden.)

Question 631

lurid

Answer 631

(adj.) ghastly, sensational (Gideon's story, in which he described a character torturing his sister's dolls, was judged too lurid to be printed in the school's literary magazine.)

Question 632

maelstrom

Answer 632

(n.) a destructive whirlpool which rapidly sucks in objects (Little did the explorers know that as they turned the next bend of the calm river a vicious maelstrom would catch their boat.)

Question 633

magnanimous

Answer 633

(adj.) noble, generous (Although I had already broken most of her dishes, Jacqueline was magnanimous enough to continue letting me use them.)

Question 634

malediction

Answer 634

(n.) a curse (When I was arrested for speeding, I screamed maledictions against the policeman and the entire police department.)

Question 635

malevolent

Answer 635

(adj.) wanting harm to befall others (The malevolent old man sat in the park all day, tripping unsuspecting passersby with his cane.)

Question 636

malleable

Answer 636

(adj.) capable of being shaped or transformed (Maximillian's political opinions were so malleable that anyone he talked to was able to change his mind instantly.)

Question 637

mandate

Answer 637

(n.) an authoritative command (In the Old Testament, God mandates that no one should steal.)

Question 638

manifest

Answer 638

1. (adj.) easily understandable, obvious (When I wrote the wrong sum on the chalkboard, my mistake was so manifest that the entire class burst into laughter.) 2. (v.) to show plainly (His illness first manifested itself with particularly violent hiccups.)

Question 639

manifold

Answer 639

(adj.) diverse, varied (The popularity of Dante's Inferno is partly due to the fact that the work allows for manifold interpretations.)

Question 640

maudlin

Answer 640

(adj.) weakly sentimental (Although many people enjoy romantic comedies, I usually find them maudlin and shallow.)

Question 641

maverick

Answer 641

(n.) an independent, nonconformist person (Andreas is a real maverick and always does things his own way.)

Question 642

mawkish

Answer 642

(adj.) characterized by sick sentimentality (Although some nineteenth- century critics viewed Dickens's writing as mawkish, contemporary readers have found great emotional depth in his works.)

Question 643

maxim

Answer 643

(n.) a common saying expressing a principle of conduct (Miss Manners's etiquette maxims are both entertaining and instructional.)

Question 644

meager

Answer 644

(adj.) deficient in size or quality (My meager portion of food did nothing to satisfy my appetite.)

Question 645

medley

Answer 645

(n.) a mixture of differing things (Susannah's wardrobe contained an astonishing medley of colors, from olive green to fluorescent pink.)

Question 646

mendacious

Answer 646

(adj.) having a lying, false character (The mendacious content of the tabloid magazines is at least entertaining.)

Question 647

mercurial

Answer 647

(adj.) characterized by rapid change or temperamentality (Though he was widely respected for his mathematical proofs, the mercurial genius was impossible to live with.)

Question 648

meritorious

Answer 648

(adj.) worthy of esteem or reward (Manfred was given the congressional medal of honor for his meritorious actions.)

Question 649

metamorphosis

Answer 649

(n.) the change of form, shape, substance (Winnifred went to the gym every day for a year and underwent a metamorphosis from a waiflike girl to an athletic woman.)

Question 650

meticulous

Answer 650

(adj.) extremely careful with details (The ornate needlework in the bride's gown was a product of meticulous handiwork.)

Question 651

mitigate

Answer 651

(v.) to make less violent, alleviate (When I had an awful sore throat, only warm tea would mitigate the pain.)

Question 652

moderate

Answer 652

1. (adj.) not extreme (Luckily, the restaurant we chose had moderate prices; none of us have any money.) 2. (n.) one who expresses moderate opinions (Because he found both the liberal and conservative proposals too excessive, Mr. Park sided with the moderates.)

Question 653

modicum

Answer 653

(n.) a small amount of something (Refusing to display even a modicum of sensitivity, Henrietta announced her boss's affair in front of the entire office.)

Question 654

modulate

Answer 654

(v.) to pass from one state to another, especially in music (The composer wrote a piece that modulated between minor and major keys.)

Question 655

mollify

Answer 655

(v.) to soften in temper (The police officer mollified the angry woman by giving her a warning instead of a ticket.)

Question 656

morass

Answer 656

(n.) a wet swampy bog; figuratively, something that traps and confuses (When Theresa lost her job, she could not get out of her financial morass.)

Question 657

mores

Answer 657

(n.) the moral attitudes and fixed customs of a group of people. (Mores change over time; many things that were tolerated in 1975 are no longer seen as being socially acceptable.)

Question 658

morose

Answer 658

(adj.) gloomy or sullen (Jason's morose nature made him very unpleasant to talk to.)

Question 659

multifarious

Answer 659

(adj.) having great diversity or variety (This Swiss Army knife has multifarious functions and capabilities. Among other things, it can act as a knife, a saw, a toothpick, and a slingshot.)

Question 660

mundane

Answer 660

(adj.) concerned with the world rather than with heaven, commonplace (He is more concerned with the mundane issues of day-to-day life than with spiritual topics.)

Question 661

munificence

Answer 661

(n.) generosity in giving (The royal family's munificence made everyone else in their country rich.)

Question 662

mutable

Answer 662

(adj.) able to change (Because fashion is so mutable, what is trendy today will look outdated in five years.)

Question 663

myriad

Answer 663

(adj.) consisting of a very great number (It was difficult to decide what to do Friday night because the city presented us with myriad possibilities for fun.)

Question 664

nadir

Answer 664

(n.) the lowest point of something (My day was boring, but the nadir came when I accidentally spilled a bowl of spaghetti on my head.)

Question 665

nascent

Answer 665

(adj.) in the process of being born or coming into existence (Unfortunately, my brilliant paper was only in its nascent form on the morning that it was due.)

Question 666

nebulous

Answer 666

(adj.) vaguely defined, cloudy (The transition between governments meant that who was actually in charge was a nebulous matter.)

Question 667

nefarious

Answer 667

(adj.) heinously villainous (Although Dr. Meanman's nefarious plot to melt the polar icecaps was terrifying, it was so impractical that nobody really worried about it.)

Question 668

negligent

Answer 668

(adj.) habitually careless, neglectful (Jessie's grandfather called me a negligent fool after I left the door to his apartment unlocked even though there had been a recent string of robberies.)

Question 669

neophyte

Answer 669

(n.) someone who is young or inexperienced (As a neophyte in the literary world, Malik had trouble finding a publisher for his first novel.)

Question 670

nocturnal

Answer 670

(adj.) relating to or occurring during the night (Jackie was a nocturnal person; she would study until dawn and sleep until the evening.)

Question 671

noisome

Answer 671

(adj.) unpleasant, offensive, especially to the sense of smell (Nobody would enter the stalls until the horse's noisome leavings were taken away.)

Question 672

nomadic

Answer 672

(adj.) wandering from place to place (In the first six months after college, Jose led a nomadic life, living in New York, California, and Idaho.)

Question 673

nominal

Answer 673

(adj.) trifling, insignificant (Because he was moving the following week and needed to get rid of his furniture more than he needed money, Jordan sold everything for a nominal fee.)

Question 674

nonchalant

Answer 674

(adj.) having a lack of concern, indifference (Although deep down she was very angry, Marsha acted in a nonchalant manner when she found out that her best friend had used her clothing without asking.)

Question 675

nondescript

Answer 675

(adj.) lacking a distinctive character (I was surprised when I saw the movie star in person because she looked nondescript.)

Question 676

notorious

Answer 676

(adj.) widely and unfavorably known (Jacob was notorious for always arriving late at parties.)

Question 677

novice

Answer 677

(n.) a beginner, someone without training or experience (Because we were all novices at yoga, our instructor decided to begin with the basics.)

Question 678

noxious

Answer 678

(adj.) harmful, unwholesome (Environmentalists showed that the noxious weeds were destroying the insects' natural habitats.)

Question 679

nuance

Answer 679

(n.) a slight variation in meaning, tone, expression (The nuances of the poem were not obvious to the casual reader, but the professor was able to point them out.)

Question 680

nurture

Answer 680

(v.) to assist the development of (Although Serena had never watered the plant, which was about to die, Javier was able to nurture it back to life.)

Question 681

obdurate

Answer 681

(adj.) unyielding to persuasion or moral influences (The obdurate old man refused to take pity on the kittens.)

Question 682

obfuscate

Answer 682

(v.) to render incomprehensible (The detective did want to answer the newspaperman's questions, so he obfuscated the truth.)

Question 683

oblique

Answer 683

(adj.) diverging from a straight line or course, not straightforward (Martin's oblique language confused those who listened to him.)

Question 684

oblivious

Answer 684

(adj.) lacking consciousness or awareness of something (Oblivious to the burning smell emanating from the kitchen, my father did not notice that the rolls in the oven were burned until much too late.)

Question 685

obscure

Answer 685

(adj.) unclear, partially hidden (Because he was standing in the shadows, his features were obscure.)

Question 686

obsequious

Answer 686

(adj.) excessively compliant or submissive (Mark acted like Janet's servant, obeying her every request in an obsequious manner.)

Question 687

obsolete

Answer 687

(adj.) no longer used, out of date (With the inventions of tape decks and CDs, which both have better sound and are easier to use, eight-track players are now entirely obsolete.)

Question 688

obstinate

Answer 688

(adj.) not yielding easily, stubborn (The obstinate child refused to leave the store until his mother bought him a candy bar.)

Question 689

obstreperous

Answer 689

(adj.) noisy, unruly (Billy's obstreperous behavior prompted the librarian to ask him to leave the reading room.)

Question 690

obtuse

Answer 690

(adj.) lacking quickness of sensibility or intellect (Political opponents warned that the prime minister's obtuse approach to foreign policy would embroil the nation in mindless war.)

Question 691

odious

Answer 691

(adj.) instilling hatred or intense displeasure (Mark was assigned the odious task of cleaning the cat's litter box.)

Question 692

officious

Answer 692

(adj.) offering one's services when they are neither wanted nor needed (Brenda resented Allan's officious behavior when he selected colors that might best improve her artwork.)

Question 693

ominous

Answer 693

(adj.) foreboding or foreshadowing evil (The fortuneteller's ominous words flashed through my mind as the hooded figure approached me in the alley.)

Question 694

onerous

Answer 694

(adj.) burdensome (My parents lamented that the pleasures of living in a beautiful country estate no longer outweighed the onerous mortgage payments.)

Question 695

opulent

Answer 695

(adj.) characterized by rich abundance verging on ostentation (The opulent furnishings of the dictator's private compound contrasted harshly with the meager accommodations of her subjects.)

Question 696

oration

Answer 696

(n.) a speech delivered in a formal or ceremonious manner (The prime minister was visibly shaken when the unruly parliament interrupted his oration about failed domestic policies.)

Question 697

ornate

Answer 697

(adj.) highly elaborate, excessively decorated (The ornate styling of the new model of luxury car could not compensate for the poor quality of its motor.)

Question 698

orthodox

Answer 698

(adj.) conventional, conforming to established protocol (The company's profits dwindled because the management pursued orthodox business policies that were incompatible with new industrial trends.)

Question 699

oscillate

Answer 699

(v.) to sway from one side to the other (My uncle oscillated between buying a station wagon to transport his family and buying a sports car to satisfy his boyhood fantasies.)

Question 700

ostensible

Answer 700

(adj.) appearing as such, seemingly (Jack's ostensible reason for driving was that airfare was too expensive, but in reality, he was afraid of flying.)

Question 701

ostentatious

Answer 701

(adj.) excessively showy, glitzy (On the palace tour, the guide focused on the ostentatious decorations and spoke little of the royal family's history.)

Question 702

ostracism

Answer 702

(n.) exclusion from a group (Beth risked ostracism if her roommates discovered her flatulence.)

Question 703

pacific

Answer 703

(adj.) soothing (The chemistry professor's pacific demeanor helped the class remain calm after the experiment exploded.)

Question 704

palatable

Answer 704

(adj.) agreeable to the taste or sensibilities (Despite the unpleasant smell, the exotic cheese was quite palatable.)

Question 705

palette

Answer 705

(adj.) a range of colors or qualities (The palette of colors utilized in the painting was equaled only by the range of intense emotions the piece evoked.)

Question 706

palliate

Answer 706

(v.) to reduce the severity of (The doctor trusted that the new medication would palliate her patient's discomfort.)

Question 707

pallid

Answer 707

(adj.) lacking color (Dr. Van Helsing feared that Lucy's pallid complexion was due to an unexplained loss of blood.)

Question 708

panacea

Answer 708

(n.) a remedy for all ills or difficulties (Doctors wish there was a single panacea for every disease, but sadly there is not.)

Question 709

paradigm

Answer 709

(n.) an example that is a perfect pattern or model (Because the new SUV was so popular, it became the paradigm upon which all others were modeled.)

Question 710

paradox

Answer 710

(n.) an apparently contradictory statement that is perhaps true (The diplomat refused to acknowledge the paradox that negotiating a peace treaty would demand more resources than waging war.)

Question 711

paragon

Answer 711

(n.) a model of excellence or perfection (The mythical Helen of Troy was considered a paragon of female beauty.)

Question 712

paramount

Answer 712

(adj.) greatest in importance, rank, character (It was paramount that the bomb squad disconnect the blue wire before removing the fuse.)

Question 713

pariah

Answer 713

(n.) an outcast (Following the discovery of his plagiarism, Professor Hurley was made a pariah in all academic circles.)

Question 714

parody

Answer 714

(n.) a satirical imitation (A hush fell over the classroom when the teacher returned to find Deborah acting out a parody of his teaching style.)

Question 715

parsimony

Answer 715

(n.) frugality, stinginess (Many relatives believed that my aunt's wealth resulted from her parsimony.)

Question 716

partisan

Answer 716

(n.) a follower, adherent (The king did not believe that his rival could round up enough partisans to overthrow the monarchy.)

Question 717

patent

Answer 717

(adj.) readily seen or understood, clear (The reason for Jim's abdominal pain was made patent after the doctor performed a sonogram.)

Question 718

pathology

Answer 718

(n.) a deviation from the normal (Dr. Hastings had difficulty identifying the precise nature of Brian's pathology.)

Question 719

pathos

Answer 719

(n.) an emotion of sympathy (Martha filled with pathos upon discovering the scrawny, shivering kitten at her door.)

Question 720

paucity

Answer 720

(adj.) small in quantity (Gilbert lamented the paucity of twentieth century literature courses available at the college.)

Question 721

pejorative

Answer 721

(adj.) derogatory, uncomplimentary (The evening's headline news covered an international scandal caused by a pejorative statement the famous senator had made in reference to a foreign leader.)

Question 722

pellucid

Answer 722

(adj.) easily intelligible, clear (Wishing his book to be pellucid to the common man, Albert Camus avoided using complicated grammar when composing The Stranger.)

Question 723

penchant

Answer 723

(n.) a tendency, partiality, preference (Jill's dinner parties quickly became monotonous on account of her penchant for Mexican dishes.)

Question 724

penitent

Answer 724

(adj.) remorseful, regretful (The jury's verdict may have been more lenient if the criminal had appeared penitent for his gruesome crimes.)

Question 725

penultimate

Answer 725

(adj.) next to last (Having smoked the penultimate cigarette remaining in the pack, Cybil discarded the last cigarette and resolved to quit smoking.)

Question 726

penurious

Answer 726

(adj.) miserly, stingy (Stella complained that her husband's penurious ways made it impossible to live the lifestyle she felt she deserved.)

Question 727

perfidious

Answer 727

(adj.) disloyal, unfaithful (After the official was caught selling government secrets to enemy agents, he was executed for his perfidious ways.)

Question 728

perfunctory

Answer 728

(adj.) showing little interest or enthusiasm (The radio broadcaster announced the news of the massacre in a surprisingly perfunctory manner.)

Question 729

permeate

Answer 729

(v.) to spread throughout, saturate (Mrs. Huxtable was annoyed that the wet dog's odor had permeated the furniture's upholstery.)

Question 730

pernicious

Answer 730

(adj.) extremely destructive or harmful (The new government feared that the Communist sympathizers would have a pernicious influence on the nation's stability.)

Question 731

perplex

Answer 731

(v.) to confuse (Brad was perplexed by his girlfriend's suddenly distant manner.)

Question 732

perspicacity

Answer 732

(adj.) shrewdness, perceptiveness (The detective was too humble to acknowledge that his perspicacity was the reason for his professional success.)

Question 733

pert

Answer 733

(adj.) flippant, bold (My parents forgave Sandra's pert humor at the dinner table because it had been so long since they had last seen her.)

Question 734

pertinacious

Answer 734

(adj.) stubbornly persistent (Harry's parents were frustrated with his pertinacious insistence that a monster lived in his closet. Then they opened the closet door and were eaten.)

Question 735

perusal

Answer 735

(n.) a careful examination, review (The actor agreed to accept the role after a two-month perusal of the movie script.)

Question 736

pervasive

Answer 736

(adj.) having the tendency to spread throughout (Stepping off the plane in Havana, I recognized the pervasive odor of sugar cane fields on fire.)

Question 737

petulance

Answer 737

(n.) rudeness, irritability (The Nanny resigned after she could no longer tolerate the child's petulance.)

Question 738

philanthropic

Answer 738

(adj.) charitable, giving (Many people felt that the billionaire's decision to donate her fortune to house the homeless was the ultimate philanthropic act.)

Question 739

phlegmatic

Answer 739

(adj.) uninterested, unresponsive (Monique feared her dog was ill after the animal's phlegmatic response to his favorite chew toy.)

Question 740

pillage

Answer 740

(v.) to seize or plunder, especially in war (Invading enemy soldiers pillaged the homes scattered along the country's border.)

Question 741

pinnacle

Answer 741

(n.) the highest point (Book reviewers declared that the author's new novel was extraordinary and probably the pinnacle of Western literature.)

Question 742

pithy

Answer 742

(adj.) concisely meaningful (My father's long-winded explanation was a stark contrast to his usually pithy statements.)

Question 743

pittance

Answer 743

(n.) a very small amount, especially relating to money (Josh complained that he was paid a pittance for the great amount of work he did at the firm.)

Question 744

placate

Answer 744

(v.) to ease the anger of, soothe (The man purchased a lollipop to placate his irritable son.)

Question 745

placid

Answer 745

(adj.) calm, peaceful (The placid lake surface was as smooth as glass.)

Question 746

platitude

Answer 746

(n.) an uninspired remark, cliché (After reading over her paper, Helene concluded that what she thought were profound insights were actually just platitudes.)

Question 747

plaudits

Answer 747

(n.) enthusiastic approval, applause (The controversial new film received plaudits from even the harshest critics.)

Question 748

plausible

Answer 748

(adj.) believable, reasonable (He studied all the data and then came up with a plausible theory that took all factors into account.)

Question 749

plenitude

Answer 749

(n.) an abundance (My grandmother was overwhelmed by the plenitude of tomatoes her garden yielded this season.)

Question 750

plethora

Answer 750

(n.) an abundance, excess (The wedding banquet included a plethora of oysters piled almost three feet high.)

Question 751

pliable

Answer 751

(adj.) flexible (Aircraft wings are designed to be somewhat pliable so they do not break in heavy turbulence.)

Question 752

poignant

Answer 752

(adj.) deeply affecting, moving (My teacher actually cried after reading to us the poignant final chapter of the novel.)

Question 753

polemic

Answer 753

(n.) an aggressive argument against a specific opinion (My brother launched into a polemic against my arguments that capitalism was an unjust economic system.)

Question 754

portent

Answer 754

(n.) an omen (When a black cat crossed my sister's path while she was walking to school, she took it as a portent that she would do badly on her spelling test.)

Question 755

potable

Answer 755

(adj.) suitable for drinking (During sea voyages it is essential that ships carry a supply of potable water because salty ocean water makes anyone who drinks it sick.)

Question 756

potentate

Answer 756

(n.) one who has great power, a ruler (All the villagers stood along the town's main road to observe as the potentate's procession headed towards the capital.)

Question 757

pragmatic

Answer 757

(adj.) practical (The politician argued that while increased security measures might not fit with the lofty ideals of the nation, they were a pragmatic necessity to ensure everyone's safety.)

Question 758

precipice

Answer 758

(n.) the face of a cliff, a steep or overhanging place (The mountain climber hung from a precipice before finding a handhold and pulling himself up.)

Question 759

preclude

Answer 759

(v.) to prevent (My grandfather's large and vicious guard dog precluded anyone from entering the yard.)

Question 760

precocious

Answer 760

(adj.) advanced, developing ahead of time (Derek was so academically precocious that by the time he was 10 years old, he was already in the ninth grade.)

Question 761

predilection

Answer 761

(n.) a preference or inclination for something (Francois has a predilection for eating scrambled eggs with ketchup, though I prefer to eat eggs without any condiments.)

Question 762

preponderance

Answer 762

(adj.) superiority in importance or quantity (Britain's preponderance of naval might secured the nation's role as a military power.)

Question 763

prepossessing

Answer 763

(adj.) occupying the mind to the exclusion of other thoughts or feelings (His prepossessing appearance made it impossible for me to think of anything else.)

Question 764

presage

Answer 764

(n.) an omen (When my uncle's old war injury ached, he interpreted it as a presage of bad weather approaching.)

Question 765

prescient

Answer 765

(adj.) to have foreknowledge of events (Questioning the fortune cookie's prediction, Ray went in search of the old hermit who was rumored to be prescient.)

Question 766

prescribe

Answer 766

(v.) to lay down a rule (The duke prescribed that from this point further all of the peasants living on his lands would have to pay higher taxes.)

Question 767

presumptuous

Answer 767

(adj.) disrespectfully bold (The princess grew angry after the presumptuous noble tried to kiss her, even though he was far below her in social status.)

Question 768

pretense

Answer 768

(n.)an appearance or action intended to deceive (Though he actually wanted to use his parents' car to go on a date, Nick borrowed his parents' car under the pretense of attending a group study session.)

Question 769

primeval

Answer 769

(adj.) original, ancient (The first primates to walk on two legs, called Australopithecus, were the primeval descendants of modern man.)

Question 770

privation

Answer 770

(n.) lacking basic necessities (After decades of rule by an oppressive government that saw nothing wrong with stealing from its citizens, the recent drought only increased the people's privation.)

Question 771

probity

Answer 771

(n.) virtue, integrity (Because he was never viewed as a man of great probity, no one was surprised by Mr. Samson's immoral behavior.)

Question 772

proclivity

Answer 772

(n.) a strong inclination toward something (In a sick twist of fate, Harold's childhood proclivity for torturing small animals grew into a desire to become a surgeon.)

Question 773

procure

Answer 773

(v.) to obtain, acquire (The FBI was unable to procure sufficient evidence to charge the gangster with racketeering.)

Question 774

profane

Answer 774

(adj.) lewd, indecent (Jacob's profane act of dumping frogs in the holy water in the chapel at his boarding school resulted in his dismissal.)

Question 775

profligate

Answer 775

(adj.) dissolute, extravagant (The profligate gambler loved to drink, spend money, steal, cheat, and hang out with prostitutes.)

Question 776

profuse

Answer 776

(adj.) plentiful, abundant (The fans were profuse in their cheers for the star basketball player.)

Question 777

promulgate

Answer 777

(v.) to proclaim, make known (The film professor promulgated that both in terms of sex appeal and political intrigue, Sean Connery's James Bond was superior to Roger Moore's.)

Question 778

propagate

Answer 778

(v.) to multiply, spread out (Rumors of Paul McCartney's demise propagated like wildfire throughout the world.)

Question 779

propensity

Answer 779

(n.) an inclination, preference (Dermit has a propensity for dangerous activities such as bungee jumping.)

Question 780

propitious

Answer 780

(adj.) favorable (The dark storm clouds visible on the horizon suggested that the weather would not be propitious for sailing.)

Question 781

propriety

Answer 781

(n.) the quality or state of being proper, decent (Erma's old-fashioned parents believed that her mini-skirt lacked the propriety expected of a "nice" girl.)

Question 782

prosaic

Answer 782

(adj.) plain, lacking liveliness (Heather's prosaic recital of the poem bored the audience.)

Question 783

proscribe

Answer 783

(v.) to condemn, outlaw (The town council voted to proscribe the sale of alcohol on weekends.)

Question 784

protean

Answer 784

(adj.)able to change shape; displaying great variety (Among Nigel's protean talents was his ability to touch the tip of his nose with his tongue.)

Question 785

prowess

Answer 785

(n.) extraordinary ability (The musician had never taken a guitar lesson in his life, making his prowess with the instrument even more incredible.)

Question 786

prudence

Answer 786

(n.) cautious, circumspect (After losing a fortune in a stock market crash, my father vowed to practice greater prudence in future investments.)

Question 787

prurient

Answer 787

(adj.) eliciting or possessing an extraordinary interest in sex (David's mother was shocked by the discovery of prurient reading material hidden beneath her son's mattress.)

Question 788

puerile

Answer 788

(adj.) juvenile, immature (The judge demanded order after the lawyer's puerile attempt to object by stomping his feet on the courtroom floor.)

Question 789

pugnacious

Answer 789

(adj.) quarrelsome, combative (Aaron's pugnacious nature led him to start several barroom brawls each month.)

Question 790

pulchritude

Answer 790

(n.) physical beauty (Several of Shakespeare's sonnets explore the pulchritude of a lovely young man.)

Question 791

punctilious

Answer 791

(adj.) eager to follow rules or conventions (Punctilious Bobby, hall monitor extraordinaire, insisted that his peers follow the rules.)

Question 792

pungent

Answer 792

(adj.) having a pointed, sharp quality—often used to describe smells (The pungent odor in the classroom made Joseph lose his concentration during the test.)

Question 793

punitive

Answer 793

(adj.) involving punishment (If caught smoking in the boys' room, the punitive result is immediate expulsion from school.)

Question 794

putrid

Answer 794

(adj.) rotten, foul (Those rotten eggs smell putrid.) Q

Question 795

quagmire

Answer 795

(n.) a difficult situation (We'd all like to avoid the kind of military quagmire characterized by the Vietnam War.)

Question 796

quaint

Answer 796

(adj.) charmingly old-fashioned (Hilda was delighted by the quaint bonnets she saw in Amish country.)

Question 797

quandary

Answer 797

(n.) a perplexed, unresolvable state (Carlos found himself in a quandary: should he choose mint chocolate chip or cookie dough?)

Question 798

quell

Answer 798

(v.) to control or diffuse a potentially explosive situation (The skilled leader deftly quelled the rebellion.)

Question 799

querulous

Answer 799

(adj.) whiny, complaining (If deprived of his pacifier, young Brendan becomes querulous.)

Question 800

quixotic

Answer 800

(adj.) idealistic, impractical (Edward entertained a quixotic desire to fall in love at first sight in a laundromat.)

Question 801

quotidian

Answer 801

(adj.) daily (Ambika's quotidian routines include drinking two cups of coffee in the morning.)

Question 802

rail

Answer 802

(v.) to scold, protest (The professor railed against the injustice of the college's tenure policy.)

Question 803

rancid

Answer 803

(adj.) having a terrible taste or smell (Rob was double-dog-dared to eat the rancid egg salad sandwich.)

Question 804

rancor

Answer 804

(n.) deep, bitter resentment (When Eileen challenged me to a fight, I could see the rancor in her eyes.)

Question 805

rapport

Answer 805

(n.) mutual understanding and harmony (When Margaret met her paramour, they felt an instant rapport.)

Question 806

rash

Answer 806

(adj.) hasty, incautious (It's best to think things over calmly and thoroughly, rather than make rash decisions.)

Question 807

raucous

Answer 807

(adj.) loud, boisterous (Sarah's neighbors called the cops when her house party got too raucous.)

Question 808

raze

Answer 808

(v.) to demolish, level (The old tenement house was razed to make room for the large chain store.)

Question 809

rebuke

Answer 809

(v.) to scold, criticize (When the cops showed up at Sarah's party, they rebuked her for disturbing the peace.)

Question 810

recalcitrant

Answer 810

(adj.) defiant, unapologetic (Even when scolded, the recalcitrant young girl simply stomped her foot and refused to finish her lima beans.)

Question 811

recapitulate

Answer 811

(v.) to sum up, repeat (Before the final exam, the teacher recapitulated the semester's material.)

Question 812

reciprocate

Answer 812

(v.) to give in return (When Steve gave Samantha a sweater for Christmas, she reciprocated by giving him a kiss.)

Question 813

reclusive

Answer 813

(adj.) solitary, shunning society (Reclusive authors such as J.D. Salinger do not relish media attention and sometimes even enjoy holing up in remote cabins in the woods.)

Question 814

reconcile

Answer 814

1. (v.) to return to harmony (The feuding neighbors finally reconciled when one brought the other a delicious tuna noodle casserole.) 2. (v.) to make consistent with existing ideas (Alou had to reconcile his skepticism about the existence of aliens with the fact that he was looking at a flying saucer.)

Question 815

rectitude

Answer 815

(n.) uprightness, extreme morality (The priest's rectitude gave him the moral authority to counsel his parishioners.)

Question 816

redoubtable

Answer 816

1. (adj.) formidable (The fortress looked redoubtable set against a stormy sky.) 2. (adj.) commanding respect (The audience greeted the redoubtable speaker with a standing ovation.)

Question 817

refract

Answer 817

(v.) to distort, change (The light was refracted as it passed through the prism.)

Question 818

refurbish

Answer 818

(v.) to restore, clean up (The dingy old chair, after being refurbished, commanded the handsome price of $200.)

Question 819

refute

Answer 819

(v.) to prove wrong (Maria refuted the president's argument as she yelled and gesticulated at the TV.)

Question 820

regurgitate

Answer 820

1. (v.) to vomit (Feeling sick, Chuck regurgitated his dinner.) 2. (v.) to throw back exactly (Margaret rushed through the test, regurgitating all of the facts she'd memorized an hour earlier.)

Question 821

relegate

Answer 821

1. (v.) to assign to the proper place (At the astrology conference, Simon was relegated to the Scorpio room.) 2. (v.) to assign to an inferior place (After spilling a drink on a customer's shirt, the waiter found himself relegated to the least lucrative shift.)

Question 822

relish

Answer 822

(v.) to enjoy (Pete always relished his bedtime snack.)

Question 823

remedial

Answer 823

(adj.) intended to repair gaps in students' basic knowledge (After his teacher discovered he couldn't read, Alex was forced to enroll in remedial English.)

Question 824

remiss

Answer 824

(adj.) negligent, failing to take care (The burglar gained entrance because the security guard, remiss in his duties, forgot to lock the door.)

Question 825

renovate

Answer 825

1. (v.) restore, return to original state (The renovated antique candelabra looked as good as new.) 2. (v.) to enlarge and make prettier, especially a house (After getting renovated, the house was twice as big and much more attractive.)

Question 826

renown

Answer 826

(n.) honor, acclaim (The young writer earned international renown by winning the Pulitzer Prize.)

Question 827

renunciation

Answer 827

(n.) to reject (Fiona's renunciation of red meat resulted in weight loss, but confused those people who thought she'd been a vegetarian for years.)

Question 828

repentant

Answer 828

(adj.) penitent, sorry (The repentant Dennis apologized profusely for breaking his mother's vase.)

Question 829

replete

Answer 829

(adj.) full, abundant (The unedited version was replete with naughty words.)

Question 830

repose

Answer 830

(v.) to rest, lie down (The cat, after eating an entire can of tuna fish, reposed in the sun and took a long nap.)

Question 831

reprehensible

Answer 831

(adj.) deserving rebuke (Jean's cruel and reprehensible attempt to dump her boyfriend on his birthday led to tears and recriminations.)

Question 832

reprieve

Answer 832

(n.) a temporary delay of punishment (Because the governor woke up in a particularly good mood, he granted hundreds of reprieves to prisoners.)

Question 833

reproach

Answer 833

(v.) to scold, disapprove (Brian reproached the customer for failing to rewind the video he had rented.)

Question 834

reprobate

Answer 834

(adj.) evil, unprincipled (The reprobate criminal sat sneering in the cell.)

Question 835

reprove

Answer 835

(v.) to scold, rebuke (Lara reproved her son for sticking each and every one of his fingers into the strawberry pie.)

Question 836

repudiate

Answer 836

(v.) to reject, refuse to accept (Kwame made a strong case for an extension of his curfew, but his mother repudiated it with a few biting words.)

Question 837

repulse

Answer 837

1. (v.) to disgust (Antisocial Annie tried to repulse people by neglecting to brush her teeth.) 2. (v.) to push back (With a deft movement of her wrist and a punch to the stomach, Lacy repulsed Jack's attempt to kiss her.)

Question 838

reputable

Answer 838

(adj.) of good reputation (After the most reputable critic in the industry gave the novel a glowing review, sales took off.)

Question 839

requisition

Answer 839

(n.) a demand for goods, usually made by an authority (During the war, the government made a requisition of supplies.)

Question 840

rescind

Answer 840

(v.) to take back, repeal (The company rescinded its offer of employment after discovering that Jane's resume was full of lies.)

Question 841

reservoir

Answer 841

1. (n.) reserves, large supply (Igor the Indomitable had quite a reservoir of strengh and could lift ten tons, even after running 700 miles, jumping over three mountains, and swimming across an ocean.) 2. (n.) a body of water used for storing water (After graduation, the more rebellious members of the senior class jumped into the town reservoir used for drinking water.)

Question 842

resilient

Answer 842

(adj.) able to recover from misfortune; able to withstand adversity (The resilient ballplayer quickly recovered from his wrist injury.)

Question 843

resolute

Answer 843

(adj.) firm, determined (With a resolute glint in her eye, Catherine announced that she was set on going to college in New York City even though she was a little frightened of tall buildings.)

Question 844

resolve

Answer 844

1. (v.) to find a solution (Sarah and Emma resolved their differences and shook hands.) 2. (v.) to firmly decide (Lady Macbeth resolved to whip her husband into shape.)

Question 845

respite

Answer 845

(n.) a break, rest (Justin left the pub to gain a brief respite from the smoke and noise.)

Question 846

resplendent

Answer 846

(adj.) shiny, glowing (The partygoers were resplendent in diamonds and fancy dress.)

Question 847

restitution

Answer 847

(n.) restoration to the rightful owner (Many people feel that descendants of slaves should receive restitution for the sufferings of their ancestors.)

Question 848

restive

Answer 848

(adj.) resistant, stubborn, impatient (The restive audience pelted the band with mud and yelled nasty comments.)

Question 849

retract

Answer 849

(v.) withdraw (As the media worked itself into a frenzy, the publicist hurriedly retracted his client's sexist statement.)

Question 850

revel

Answer 850

(v.) to enjoy intensely (Theodore reveled in his new status as Big Man on Campus.)

Question 851

revere

Answer 851

(v.) to esteem, show deference, venerate (The doctor saved countless lives with his combination of expertise and kindness and became universally revered.)

Question 852

revoke

Answer 852

(v.) to take back (After missing the curfew set by the court for eight nights in a row, Marcel's freedom of movement was revoked.)

Question 853

rhapsodize

Answer 853

(v.) to engage in excessive enthusiasm (The critic rhapsodized about the movie, calling it an instant classic.)

Question 854

ribald

Answer 854

(adj.) coarsely, crudely humorous (While some giggled at the ribald joke involving a parson's daughter, most sighed and rolled their eyes.)

Question 855

rife

Answer 855

(adj.) abundant (Surprisingly, the famous novelist's writing was rife with spelling errors.)

Question 856

ruminate

Answer 856

(v.) to contemplate, reflect (Terry liked to ruminate while sitting on the banks of the river, staring pensively into the water.)

Question 857

ruse

Answer 857

(n.) a trick (Oliver concocted an elaborate ruse for sneaking out of the house to meet his girlfriend while simultaneously giving his mother the impression that he was asleep in bed.)

Question 858

saccharine

Answer 858

(adj.) sickeningly sweet (Tom's saccharine manner, although intended to make him popular, actually repelled his classmates.)

Question 859

sacrosanct

Answer 859

(adj.) holy, something that should not be criticized (In the United States, the Constitution is often thought of as a sacrosanct document.)

Question 860

sagacity

Answer 860

(n.) shrewdness, soundness of perspective (With remarkable sagacity, the wise old man predicted and thwarted his children's plan to ship him off to a nursing home.)

Question 861

salient

Answer 861

(adj.) significant, conspicuous (One of the salient differences between Alison and Nancy is that Alison is a foot taller.)

Question 862

salutation

Answer 862

(n.) a greeting (Andrew regularly began letters with the bizarre salutation "Ahoy ahoy.")

Question 863

salve

Answer 863

(n.) a soothing balm (After Tony applied a salve to his brilliant red sunburn, he soon felt a little better.)

Question 864

sanctimonious

Answer 864

(adj.) giving a hypocritical appearance of piety (The sanctimonious Bertrand delivered stern lectures on the Ten Commandments to anyone who would listen, but thought nothing of stealing cars to make some cash on the side.)

Question 865

sanguine

Answer 865

(adj.) optimistic, cheery (Polly reacted to any bad news with a sanguine smile and the chirpy cry, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!")

Question 866

satiate

Answer 866

(v.) to satisfy excessively (Satiated after eating far too much turkey and stuffing, Liza lay on the couch watching football and suffering from stomach pains.)

Question 867

scathing

Answer 867

(adj.) sharp, critical, hurtful (Two hours after breaking up with Russell, Suzanne thought of the perfect scathing retort to his accusations.)

Question 868

scintillating

Answer 868

(adj.) sparkling (The ice skater's scintillating rhinestone costume nearly blinded the judges.)

Question 869

scrupulous

Answer 869

(adj.) painstaking, careful (With scrupulous care, Sam cut a snowflake out of white paper.)

Question 870

scurrilous

Answer 870

(adj.) vulgar, coarse (When Bruno heard the scurrilous accusation being made about him, he could not believe it because he always tried to be nice to everyone.)

Question 871

sedentary

Answer 871

(adj.) sitting, settled (The sedentary cat did little but loll in the sun.)

Question 872

semaphore

Answer 872

(n.) a visual signal (Anne and Diana communicated with a semaphore involving candles and window shades.)

Question 873

seminal

Answer 873

(adj.) original, important, creating a field (Stephen Greenblatt's essays on Shakespeare proved to be seminal, because they initiated the critical school of New Historicism.)

Question 874

sensual

Answer 874

(adj.) involving sensory gratification, usually related to sex (With a coy smile, the guest on the blind-date show announced that he considered himself a very sensual person.)

Question 875

sensuous

Answer 875

(adj.) involving sensory gratification (Paul found drinking Coke, with all the little bubbles bursting on his tongue, a very sensuous experience.)

Question 876

serendipity

Answer 876

(n.) luck, finding good things without looking for them (In an amazing bit of serendipity, penniless Paula found a $20 bill in the subway station.)

Question 877

serene

Answer 877

(adj.) calm, untroubled (Louise stood in front of the Mona Lisa, puzzling over the famous woman's serene smile.)

Question 878

servile

Answer 878

(adj.) subservient (The servile porter crept around the hotel lobby, bowing and quaking before the guests.)

Question 879

sinuous

Answer 879

(adj.) lithe, serpentine (With the sinuous movements of her arms, the dancer mimicked the motion of a snake.)

Question 880

sobriety

Answer 880

(n.) sedate, calm (Jason believed that maintaining his sobriety in times of crisis was the key to success in life.)

Question 881

solicitous

Answer 881

(adj.) concerned, attentive (Jim, laid up in bed with a nasty virus, enjoyed the solicitous attentions of his mother, who brought him soup and extra blankets.)

Question 882

solipsistic

Answer 882

(adj.) believing that oneself is all that exists (Colette's solipsistic attitude completely ignored the plight of the homeless people on the street.)

Question 883

soluble

Answer 883

(adj.) able to dissolve (The plot of the spy film revolved around an untraceable and water-soluble poison.)

Question 884

solvent

Answer 884

1. (n.) a substance that can dissolve other substances (Water is sometimes called the universal solvent because almost all other substances can dissolve into it.) 2. (adj.) able to pay debts (Upon receiving an unexpected check from her aunt, Annabelle found herself suddenly solvent.)

Question 885

somnolent

Answer 885

(adj.) sleepy, drowsy (The somnolent student kept falling asleep and waking up with a jerk.)

Question 886

sophomoric

Answer 886

(adj.) immature, uninformed (The mature senior rolled her eyes at the sophomoric gross-out humor of the underclassman.)

Question 887

sovereign

Answer 887

(adj.) having absolute authority in a certain realm (The sovereign queen, with steely resolve, ordered that the traitorous nobleman be killed.)

Question 888

speculative

Answer 888

(adj.) not based in fact (Sadly, Tessa was convicted on merely speculative evidence.)

Question 889

spurious

Answer 889

(adj.) false but designed to seem plausible (Using a spurious argument, John convinced the others that he had won the board game on a technicality.)

Question 890

stagnate

Answer 890

(v.) to become or remain inactive, not develop, not flow (With no room for advancement, the waiter's career stagnated.)

Question 891

staid

Answer 891

(adj.) sedate, serious, self-restrained (The staid butler never changed his expression no matter what happened.)

Question 892

stingy

Answer 892

(adj.) not generous, not inclined to spend or give (Scrooge's stingy habits did not fit with the generous, giving spirit of Christmas.)

Question 893

stoic

Answer 893

(adj.) unaffected by passion or feeling (Penelope's faithfulness to Odysseus required that she be stoic and put off her many suitors.)

Question 894

stolid

Answer 894

(adj.) expressing little sensibility, unemotional (Charles's stolid reaction to his wife's funeral differed from the passion he showed at the time of her death.)

Question 895

strenuous

Answer 895

(adj.) requiring tremendous energy or stamina (Running a marathon is quite a strenuous task. So is watching an entire Star Trek marathon.)

Question 896

strident

Answer 896

(adj.) harsh, loud (A strident man, Captain Von Trapp yelled at his daughter and made her cry.)

Question 897

stupefy

Answer 897

(v.) to astonish, make insensible (Veronica's audacity and ungratefulness stupefied her best friend, Heather.)

Question 898

subjugate

Answer 898

(v.) to bring under control, subdue (The invading force captured and subjugated the natives of that place.)

Question 899

sublime

Answer 899

(adj.) lofty, grand, exalted (The homeless man sadly pondered his former wealth and once sublime existence.)

Question 900

submissive

Answer 900

(adj.) easily yielding to authority (In some cultures, wives are supposed to be submissive and support their husbands in all matters.)

Question 901

succinct

Answer 901

(adj.) marked by compact precision (The governor's succinct speech energized the crowd while the mayor's rambled on and on.)

Question 902

superfluous

Answer 902

(adj.) exceeding what is necessary (Tracy had already won the campaign so her constant flattery of others was superfluous.)

Question 903

surfeit

Answer 903

(n.) an overabundant supply or indulgence (After partaking of the surfeit of tacos and tamales at the All-You-Can-Eat Taco Tamale Lunch Special, Beth felt rather sick.)

Question 904

surmise

Answer 904

(v.) to infer with little evidence (After speaking to only one of the students, the teacher was able to surmise what had caused the fight.)

Question 905

surreptitious

Answer 905

(adj.) stealthy (The surreptitious CIA agents were able to get in and out of the house without anyone noticing.)

Question 906

surrogate

Answer 906

(n.) one acting in place of another (The surrogate carried the child to term for its biological parents.)

Question 907

swarthy

Answer 907

(adj.) of dark color or complexion (When he got drunk, Robinson's white skin became rather swarthy.)

Question 908

sycophant

Answer 908

(n.) one who flatters for self-gain (Some see the people in the cabinet as the president's closest advisors, but others see them as sycophants.)

Question 909

tacit

Answer 909

(adj.) expressed without words (I interpreted my parents' refusal to talk as a tacit acceptance of my request.)

Question 910

taciturn

Answer 910

(adj.) not inclined to talk (Though Jane never seems to stop talking, her brother is quite taciturn.)

Question 911

tangential

Answer 911

(adj.) incidental, peripheral, divergent (I tried to discuss my salary, but the boss kept veering off into tangential topics.)

Question 912

tantamount

Answer 912

(adj.) equivalent in value or significance (When it comes to sports, fearing your opponent is tantamount to losing.)

Question 913

tedious

Answer 913

(adj.) dull, boring (As time passed and the history professor continued to drone on and on, the lecture became increasingly tedious.)

Question 914

temerity

Answer 914

(n.) audacity, recklessness (Tom and Huck entered the scary cave armed with nothing but their own temerity.)

Question 915

temperance

Answer 915

(n.) moderation in action or thought (Maintaining temperance will ensure that you are able to think rationally and objectively.)

Question 916

tenable

Answer 916

(adj.) able to be defended or maintained (The department heads tore down the arguments in other people's theses, but Johari's work proved to be quite tenable.)

Question 917

tenuous

Answer 917

(adj.) having little substance or strength (Your argument is very tenuous, since it relies so much on speculation and hearsay.)

Question 918

terrestrial

Answer 918

(adj.) relating to the land (Elephants are terrestrial animals.)

Question 919

timorous

Answer 919

(adj.) timid, fearful (When dealing with the unknown, timorous Tallulah almost always broke into tears.)

Question 920

tirade

Answer 920

(n.) a long speech marked by harsh or biting language (Every time Jessica was late, her boyfriend went into a long tirade about punctuality.)

Question 921

toady

Answer 921

(n.) one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors (The other kids referred to the teacher's pet as the Tenth Grade Toady.)

Question 922

tome

Answer 922

(n.) a large book (In college, I used to carry around an anatomy book that was the heaviest tome in my bag.)

Question 923

torpid

Answer 923

(adj.) lethargic, dormant, lacking motion (The torpid whale floated, wallowing in the water for hours.)

Question 924

torrid

Answer 924

(adj.) giving off intense heat, passionate (I didn't want to witness the neighbor's torrid affair through the window.)

Question 925

tortuous

Answer 925

(adj.) winding (The scary thing about driving in mountains are the narrow, tortuous roads.)

Question 926

tractable

Answer 926

(adj.) easily controlled (The horse was so tractable, Myra didn't even need a bridle.)

Question 927

tranquil

Answer 927

(adj.) calm (There is a time of night when nothing moves and everything is tranquil.)

Question 928

transgress

Answer 928

(v.) to violate, go over a limit (The criminal's actions transgressed morality and human decency.)

Question 929

transient

Answer 929

(adj.) passing through briefly; passing into and out of existence (Because virtually everyone in Palm Beach is a tourist, the population of the town is quite transient.)

Question 930

transmute

Answer 930

(v.) to change or alter in form (Ancient alchemists believed that it was possible to transmute lead into gold.)

Question 931

travesty

Answer 931

(n.) a grossly inferior imitation (According to the school newspaper's merciless theater critic, Pacific Coast High's rendition of the musical Oklahoma was a travesty of the original.)

Question 932

tremulous

Answer 932

(adj.) fearful (I always feel a trifle tremulous when walking through a graveyard.)

Question 933

trenchant

Answer 933

(adj.) effective, articulate, clear-cut (The directions that accompanied my new cell phone were trenchant and easy to follow.)

Question 934

trepidation

Answer 934

(n.) fear, apprehension (Feeling great trepidation, Anya refused to jump into the pool because she thought she saw a shark in it.)

Question 935

trite

Answer 935

(adj.) not original, overused (Keith thought of himself as being very learned, but everyone else thought he was trite because his observations about the world were always the same as David Letterman's.)

Question 936

truculent

Answer 936

(adj.) ready to fight, cruel (This club doesn't really attract the dangerous types, so why was that bouncer being so truculent?)

Question 937

truncate

Answer 937

(v.) to shorten by cutting off (After winning the derby, the jockey truncated the long speech he had planned and thanked only his mom and his horse.)

Question 938

turgid

Answer 938

(adj.) swollen, excessively embellished in style or language (The haughty writer did not realize how we all really felt about his turgid prose.)

Question 939

turpitude

Answer 939

(n.) depravity, moral corruption (Sir Marcus's chivalry often contrasted with the turpitude he exhibited with the ladies at the tavern.)

Question 940

ubiquitous

Answer 940

(adj.) existing everywhere, widespread (It seems that everyone in the United States has a television. The technology is ubiquitous here.)

Question 941

umbrage

Answer 941

(n.) resentment, offense (He called me a lily-livered coward, and I took umbrage at the insult.)

Question 942

uncanny

Answer 942

(adj.) of supernatural character or origin (Luka had an uncanny ability to know exactly what other people were thinking. She also had an uncanny ability to shoot fireballs from her hands.)

Question 943

unctuous

Answer 943

(adj.) smooth or greasy in texture, appearance, manner (The unctuous receptionist seemed untrustworthy, as if she was only being helpful because she thought we might give her a big tip.)

Question 944

undulate

Answer 944

(v.) to move in waves (As the storm began to brew, the placid ocean began to undulate to an increasing degree.)

Question 945

upbraid

Answer 945

(v.) to criticize or scold severely (The last thing Lindsay wanted was for Lisa to upbraid her again about missing the rent payment.)

Question 946

usurp

Answer 946

(v.) to seize by force, take possession of without right (The rogue army general tried to usurp control of the government, but he failed because most of the army backed the legally elected president.)

Question 947

utilitarian

Answer 947

(adj.) relating to or aiming at usefulness (The beautiful, fragile vase couldn't hold flowers or serve any other utilitarian purpose.)

Question 948

utopia

Answer 948

(n.) an imaginary and remote place of perfection (Everyone in the world wants to live in a utopia, but no one can agree how to go about building one.)

Question 949

vacillate

Answer 949

(v.) to fluctuate, hesitate (I prefer a definite answer, but my boss kept vacillating between the distinct options available to us.)

Question 950

vacuous

Answer 950

(adj.) lack of content or ideas, stupid (Beyonce realized that the lyrics she had just penned were completely vacuous and tried to add more substance.)

Question 951

validate

Answer 951

(v.) to confirm, support, corroborate (Yoko's chemistry lab partner was asleep during the experiment and could not validate the accuracy of her methods.)

Question 952

vapid

Answer 952

(adj.) lacking liveliness, dull (The professor's comments about the poem were surprisingly vapid and dull.)

Question 953

variegated

Answer 953

(adj.) diversified, distinctly marked (Each wire in the engineering exam was variegated by color so that the students could figure out which one was which.)

Question 954

vehemently

Answer 954

(adv.) marked by intense force or emotion (The candidate vehemently opposed cutting back on Social Security funding.)

Question 955

veneer

Answer 955

(n.) a superficial or deceptively attractive appearance, façade (Thanks to her Chanel makeup, Shannen was able to maintain a veneer of perfection that hid the flaws underneath.)

Question 956

venerable

Answer 956

(adj.) deserving of respect because of age or achievement (The venerable Supreme Court justice had made several key rulings in landmark cases throughout the years.)

Question 957

venerate

Answer 957

(v.) to regard with respect or to honor (The tribute to John Lennon sought to venerate his music, his words, and his legend.)

Question 958

veracity

Answer 958

(n.) truthfulness, accuracy (With several agencies regulating the reports, it was difficult for Latifah to argue against its veracity.)

Question 959

verbose

Answer 959

(adj.) wordy, impaired by wordiness (It took the verbose teacher two hours to explain the topic, while it should have taken only fifteen minutes.)

Question 960

verdant

Answer 960

(adj.) green in tint or color (The verdant leaves on the trees made the world look emerald.)

Question 961

vestige

Answer 961

(n.) a mark or trace of something lost or vanished (Do you know if the Mexican tortilla is a vestige of some form of Aztec corn-based flat bread?)

Question 962

vex

Answer 962

(v.) to confuse or annoy (My little brother vexes me by poking me in the ribs for hours on end.)

Question 963

vicarious

Answer 963

(adj.) experiencing through another (All of my lame friends learned to be social through vicarious involvement in my amazing experiences.)

Question 964

vicissitude

Answer 964

(n.) event that occurs by chance (The vicissitudes of daily life prevent me from predicting what might happen from one day to the next.)

Question 965

vigilant

Answer 965

(adj.) watchful, alert (The guards remained vigilant throughout the night, but the enemy never launched the expected attack.)

Question 966

vilify

Answer 966

(v.) to lower in importance, defame (After the Watergate scandal, almost any story written about President Nixon sought to vilify him and criticize his behavior.)

Question 967

vindicate

Answer 967

(v.) to avenge; to free from allegation; to set free (The attorney had no chance of vindicating the defendant with all of the strong evidence presented by the state.)

Question 968

vindictive

Answer 968

(adj.) vengeful (The vindictive madman seeks to exact vengeance for any insult that he perceives is directed at him, no matter how small.)

Question 969

virtuoso

Answer 969

(n.) one who excels in an art; a highly skilled musical performer (Even though Lydia has studied piano for many years, she's only average at it. She's no virtuoso, that's for sure.)

Question 970

viscous

Answer 970

(adj.) not free flowing, syrupy (The viscous syrup took three minutes to pour out of the bottle.)

Question 971

vitriolic

Answer 971

(adj.) having a caustic quality (When angry, the woman would spew vitriolic insults.)

Question 972

vituperate

Answer 972

(v.) to berate (Jack ran away as soon as his father found out, knowing he would be vituperated for his unseemly behavior.)

Question 973

vivacious

Answer 973

(adj.) lively, sprightly (The vivacious clown makes all of the children laugh and giggle with his friendly antics.)

Question 974

vocation

Answer 974

(n.) the work in which someone is employed, profession (After growing tired of the superficial world of high-fashion, Edwina decided to devote herself to a new vocation: social work.)

Question 975

vociferous

Answer 975

(adj.) loud, boisterous (I'm tired of his vociferous whining so I'm breaking up with him.)

Question 976

wallow

Answer 976

(v.) to roll oneself indolently; to become or remain helpless (My roommate can't get over her breakup with her boyfriend and now just wallows in self-pity.)

Question 977

wane

Answer 977

(v.) to decrease in size, dwindle (Don't be so afraid of his wrath because his influence with the president is already beginning to wane.)

Question 978

wanton

Answer 978

(adj.) undisciplined, lewd, lustful (Vicky's wanton demeanor often made the frat guys next door very excited.)

Question 979

whimsical

Answer 979

(adj.) fanciful, full of whims (The whimsical little girl liked to pretend that she was an elvin princess.)

Question 980

wily

Answer 980

(adj.) crafty, sly (Though they were not the strongest of the Thundercats, wily Kit and Kat were definitely the most clever and full of tricks.)

Question 981

winsome

Answer 981

(adj.) charming, pleasing (After such a long, frustrating day, I was grateful for Chris's winsome attitude and childish naivete.)

Question 982

wistful

Answer 982

(adj.) full of yearning; musingly sad (Since her pet rabbit died, Edda missed it terribly and sat around wistful all day long.)

Question 983

wizened

Answer 983

(adj.) dry, shrunken, wrinkled (Agatha's grandmother, Stephanie, had the most wizened countenance, full of leathery wrinkles.)

Question 984

wrath

Answer 984

(n.) vengeful anger, punishment (Did you really want to incur her wrath when she is known for inflicting the worst punishments legally possible?)

Question 985

yoke

Answer 985

(v.) to join, link (We yoked together the logs by tying a string around them.) Z

Question 986

zealous

Answer 986

(adj.) fervent, filled with eagerness in pursuit of something (If he were any more zealous about getting his promotion, he'd practically live at the office.)

Question 987

zenith

Answer 987

(n.) the highest point, culminating point (I was too nice to tell Nelly that she had reached the absolute zenith of her career with that one hit of hers.)

Question 988

zephyr

Answer 988

(n.) a gentle breeze (If not for the zephyrs that were blowing and cooling us, our room would've been unbearably hot.)