Set #1 Level 2

Question 1

Anomaly (noun)

Answer 1

Anything out of sequence; a departure from normal order

Ex: It’s an anomaly to learn calculus before knowing algebra.

Question 2

Assiduous (adj)

Answer 2

Extremely attentive; diligent

Ex: Ann took assiduous care of Tom, tending to his every need while he was sick.

Question 3

Blasphemy (noun)

Answer 3

Words or deeds insulting to God or anything considered sacred

Ex: Do you think it was blasphemy for Monique to go to church wearing a tank top?

Question 4

Callow (adj)

Answer 4

Inexperienced; immature

Ex: Although the new teacher looks young and callow, he has ten years of experience.

Question 5

Complacency (Noun)

Answer 5

Uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s situation or achievements

Ex: The coach said that her team’s complacency after ten wins in a row led to four straight losses.

Question 6

Desecrate

Answer 6

To damage or show disrespect to something sacred to others.

Ex: Vandals desecrated the cemetery by splashing paint on the gravestones.

Question 7

Droll

Answer 7

Oddly amusing or humorous

Ex: Mimi tells such droll stories that she could be a comedian.

Question 8

Elegy

Answer 8

A sorrowful poem or song, usually of mourning

Ex: At the end of the funeral, he recited an elegy for his grandfather.

Question 9

Erudite

Answer 9

Highly educated; learned; scholarly

Ex: The ideas in Fredrick Douglass’ autobiography are erudite even though he is self educated.

Question 10

Expurgate

Answer 10

To censor or to clean out, especially to remove objectionable material from a book movie, etc.

Ex: R-rated movies in school are shown after they have been expurgated.

Question 11

Fitful

Answer 11

Occurring in fits or spurts; coming and going; irregular

Ex: Greg usually sleeps soundly, but the night before the SAT, he had a fitful sleep.

Question 12

Fractious

Answer 12

Irritable; cross

Ex: Faced by a fractious crowd, the mayor shortened his speech and left in a hurry.

Question 13

Harangue

Answer 13

(N) Lengthy oration or lecture, often meant to move, scold, or arouse the audience into action; (v) to deliver such a speech to lecture

Ex: (N) The principal launched into a harangue about misconduct during fires.
Ex: (V) He let the juniors go, but harangued the seniors for 30 minutes more.

Question 14

Impasse

Answer 14

a deadlock; an obstacle with no apparent way around it

Ex: The negotiations reached an impasse when both sides refused to compromise

Question 15

Indefatigable

Answer 15

Tireless, weariless

Ex: She is indefatigable behind the wheel; she can drive morning to night without rest.

Question 16

Intractable

Answer 16

stubborn; difficult to manage or control

Ex: Mark is to intractable to change his mind on the issue.

Question 17

Martinet

Answer 17

A strict disciplinarian; dictator

Ex: A marine drill sergeant could not be more of a martinet than Mr. Finn, my math teacher

Question 18

Obstinate

Answer 18

Stubborn; inflexible; difficult to subdue or control

Ex: Timmy is as obstinate as a mule; he won’t do anything you tell him to do.

Question 19

Paucity

Answer 19

Scarcity; shortage

Ex: The chorus sounds dreadful because it suffers from a paucity of good singers.

Question 20

Pedantic

Answer 20

Uninspired; unimaginative; overly meticulous; academically narrow

Ex: The speaker turned an engrossing topic into a pedantic recitation of names and dates.

Question 21

Polemical

Answer 21

Controversial; aggressively argumentative

Ex: Instead of a simple progress report, Hank gave a polemic speech against abortion.

Question 22

Prevaricate

Answer 22

To lie; to stretch or to stray from truth

Ex: Because the key to witness prevaricated, the defendant was wrongfully convicted.

Question 23

Prosaic

Answer 23

Ordinary; dull; unimaginative; related to prose, the everyday language used in speaking and writing.

Ex: He liked the girl so much that all which he could say was a prosaic, “hello”,

Question 24

Relegate

Answer 24

To banish; assign to insignificance; to devalue

Ex: Because her coat was out of fashion, Rita relegated it to the back of her closet.

Question 25

Respite

Answer 25

A temporary intermission or break, a recess; a breather

After 10 hours of studying, she needed a respite to regain her moral health.

Question 26

Salubrious

Answer 26

Conductive to good health and well-being; beneficial

Ex: Feeling good after a salubrious spring break, I was ready for some hard APUSH studying.

Question 27

Sedentary

Answer 27

Inactive, passive, motionless

Ex: A 9 to 5 desk job is too sedentary for an energetic person like me

Question 28

Stringent

Answer 28

Severe; strict; rigidly controlled

Ex: No longer willing to accept the stringent rules, Randy dropped out of APUSH.

Question 29

Swagger

Answer 29

(v) to strut; to act arrogantly or pompously; (n) conceitedly self-assured behavior.

Ex: (v) after winning the race, Bo swaggered around the track as though he were king.
(n) The crowd booed Bo for his swagger and obnoxious attitude.

Question 30

Trumultuous

Answer 30

Full of commotion and noise; violently uproarious

Ex: At every show of The Beatles, a tumultuous crowd was present.