Set 11 Flashcards

Question 1

Q

bewilder

/bɪˈwɪldər/

Answer

A

To bewilder is to amaze, baffle, dumbfound, flummox, perplex, or stupefy. When you bewilder people, you confuse them.

Bewilder is a fun-sounding word for confusion-causing. A complicated math problem will bewilder many students. A magician’s tricks should bewilder the audience. Mystery stories should be a little bewildering, at least until the end. Sometimes, being bewildered has a more emotional element. If someone you know died in a freak accident, that would bewilder you in a very sad way.

(v.) to confuse or puzzle someone completely

The complex instructions seemed to bewilder the students.

USAGE NOTES:
Bewilder stresses a confusion of mind that hampers clear and decisive thinking.
…a bewildering number of possibilities

> 1680s, “confuse as to direction or situation,” also, figuratively, “perplex, puzzle, confuse,” from be- “thoroughly” + archaic wilder “lead astray, lure into the wilds,” which probably is a back-formation from wilderness. An earlier word with the same sense was bewhape (early 14c.) and there is a 17c. use of bewhatle.
> Merriam-Webster, Vocabulary.com, Etymonline.com

Question 2

Q

tinny

Question 3

Q

sodden

Question 4

Q

ladle

Answer

A

ladle
/ˈleɪd(ə)l/

noun

a large, deep spoon with a long handle, used for serving liquids
…She used a ladle to pour soup into the bowls.
…The chef grabbed a ladle to serve the stew.

verb

1 to serve or scoop liquid with a ladle: SPOON OUT, scoop out, dish up/out, serve; bail out
…He ladled gravy onto his mashed potatoes.
…She ladled hot chocolate into the mugs.
…He was ladling out the contents of the pot.

1a to provide (information, advice, etc.) lavishly or overgenerously
…He was ladling out his personal philosophy of life.

> “large, long-handled spoon for drawing liquids,” late Old English hlædel “ladle” (glossing Latin antlia), from hladan “to load; to draw up water” (see lade) + instrumental suffix -el (1) expressing “appliance, tool” (compare handle (n.)).
> Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline

Question 5

Q

croon

Question 6

Q

rote

Question 7

Q

gripe

Question 8

Q

dejected

Question 9

Q

jagged

Question 10

Q

wanton

Question 11

Q

entreaty

Question 12

Q

huddle

Answer

A

huddle
/ˈhʌdl/

verb

1 to crowd together closely; to gather in a close group
…The children huddled together for warmth.
…The team huddled around their coach before the game.

2 to curl one’s body into a small space
…She huddled under the blanket during the storm.
…The cat huddled in the corner, frightened by the noise.

3 to hold a private conference or discussion; If people huddle in a group, they gather together to discuss something quietly or secretly.
…The executives huddled in the conference room to discuss strategy.
…The only people in the store were three young employees, huddled in the corner chatting.
…The president has been huddling with his most senior aides.
…The players huddled to plan their next play.

noun

1 a close-packed group of people or animals
…There was a huddle of students by the bulletin board.
…The penguins formed a huddle to stay warm.

2 a brief gathering of players to plan strategy
…The quarterback called the team into a huddle.
…They discussed the next play in the huddle.

> huddle (v.): 1570s, “to heap or crowd together,” probably from Low German hudern “to cover, to shelter” (of hens on chicks or nurses with children), from Middle Low German huden “to cover up,” which is probably a frequentative form from Proto-Germanic *hud-, from PIE *keudh-, extended form of root (s)keu- “to cover, conceal.” Compare also Middle English hoderen “heap together, huddle” (c. 1300). Related: Huddled; huddling. The noun is from 1580s. U.S. football sense is from 1928.
> Collins English Dictionary, Etymonline

Question 13

Q

pyrotechnics

Answer

A

pyrotechnics

Question 14

Q

dote on sb

Answer

A

dote on sb

Question 15

Q

cadre

Question 16

Q

pique

Question 17

Q

dredge up

Answer

A

dredge up

Question 18

Q

unobscured

Answer

A

unobscured

Question 19

Q

go berserk

Answer

A

go berserk

Question 20

Q

boisterous

Answer

A

boisterous

Question 21

Q

belabor

Question 22

Q

fleck

Question 23

Q

bolt (v.)

Answer

A

bolt (v.)
/boʊlt/

verb

1 to move or run away suddenly, especially from fear
…The horse bolted when it heard the thunder.
…The thief bolted from the scene of the crime.

2 to move or proceed rapidly
…He bolted up the stairs two at a time.
…The children bolted into the playground.

3 (also bolt down) to eat (food) very quickly and without chewing properly
…He bolted down his breakfast.
…He bolted his breakfast and rushed to work.
…Don’t bolt your food – you’ll get indigestion.

4 to fasten two things together using a bolt
…She bolted the door before going to bed.
…Remember to bolt the windows at night.

Usage Notes:
- Often implies sudden, unexpected movement
- Frequently used to describe animals’ fearful reactions
- In construction/assembly contexts, means to secure with bolts

> bolt (n.): Old English bolt “short, stout arrow with a heavy head;” also “crossbow for throwing bolts,” from Proto-Germanic *bultas (source also of Old Norse bolti, Danish bolt, Dutch bout, German Bolzen), perhaps originally “arrow, missile,” and from PIE *bheld- “to knock, strike” (source also of Lithuanian beldžiu “I knock,” baldas “pole for striking”).
> bolt (v.): verbs from bolt (n.) in its various senses (especially “a missile” and “a fastening”); from a crossbow arrow’s quick flight comes the meaning “spring, make a quick start” (early 13c.). Via the notion of fleeing game or runaway horses, this came to mean “leave suddenly” (1610s). The meaning “gulp down food” is from 1794. The meaning “secure by means of a bolt” is from 1580s. Related: Bolted; bolting.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Etymonline

Question 24

Q

bedeck

Question 25

Q

emphatically

Answer

A

emphatically

Question 26

Q

mildew

Question 27

Q

taunt

Answer

A

taunt
/tɔːnt/

verb

1 to provoke or tease someone in a malicious way
…The bullies taunted the new student about his accent.
…‘And he’ll believe you, will he?’ Maria taunted.
…The protesters taunted the police officers.

taunt sb about sth
…The other children taunted him about his weight.

taunt sb with sth
…They taunted him with the nickname ‘Fatso’.

2 to challenge or provoke with insulting remarks
…He taunted his opponent before the match.
…The rival teams taunted each other across the field.

noun

a provoking or insulting remark
…She ignored their cruel taunts.
…The player responded angrily to the taunt.

> 1510s, tant “make a smart reply; answer (someone) with a mocking rejoinder;” 1550s, “reproach in a sarcastic way;” of uncertain origin, possibly [Skeat] from French tanter, tenter “to tempt, try, provoke,” variant of tempter “to try” (see tempt).
> Etymonline

Question 28

Q

dewy

Question 29

Q

assent

Question 30

Q

grimy

Question 31

Q

spindly

Answer

A

spindly
/ˈspɪndli/

adjective

1 long, thin, and fragile-looking
…The plant had spindly stems reaching toward the light.
…The chair had spindly legs that looked ready to break.

2 lacking strength or substance; appearing weak
…The colt stood on spindly legs.
…The building had a spindly framework.

Question 32

Q

hypochondria

Answer

A

hypochondria

Question 33

Q

elegiac

Question 34

Q

exuberance

Answer

A

exuberance

Question 35

Q

cathartic

Answer

A

cathartic

Question 36

Q

matronly

Question 37

Q

prosperous

Answer

A

prosperous

Question 38

Q

mangy

Question 39

Q

comp

Question 40

Q

crafty

Question 41

Q

splinter

Question 42

Q

waft

/wɑːft/

Answer

A

(v.) to move or be carried gently through the air

The scent of fresh flowers wafted through the open window.

Question 43

Q

settee

Question 44

Q

ungainly

Question 45

Q

temperance

Answer

A

temperance

Question 46

Q

demarcation

Answer

A

demarcation

Question 47

Q

prise

Question 48

Q

fraternity

Answer

A

fraternity

Question 49

Q

consummate

Answer

A

consummate

Question 50

Q

placid

Question 51

Q

flick

Question 52

Q

stubble

Question 53

Q

have no business

Answer

A

have no business

Question 54

Q

leaf through

Answer

A

leaf through

Question 55

Q

mores

Question 56

Q

citrine

Question 57

Q

brood over

Answer

A

brood over

Question 58

Q

crochet

Question 59

Q

pneumatic

Answer

A

pneumatic

Question 60

Q

frolic

Question 61

Q

evanescent

Answer

A

evanescent

Question 62

Q

sheen

Question 63

Q

vehement

Question 64

Q

whirlwind

Answer

A

whirlwind

Answer 29

A

camaraderie

Answer 30

A

metastasize

Answer 31

A

inconceivable

Answer 32

A

out of kilter

Answer 33

A

off-kilter

Answer 34

A

shimmy
/ˈʃɪmi/

verb

1 to perform a dance movement in which the body is held still while the shoulders are alternately thrust forward and backward
…The dancers shimmied to the jazz music.
…She learned to shimmy in her dance class.

2 to shake, vibrate, or wobble from side to side
…The car’s front wheels began to shimmy at high speeds.
…The loose door handle would shimmy when touched.

3 to move in a shaking or vibrating motion, especially up or down something
…She shimmied up the tree to rescue the cat.
…He had to shimmy through the narrow passage.

noun

1 a dance move characterized by rapid shaking of the body or shoulders
…The dance routine included a shimmy at the chorus.
…The performer added a shimmy to her signature moves.

2 an abnormal vibration or wobbling movement
…The mechanic checked the car’s shimmy in the steering wheel.
…There was a concerning shimmy in the washing machine.

> “do a suggestive dance,” 1918, perhaps via phrase shake the shimmy, which is possibly from shimmy (n.) “simple dress or piece of women’s underwear”, a U.S. dialectal form of chemise (mistaken as a plural; compare shammy) which is attested by 1837. Or perhaps the verb is related to shimmer (v.) via a notion of glistening light. The transferred sense of “vibration of a motor vehicle” is by 1925. Related: Shimmied; shimmying. As a noun, the name of a popular, fast, suggestive pre-flapper dance, by 1919.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Etymonline

Answer 35

A

complaisant

Answer 36

A

mercantile

Answer 37

A

insularity

Answer 38

A

keep sb/sth at bay

Answer 39

A

feign

/feɪn/

to pretend or fake, especially an emotion or physical condition; If someone feigns a particular feeling, attitude, or physical condition, they try to make other people think that they have it or are experiencing it, although this is not true.

1a : to give a false appearance of : induce as a false impression: SIMULATE, fake, sham, affect, give the appearance of, make a show of, make a pretense of, play at, go through the motions of; informal put on.
…He tried to feign interest in the conversation, but his boredom was obvious.
…She responded to his remarks with feigned amusement.

1b : to assert as if true: PRETEND, put it on, fake, sham, bluff, pose, posture, masquerade, make believe, act, playact, go through the motions, put on a false display
…The prosecution claimed that the defendant had feigned the injury.
…He feigned that he was not feeling well so that he could leave the party early.

> Middle English: from Old French feign-, stem of feindre, from Latin fingere ‘mold, contrive’. Senses in Middle English (taken from Latin) included ‘make something’, ‘invent a story, excuse, or allegation’, hence ‘make a pretense of a feeling or response’.
> Feign comes from the Latin fingere, “to devise, fabricate.” The word fiction comes from the same source, so if you feign something such as sleep, you give off the fiction that you are sleeping. This can be done to be polite but also to deceive such as when you feign an injury or the flu so you can stay home from school or work. You can also feign an accent, though some are better at this than others. ~ Vocabulary.com
> Collins English Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary of English, Cambridge Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus

Answer 40

A

(v.) to chew food steadily and often audibly

She sat on the couch and began to munch on a bag of chips.

> late Middle English: imitative (with -n- perhaps by influence of crunch).
> Oxford Dictionary of English, Etymonline

Answer 41

A

inexplicable

Answer 42

A

communique

Answer 43

A

sensuality

Answer 44

A

jubilation

Answer 45

A

precocious

Answer 46

A

(adj.) lacking order or organization; random or careless; marked by lack of plan, order, or direction: UNSYSTEMATIC, disorderly, disorganized, unplanned, unmethodical, irregular, indiscriminate, chaotic, hit-and-miss, arbitrary, orderless, aimless, undirected, careless, casual, slapdash, slipshod; informal higgledy-piggledy

The books were stacked in a haphazard manner, making it difficult to find anything.
Haphazard record-keeping made it difficult for the agency to keep track of its clients.

> The hap in haphazard comes from an English word that means “happening,” as well as “chance or fortune.” Hap, in turn, comes from the Old Norse word happ, meaning “good luck.” Perhaps it’s no accident that hazard also has its own connotations of chance and luck: while it now refers commonly to something that presents danger, at one time it referred to a dice game similar to craps. (The name ultimately comes from the Arabic word al-zahr, meaning “the die.”) Haphazard first entered English as a noun meaning “chance” in the 16th century, and soon afterward was being used as an adjective to describe things with no apparent logic or order.
> Collins English Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus

Answer 47

A

withering

Answer 48

A

wolf down

Answer 49

A

gregarious

Answer 50

A

nondescript

Answer 51

A

turnstile

Answer 52

A

(adj.) exceedingly idealistic, unrealistic, or impractical

His quixotic plan to end world hunger in a year was admirable but impossible to achieve.

> of persons, “extravagantly chivalrous, absurdly romantic,” abstractly, “striving for an unattainable or impractical ideal,” 1791, from Don Quixote, the romantic, impractical hero of Cervantes’ satirical novel “Don Quixote de la Mancha” (1605; in English translation by 1620). Don Quixote as the type of anyone attempting the impossible or holding visionary but impossible ideals is in English from 1670s.
> Etymonline

Answer 53

A

reimburse

Answer 54

A

(n.) wild and noisy disorder or confusion; chaos

Pandemonium broke out when the fire alarm went off in the crowded theater.

> Mid 17th century: modern Latin (denoting the place of all demons, in Milton’s Paradise Lost), from pan- ‘all’ + Greek daimōn ‘demon’.
> Oxford Dictionary of English

Answer 55

A

anachronism

Answer 56

A

off the hook

Answer 57

A

of its own accord

Answer 58

A

commodious

Answer 59

A

microcosm

Answer 60

A

insistent

Answer 61

A

appellation

Answer 62

A

prodigious

Answer 63

A

flit
/flɪt/

verb

1 to move lightly or quickly and not stay in one place for very long; If you flit around or flit between one place and another, you go to lots of places without staying for very long in any of them.
…Laura flits about New York hailing taxis at every opportunity.
…He spends his time flitting between Florence, Rome and Bologna.

2 If someone flits from one thing or situation to another, they move or turn their attention from one to the other very quickly.
…She flits from one dance partner to another.
…He’s prone to flit between subjects with amazing ease.

3 If something such as a bird or a bat flits about, it flies quickly from one place to another: DART, dance, skip, play, dash, trip, flick, skim, flutter, bob, bounce, spring, scoot, hop, gambol, caper, cavort, prance, frisk, scamper; informal beetle
…Butterflies flitted among the tall grasses.

4 If an expression flits across your face or an idea flits through your mind, it is there for a short time and then goes again.
…He was unable to prevent a look of interest from flitting across his features.
…Images and memories of the evening flitted through her mind.

> c. 1200, flitten, flytten, flutten “convey, move (a thing) from one place to another, take, carry away,” also intransitive, “go away, move, migrate,” from Old Norse flytja “to remove, bring,” from Proto-Germanic *flutjan- “to float,” from extended form of PIE root pleu- “to flow.” Intransitive sense “move lightly and swiftly” is from early 15c.; from c. 1500 as “remove from one habitation to another” (originally Northern English and Scottish)
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline

Answer 64

A

discomfit

Answer 65

A

shine/shone/shone

Answer 66

A

strike down

Answer 67

A

flamboyant

Answer 68

A

fly/flew/flown

Answer 69

A

blatantly

Answer 70

A

temperamental

Answer 71

A

unwitting

Answer 72

A

compunction

Answer 73

A

saccharin

Answer 74

A

flag sb/sth down

Answer 75

A

make sth of sb/sth

1 to have a particular opinion about or understanding of something or someone
…I didn’t know what to make of her.
…What do you make of the idea?

2 to use the opportunities that you have in order to become successful
…I want to make something of my life.

make something of yourself
…She has the ambition and talent to make something of herself.

> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

Answer 76

A

snap on/off

to switch something on or off, or to switch on or off
…A light snapped on in one of the huts.

snap something ↔ on/off
…Kathy snapped off the light.

> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

Answer 77

A

parts of something that have not been completed or correctly done
…We’ve nearly finished, but there are still a few loose ends to be tied up (=dealt with or completed).

> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

Answer 78

A

prickle
/ˈprɪkəl/

noun

1 a sharp point or thorn growing on a plant
…The rose’s prickles caught on her sleeve.

2 a tingling, slightly painful sensation; if you feel a prickle of fear, anger, or excitement, you feel slightly afraid, angry, or excited in a way that makes your skin feel slightly cold and uncomfortable

prickle of
…She felt a prickle of fear as she realized that she was alone.

3 a short, sharp pain or stinging feeling
…There was an uncomfortable prickle in his throat.

verb

1 to cause a tingling or stinging sensation
…The hot sauce made his tongue prickle.

2 to have or feel a slight stinging or tingling sensation
…Her skin prickled with goosebumps in the cold air.

3 (of a person) to react with irritation or anger
…He prickled at the criticism of his work.

4 (of hair or fur) to stand upright, usually due to cold or fear
…The cat’s fur prickled as it spotted the dog.

5 BRITISH
if your eyes prickle, they sting slightly because you are going to cry
…She felt her eyes prickle. ‘It was awful,’ she whispered.
…My eyes prickled with tears.

> Old English pricel “thing to prick with, instrument for puncturing; goad; small sharp point,” from the same source as Old English prician (see prick (v.)) with instrumental suffix -el (1).
> prick (v.): Middle English priken, from Old English prician “to pierce with a sharp point, prick out, place a point, dot, or mark upon; sting; cause a pricking sensation,” from West Germanic prikojan (source also of Low German pricken, Dutch prikken “to prick”), of uncertain origin. Danish prikke “to mark with dots,” Swedish pricka “to point, prick, mark with dots” probably are from Low German. Related: Pricked; pricking.
> -el (1): instrumental word-forming element, expressing “appliance, tool,” from Old English -ol, -ul, -el, representing PIE **-lo- (see -ule). In modern English usually -le except after -n-. As in treadle, ladle, thimble, handle, spindle, girdle, whittle; also compare dialectal thrashle “flail, implement for thrashing,” from Old English ðerscel, Middle English scrapel “instrument for scraping” (mid-14c.), etc.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Etymonline

Answer 79

A

latitude
/ˈlætɪtjuːd/

noun

1 the angular distance north or south from the earth’s equator: PARALLEL, grid line
…Seoul is located at 37.5665° North latitude.
…The tropical regions lie between 23.5° North and South latitude.
…Toronto shares the same latitude as Nice

2 FORMAL
freedom of action or choice; scope; Latitude is freedom to choose the way in which you do something: FREEDOM, SCOPE, leeway, elbow room, breathing space, space, room, flexibility, liberty, independence, play, slack, free rein, free play, license, self-determination, room to maneuver, scope for initiative, freedom of action, freedom from restriction, a free hand, margin, leisure, unrestrictedness, indulgence, laxity; informal wriggle room, wiggle room
…He would be given every latitude in forming a new government.
…The manager gave her employees considerable latitude in decision-making.
…His status at the studio afforded him all the artistic latitude he could ask for.
…Artists need creative latitude to express themselves.
…The possibility of low oil prices provides the Fed with some latitude to ease its inflationary concerns, supporting a decision to maintain current rates.
—Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 29 Jan. 2025

3 range or extent
…There is plenty of latitude for interpretation in this policy.
…The rules allow some latitude in their application.

> late Middle English: from Latin latitudo ‘breadth’, from latus ‘broad’. Geographical and astronomical senses also are from late 14c., literally “breadth” of a map of the known world. Figurative sense of “allowable degree of variation, extent of deviation from a standard” is early 15c. Related: Latitudinal “pertaining to geographic latitude” (1777); latitudinous “having broadness of interpretation” (1829, American English).
> Collins English Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary of English, Merriam-Webster, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline