Set 2

Question 1

ABSTINENT (AB stuh nunt)

Answer 1

adj. abstaining; voluntarily not doing
something, especially something pleasant that is bad for you or has a bad reputation

Beulah used to be smoker; now she’s abstinent.
A person who abstains from something is an abstainer and engages in abstinence.

Question 2

ABSTRACT (AB strakt)

Answer 2

adj. theoretical; impersonal

He liked oysters in the abstract, but when he actually tried one he became nauseated.
To like something in the abstract is to like the idea of it.

Question 3

ABSTRUSE (ab STROOS)

Answer 3

adj. hard to understand

The professor’s article, on the meaning of meaning, was abstruse. Michael couldn’t even pronounce the words in it.

Question 4

ABYSMAL (uh BIZ mul)

Answer 4

adj. extremely hopeless or wretched; bottomless

An abyss (uh BIS) is a bottomless pit, or something so deep that it seems bottomless. Abysmal despair is despair so deep that no hope seems possible.

The nation’s debt crisis was abysmal; there seemed to be no possible solution.

Question 5

ACCOLADE (AK uh layd)

Answer 5

n. an award; an honor

This word is generally used in the plural.
The first break-dancing troupe to perform in Carnegie Hall, the Teflon Toughs, received accolades from the critics as well as from the fans.

Question 6

ACCOST (uh KAWST)

Answer 6

v. to approach and speak to someone aggressively

Amanda karate-chopped the stranger who accosted her in the street and was embarrassed to find he was an old, blind man.

Question 7

ACERBIC (uh SUR bik)

Answer 7

adj. sour; severe; like acid in temper, mood, or tone

Barry sat silently as his friends read the teacher’s acerbic comments on his paper.

Question 8

ACQUIESCE (ak wee ES)

Answer 8

v. to comply passively; to accept; to
assent; to agree

The pirates asked Pete to walk the plank; he took one look at their swords and then acquiesced.

Question 9

ACRID (AK rid)

Answer 9

adj. harshly pungent; bitter

The cheese we had at the party had an acrid taste; it was harsh and unpleasant.
Acrid is used most often with tastes and smells, but it can be used more broadly to describe anything that is offensive in a similar way. A comment that stings like acid could be called acrid—so could a harsh personality.

Question 10

ACRIMONIOUS (ak ruh MOH nee us)

Answer 10

adj. full of spite; bitter; nasty

George and Elizabeth’s discussion turned acrimonious when Elizabeth introduced the subject of George’s perennial, incorrigible stupidity.

Question 11

ACUMEN (AK yoo mun)

Answer 11

n. keenness of judgment; mental sharpness

A woman who knows how to turn one dollar into a million overnight might be said to have a lot of business acumen.