The Following 20

Question 1

Advocate

Answer 1

to speak in favor of

The vegetarian advocated a diet containing no meat.

———

advocacy: active support of

back, champion, support

Question 2

Antipathy

Answer 2

extreme dislike

The antipathy between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare.

———

animosity, animus, antagonism, aversion, enmity, hostility, repellence

Question 3

Bolster

Answer 3

to support; to prop up

The presence of giant footprints bolstered the argument that Sasquatch was in the area.

———

brace, buttress, prop, support, sustain, underpin, uphold

Question 4

Cacophony

Answer 4

harsh, jarring noise

The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable cacophony as they tried to tune their instruments.

———

chaos, clamor, din, discord, disharmony, noise

Question 5

Deride

Answer 5

to speak of or treat with contempt; to mock

The awkward child was often derided by his “cooler” peers.

———

derision: mockery and taunts
derisive: in a mocking manner

gibe, jeer, mock, ridicule, scoff, sneer, taunt

Question 6

Dissonance

Answer 6

a harsh and disagreeable combinatino, often of sounds

Cognitive dissonance is the inner conflict produced when long-standing beliefs are contradicted by new evidence.

———

clash, contention, discord, dissension, dissent, dissidence, friction, strife, variance

Question 7

Enervate

Answer 7

to reduce in strength

The guerrillas hoped that a series of surprise attacks would enervate the regular army.

———

unnerve: to deprive of strength or courage

debilitate, enfeeble, sap, weaken

Question 8

Eulogy

Answer 8

speech in praise of someone

His best friend gave the eulogy, outlining his many achievements and talents.

———

commend, extol, laud

Question 9

Garrulous

Answer 9

tending to talk a lot

The garrulous parakeet distracted its owner with its continuous talking

———

effusive, loquacious

Question 10

Ingenuous

Answer 10

showing innocence or childlike simplicity

She was so ingenuous that her friends feared that her innocence and trustfulness would be exploited when she visited the big city.

———

ingénue: a naive girl or young woman

disingenuous: giving a false impression of innocence

artless, guileless, innocent, naive, simple, unaffected

Question 11

Lethargic

Answer 11

acting in an indifferent or slow, sluggish manner

The clerk was so lethargic that, even when the store was slow, he always had a long line in front of him.

———

apathetic, lackadaisical, languid, listless, torpid

Question 12

Malleable

Answer 12

capable of being shaped

Gold is the most malleable of precious metals; it can easily be formed into almost any shape.

———

adaptable, ductile, plastic, pliable, pliant

Question 13

Misanthrope

Answer 13

a person who dislikes others

The character Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol” is such a misanthrope that even the sight of children singing makes him angry.

Question 14

Obdurate

Answer 14

hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion

The president was completely obdurate on the issue, and no amount of persuasion would change his mind.

———

inflexible, intransigent, recalcitrant, tenacious, unyielding

Question 15

Ostentation

Answer 15

excessive showiness

The ostentation of the Sun King’s court is evident in the lavish decoration and luxuriousness of his palace at Versailles.

———

ostensible: apparent

conspicuousness, flashiness, pretentiousness, showiness

Question 16

Paradox

Answer 16

a contradiction or dilemma

It is a paradox that those most in need of medical attention are often those least able to obtain it.

———

anomaly, irony

Question 17

Philanthropy

Answer 17

charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art owes much of its collection to the philanthropy of private collectors who willed their estates to the museum.

———

philanthropist: someone who is generous and desires to promote goodness

alturism, humanitarianism

Question 18

Prevaricate

Answer 18

to lie or deviate from the truth

Rather than admit that he had overslept again, the employee prevaricated and claimed that heavy traffic had prevented him from arriving at work on time.

———

equivocate, lie, perjure

Question 19

Venerate

Answer 19

to respect deeply

In a traditional Confucian society, the young venerate their elders, derring to the elders’ wisdom and experience.

———

venerable: old, worthy of respect

adore, honor, idolize, revere

Question 20

Waver

Answer 20

to fluctuate between choices

If you waver too long before making a decision about which testing site to register for, you may not get your first choice.

———

dither, falter, fluctuate, oscillate, vacillate