The Kaplan 200

Question 1

abate

Answer 1

to reduce in amout, degree or severity

as the hurricane’s force abated, the winds dropped and the sea became calm.

Question 2

abscond

Answer 2

to leave secretly

the patron absconded from the restaurant by sneaking out the back door without paying his bill.

Question 3

abstain

Answer 3

to choose not to do something

she abstained from choosing a mouthwatering dessert from the tray.

Question 4

abyss

Answer 4

an extremely deep hole

the submarine dove into the abyss to chart the previously unseen depths.

Question 5

adulterate

Answer 5

to make impure

the chef made his ketchup last longer by adulterating it with water.

Question 6

advocate

Answer 6

to speak in favor of

the vegetarian advocated a diet containing no meat.

Question 7

aesthetic

Answer 7

concerning the appreciation of beauty

followers of the aesthetic movement regarded the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art.

Question 8

aggrandize

Answer 8

to increase in power, influence and reputation

the supervisor sought to aggrandize herself by claiming that the achievements of her staff were actually her own.

Question 9

alleviate

Answer 9

to make more bearable

taking aspirin helps to alleviate a headache.

Question 10

amalgamate

Answer 10

to combine; to mix together

Giant Industries amalgamated with Mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products Incorporated.

Question 11

ambiguous

Answer 11

doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted several ways

the directions she gave were so ambiguous that we disagreed on which way to turn.

Question 12

anachronism

Answer 12

something out of place in time

the aged hippie used anachronistic phrases like ‘groovy’ and ‘far out’ that had not been popular for years.

Question 13

analogous

Answer 13

similar or alike in some way; equivalent to

in the Newtonian construct for explaining the existence of God, the universe is analogous to a mechanical timepiece, the creation of a divinely intelligent ‘clockmaker.’

Question 14

anomaly

Answer 14

deviant from what is normal

albino animals may display too great an anomaly in their coloring to attract normally colored mates.

Question 15

antagonize

Answer 15

to annoy or provoke to anger

the child discovered that he could antogonize the cat by pulling its tail.

Question 16

antipathy

Answer 16

extreme dislike

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

Question 17

apathy

Answer 17

lack of interest or emotion

the apathy of voters is so great that less that half the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so.

Question 18

arbitrate

Answer 18

to judge a dispute between two opposing parties

since the couple could not come to an agreement, a judge was forced to arbitrate their divorce proceedings.

Question 19

archaic

Answer 19

ancient; old-fashioned

her archaic commodore computer could not run the latest software.

Question 20

ardor

Answer 20

intense and passionate feeling

bishop’s ardor for the landscape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley.

Question 21

articulate

Answer 21

able to speak clearly and expressively

she is such an articulate defender of labor that unions are among her strongest supporters.

Question 22

assuage

Answer 22

to make something unpleasant less severe

Serena used aspirin to assuage her pounding headache.

Question 23

attenuate

Answer 23

to reduce in force or degree; to weaken

the Bill of Rights attenuated the traditional power of governments to change laws at will.

Question 24

audacious

Answer 24

fearless and daring

her audacious nature allowed her to fulfill her dream of skydiving.

Question 25

austere

Answer 25

severe or stern in appearance; undecorated

the lack of decoration makes military barracks seem austere to the civilian eye.

Question 26

banal

Answer 26

predictable; clichéd; boring

he used banal phrases like ‘have a nice day,’ or ‘another day, another dollar.’

Question 27

bolster

Answer 27

to support, to prop up

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

Question 28

bombastic

Answer 28

pompous in speech and manner

the ranting of the radio talk-show host was mostly bombastic; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact.

Question 29

cacophony

Answer 29

harsh, jarring noise

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

Question 30

candid

Answer 30

impartial and honest in speech

the observations of a child can be charming since they are candid and unpretentious.

Question 31

capricious

Answer 31

changing one’s mind quickly and often

Queen Elizabeth I was quite capricious; her courtiers could never be sure which of their number would catch her fancy.

Question 32

castigate

Answer 32

to punish or criticize harshly

many Americans are amazed at how harshly the authorities in Singapore castigate perpetrators of what would be considered minor crimes in the United States.

Question 33

catalyst

Answer 33

something that brings about a change in something else

The imposition of harsh taxes was the catalyst that finally brought on the revolution.

Question 34

caustic

Answer 34

biting in wit

Dorothy Parker gained her reputation for caustic wit from her cutting, yet clever, insults.

Question 35

chaos

Answer 35

great disorder or confusion

in many religious traditions, God created an ordered universe from chaos.

Question 36

chauvinist

Answer 36

someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which one belongs

the attitude that men are inherently superior to women and therefore must be obeyed is common among male chauvinists.

Question 37

chacanery

Answer 37

deception by means of craft or guile

dishonest used car salespeople often use chicanery to sell their beat-up old cars.

Question 38

cogent

Answer 38

convincing and well reasoned

swayed by the cogent argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.

Question 39

condone

Answer 39

to overlook, pardon, or disregard

some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as condoning an air of lawlessness.

Question 40

convoluted

Answer 40

intricate and complicated

many people bought A Brief History of Time because it took convoluted scientific theories and made them easier to understand.

Question 41

corroborate

Answer 41

to provide supporting evidence

fingerprints corroborated the witness’s testimony that he saw the defendant in the victim’s apartment.

Question 42

credulous

Answer 42

too trusting; gullible

although some four-year-olds believe in the Easter Bunny, only the most credulous nine-year-olds also believe in him.

Question 43

crescendo

Answer 43

steadily increasing volume or force

the crescendo of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel preparared to jump his motorcycle over the school buses.

Question 44

decorum

Answer 44

appropriateness of behavior or conduct, propriety

the countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the decorum appropriate for a visit to the palace.

Question 45

deference

Answer 45

respect; courtesy

the respectful young law clerk treated the Supreme Court justice with the utmost deference.

Question 46

deride

Answer 46

to speak of or treat with contempt; to mock

the awkward child was often derided by his classmates.

Question 47

desiccate

Answer 47

to dry out thoroughly

after a few weeks of lying on the desert’s baking sands, the cow’s carcass became completely desiccated.

Question 48

desultory

Answer 48

jumping from one thing to another; disconnected

Diane has a desultory academic record; she changed majors 12 times in three years.

Question 49

diatribe

Answer 49

an abusive, condemnatory speech

the trucker bellowed a diatribe at the driver who had cut him off.

Question 50

diffident

Answer 50

lacking self-confidence

Steve’s diffident manner during the job interview stemmed from his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.

Question 51

ameliorate

Answer 51

to make better; to improve

the doctor was able to ameliorate the patient’s suffering using painkillers.