To go over Advanced 3/4

Question 1

Grandiloquent

Answer 1

Grandiloquent

pompous or extravagant in language, style, or manner, especially in a way that is intended to impress.

Question 2

Litany

Answer 2

Litany

a long and tedious account of something

Question 3

Probity

Answer 3

Probity

integrity, strong moral principles

Question 4

Pecuniary

Answer 4

Pecuniary

relating to or involving money

Question 5

Perspicacious

Answer 5

Perspicacious

acutely insightful and wise

Question 6

cosseted

Answer 6

cosseted

treat with excessive indulgence

Question 7

magisterial

Answer 7

magisterial

offensively self assured or given to exercising unwanted power

Question 8

impetuous

Answer 8

impetuous

characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation

Question 9

stalwart

Answer 9

stalwart

dependable, inured to fatigue ot hardships

Question 10

prolixity

Answer 10

prolixity
noun: boring verbosity (using more words then needed)

I loved my grandfather dearly, but his prolixity would put me to sleep, regardless of the topic.

Question 11

sagacious

Answer 11

sagacious
adjective: having good judgement and acute insight

Steve Jobs is surely one of the most sagacious CEOs, making Apple one of the most recognizable and valuable companies in the world.

Question 12

portentous

Answer 12

portentous
adjective: ominously prophetic.

When the captain and more than half the officers were sick on the very first night of the voyage, many of the passengers felt this was portentous, but the rest of the voyage continued without any problems.

Question 13

raconteur

Answer 13

raconteur
noun: a person skilled in telling anecdotes

Jude is entertaining, but he is no raconteur: beyond the handful of amusing stories he has memorized, he has absolutely no spontaneous story-telling ability.

Question 14

lampoon

Answer 14

lampoon
verb: ridicule with satire

Mark Twain understood that lampooning a bad idea with humor was the most effective criticism.

Question 15

enjoin

Answer 15

enjoin
verb: give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority

The government agency enjoined the chemical company to clean up the hazardous dump it had created over the years.

Question 16

anodyne

Answer 16

anodyne
noun: something that soothes or relieves pain

Muzak, which is played in department stores, is intended to be an anodyne, but is often so cheesy and over-the-top that customers become irritated.

adjective: inoffensive

Wilbur enjoyed a spicy Mexican breakfast, but Jill preferred a far more anodyne meal in the mornings.

Question 17

sinecure

Answer 17

sinecure
noun: an office that involves minimal duties

The position of Research Director is a sinecure: the job entails almost no responsibilities, nor does the person in that position have to answer to anyone.

Question 18

approbatory

Answer 18

approbatory
adjective: expressing praise or approval

Although it might not be her best work, Hunter’s new novel has received generally approbatory reviews.

Question 19

provident

Answer 19

provident
adjective: careful in regard to your own interests; providing carefully for the future

In a move that hardly could be described as provident, Bert spent his entire savings on a luxurious cruise, knowing that other bills would come due a couple months later.

Question 20

derelict

Answer 20

derelict
adjective: (of a person) not doing one’s duties

The teacher was derelict in her duties because she hadn’t graded a single student paper in three weeks.

noun: (of a building) abandoned

At one time the waterfront factories were busy and productive, but now that the economy has collapsed and the factories are all closed, these derelicts will be torn down.

Question 21

hagiographic

Answer 21

hagiographic
adjective: excessively flattering toward someone’s life or work

Most accounts of Tiger Woods’s life were hagiographic, until, that is, his affairs made headlines.

Question 22

importune

Answer 22

importune
verb: beg persistently and urgently

After weeks of importuning the star to meet for a five-minute interview, the journalist finally got what she wanted.

Question 23

mordant

Answer 23

mordant
adjective: biting and caustic in thought, manner, or style

While Phil frequently made mordant remarks about company policy overall, he always was considerably gentler in discussing any person in particular.

Question 24

prognostication

Answer 24

prognostication
noun: a statement made about the future

When the Senator was asked about where the negotiations would lead, he said that any guess he could make would be an unreliable prognostication.

Question 25

insouciance

Answer 25

insouciance
noun: lack of concern

Surprisingly, Hank had become a high-powered CEO; his high school friends remembered him as “Hanky Panky”, who shrugged off each failed class with insouciance.

Question 26

redoubtable

Answer 26

redoubtable
adjective: inspiring fear or awe

On television basketball players don’t look that tall, but when you stand in front of a seven-foot tall NBA player, he is truly redoubtable.

Question 27

obstreperous

Answer 27

obstreperous
adjective: noisily and stubbornly defiant; willfully difficult to control

When the teacher asked the obstreperous student simply to bus his tray, the student threw the entire tray on the floor, shouted an epithet, and walked out.

Question 28

dispensation

Answer 28

dispensation
noun: an exemption from a rule or obligation

Since her father is a billionaire, she is given dispensation from many of the school’s policies.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 29

decry

Answer 29

decry
verb: express strong disapproval of

The entire audience erupted in shouts and curses, decrying the penalty card issued by the referee.

Question 30

recrimination

Answer 30

recrimination
noun: mutual accusations

The two brothers sat and cried, pointing fingers and making elaborate recriminations of the other’s guilt

Question 31

inviolate

Answer 31

inviolate
adjective: must be kept sacred

While the literary critic subjected most of the classics to the harshest reviews, he regarded Cervantes as inviolate, and had nothing but praise for him.

Question 32

unpropitious

Answer 32

unpropitious
adjective: (of a circumstance) with little chance of success

With only a bottle of water and a sandwich, the hikers faced an unpropitious task: ascending a huge mountain that took most two days to climb.

Question 33

machinate

Answer 33

machinate
verb: engage in plotting or enter into a conspiracy, swear together

The rebels met at night in an abandoned barn to machinate.

Question 34

rarefied

Answer 34

rarefied
adjective: made more subtle or refined

Jack’s vulgar jokes were not so successful in the rarefied environment of college professors.

Question 35

invidious

Answer 35

invidious
adjective: likely to cause resentment

At a time when many others in the office were about to be laid off, many considered Cheryl’s fine clothes that day an invidious display.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 36

immune

Answer 36

immure
verb: to enclose, usually in walls

The modern supermarket experience makes many feel claustrophobic, as they are immured in walls upon walls of products.

Question 37

apposite

Answer 37

apposite
adjective: remarkably appropriate

For a writer with such quick wit, Jonathan Swift has a rather apposite name.

Question 38

denouncement

Answer 38

denouement
noun: the final resolution of the many strands of a literary or dramatic work; the outcome of a complex sequence of events

At the denouement of the movie, all questions were answered, and the true identity of the robber was revealed.

Question 39

imperious

Answer 39

imperious
adjective: having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy

Children are imperious with each other before they learn that earning someone’s respect is better than demanding.

Question 40

patent

Answer 40

patent
adjective: glaringly obvious

Since the book had been through no fewer than six proof runs, the staff was shocked to see such a patent spelling mistake remaining, right in the middle of the front cover!

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 41

inure

Answer 41

inure
verb: to make accustomed to something unpleasant

Three years of Manhattan living has inured her to the sound of wailing sirens; she could probably sleep through the apocalypse.

Question 42

untenable

Answer 42

untenable
adjective: (of theories etc) incapable of being defended or justified

With the combination of Kepler’s brilliant theories and Galileo’s telescopic observations, the old geocentric theory became untenable to most of the educated people in Europe.

Question 43

surreptitious

Answer 43

surreptitious
adjective: stealthy, taking pains not to be caught or detected

Since his mom was a light sleeper, Timmy had to tiptoe surreptitiously through the entire house, careful to not make the floors creak, until he at last was able to enjoy his plunder: a box of chocolate chip cookies.

Question 44

corollary

Answer 44

corollary
noun: a practical consequence that follows naturally

A corollary of Hurricane Sandy, which ravaged the east coast of the U.S., is a push to build higher sea walls to protect against future hurricanes.

Question 45

tempestuous

Answer 45

tempestuous
adjective: as if driven by turbulent or conflicting emotions; highly energetic and wildly changing or fluctuating

Chuck and Kathy had always been stable and agreeable people on their own, but when they got involved, it was a tempestuous relationship.