Unit 1

Question 1

a short description or sketch; a picture or illustration with edges that gradually shade off; a decorative design on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter

Answer 1

vignette

Question 2

lying flat on its back; listless or lethargic; apathetic or passive

Answer 2

supine

Question 3

irreverently mocking; coarse, vulgar or indecent in language

Answer 3

ribald

Question 4

good humored ridicule; teasing

Answer 4

raillery

Question 5

resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely

Answer 5

quasi

Question 6

a convert; a disciple

Answer 6

proselyte

Question 7

a base coward

Answer 7

poltroon

Question 8

forgetful; unaware

Answer 8

oblivious

Question 9

offensive or disgusting; foul smelling; harmful or injurious

Answer 9

noisome

Question 10

a patch of low, soft, wet ground; swamp; a confusing situation in which one is entrapped, as in quicksand

Answer 10

morass

Question 11

something illusory, without substance, or without a basis in reality; in illusion

Answer 11

mirage

Question 12

any system of things or people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank, wealth, class, etc

Answer 12

hierarchy

Question 13

narrow-minded and rigid, especially in opinions or prejudices; stubbornly and unthinkingly conservative

Answer 13

hidebound

Question 14

an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action

Answer 14

fait accompli

Question 15

lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out of date

Answer 15

effete

Question 16

absurd; wildly fantastic; impossible

Answer 16

chimerical

Question 17

to howl or screech like a cat; to quarrel; a harsh or noisy cry; a racket

Answer 17

caterwaul

Question 18

the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse; a leader, as in a desperate or violent undertaking; an indicator of trends

Answer 18

bellwether

Question 19

a relgious service or rite; the form of a ritual or other act of public worship

Answer 19

liturgy

Question 20

something added to something else as helpful or useful but not essential; an assistant or helper; a valuable quality or characteristic; added or connected in a subordinate capacity; attached to a faculty or staff in an auxiliary capacity

Answer 20

adjunct