Unit 1 Vocabulary

Question 1

Approbation

Answer 1

(n) the expression of approval or favorable opinion, praise; official approval
S: Commendation, sanction
A: disapproval, condemnation, censure

Question 2

Assuage

Answer 2

(v) to make easier or milder, relieve; to quiet, calm; to put an end to appease, satisfy, quench
S: mitigate, alleviate, slake, allay
A: intensify, aggravate, exacerbate

Question 3

Coalition

Answer 3

(n) a combination, union, or merger for some specific purpose
S: alliance, league, federation, combine
A: splinter group

Question 4

Decadence

Answer 4

(n) decline, decay, or deterioration; a condition of decline or decay; excessive self-indulgence
S: degeneration, corruption
A: rise, growth, development, maturation

Question 5

Elicit

Answer 5

(v) to draw forth, bring out from some source (such as another person)
S: call forth, evoke, extract, educe
A: repress, quash, squelch, stifle

Question 6

Expostulate

Answer 6

(v) to attempt to dissuade someone from some course or decision by earnest reasoning
S: protest, remonstrate, complain

Question 7

Hackneyed

Answer 7

(Adj.) used so often as to lack freshness or originality
S: banal, trite, commonplace, corny
A: new, fresh, novel, original

Question 8

Hiatus

Answer 8

(n) a gap, opening, break (in sense of having an element missing)
S: pause, lacuna
A: continuity, continuation

Question 9

Innuendo

Answer 9

(n) a hint, indirect suggestion, or reference (often in a derogatory sense)
S: insinuation, intimation
A: direct statement

Question 10

Intercede

Answer 10

(v) to plead behalf of someone else; to serve as a third party or go-between in a disagreement
S: intervene, mediate

Question 11

Jaded

Answer 11

(adj.) wearied, worn-out, dulled (in the sense of being satiated by excessive indulgence)
S: sated, surfeited, cloyed
A: unspoiled, uncloyed

Question 12

Lurid

Answer 12

(adj.) causing shock, horror, or revulsion; sensational; pale or sallow in color; terrible or passionate in intensity or lack of restraint
S: gruesome, glory, grisly, baleful, ghastly
A: blameworthy, reprehensible, discreditable

Question 13

Meritorious

Answer 13

(adj.) worthy, deserving recognition and praise
S: praiseworthy, laudable, commendable
A: blameworthy, reprehensible, discreditable

Question 14

Petulant

Answer 14

(adj.) peevish, annoyed by trifles, easily irritated and upset
S: irritable, testy, waspish
A: even-tempered, placid, serene, amiable

Question 15

Prerogative

Answer 15

(n) a special right or privilege; a special quality showing excellence
S: perquisite, perk

Question 16

Provincial

Answer 16

(adj.) pertaining to an outlaying area; local; narrow in mind or outlook, countrified in the sense of being limited and backward; of a simple, plain design that originated in the countryside
(n) a person with a narrow point of view; a person from an outlaying area; a soldier from a province or colony
S: (adj.) narrow-minded, parochial, insular, naive
A: (adj.) cosmopolitan, catholic, broad-minded

Question 17

Simulate

Answer 17

(v) to make a pretense of, imitate; to show the outer signs of
S: feign, pretend, affect

Question 18

Transcend

Answer 18

(v) to rise above or beyond, exceed

S: surpass, outstrip

Question 19

Umbrage

Answer 19

(n) shade cast by trees; foliage giving shade; an overshadowing influence or power; offense, resentment; a vague suspicion
S: irritation, pique, annoyance
A: pleasure, delight, satisfaction

Question 20

Unctuous

Answer 20

(adj.) excessively smooth or smug; trying too hard to give an impression of earnestness, sincerity, or piety; fatty, oily; pliable
S: mealymouthed, servile, fawning, greasy
A: gruff, blunt