unit 13

Question 1

apportion (verb)

Answer 1

to divide and give out in shares

The aging king decided to ______ the lands of his vast kingdom among his three daughters.

SYNONYMS: distribute, allot, parcel out, allocate

Question 2

buoyant (adjective)

Answer 2

able to float easily; able to hold things up; cheerful, hopeful

We were weary and anxious to get home, but our friend’s ______ spirits kept us going.

SYNONYMS: jaunty, lighthearted, animated
ANTONYMS: downcast, gloomy, morose

Question 3

clique (noun)

Answer 3

a small, exclusive group of people

The queen was surrounded by a ______ of powerful nobles who actually ran the country.

SYNONYM: inner circle

Question 4

congenial (adjective)

Answer 4

getting on well with others; agreeable, pleasant

I was relieved when my bunkmate at summer camp turned out to be considerate and ______.

SYNONYMS: sociable, amiable, compatible
ANTONYMS: disagreeable, cold, standoffish

Question 5

migration (noun)

Answer 5

a movement from one country or region to another

______ from north to south has contributed to the political clout of the Sun Belt.

SYNONYMS: population shift, mass movement

Question 6

perverse (adjective)

Answer 6

inclined to go against what is expected; stubborn; turned away from what is good and proper

Some teenagers get ______ pleasure from blasting music that their parents do not like.

SYNONYMS: obstinate, contrary, mulish
ANTONYMS: tractable, docile, amenable, yielding

Question 7

rancid (adjective)

Answer 7

stale, spoiled

When he opened the door, there poured forth the unmistakably ______ odor of some ancient leftovers.

SYNONYMS: foul, rank, fetid, sour, rotten, putrid
ANTONYMS: wholesome, fresh

Question 8

sever (verb)

Answer 8

to separate, divide into parts

It was extreme of her to ______ ties with her former best friend, but that is what she did.

SYNONYMS: cut off, amputate, dissolve
ANTONYMS: unite, weld together

Question 9

untenable (adjective)

Answer 9

not capable of being held or defended; impossible to maintain

Minutes into the debate she had a sinking feeling that her position was completely ______.

SYNONYMS: indefensible, insupportable
ANTONYMS: irrefutable, impregnable, incontestable

Question 10

versatile (adjective)

Answer 10

able to do many things well; capable of many uses

By moving from comedy to drama to musicals, he has shown himself to be a truly ______ actor.

SYNONYMS: adaptable, all-around, many-sided
ANTONYMS: limited, specialized, restricted

Question 11

ad infinitum (adverb)

Answer 11

endlessly

Children who hear a favorite story read over and over
______ are learning about language.

SYNONYMS: forever, unceasingly, incessantly, ceaselessly
ANTONYMS: succinctly, concisely, tersely, briefly

Question 12

bona fide (adjective)

Answer 12

genuine; sincere

The appraiser studied the old book and declared it to be a ______ first edition of Moby-Dick.

SYNONYMS: authentic, indisputable, legitimate, certified
ANTONYMS: false, fake, bogus, spurious, counterfeit

Question 13

concede (verb)

Answer 13

to admit as true; to yield, submit

Even though the votes were all in and counted, the losing candidate refused to ______ the election.

SYNONYMS: acknowledge, grant, allow, assent
ANTONYMS: contest, dispute, gainsay, challenge

Question 14

lofty (adjective)

Answer 14

very high; noble

My mentor maintains ______ standards and works hard to adhere to them.

SYNONYMS: elevated, exalted, grand
ANTONYMS: base, petty, low, sordid, despicable

Question 15

perceive (verb)

Answer 15

to be aware of through the senses, observe; to grasp mentally

I thought I ______ a flicker of guilt on my brother’s face when I asked who ate my slice of pie.

SYNONYMS: notice, discern, understand
ANTONYMS: miss, overlook, be blind to

Question 16

prelude (noun)

Answer 16

an introduction; that which comes before or leads off

The orchestral ______ to the new opera seemed more interesting to me than the opera itself.

SYNONYMS: preface, overture, prologue, “curtain-raiser”
ANTONYMS: epilogue, postlude, aftermath

Question 17

rustic (adjective) (noun)

Answer 17

(adj.) country-like; simple, plain; awkward

We rented a ______ cabin, with no electricity or running water, twenty miles from the town.

SYNONYMS: rough, unsophisticated, countrified
ANTONYMS: urban, sophisticated

(n.) one who lives in the country

On the trail we met an amiable old
carrying a fishing pole and a string of trout he’d caught.

Question 18

sordid (adjective)

Answer 18

wretchedly poor; run-down; mean or selfish

Nineteenth-century reformers made people aware of just how _______ conditions were in city slums.

SYNONYMS: filthy, squalid, base, vile, seedy, sleazy
ANTONYMS: pure, noble, opulent, lavish

Question 19

vindicate (verb)

Answer 19

to clear from hint or charge of wrongdoing; to defend successfully against opposition; to justify

Though the accused was ______ in the end, his career was all but ruined by the allegations.

SYNONYMS: acquit, absolve, exonerate, advocate
ANTONYMS: implicate, incriminate, condemn, convict

Question 20

wane (verb)

Answer 20

to lose size, strength, or power

As the moon ______, the nights grew darker; we could hardly see our way along the forest trails.

SYNONYMS: diminish, decline, subside
ANTONYMS: grow, wax, amplify, balloon, increase