Unit 8

Question 1

PEJORATIVE

Answer 1

adj. expressing contempt or disapproval

Synonyms: disparaging, derogatory, deprecatory, slanderous, defamatory, insulting

Question 2

ESOTERIC

Answer 2

adj. intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.

Synonyms: obscure, arcane, enigmatic, cryptic, complex, mysterious, incomprehensible

Question 3

SHIRK

Answer 3

v. to avoid or neglect; to be unwilling to do

Synonyms: evade, dodge, avoid, get out of, sidestep, shrink from, shun, skip

Question 4

IDIOSYNCRASY

Answer 4

n. a distinctive or peculiar feature or characteristic of a place or thing; a mode of behavior or way of thought peculiar to an individual

Synonyms: peculiarity, oddity, eccentricity, mannerism, trait, singularity, quirk

Question 5

TUMULT

Answer 5

n. a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people; confusion or disorder

Synonyms: clamor, din, racket, commotion, ruckus, maelstrom, rumpus, pandemonium

Question 6

AMELIORATE

Answer 6

v. to make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better

Synonyms: improve, enhance, help, amend, boost, benefit

Question 7

RETINUE

Answer 7

n. a group of advisers, assistants, or others accompanying an important person

Synonyms: entourage, escort, company, court, staff, personne

Question 8

RATIOCINATE

Answer 8

v. to form judgments by a process of logic; to reason

Synonyms: reason, think logically, conclude, cogitate

Question 9

TRUNCATE

Answer 9

v. to shorten by cutting off the top or the end

Synonyms: curtail, abbreviate, condense, reduce, prune

Question 10

RELINQUISH

Answer 10

v. to voluntarily cease to keep or claim; to give up

Synonyms: release, renounce, foreswear, forego, quit, waive

Question 11

COGITATE

Answer 11

v. to reflect upon; to turn over in one’s mind; to consider carefully and deeply

Synonyms: ruminate, contemplate, ponder, muse, meditate, speculate

Question 12

DUBIOUS

Answer 12

adj. fraught with uncertainty or doubt; not convinced; lacking conviction; morally suspect or of questionable value

Synonyms: doubtful, dubitable, unconvinced; suspicious, untrustworthy, unreliable

Question 13

REPREHENSIBLE

Answer 13

adj. deserving censure or condemnation

Synonyms: deplorable, disgraceful, discreditable, despicable, blameworthy, culpable, vicious, criminal

Question 14

INDOLENCE

Answer 14

n. inactivity resulting from a dislike of work; avoidance of activity or exertion

Synonyms: laziness, idleness, sloth, shiftlessness, lethargy, languor, torpidity, languidness, torpor

Question 15

FECUND

Answer 15

adj. fruitful in offspring or vegetation; intellectually productive or inventive to a marked degree

Synonyms: prolific, fertile
Antonym: barren

Question 16

CRYPTIC

Answer 16

adj. of an obscure nature; having a secret or hidden meaning; expressing much in few words; having a puzzling terseness

Synonyms: concise, inscrutable, mysterious, cabalistic, enigmatic, puzzling, abstruse

Question 17

SYCOPHANT

Answer 17

n. a servile, self-seeking flatterer; a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage

Synonyms: yes-man, bootlicker, brown-noser, toady, flatterer, flunky, lackey

Question 18

TACITURN

Answer 18

adj. (of a person) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little.

Synonyms: reticent, quiet, secretive, tight-lipped, silent, mute, inarticulate, reserved, withdrawn

Question 19

BANAL

Answer 19

adj. repeated to often; overfamiliar through overuse; lacking originality, freshness, or novelty

Synonyms: commonplace, timeworn, trite, cliché, hackneyed

Question 20

FALLACIOUS

Answer 20

adj. tending to deceive or mislead; based on mistaken belief

Synonyms: fraudulent, deceitful, incorrect, erroneous, inaccurate, mistaken, misguided