Unit Four

Question 1

niggard

Answer 1

(n.) a stingy or ungenerous person; (adj.) (literary) ungenerous

Question 2

niggardly

Answer 2

(adj.) ungenerous, stingy; (adv.) (archaic) in a stingy or meager manner

Question 3

annals

Answer 3

(n.) a record of events year by year; (n.) historical records

Question 4

mirabile dictu

Answer 4

(adv.) wonderful to relate

Question 5

quixotic

Answer 5

(adj.) exceedingly idealistic, unrealistic and impractical

Question 6

sclerotic

Answer 6

(adj.) (medicine) of or having sclerosis; (adj.) becoming rigid and unresponsive, losing the ability to adapt; (n.) another term for sclera

Question 7

gumption

Answer 7

(n.) (informal) shrewd or spirited initiative and resourcefulness

Question 8

a priori

Answer 8

(adj.) relating to or denoting reasoning or knowledge which proceeds from theoretical deduction rather than from observation or experience; (adv.) in a way based on theoretical deduction rather than empirical observation

Question 9

eviscerate

Answer 9

(v.) (formal) disembowel (a person or animal); (v.) deprive (s.t.) of its essential content; (v.) (surgery) remove the contents of (a body organ)

Question 10

verisimilitude

Answer 10

(n.) the appearance of being true or real

Question 11

equanimity

Answer 11

(n.) mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation

Question 12

diatribe

Answer 12

(n.) a forceful and bitter verbal attack against s.o. or s.t.

Question 13

arraign

Answer 13

(v.) call or bring (s.o.) before a court to answer a criminal charge; (v.) find fault with (s.o. or s.t.), censure

Question 14

bereavement

Answer 14

(n.) the state of being deprived of s.t. or s.o. (e.g., death of a family member)

Question 15

foray

Answer 15

(n.) a sudden attack or incursion into enemy territory, especially to obtain something, a raid

Question 16

inculcate

Answer 16

(v.) instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction; (v.) teach (s.o.) an attitude, idea, or habit by persistent instruction

Question 17

lèse-majesté

Answer 17

(n.) the insulting of a monarch or other ruler, treason

Question 18

cull

Answer 18

(v.) select from a large quantity, obtain from a variety of sources; (v.) selectively slaughter wild animals; (n.) a selective slaughter of wild animals

Question 19

pedantic

Answer 19

(adj.) narrowly, stodgily, and often ostentatiously learned; (adj.) unimaginative, dull

Question 20

esoteric

Answer 20

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

Question 21

elucidate

Answer 21

(v.) make (s.t.) clear, explain

Question 22

vituperative

Answer 22

(adj.) bitter and abusive

Question 23

en garde

Answer 23

(excl.) (fencing) on guard; a call to a fencer to adopt a defensive stance in readiness for an attack or bout

Question 24

banality

Answer 24

(n.) the fact or condition of being banal, unoriginality, s.t. that is banal

Question 25

ostentatious

Answer 25

(adj.) characterized by vulgar or pretentious display, designed to impress or attract notice

Question 26

ostentatiously

Answer 26

(adv.) in a pretentious or showy way designed to impress

Question 27

banal

Answer 27

(adj.) so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring