Units 1-5

Question 1

abate, v.

Answer 1

to decrease; reduce

Question 2

abdicate, v.

Answer 2

to give up a position, right, or power

Question 3

*aberrant, adj.

Answer 3

deviating from what is normal

Question 4

*abeyance, n.

Answer 4

temporary suppression or suspension

Question 5

abject, adj.

Answer 5

miserable; pitiful

Question 6

abjure, v.

Answer 6

to reject; abandon formally

Question 7

abscission, n.

abscise, v.

Answer 7

n. the act of cutting; the natural separation of a leaf or other part of a plant
v. to cut off or away

Question 8

abscond, v.

Answer 8

to depart secretly

Question 9

*abstemious, adj.

Answer 9

moderate in appetite

Question 10

abstinence, n.

Answer 10

the giving up of certain pleasures

Question 11

abysmal, adj.

Answer 11

very bad

Question 12

accretion, n.

Answer 12

growth in size or increase in amount

Accretion concerns the growth of natural bodies. Accrual, by contrast, concerns an increase or concerns something that accumulates. It therefore has less to do with natural bodies.

Question 13

accrue, v.

Answer 13

to accumulate; grow by additions

Accretion concerns the growth of natural bodies. Accrual, by contrast, concerns an increase or concerns something that accumulates. It therefore has less to do with natural bodies.

Question 14

adamant, adj.

Answer 14

uncompromising; unyielding

Question 15

adjunct, n.

Answer 15

something added, attached, or joined

Question 16

admonish, v.

Answer 16

to caution or reprimand

Question 17

adulterate, v.

Answer 17

to corrupt or make impure

Question 18

*aesthetic, adj.

Answer 18

relating to beauty or art

Question 19

affected, adj.

Answer 19

pretentious, phony

Question 20

affinity, n.

Answer 20

fondness; liking; similarity

Question 21

aggrandize, v.

Answer 21

to make larger or greater

Question 22

aggregate, adj.

Answer 22

amounting to a whole; total

Aggregate means to bring together or to collect into a mass or sum while amalgamate means to merge, combine, blend or join. Amalgamate means to coalesce, hence any difference is blended or joined after the thing is amalgamated, while aggregate concerns the mere combination of particulars such that their identity is not lost after aggregation. As a noun aggregate is a mass, assemblage, or sum of particulars; something consisting of elements but considered as a whole.

Question 23

*alacrity, n.

Answer 23

cheerful willingness; eagerness; speed

Question 24

alchemy, n.

Answer 24

medieval chemical philosophy based on changing metal into gold; a seemingly magical power or process of transmutation.

Question 25

allay, v.

Answer 25

to lessen; ease; soothe

Question 26

*alleviate, v.

Answer 26

to relieve; improve partially

Question 27

alloy, n.

Answer 27

a combination; a mixture of two or more metals

Question 28

allure, n.

Answer 28

the power to entice by charm

Question 29

*amalgamate, v.

Answer 29

to combine into a unified whole

Aggregate means to bring together or to collect into a mass or sum while amalgamate means to merge, combine, blend or join. Amalgamate means to coalesce, hence any difference is blended or joined after the thing is amalgamated, while aggregate concerns the mere combination of particulars such that their identity is not lost after aggregation. As a noun aggregate is a mass, assemblage, or sum of particulars; something consisting of elements but considered as a whole.

Question 30

*ambiguous, adj.

Answer 30

unclear or doubtful in meaning

Question 31

*ambivalence, n.

Answer 31

the state of having conflicting emotional attitudes

Question 32

ambrosia, n.

ambrosial, adj.

Answer 32

something delicious; the food of the gods

Question 33

*ameliorate, v.

Answer 33

to improve

Question 34

amenable, adj.

Answer 34

agreeable; cooperative; suited

Question 35

amenity, n.

Answer 35

something that increases comfort

Question 36

amulet, n.

Answer 36

ornament worn as a charm against evil spirits

Question 37

*anachronism, n.

Answer 37

something out of the proper time

Question 38

analgesic, n.

Answer 38

medication that reduces or eliminates pain

Question 39

*analogous, adj.

analog, n.

Answer 39

adj. , comparable

n. , something comparable to something else

Question 40

*anarchy, n.

Answer 40

absence of government; state of disorder

Question 41

anodyne, n.

Answer 41

something that calms or soothes pain

Question 42

*anomalous, adj.

Answer 42

irregular; deviating from the norm

Question 43

antecedent, n.

Answer 43

something that comes before

Question 44

antediluvian, adj.

Answer 44

prehistoric

Question 45

*antipathy, n.

Answer 45

dislike; hostility

Question 46

*apathy, n.

Answer 46

indifference

Question 47

apex, n.

Answer 47

the highest point

As nouns the difference between apex and apogee is that apex is the highest point of something while apogee is (astronomy) the point, in an orbit about the earth, that is furthest from the earth: the apoapsis of an earth orbiter

Question 48

apogee, n.

Answer 48

the point in orbit most distant from the body being orbited; the highest point

As nouns the difference between apex and apogee is that apex is the highest point of something while apogee is (astronomy) the point, in an orbit about the earth, that is furthest from the earth: the apoapsis of an earth orbiter

Question 49

apothegm, n.

Answer 49

a terse, witty saying

Question 50

appease, v.

Answer 50

to calm; pacify; placate.

As verbs the difference between pacify and appease is that pacify is to bring peace to (a place or situation), by ending war, fighting, violence, anger or agitation while appease is to make quiet; to calm; to reduce to a state of peace; to dispel (anger or hatred). Pacify deals more with places and objects and situations, while appease with emotions, though there’s little difference between them.