Units 61-65

Question 1

*profound, adj.

Answer 1

deep; not superficial

Question 2

prohibitive, adj.

Answer 2

so high as to prevent the purchase or use of; preventing; forbidding

Question 3

*proliferate, v.

Answer 3

to increase rapidly

Question 4

*propensity, n.

Answer 4

inclination; tendency

Question 5

*propitiate, v.

Answer 5

to win over; appease

Question 6

*propriety, n.

Answer 6

correct conduct; fitness

Question 7

*proscribe, v.

Answer 7

to condemn; forbid; outlaw

Question 8

provident, adj.

Answer 8

providing for future needs; frugal

Question 9

puissant, adj.

Answer 9

powerful

Question 10

punctilious, adj.

Answer 10

careful in observing rules of behavior or ceremony

Question 11

pungent, adj.

Answer 11

strong or sharp in smell or taste; penetrating; caustic; to the point

Question 12

purport, v.

Answer 12

to profess; suppose; claim

Question 13

pusillanimous, adj.

Answer 13

cowardly

Question 14

quagmire, n.

Answer 14

marsh; difficult situation

The federal government’s antitrust suit in the 1990s against Microsoft created a legal quagmire.

Question 15

quail, v.

Answer 15

to cower; lose heart

The defendant quailed when the judge entered the room to announce the sentence.

Question 16

*qualified, adj.

Answer 16

limited; restricted

Question 17

qualm, n.

Answer 17

sudden feeling of faintness or nausea; uneasy feeling about the rightness of actions

Question 18

query, v.

Answer 18

to question

Question 19

quibble, v.

Answer 19

to argue over insignificant and irrelevant details

The lawyers spent so much time quibbling over details that they made little progress in reaching an agreement on the central issue.

Question 20

*quiescent, adj.

Answer 20

inactive; still; in a state or period of inactivity or dormancy.

Although malignant tumors may remain quiescent for a period of time, they never become benign.

Question 21

quorum, n.

Answer 21

number of members necessary to conduct a meeting

Question 22

raconteur, n.

Answer 22

witty, skillful storyteller

Former president Bill Clinton is known as an accomplished raconteur who can entertain guests with amusing anecdotes about politics all evening.

Question 23

rail, v.

Answer 23

to scold with bitter or abusive language

Question 24

raiment, n.

Answer 24

clothing

Question 25

ramification, n.

Answer 25

implication; outgrowth; consequence

Question 26

*rarefied, adj.

Answer 26

refined

Question 27

rationale, n.

Answer 27

fundamental reason

Question 28

rebus, n.

Answer 28

puzzle in which pictures or symbols represent words

Question 29

*recalcitrant, adj.

Answer 29

resisting authority or control

The officer had no choice but to recommend that the recalcitrant soldier be court-martialed.

Question 30

*recant, v.

Answer 30

to retract a statement or opinion

Question 31

recluse, n.

Answer 31

person who lives in seclusion and often in solitude

Question 32

*recondite, adj.

Answer 32

abstruse; profound

Many classical and biblical references known to educated nineteenth-century readers are now considered recondite by most readers.

Question 33

redoubtable, adj.

Answer 33

formidable; arousing fear; worthy of respect

Question 34

*refractory

Answer 34

adj., stubborn; unmanageable; resisting ordinary methods of treatment. v., to deflect sound of light.

The general practitioner called in specialists to help determine the cause of the patient’s refractory illness.

Question 35

refulgent, v.

Answer 35

brightly shining; resplendent

Question 36

*refute, v.

Answer 36

to contradict; disprove

Question 37

regale, v.

Answer 37

to entertain

Question 38

*relegate, v.

Answer 38

to consign to an inferior position

Question 39

remonstrate, v.

Answer 39

to object or protest

Question 40

renege, v.

Answer 40

to go back on one’s word

Question 41

reparation, n.

Answer 41

amends; compensation

Question 42

repine, v.

Answer 42

to fret; complain

The president told the congressional representative he should stop repining over the lost opportunity and join the majority in exploring new ones.

Question 43

reprise, n.

Answer 43

repetition, especially of a piece of music

Question 44

*reproach, v.

Answer 44

to find fault with; blame

Question 45

*reprobate, n.

Answer 45

morally unprincipled person

Question 46

*repudiate, v.

Answer 46

to reject as having no authority

Question 47

*rescind, v.

Answer 47

to cancel

Question 48

*resolution, n.

Answer 48

determination; resolve

Question 49

*resolve, n.

Answer 49

determination; firmness of purpose

Question 50

*reticent, adj.

Answer 50

not speaking freely; reserved; reluctant