Vocab 1

Question 0

mar

Answer 0

to damage or deface; to spoil

Telephone poles mar the natural beauty of the countryside.

blemish, disfigure, impair, injure, scar

Question 1

abase

Answer 1

to humble; to disgrace

My intention was not to abase the comedian.

demean; humiliate

Question 2

acidulous

Answer 2

sour in taste or manner

The acidulous taste of the spoiled milk made the young boy’s lips pucker.

acerbic, acetous, biting, piquant, pungent, tart

Question 3

parley

Answer 3

discussion, usually between enemies

The parley between the rival cheerleading teams resulted in neither side admitting that they copied the other’s dance moves.

debate, dialogue, negotiations, talks

Question 4

vacillate

Answer 4

to physically away; to be indecisive

The customer held up the line as he vacillated between ordering chocolate-chip or rocky-road ice cream.

dither, falter, fluctuate, oscillate, waver

Question 5

imbue

Answer 5

to infuse, dye, wet, or moisten

Marcia struggled to imbue her children with decent values, a difficult task in this day and age.

charge, freight, impregnate, permeate, pervade

Question 6

pastiche

Answer 6

a piece of literature or music imitating other works

The playwright’s clever pastiche of the well-known children’s story had the audience rolling in the aisles.

medley, spoof

Question 7

zephyr

Answer 7

a gentle breeze; something airy or unsubstantial

The zephyr from the ocean made the intense heat on the beach bearable for the sunbathers.

breath, draft

Question 8

acme

Answer 8

the highest point, the summit, the highest level or degree attainable

Just when he reached the acme of his power, the dictator was overthrown.

apex, peak, summit

Question 9

mannered

Answer 9

artificial or stilted in character

The portrait is an example of the mannered style that was favored in that era.

affected, unnatural

Question 10

deviating from what is normal or expected

Answer 10

abberant

Question 11

to make worse

Answer 11

exacerbate

Question 12

overly sentimental

Answer 12

maudlin

Question 13

relief from wrong or injury

Answer 13

redress

Question 14

to become thinner or sparser

Answer 14

rarefy

Question 15

a witty, skillful storyteller

Answer 15

raconteur

Question 16

occurring daily, commonplace

Answer 16

quotidian

Question 17

to tarnish, to taint

Answer 17

sully

Question 18

beggar

Answer 18

mendicant

Question 19

quick, shrewd, and unpredictable

Answer 19

mercurial

Question 20

neophyte

Answer 20

novice; beginner

A relative neophyte at bowling, Rodolfo rolled all of his balls into the gutter.

Question 21

nettle

Answer 21

to irritate

I don’t particularly like having blue hair - I just do it to nettle my parents.

Question 22

propriety

Answer 22

the quality of behaving in a proper manner; obeying rules and customs

The aristocracy maintained a high level of propriety, adhering to even the most minor social rules.

Question 23

wily

Answer 23

clever, deceptive

Yet again, the wily coyote managed to elude the ranchers who wanted to capture it.

Question 24

prudence

Answer 24

wisdom, caution, or restraint The college student exhibited prudence by obtaining practical experience along with her studies, which greatly strengthened her resume.

Question 25

whimsical

Answer 25

lightly acting in a fanciful or capricious manner; unpredictable The ballet was whimsical, delighting the children with its imaginative characters and unpredictable sets.

Question 26

wan

Answer 26

sickly pale The sick child had a wan face, in contrast to her rosy-cheeked sister. ashen, sickly

Question 27

voluble

Answer 27

talkative, speaking easily, glib The voluble man and his reserved wife proved the old saying that opposites attract. loquacious, verbose

Question 28

pare

Answer 28

to trim off excess, to reduce The cook's hands were sore after she pared hundreds of potatoes for the banquet. clip, peel

Question 29

paragon

Answer 29

model of excellence or perfection He is the paragon of what a judge should be: honest, intelligent, hardworking and just. apotheosis, ideal, quintessence, standard

Question 30

occlude

Answer 30

to stop up; to prevent the passage of A shadow is thrown across the Earth's surface during a solar eclipse, when the light from the sun is occluded by the moon. barricade, block, close, obstruct

Question 31

obviate

Answer 31

to prevent; to make unnecessary The river was shallow enough to wade across at many points, which obviated the need for a bridge. forestall, preclude, prohibit

Question 32

obstinate

Answer 32

stubborn; unyielding The obstinate child could not be made to eat any food that he perceived to be "yucky." intransigent, mulish, persistent, pertinacious, stubborn, tenacious

Question 33

obsequious

Answer 33

overly submissive and eager to please The obsequious new associated made sure to compliment her supervisor's tie and agree with him on every issue. compliant, deferential, servile, subservient

Question 34

oblique

Answer 34

indirect or evasive; misleading or devious Usually open and friendly, Reynaldo has been behaving in a curiously oblique manner lately. glancing, slanted, tangential

Question 35

obdurate

Answer 35

hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion The president was completely obdurate on the issue, and no amount of persuasion would change his mind. inflexible, intransigent, recalcitrant, tenacious, unyielding

Question 36

numismatics

Answer 36

coin collecting Tomas's passion for numismatics has resulted in an impressive collection of coins from all over the world.

Question 37

nuance

Answer 37

a subtle expression of meaning or equality The scholar's argued for hours over tiny nuances in the interpretation of the line line of the poem. gradation, subtlety, tone

Question 38

nominal

Answer 38

existing in name only; negligible A nominal but far from devoted member of the high school yearbook committee, she rarely attends meetings. minimal, titular

Question 39

noisome

Answer 39

stinking; putrid A dead mouse trapped in your walls produces a noisome odor. disgusting, foul, malodorous

Question 40

pariah

Answer 40

an outcast Once he betrayed those in this community, he was banished and lived the life of a pariah. castaway, derelict, leper, offscouring, untouchable

Question 41

polemic

Answer 41

controversy; argument; verbal attack The candidate's polemic against his opponent was vicious and small-minded rather than convincing and well-reasoned. denunciation, refutation

Question 42

politic

Answer 42

shrewd and practical in managing or dealing with things; diplomatic She was wise to curb her tongue and was able to explain her problem to the judge in a respectful and politic manner. tactful

Question 43

polyglot

Answer 43

a speaker of many languages Ling's extensive travels have helped her to become a true polyglot.

Question 44

posit

Answer 44

to assume as real or conceded; to propose as an explanation mi Before proving the math formula, we needed to posit that x and y were real numbers. suggest

Question 45

militate

Answer 45

to operate against; work against Lenin militated against the tsar for years before he overthrew him and established the Soviet Union. affect, change, influence

Question 46

mirth

Answer 46

frivolity; gaiety; laughter Vera's hilarious jokes contributed to the general mirth at the dinner party. glee, hilarity, jollity, merriment

Question 47

satiate

Answer 47

to satisfy fully or overindulge His desire for power was so great that nothing less than complete control of the country could satiate it. cloy, glut, gorge, surfeit

Question 48

scintilla

Answer 48

trace amount This poison is so powerful that no more than a scintilla of it is needed to kill a horse. atom, iota, mote, spark, speck

Question 49

sedition

Answer 49

behavior that promotes rebellion or civil disorder against the state Li was arrested for sedition after he gave a fiery speech in the main square. conspiracy, insurrection