Vocab 1

Question 0

Candor

Answer 0

: the quality of being open, sincere, and honest
Full Definition
1 a : whiteness, brilliance
b obsolete : unstained purity
2 : freedom from prejudice or malice : fairness
3 archaic : kindliness
4 : unreserved, honest, or sincere expression : forthrightness

Question 1

Dither

Answer 1

: to delay taking action because you are not sure about what to do

Full Definition
1 : shiver, tremble
2 : to act nervously or indecisively : vacillate

Question 2

Indomitable

Answer 2

: impossible to defeat or discourage
Full Definition
: incapable of being subdued : unconquerable

Question 3

Temerity

Answer 3

: the quality of being confident and unafraid of danger or punishment especially in a way that seems rude or foolish
Full Definition
1 : unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger or opposition : rashness, recklessness
2 : a rash or reckless act

Question 4

Taxonomy

Answer 4

: the process or system of describing the way in which different living things are related by putting them in groups
Full Definition
1 : the study of the general principles of scientific classification : systematics
2 : classification; especially : orderly classification of plants and animals according to their presumed natural relationships

Question 5

Weary

Answer 5

: lacking strength, energy, or freshness because of a need for rest or sleep
: bored or annoyed by something because you have seen it, heard it, done it, etc., many times or for a long time
: causing you to feel tired
Full Definition
1 : exhausted in strength, endurance, vigor, or freshness
2 : expressing or characteristic of weariness <a>
3 : having one’s patience, tolerance, or pleasure exhausted — used with of</a>

Question 6

Oblique

Answer 6

: not direct : not stated directly
of a line : having a slanting direction or position : neither perpendicular nor parallel
Full Definition
1 a : neither perpendicular nor parallel : inclined
b : having the axis not perpendicular to the base
c : having no right angle
2 a : not straightforward : indirect; also : obscure
b : devious, underhanded
3 : situated at an angle and having one end not inserted on bone
4 : taken from an airplane with the camera directed horizontally or diagonally downward

Question 7

Commiserate

Answer 7

: to express sadness or sympathy for someone who has experienced something unpleasant
Full Definition
intransitive verb
: to feel or express sympathy : condole
transitive verb
: to feel or express sorrow or compassion for

Question 8

Marquee

Answer 8

: very popular and well known
Full Definition
: having or associated with the name recognition and attraction of one whose name appears on a marquee : big-name, star
Examples
The film features two marquee performers.
marquee athletes/events

Question 9

Buffoon

Answer 9

: a stupid or foolish person who tries to be funny
Full Definition
1 : a ludicrous figure : clown
2 : a gross and usually ill-educated or stupid person
buf·foon·ish -ˈfü-nish\ adjective
Examples
the children at the birthday party giggled at the buffoon’s silly tricks

Question 10

Frazzled

Answer 10

\: to make (someone) very nervous or upset
Full Definition
transitive verb
1 : 3fray
2 a : to put in a state of extreme physical or nervous fatigue 
b : upset
intransitive verb
\: to become frazzled

Frazzled victims

Question 11

Intrepid

Answer 11

\: feeling no fear : very bold or brave
Full Definition
\: characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance 
in·tre·pid·i·ty \ˌin-trə-ˈpi-də-tē\ noun
in·trep·id·ly \in-ˈtre-pəd-lē\ adverb
in·trep·id·ness noun
Examples
an intrepid explorer who probed parts of the rain forest never previously attempted

Question 12

Unkempt

Answer 12

: not neat or orderly : messy or untidy
Full Definition
1 : not combed
2 : deficient in order or neatness ; also : rough, unpolished
Examples
an unkempt and cluttered room
the stereotype of the unkempt but brilliant scientist

Question 13

Unassailable

Answer 13

: not able to be doubted, attacked, or questioned
Full Definition
: not assailable : not liable to doubt, attack, or question
un·as·sail·abil·i·ty -ˌsā-lə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun
un·as·sail·able·ness -ˈsā-lə-bəl-nəs\ noun
un·as·sail·ably -blē\ adverb
Examples
one of the unassailable beliefs of that political party

Question 14

Trounce

Answer 14

: to defeat (someone or something) easily and thoroughly
Full Definition
: to thrash or punish severely; especially : to defeat decisively
Other forms: trounced; trounc·ing
Examples
Their opponents trounced them in the final game.
our candidate trounced her opponent in the election, winning with 76% of the vote

Question 15

Humdrum

Answer 15

\: not interesting : dull, boring, and ordinary
Full Definition
\: monotonous, dull
humdrum noun
Examples
she leads a humdrum life that will never be made into a major motion picture
a humdrum meal
Origin: reduplication of hum.
First use: 1553

Question 16

Palliative

Answer 16

medical : something that reduces the effects or symptoms of a medical condition without curing it
: something that is intended to make a bad situation seem better but that does not really improve the situation

Question 17

Scrupulous

Answer 17

: very careful about doing something correctly
: careful about doing what is honest and morally right
Full Definition
1 : having moral integrity : acting in strict regard for what is considered right or proper
2 : punctiliously exact : painstaking
synonyms see upright, careful
scru·pu·lous·ly adverb
scru·pu·lous·ness noun
Examples
an exemplar of morality who was scrupulous in all of his dealings
a scrupulous attention to detail is evident in all of his reporting

Question 18

Avert

Answer 18

: to turn (your eyes, gaze, etc.) away or aside
: to prevent (something bad) from happening
Full Definition
1 : to turn away or aside (as the eyes) in avoidance
2 : to see coming and ward off : avoid
Examples
She had to avert her eyes at the sight of the accident.
with averted eyes/gaze/glances
He sped up and averted an accident.

Avert danger

Question 19

Litterbug

Answer 19

: a person who throws or leaves trash in a public place
Full Definition
: one who litters a public area

Question 20

Wistful

Answer 20

: having or showing sad thoughts and feelings about something that you want to have or do and especially about something that made you happy in the past
Full Definition
1 : full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy; also : inspiring such yearning <a>
2 : musingly sad : pensive <a></a></a>

Question 21

Gregarious

Answer 21

: enjoying the company of other people
biology : tending to live in groups
Full Definition
1 a : tending to associate with others of one’s kind : social
b : marked by or indicating a liking for companionship : sociable
c : of or relating to a social group
2 a of a plant : growing in a cluster or a colony
b : living in contiguous nests but not forming a true colony — used especially of wasps and bees
gre·gar·i·ous·ly adverb
gre·gar·i·ous·ness noun
Examples
a gregarious child who ran up to every person on the playground and wanted to be their friend
walruses are highly gregarious
Origin: Latin gregarius of a flock or herd, from greg-, grex flock, herd.

Question 22

Flounder

Answer 22

: to move in an awkward way with a lot of difficulty and effort
: to be unsure about what to do or say
: to have a lot of problems and difficulties
Full Definition
1 : to struggle to move or obtain footing : thrash about wildly
2 : to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
Other forms: floun·dered; floun·der·ing -d(ə-)riŋ\
Examples
The horses were floundering through the deep snow.
He was floundering around in the pool like an amateur.
After watching me flounder for a few minutes, my instructor took over.

Question 23

Revel

Answer 23

1 : to take part in a revel : carouse
2 : to take intense pleasure or satisfaction
Other forms: rev·eled or rev·elled; rev·el·ing or rev·el·ling\ˈre-və-liŋ, ˈrev-liŋ\
Origin: Middle English, from Anglo-French reveler, literally, to rebel, from Latin rebellare.
First use: 14th century

Question 24

Wary

Answer 24

: not having or showing complete trust in someone or something that could be dangerous or cause trouble
Full Definition
: marked by keen caution, cunning, and watchfulness especially in detecting and escaping danger
synonyms see cautious
Other forms: war·i·er; war·i·est
war·i·ly \ˈwer-ə-lē\ adverb
war·i·ness \ˈwer-ē-nəs\ noun
Examples
The store owner kept a wary eye on him.
Investors are increasingly wary about putting money into stocks.
They remain wary of the new plan.
Origin: 1ware, from Middle English war, ware, from Old English wær careful, aware, wary; akin to Old High German giwar aware, attentive, Latin vereri to fear, Greek horan to see.
First use: 15th century
Synonyms: alert, cautious, chary, circumspect, conservative, considerate, gingerly, guarded, heedful, safe, careful

Question 25

Ignominy

Answer 25

: a situation or event that causes you to feel ashamed or embarrassed
Full Definition
1 : deep personal humiliation and disgrace
2 : disgraceful or dishonorable conduct, quality, or action
synonyms see disgrace
Other forms: plural ig·no·mi·nies
Examples
he spent the remainder of his life in ignominy after being involved in a bribery scandal
Origin: Middle French or Latin; Middle French ignominie, from Latin ignominia, from ig- (as in ignorare to be ignorant of, ignore) + nomin-, nomen name, repute — more at name.
First use: 1540
Synonyms: discredit, disesteem, dishonor, disrepute, disgrace, infamy, obloquy, odium, opprobrium, reproach, shame

Question 26

Extraneous

Answer 26

Full Definition
1 : existing on or coming from the outside
2 a : not forming an essential or vital part
b : having no relevance
3 : being a number obtained in solving an equation that is not a solution of the equation
synonyms see extrinsic
ex·tra·ne·ous·ly adverb
ex·tra·ne·ous·ness noun
Examples
the architect’s streamlined modern style shuns any sort of extraneous ornamentation
the professor would have covered all of the course material if she had refrained from her extraneous remarks on just about everything

Question 27

Sheepish

Answer 27

: showing or feeling embarrassment especially because you have done something foolish or wrong
Full Definition
1 : resembling a sheep in meekness, stupidity, or timidity
2 : affected by or showing embarrassment caused by consciousness of a fault <a>
sheep·ish·ly adverb
sheep·ish·ness noun
Examples
a sheepish scholar who is most comfortable when surrounded by books
First use: 13th century
Synonyms: backward, bashful, coy, demure, diffident, introverted, modest, recessive, retiring, self-effacing, shy, withdrawn</a>

Question 28

Prurient

Answer 28

: having or showing too much interest in sex
Full Definition
: marked by or arousing an immoderate or unwholesome interest or desire; especially : marked by, arousing, or appealing to sexual desire
pru·ri·ent·ly adverb
Origin: Latin prurient-, pruriens, present participle of prurire to itch, crave; akin to Latin pruna glowing coal, Sanskrit ploṣati he singes, and probably to Latin pruina hoarfrost — more at freeze.

Question 29

Callow

Answer 29

adjective
—used to describe a young person who does not have much experience and does not know how to behave the way adults behave
Full Definition
: lacking adult sophistication : immature
cal·low·ness \ˈka-lō-nəs, -lə-nəs\ noun
Examples
a story about a callow youth who learns the value of hard work and self-reliance
Origin: Middle English calu bald, from Old English; akin to Old High German kalo bald, Old Church Slavic golŭ bare.

Question 30

Unswerving

Answer 30

adjective
\: not changing or becoming weaker : always staying strong
Full Definition
1 : not swerving or turning aside
2 : steady, unfaltering

Question 31

Sophomoric

Answer 31

adjective
: having or showing a lack of emotional maturity : foolish and immature
Full Definition
1 : conceited and overconfident of knowledge but poorly informed and immature <a>
2 : of, relating to, or characteristic of a sophomore</a>

Question 32

Curtail

Answer 32

transitive verb
\: to reduce or limit (something)
Full Definition
\: to make less by or as if by cutting off or away some part  
synonyms see shorten
cur·tail·er \-ˈtā-lər\ noun
Examples
curtailed the school day because of the stormy weather

Question 33

Lampoon

Answer 33

noun
: a piece of writing, a cartoon, etc., that mocks or makes fun of a well-known person or thing
Full Definition
: satire 1; specifically : a harsh satire usually directed against an individual
Origin: French lampon.
First use: 1645
Synonyms: satire, pasquinade
2lampoon
transitive verb
: to publicly criticize (someone or something) in a way that causes laughter : to mock or make fun of (someone or something)
Full Definition
: to make the subject of a lampoon : ridicule
lam·poon·er noun
lam·poon·ery -ˈpü-nə-rē, -ˈpün-rē\ noun
Examples
He said such ridiculous things that he was often the target of lampoons in the press.
this classic musical is a lampoon of the movie business at the time when sound was introduced