Vocab 10

Question 1

livid

Answer 1

discolored from a bruise; pale; reddened with anger

Andre was living when he discovered that someone had spilled grape juice all over his cashmere coat.

Question 2

loquacious

Answer 2

talkactive

She is naturally loquacious, which is a problem in situations where listening is more important than talking.

Question 3

lucid

Answer 3

clear and easily understood

The explanations were written in a simple and lucid manner so that students were immediately able to apply what they had learned.

Question 4

lugubrious

Answer 4

sorrowful; mournful; dismal

Irish wakes are a rousing departure from the lugubrious funeral services to which most people are accustomed.

Question 5

contumacious

Answer 5

rebellious

The contumacious teenager ran away from home when her parents told her she was grounded.

Question 6

equivocate

Answer 6

to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead

When faced with criticism of his policies, the politician equivocated and left all parties thinking he agreed with them.

Question 7

erratic

Answer 7

wandering and unpredictable

The plot seemed predictable until it suddenly took a series of erratic turns that surprised the audience.

Question 8

ersatz

Answer 8

fake

Question 9

inquest

Answer 9

an investigation; an inquiry

The police chef ordered an inquest to determine what went wrong.

Question 10

erudite

Answer 10

learned; scholarly; bookish

The annual meeting of philosophy professors was a gathering of the most erudite, well-published individuals in the field.

Question 11

insipid

Answer 11

lacking interest or flavor

The critic claimed that the painting was insipid, containing no interesting qualities at all.

Question 12

eschew

Answer 12

to shun; to avoid (as something wrong or distasteful)

The filmmaker eschewed artificial light for her actors, resulting in a stark movie style.

Question 13

insurrection

Answer 13

rebellion

After the emperor’s troops crushed the insurrection, its leaders fled the country.

Question 14

inter

Answer 14

to bury

After giving the masses one last chance to pay their respects, the leader’s body was interred.

Question 15

interregnum

Answer 15

a period between reigns

When John F. Kennedy was shot, there was a brief interregnum before Lyndon B. Johnson became president.

Question 16

intractable

Answer 16

not easily managed or manipulated

Intractable for horse, the wild horse eventually allowed the rider to mount.

Question 17

intransigent

Answer 17

uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled

The professor was intransigent on the deadline, insisting that everyone turn the assignment in at the same time.

Question 18

intrepid

Answer 18

fearless; resolutely courageous

Despite freezing winds, the intrepid hiker completed his ascent.

Question 19

inundate

Answer 19

to overwhelm; to cover with water

The tidal wave inundated Atlantis, which was lost beneath the water.

Question 20

inure

Answer 20

to harden; accustom

Eventually, Hassad became inured to the sirens that went off every night and could sleep through them.

Question 21

invective

Answer 21

abusive language

Question 22

investiture

Answer 22

ceremony conferring authority

At Napoleon’s investiture, he grabbed the crown from the Pope’s hands and placed it on his head himself.

Question 23

invidious

Answer 23

envious, obnoxious, or offensive; likely to promote ill-will

It is cruel and invidious for parents to play favorites with their children.

Question 24

irascible

Answer 24

easily made angry

Attila and Hun’s irascible and violent nature made all who dealt with him fear for their lives.

Question 25

enervate

Answer 25

to reduce in strength

Question 26

engender

Answer 26

to produce, cause, or bring about

His fear and hatred of clowns was engendered when he witnessed a bank robbery carried out by five men wearing clown suits and make-up.

Question 27

enigma

Answer 27

a puzzle; a mystery

Speaking in riddles and dressed in old robes, the artist gained a reputation as something of an enigma.

Question 28

esoteric

Answer 28

known or understood only by a few

Only a handful of experts are knowledgeable about the esoteric world of particle physics.

Question 29

estimable

Answer 29

admirable

Most people consider it estimable that Mother Teresa spent her life helping the poor of India.

Question 30

ethos

Answer 30

the beliefs or character of a group

It is the Boy Scouts’ ethos that one should always be prepared.

Question 31

hyperbole

Answer 31

purposeful exaggeration for effect

When the mayor claimed his town was one of the seven wonders of the world, outsiders classified his statement as a hyperbole.

Question 32

iconoclast

Answer 32

one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions

His lack of regard for traditional beliefs soon established him as an iconoclast.

Question 33

idiosyncrasy

Answer 33

peculiarity of temperament; eccentricity

His numerous idiosyncrasies included a fondness for wearing bright green shoes with mauve socks.

Question 34

inexorable

Answer 34

inflexible; unyielding

The inexorable force of the twister swept away their house.

Question 35

ingenuous

Answer 35

showing innocence or childlike simplicity

She was so ingenuous that her friends feared that her innocence and trustfulness would be exploited when she visited the big city.

Question 36

ingrate

Answer 36

an ungrateful

When none of her relatives thanked her for the fruitcakes she had sent them, Audrey condemned them all as ingrates.

Question 37

ingratiate

Answer 37

to gain favor with another by deliberate effort; to seek to please somebody so as to gain an advantage

The new intern tried to ingratiate herself with the managers so that they might consider her for a future job.

Question 38

inimical

Answer 38

hostile; unfriendly

Even though a cease-fire had been in place for months, the two sides were still inimical to each other.

Question 39

iniquity

Answer 39

a sin; an evil act

I promise to close every den of iniquity in this town! thundered the conservative new mayor.

Question 40

innocuous

Answer 40

harmless

Some snakes are poisonous, but most species are innocuous and pose no danger to humans.

Question 41

martinet

Answer 41

strict disciplinarian one who rigidly follows rules

A complete martinet, the official insisted that Pete fill out all the forms again even though he was already familiar with his case.

Question 42

accretion

Answer 42

a gradual growth in size; an increase in amount

The committee’s strong fund-raising efforts resulted in an accretion in scholarship money.

Question 43

abstemious

Answer 43

moderate in appetite

Because Alyce is a vegetarian, she was able to eat only an abstemious meal at the Texas Steakhouse.

Question 44

abyss

Answer 44

an extremely deep hole

The submarine dove into the abyss to chart the previously unseen depths.

Question 45

abscond

Answer 45

to leave secretly

The patron absconded from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door.

Question 46

abstain

Answer 46

to choose not to do something

Before the medical procedure, you must abstain from eating.

Question 47

abjure

Answer 47

to reject; to abandon formally

The spy abjured his allegiance to the United States when he defected to Russia.

Question 48

adulterate

Answer 48

to make impure

The restaurateur made his ketchup last longer by adulterating it with water.

Question 49

abeyance

Answer 49

temporary suppression or suspension

The baseball game was held in abeyance while it continued to rain.

Question 50

mendacious

Answer 50

dishonest

So many of her stories were mendacious that I decided she must be a pathological liar.