vocab 12/10

Question 1

abortive

Answer 1

failing to accomplish an intended aim or purpose; only partially or imperfectly developed

Question 2

bruit

Answer 2

to spread news, reports, or unsubstantiated rumors

Question 3

contumelious

Answer 3

insolent or rude in speech or behavior; insultingly abusive; humiliating

Question 4

ensconce

Answer 4

to settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place

Question 4

iconoclastic

Answer 4

attacking or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, ideas, or institutions

Question 4

dictum

Answer 4

a short saying: an authoritative statement

Question 5

in medias res

Answer 5

in or into the middle of a plot; into the middle of things

Question 6

internecine

Answer 6

mutually destructive; characterized by great slaughter and bloodshed

Question 7

maladroit

Answer 7

lacking skill or dexterity; lacking tact, perception, or judgement

Question 8

maudlin

Answer 8

excessively or effusively sentimental

Question 9

modulate

Answer 9

to change or vary the intensity or pitch; to temper or soften; to regulate adjust

Question 10

portentous

Answer 10

foreshadowing an event to come; causing wonder or awe; self-consciously weighty, pompous

Question 11

prescience

Answer 11

knowledge of events or actions before they happen; foresight

Question 12

quid pro quo

Answer 12

something given in exchange or return for something else

Question 13

salubrious

Answer 13

conductive to health or well-being; wholesome

Question 14

saturnalian

Answer 14

characterized by riotous or unrestrained revelry or licentiousness

Question 15

touchstone

Answer 15

a means of testing worth or genuineness

Question 16

traumatic

Answer 16

so shocking to the emotions as to cause lasting and substantial psychological damage

Question 17

vitiate

Answer 17

to weaken, debase, or corrupt; to impair the quality or value of

Question 18

waggish

Answer 18

fond of making jokes; characteristic of a joker; playfully humorous or droll