Vocab #3

Question 0

Sublime

Answer 0

1. Elevated, noble, exalted, uplifting

Visitors to the Grand Canyon are uplifted and refreshed by its sublime scenery.

Question 1

Precipitous

Answer 1

1. Step as a precipice

She descended from a summit in low gear, using her brakes all the way, since the road was so precipitous.

Question 2

Abject

Answer 2

1. Deserving contempt; sunk to a low condition; wretched

For your abject submission to your tyrannical associate we have the utmost contempt.

Question 3

Menial

Answer 3

1. Low; mean; subservient

Many college students do menial work, such as waiting on tables, to help pay their tuition.

Question 4

Gentility

Answer 4

1. Good manners
   George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion shows how a cockney flower girl quickly acquired the gentility necessary to pass as a duchess.

Question 5

Pungent

Answer 5

1. Sharp in smell or taste; acrid; stimulating

As she sliced the onions, the pungent fumes made her eyes tear.

Question 6

Defunct

Answer 6

1. Dead, deceased, extinct

The Lumber company is still in business, but the Appliance Corporation has long been defunct.

Question 7

Inveterate

Answer 7

1. Firmly established by age; deep rooted

From their ancestors, Americans have inherited an inveterate dislike of tyranny.

Question 8

Longevity

Answer 8

1. Long life

Methuselah is renowned for his longevity, according to the bible he lived 969 years.

Question 9

Patriarch

Answer 9

1. Venerable old man

Practically all of the patriarch’s children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren attended his 100th birthday party.

Question 10

Posthumous

Answer 10

1. Published after the author’s death

Only 2 of Emily Dickinson’s poems were published before her death; the rest are posthumous.

Question 11

Pristine

Answer 11

1. In original, long ago state

A diamond in its pristine state as it comes from the mine looks altogether different from a diamond in a ring.

Question 12

Venerable

Answer 12

1. Worthy of respect because of advanced age, religious association, or historical importance
   At family reunions our venerable grandmother is accorded the greatest respect.

Question 13

Slatternly

Answer 13

1. Untidy, dirty

There were cobwebs on the walls, dust in the shelves, dishes in the sink; it was a slatternly kitchen.

Question 14

Sordid

Answer 14

1. Filthy, vile

As soon as the athlete received the bribe offer, he informed the coach of the sordid affair

Question 15

Contiguous

Answer 15

Sharing a common border, touching

Question 16

Environs

Answer 16

Districts surrounding a place, suburbs

Many of the city’s former residents now live in its immediate environs.

Question 17

Juxtaposition

Answer 17

1. Close or side by side position

Soap should not be placed in juxtaposition with foods because it may impart its scent to them.

Question 18

Propinquity

Answer 18

1. Kinship

Disregarding propinquity, the executive gave the post to a highly recommended stranger rather than his nephew.

Question 19

Dogmatic

Answer 19

1. Asserting opinions as if they were facts; opinionated

If, without offering any proof at all, you keep insisting that the plan will not work, you are being dogmatic.

Question 20

Eclectic

Answer 20

1. Choosing ideas from various sources

In some matters, I follow the progressives and in others the conservatives; you may consider me eclectic.

Question 21

Fallacious

Answer 21

1. Based on a fallacy; misleading; deceptive

For centuries people held fallacious views that the sun revolves around the earth.

Question 22

Indubitable

Answer 22

1. Certain; indisputable

The defendant’s confession, added to the witnesses’ testimony, makes his guilt indubitable.

Question 23

Paradoxical

Answer 23

1. Having the characteristics of a paradox

It is paradoxical but true that teachers may be taught by their pupils.

Question 24

Specious

Answer 24

1. Apparently reasonable, but not really so
   The contractor’s claim that his men have an average experience of 5 years is specious; one has had 20 years of experience, but the other three have practically none.

Question 25

Malleable

Answer 25

1. Capable of being shaped by hammering, as a metal

Copper is easily shaped into thin sheets because it is very malleable.

Question 26

Paltry

Answer 26

1. Practically worthless, trashy, petty

I complain not because of the paltry few pennies I was overcharged but because of the principle involved.

Question 27

Demure

Answer 27

1. Falsely modest or serious; coy

The students giggled behind the teachers back, but as soon as she turned around, they looked demure.

Question 28

Egoism

Answer 28

1. Conceit, selfishness

By assuming full credit for our committee’s hard work, the chairman has disclosed his egoism.

Question 29

Ostentatious

Answer 29

Done to impress others, showy, pretentious

Parked next to our staid family car was an ostentatious red convertible.