Vocab 941 - 960

Question 1

Quidnunc

Answer 1

– noun

1) a person who is eager to know the latest news and gossip or a busybody.

Question 2

Vassal

Answer 2

– noun

1) a person or country in a subordinate position to another: a much stronger nation can also turn a weaker one into a vassal state.

Question 3

Paucity

Answer 3

– noun

1) smallness of quantity: a country with a paucity of resources.

Question 4

Propriety

Answer 4

– noun

1) conformity to established standards of good/proper behavior/manners: Abandoning any thought of propriety, she ran down the path to meet him.

Question 5

Modus Vivendi

Answer 5

– noun

1) an arrangement or agreement allowing conflicting parties to coexist peacefully indefinitely or until a final settlement is reached.

Question 6

Paean

Answer 6

– noun

1) any song of praise, joy, or triumph.

Question 7

Disabuse

Answer 7

– verb

1) to free (a person) from deception or error: You’d be surprised how often my fellow British Jews are required to disabuse U.S. friends of such delusions.

– Related forms
disabusal, noun

Question 8

Oxter

Answer 8

– noun

1) the armpit.

Question 9

Obtuse

Answer 9

– adjective

1) dull. not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect.

Question 10

Cudgel

Answer 10

– noun

1) a short, thick stick used as a weapon; club.

Question 11

Détente

Answer 11

– noun

1) a relaxing of tension, especially between nations, as by negotiations or agreements.

Question 12

Ecumenical

Answer 12

– adjective

1) including or containing a mixture of diverse elements or styles; mixed: an ecumenical meal of German, Italian, and Chinese dishes.

– Related forms
ecumenically, adverb
nonecumenic, adjective
nonecumenical, adjective

Question 13

Nexus

Answer 13

– noun

1) a connection or series of connections linking two or more things: the nexus between industry and political power. a nexus of ideas.

Question 14

Diktat

Answer 14

– noun

1) an order or decree imposed by someone in power without popular consent: a diktat from the Bundestag.

Question 15

Reprieve

Answer 15

– noun

1) any respite or temporary relief.

Question 16

Soliloquy

Answer 16

– noun

1) an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to one’s self or is disregardful/oblivious to any hearers present: Hamlet’s soliloquy begins with “To be or not to be.”

Question 17

High-handed

Answer 17

– adjective

1) condescending or presumptuous: He has a highhanded manner.

Question 18

Ipso facto

Answer 18

– adverb

1) by the very nature of the deed: to be condemned ipso facto.

Question 19

Acrid

Answer 19

– adjective

1) sharp or biting to the taste or smell; bitterly pungent or irritating to the eyes, nose, etc.: acrid smoke from burning

Question 20

Démarche

Answer 20

– noun,

1) a procedure or step; move; maneuver.