Vocab Day 2

Question 1

Adulterate

Answer 1

render poorer in quality by adding another substance

Question 2

Advocate

Answer 2

publicly recommend or support

Question 3

Aggrandize

Answer 3

(vb) increase in size | increase power, status, reputation of someone

Agatha, an avid baseball enthusiast, used her inheritance to aggrandize her collection of baseball cards.

Word Forms: aggrandizement, aggrandizer, aggrandizable Related Words: aggrade, grand

Question 4

Alacrity

Answer 4

(n) liveliness and eagerness | brisk and cheerful readiness

Alaina impressed her new boss by accepting the task with alacrity; she was both eager and excited to get started.

Word Form: alacritous

Question 5

Ambivalent

Answer 5

having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas

Question 6

Ameliorate

Answer 6

: (vb) to make better | make something bad better

Amelia was an outstanding caregiver; she could ameliorate a patient’s discomfort just by smiling kindly.

Word Forms: ameliorable, ameliorableness, ameliorant, ameliorative, amelioratory, ameliorator

Question 7

Amenable

Answer 7

(adj) agreeable

Amy was amenable to changing my schedule at work so that I could attend my son’s baseball games.

Word Forms: amenability, amenableness, amenably Antonym Forms: nonamenable, nonamenability, nonamenableness

Question 8

Anachronistic

Answer 8

(adj) out of chronological order

Today’s announcement about the impending demolition of the baseball stadium is anachronistic; the stadium was razed early last week.

Word Forms: anachronistically, anachrony, anachronic, anachronism, anachronous, anachronously Related Word: chronological, chronology

Question 9

Audacious

Answer 9

(adj) bold and fearless | willingness to take surprisingly bold risks, showing impudent lack of respect

Audrey asked audacious questions that most people would be scared to ask.

Word Forms: audaciously, audaciousness, audacity Antonym Forms: unaudacious, unaudaciously, unaudaciousness

Question 10

Avaricious

Answer 10

(n) extreme greed for material wealth

Avery amassed million-dollar homes, luxury cars, and exquisite jewelry to satisfy her avarice, but still wanted more.

Word Forms: avaricious, avariciously, avariciousness

Question 11

Banal

Answer 11

lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring

Question 12

Benign

Answer 12

gentle and kind, not harmful to the environment

Question 13

Brazen

Answer 13

bold and without shame

Question 14

Calumny

Answer 14

false and slanderous statement about someone

Question 15

Candid

Answer 15

truthful and straightforward

Question 16

Castigate

Answer 16

reprimand severely

Question 17

Caustic

Answer 17

sarcastic in a bitter way, chemical

Question 18

Construe

Answer 18

interpret in a particular way

Question 19

Contrite

Answer 19

feeling or expressing remorse that one has done wrong

Question 20

Convoluted

Answer 20

extremely complex and difficult to follow and twisted

Question 21

Covet

Answer 21

yearn to possess something belonging to another

Question 22

Craven

Answer 22

lacking in courage, cowardly

Question 23

Decorum

Answer 23

behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety

Question 24

Deft

Answer 24

demonstrating skill and cleverness

Question 25

Demured

Answer 25

raise objections or show reluctance

Question 26

Derivative

Answer 26

imitative of the work of another

Question 27

Desiccate

Answer 27

cause to become completely dry

Question 28

Diatribe

Answer 28

a forceful and bitter verbal attack

Question 29

Incredulous

Answer 29

unwilling or unable to believe something

Question 30

Ingenuous

Answer 30

innocent, naive or unsuspecting