Vocab List 4

Question 1

obfuscate

Answer 1

(v.) to render incomprehensible
(The detective did not want to answer the newspaper reporter’s questions, so he obfuscated the truth.)

Question 2

paragon

Answer 2

(n.) a model of excellence or perfection (Helen of Troy was considered a paragon of female beauty.)

Question 3

pertinacious

Answer 3

(adj.) stubbornly persistent
(Harry’s parents were frustrated with his pertinacious insistence that a monster lived in his closet.)

Question 4

propitious

Answer 4

(adj.) favorable
(The dark storm clouds visible on the horizon suggested that the weather would not be propitious for sailing.)

Question 5

rectitude

Answer 5

(n.) uprightness, extreme morality
(The priest’s rectitude gave him the moral authority to counsel his parishioners.)

Question 6

sagacity

Answer 6

(n.) shrewdness, soundness of perspective
(With remarkable sagacity, the wise old man predicted and thwarted his children’s plan to ship him off to a nursing home.)

Question 7

stupefy

Answer 7

(v.) to astonish, make insensible (Veronica’s audacity and ungratefulness stupefied her
best friend, Heather.)

Question 8

torpid

Answer 8

(adj.) lethargic, dormant, lacking motion (The torpid whale floated, wallowing in the water for hours.)

Question 9

unctuous

Answer 9

(adj.) smooth or greasy in texture, appearance, and manner; falsely earnest
(The unctuous receptionist seemed untrustworthy as if she was only being helpful because she
thought we might give her a big tip.

Question 10

vex

Answer 10

(v.) to confuse or annoy
(Natalia’s little brother vexes her by poking her in the ribs for hours on end.)