Vocab Practice #1

Question 1

ostentatious

Answer 1

characterized by showiness and vanity

Question 2

capricious

Answer 2

characterized by impulsive behavior and sudden actions

Question 3

loquacious

Answer 3

extremely talkative

Question 4

decorous

Answer 4

characterized by good taste and socially appropriate behavior

Question 5

folly

Answer 5

lack of good sense/inability to see ahead

Question 6

mitigate

Answer 6

make something less harsh or hostile

Question 7

jingoism

Answer 7

extreme nationalism

Question 8

ossify

Answer 8

to become fixed or inflexible

Question 9

bureaucratization

Answer 9

process of developing rules and systems that are unlikely to change

Question 10

venerable

Answer 10

having great age and value

Question 11

prudence

Answer 11

characterized by good judgement or shrewdness in affair management

Question 12

aloofness

Answer 12

quality of being removed or distant

Question 13

dictum

Answer 13

noteworthy statement or announcement

Question 14

equivocate

Answer 14

to use language that is open to different interpretations and may mislead, confuse, or deceive

Question 15

viable

Answer 15

having a reasonable chance at succeeding

Question 16

cryptic

Answer 16

mysterious or seeming to have a hidden meaning

Question 17

jubilant

Answer 17

filled with or expressing great joy

Question 18

pugnacious

Answer 18

having a combative nature

Question 19

belligerence

Answer 19

aggressive or harsh attitude

Question 20

indigence

Answer 20

level of poverty characterized by real hardship and deprivation

Question 21

perfidy

Answer 21

disloyalty

Question 22

aspersion

Answer 22

the act of making false or misleading charges on order to harm someone’s reputation

Question 23

tenacity

Answer 23

state of being persistent

Question 24

disrepute

Answer 24

lack or decline of a good reputation

Question 25

ambivalent

Answer 25

having mixed feelings about something

Question 26

dubious

Answer 26

producing doubt or uncertainty

Question 27

palpable

Answer 27

tangible

Question 28

diaphanous

Answer 28

very delicate and virtually transparent

Question 29

variegated

Answer 29

having varying markings or colors

Question 30

egalitarian

Answer 30

believes in and works towards the goal of equality for all people

Question 31

dowager

Answer 31

widow or elderly woman

Question 32

dilettante

Answer 32

a person who has superficial knowledge of and interest in many different subjects

Question 33

iconoclast

Answer 33

a person who rejects tradition, attacking common beliefs and powerful institutions

Question 34

purveyor

Answer 34

someone who supplies goods or provisions to others