Vocab Unit 10 Definitions

Question 1

askance

Answer 1

(adv) with suspicion, distrust, or disapproval

Question 2

attenuate

Answer 2

(v) to make thin or slender; to weaken or lessen in force, intensity, or value

Question 3

benign

Answer 3

(adj) gentle, kind; forgiving, understanding; having a favorable or beneficial effect; not malignant

Question 4

cavil

Answer 4

(v) to find fault in a petty way, carp; (n) a trivial objection or criticism

Question 5

charlatan

Answer 5

(n) one who feigns knowledge or ability; a pretender, impostor, or quack

Question 6

decimate

Answer 6

(v) to kill or destroy a large part of

Question 7

foible

Answer 7

(n) a weak point, failing, minor flaw

Question 8

forgo

Answer 8

(v) to do without, abstain from, give up

Question 9

fraught

Answer 9

(adj) full of or loaded with; accompanied by

Question 10

inure

Answer 10

(v) to toughen, harden; to render used to something by long subjection or exposure

Question 11

luminous

Answer 11

(adj) emitting or reflecting light, glowing; illuminating

Question 12

obsequious

Answer 12

(adj) marked by slavish attentiveness; excessively submissive, often for purely self-interested reasons

Question 13

obtuse

Answer 13

(adj) blunt, not coming to a point; slow or dull in understanding; measuring between 90 degrees and 180 degrees; not causing a sharp impression

Question 14

oscillate

Answer 14

(v) to swing back and forth with a steady rhythm; to fluctuate or waver

Question 15

penitent

Answer 15

(adj) regretful for one’s sins or mistakes; (n) one who is sorry for wrongdoing

Question 16

peremptory

Answer 16

(adj) having the nature of a command that leaves no opportunity for debate, denial, or refusal; offensively self-assured, dictatorial; determined, resolute

Question 17

rebuff

Answer 17

(v) to snub; to repel, drive away; (n) a curt rejection, a check

Question 18

reconnoiter

Answer 18

(v) to engage in reconnaissance; to make a preliminary inspection

Question 19

shambles

Answer 19

(n) a slaughterhouse; a place of mass bloodshed; a state of complete disorder and confusion, mess

Question 20

sporadic

Answer 20

(adj) occurring at irregular intervals, having no set plan or order