Vocabulary Builder Session #2

Question 1

supercilious

Answer 1

adj. behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others; haughty

Question 2

dogma

Answer 2

noun; a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.

Question 3

guile

Answer 3

noun; sly or cunning intelligence; he used all his guile and guts to free himself from the muddle he was in

Question 4

stigma

Answer 4

n. a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person; to be a nonreader carries a social stigma

Question 5

ostentatious

Answer 5

adj.; characterized by vulgar or pretentious display; designed to impress or attract notice; ‘books that people display ostentatiously but never actually finish.”

Question 6

fortnight

Answer 6

n. a period of two weeks.

Question 7

lingustics

Answer 7

n. the scientific study of language and its structure

Question 8

sardonic

Answer 8

adj. grimly mocking or cynical

Question 9

churlish

Answer 9

adj. rude in a mean spirited and surly way

Question 10

facetious

Answer 10

adj. treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; flippant

Question 11

terse

Answer 11

adj. sparing in the use of words; abrupt

Question 12

impunity

Answer 12

n. exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action; the impunity enjoyed by military officers implicated in civilian killings

Question 13

boudoir

Answer 13

n. a woman’s bedroom or private room

Question 14

verisimilitude

Answer 14

n. the appearance of being true or real; the detail gives the novel some verisimilitude

Question 15

misanthrope

Answer 15

n. a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society

Question 16

retching

Answer 16

verb. make a sound and movement of vomiting

Question 17

colloquial

Answer 17

adj. used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary

Question 18

obdurate

Answer 18

adj. stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action; stubborn, obstinate

Question 19

autodidact

Answer 19

n. a self-taught person

Question 20

alacrity

Answer 20

n. brisk and cheerful readiness; she accepted the invitation with alacrity