Vocabulary: M-words

Question 1

Muse

Answer 1

To think or meditate in silence, as on some subject. To wonder

Question 2

Macabre(ma-ca-bruh)

Answer 2

Gruesome & horrifying

Question 3

Mitigate

Answer 3

to lessen in force or intensity, as wrath, grief, harshness, or pain; moderate.

Question 4

mor·a·to·ri·um

[mawr-uh-tawr-ee-uh m, -tohr-, mor-]

Answer 4

A suspension of activity: a moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons.

Question 5

me·ni·al

[mee-nee-uh l, meen-yuh l]

Answer 5

lowly and sometimes degrading: menial work.

Question 6

mal·a·dy

[mal-uh-dee]

Answer 6

Any undesirable or disordered condition: social maladies; a malady of the spirit.

Question 7

mael·strom

[meyl-struh m]

Answer 7

a restless, disordered, or tumultuous state of affairs: the maelstrom of early morning traffic.

Question 8

mo·tif

[moh-teef]

Answer 8

1.
a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work.
2.
a distinctive and recurring form, shape, figure, etc., in a design, as in a painting or on wallpaper.
3.
a dominant idea or feature: the profit motif of free enterprise.

Question 9

Mollify

Answer 9

1.
to soften in feeling or temper, as a person; pacify; appease.
2.
to mitigate or reduce; soften: to mollify one’s demands.

Question 10

mag·net·ism
[mag-ni-tiz-uh m]
Magnetism

Answer 10

strong attractive power or charm: Everyone succumbed to the magnetism of his smile.

Question 11

Milieu

Answer 11

surroundings, especially of a social or cultural nature: a snobbish milieu.
A person’s social environment.

Question 12

Mendacity

Answer 12

Untruthfulness: tendency to lie.

an instance of lying; falsehood.

Question 13

mal·le·a·ble

[mal-ee-uh-buh l]

Answer 13

adaptable or tractable: the malleable mind of a child.

Question 14

Microcosm

Answer 14

A community, place, or situation regarded as encapsulating in miniature the characteristic qualities or features of something much larger

Question 15

Monolithic

Answer 15

consisting of one piece; solid or unbroken: a boat with a monolithic hull.

(of an organization or system) large, powerful, and intractably indivisible and uniform.

characterized by massiveness, total uniformity, rigidity, invulnerability, etc.: a monolithic society.

Question 16

Misanthropic

Answer 16

Disliking mankind and avoiding human society.

Question 17

Koan

Answer 17

1.
a nonsensical or paradoxical anecdot, riddle, or question to a student for which an answer is demanded, the stress of meditation on the question often being illuminating.
Used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment.

Question 18

Memorabilia

Answer 18

Objects kept or collected because of their historical interest, ex, those associated with memorable people or events.
mementos; souvenirs.
matters or events worthy to be remembered; points worthy of note.

Question 19

Modicum

Answer 19

A small quantity of a particular thing, something considered desirable or valuable.

Question 20

Mercurial

Answer 20

(Of a person) subject to sudden or unpredictable changes in mood or mind.

Question 21

Mellifluous

Answer 21

(Of a voice or words) sweet or musical; Pleasant to hear