VOCABULARY WORDS WS02

Question 1

altruistic (adjective)

Answer 1

showing a wish to help or bring advantages to others, even if it results in disadvantage for yourself:

“I doubt whether her motives for donating the money are altruistic - she’s probably looking for publicity.”

selfless, approving

Question 2

ameliorate (verb)

Answer 2

to make a bad or unpleasant situation better:

“Foreign aid is badly needed to ameliorate the effects of the drought.”

make better, enhance

Question 3

blatant (adjective)

Answer 3

very obvious and intentional, when this is a bad thing;

“she told a blatant lie”

easy to see, recognize, or understand

Question 4

cursory (adjective)

Answer 4

quick and probably not detailed:

“a cursory glance/look”

casual, passing

Question 5

decadence (noun)

Answer 5

low moral standards and behaviour characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury

“In a moment of sheer decadence I eat cheese on toast in bed.”

unethical, unprincipled, abhorrent

Question 6

duress (noun)

Answer 6

threats used to force a person to do something:

“He claimed that he signed the confession under duress.”

force, pressure

Question 7

efficacy (noun)

Answer 7

the ability of something to produce the intended result:

“she doubted the efficacy of the method”

effectiveness, success,
productiveness

Question 8

eschew (verb)

Answer 8

to avoid something intentionally, or to give something up:

“We won’t have discussions with this group unless they eschew violence.”

shun, abstain from, refrain from

Question 9

extortion (noun)

Answer 9

the act of getting something, especially money, by force or threats:

“He was found guilty of obtaining the money by extortion.”

Question 10

germane (adjective)

Answer 10

relevant to a subject under consideration:

“that is not germane to our theme”

relevant

Question 11

histrionics (noun)

Answer 11

very emotional and energetic behaviour that is not sincere and has no real meaning:

“I’d had enough of Lydia’s histrionics.”

insincere, dramatic

Question 12

impunity (noun)

Answer 12

freedom from punishment or from the unpleasant results of something that has been done:

“these criminals think they can act with impunity”

exemption from punishment

Question 13

indolent (adjective)

Answer 13

showing no real interest or effort:

“they were too indolent to work when it was hot”

lazy, slothful

Question 14

intrepid (adjective)

Answer 14

extremely brave and showing no fear of dangerous situations:

“The intrepid kitten walked slowly in front of the two big dogs.”

courageous, dauntless

Question 15

itinerant (adjective)

Answer 15

travelling from one place to another, usually to work for a short period:

“She is an itinerant teacher who travels between schools teaching special education students.”

nomadic, roving, wandering

Question 16

malevolent (adjective)

Answer 16

causing or wanting to cause harm or evil:

“How malevolent of you to wish that I was dead!”

sinister, malicious, wicked

Question 17

paucity (noun)

Answer 17

the fact that there is too little of something:

“a paucity of information”

shortage, lack of something

Question 18

plethora (noun)

Answer 18

a very large amount of something, especially a larger amount than you need, want, or can deal with:

“I don’t see why my mother wants more shoes when she already has a plethora of them.”

overabundance, too much

Question 19

risible (adjective)

Answer 19

so lacking in quality or usefulness that it deserves to be laughed at:

“She’s been making risible attempts to learn the trumpet.”

laughable

Question 20

ubiquitous (adjective)

Answer 20

seeming to be everywhere:

“Its influence is so ubiquitous that it comes to dictate a lot of our conversations.”

all over the place, present everywhere