Vocabulary Workshop Sadlier-Oxford Level H Units 1-3 cum. Review

Question 1

enclave

Answer 1

an enclosed district, region, or area inhabited by a particular group of people or having a special character

Question 2

interstice

Answer 2

a small, narrow space between things or parts of things

Question 3

paean

Answer 3

a song of praise, joy, or triumph

Question 4

persiflage

Answer 4

lighthearted joking, talk, or writing

Question 5

plethora

Answer 5

overfullness, superabundance, superfluity

Question 6

pragmatic

Answer 6

concerned with pratical considerations or values; dealing with actions and results rather than with abstract theory; stiff in one’s opinions

Question 7

quizzical

Answer 7

puzzled; mocking; odd; equivocal

Question 8

rapacity

Answer 8

inordinate greed; the disposition to obtain one’s desires by force, extortion, or plunder

Question 9

schism

Answer 9

a formal split within a religious organization; any division or separation of a group or organization into hostile factions

Question 10

therapeutic

Answer 10

having power to heal or cure; beneficial

Question 11

virtuoso

Answer 11

a brilliant performer; a person with masterly skill or technique; masterly or brilliant

Question 12

ancillary

Answer 12

subordinate or supplementary

Question 13

bowdlerize

Answer 13

to remove material considered offensive (from a book, play, film, etc.)

Question 14

condescend

Answer 14

to come down or stoop voluntarily to a lower level; to deal with people in a patronizing manner

Question 15

cozen

Answer 15

to trick; to cheat or swindle

Question 16

forte

Answer 16

a person’s strong point; what a person does best

Question 17

gratis

Answer 17

free; without charge

Question 18

icon

Answer 18

a representation or image of a sacred personage, often considered sacred itself; an image or picture; a symbol; a graphic symbol on a computer monitor or display; an object of blind devotion

Question 19

macrocosm

Answer 19

the universe considered as a whole; the entire complex structure of something

Question 20

mountebank

Answer 20

a trickster or swindler; a charlatan

Question 21

aegis

Answer 21

protection, patronage, sponsorship

Question 22

apprise

Answer 22

to inform of; to make aware of by giving oral or written notice

Question 23

bibulous

Answer 23

found of or inclined to drink; absorbent

Question 24

claque

Answer 24

a group of people hired to applaud a performer or performance; opera hat

Question 25

deracinate

Answer 25

to pull up by the roots

Question 26

eleemosynary

Answer 26

charitable; dependent upon charity

Question 27

indigenous

Answer 27

native

Question 28

lachrymose

Answer 28

given to tears or weeping; lugubrious

Question 29

lexicon

Answer 29

dictionary of a language; a compendium

Question 30

melee

Answer 30

confused struggled; violent free-for-all; a tumultuous mingling

Question 31

microcosm

Answer 31

a mini world or universe

Question 32

minuscule

Answer 32

small, tiny; lower case letter

Question 33

obfuscate

Answer 33

darken or obscure; to confuse or bewilder

Question 34

paternalism

Answer 34

policy of treating people in the manner of a father dealing with his children

Question 35

polarize

Answer 35

to cause to concentrate around tow conflicting or contrasting positions

Question 36

purview

Answer 36

range of something; in law, the scope of what is provided in a statute

Question 37

sanguine

Answer 37

having a ruddy complexion; of a naturally cheerful outlook

Question 38

solecism

Answer 38

a substandard or ungrammatical usage; a breach of etiquette; any impropriety or mistake

Question 39

vassal

Answer 39

a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he/she owes allegiance; a subordinate; subservient

Question 40

verisimilitude

Answer 40

the quality of appearing to be true, real, likely, or probable

Question 41

adjunct

Answer 41

(n.) something added to something else as helpful or useful but not essential; an assistant or helper; a valuable quality or characteristic. (adj.) added or connected in a subordinate capacity; attached to a faculty or staff in an auxiliary capacity

Question 42

bellwether

Answer 42

(n.) the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse; a leader, as in desperate or violent undertaking; an indicator of trends.

Question 43

caterwaul

Answer 43

(v.) to howl or screech like a cat; to quarrel; (n.) a harsh or noisy cry; a racket

Question 44

chimerical

Answer 44

(adj.) absurd; wildly fantastic; impossible

Question 45

effete

Answer 45

(adj.) lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn-out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out of date

Question 46

fait accompli

Answer 46

(n.) an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action

Question 47

hidebound

Answer 47

(adj.) narrow-minded and rigid, especially in opinions or prejudices; stubbornly and unthinkingly conservative

Question 48

hierarchy

Answer 48

(n.) any system of things or people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank, wealth, class, etc.

Question 49

liturgy

Answer 49

(n.) a religious service or rite; the form of a ritual or other act of public worship

Question 50

mirage

Answer 50

(n.) something illusory, without substance, or without a basis in reality; an illusion

Question 51

morass

Answer 51

(n.) a patch of low, soft, wet ground; a swamp; a confusing situation in which one is entrapped, as in quicksand

Question 52

noisome

Answer 52

(adj.) offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

Question 53

oblivious

Answer 53

(adj.) forgetful; unaware

Question 54

poltroon

Answer 54

(n.) a base coward

Question 55

proselyte

Answer 55

(n.) a convert; a disciple

Question 56

quasi

Answer 56

(adj.) resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely

Question 57

raillery

Answer 57

(n.) good-humored ridicule; teasing

Question 58

ribald

Answer 58

(adj.) irreverently mocking; coarse, vulgar, or indecent in language

Question 59

supine

Answer 59

(adj.) lying flat on one's back; listless or lethargic; apathetic or passive

Question 60

vignette

Answer 60

(n.) a short description or sketch; a picture or illustration with edges that gradually shade off; a decorative design on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter