Week 1

Question 1

Sycophant

Answer 1

noun
A person who uses flattery to get what he/she wants from an authority figure.
e.g. The teacher recognized the overly attentive student as nothing more than a sycophant.
synonym: flatterer, shmoozer
antonym: (rebel)

Question 2

Pernicious

Answer 2

adjective
Intending to cause harm
e.g. She spread a pernicious rumour about her former best friend.
synonym: evil, harmful, malicious, dangerous
antonym: beneficial, kind

Question 3

Ubiquitous

Answer 3

adjective
Appearing everywhere.
e.g. Cellphones are ubiquitous at lunchtime.
synonym: popular, pervasive, omnipresent
antonym: rare, scarce

Question 4

Non sequitur

Answer 4

noun
A statement that does not logically follow a conversation’s flow.
e.g. One of my friends is so random; he constantly drops non sequiturs into our conversation.
synonym: (interruption)
antonym: (support)

Question 5

Diatribe

Answer 5

noun
A forceful and bitter verbal attack.
e.g. A candidate for mayor lost voter approval when her diatribe on immigration went viral.
synonym: rant, (lecture)
antonym: (conversation)