Week 1 Vocab

Question 1

inchoate

Answer 1

(adj.) Incipient, still developing, or incomplete (adj.) Imperfectly formed, incoherent or lacking order

Question 2

obdurate

Answer 2

(adj. ) Unyielding to persuasion; Resistant to appeals or softening influences
(adj. ) Persistent in wrongdoing or impenitent; hardened against emotions

Question 3

amalgamate

Answer 3

(v) To mix, merge, or combine into a whole

Question 4

effrontery

Answer 4

(n) Insolence, boldness, or presumption

Question 5

rarefy

Answer 5

(v) To make or become thin, less compact, or less dense
(v) To purify, refine, or make more spiritual

Question 6

diatribe

Answer 6

(n) Bitter, abusive criticism or denunciation

Question 7

precipitate

Answer 7

(v) To throw or fall down headlong
(v) To bring about or cause to happen, especially abruptly or prematurely
(v) To cause (a substance) to separate from a solution; To condense or cause to condense and fall from the sky as snow, rain, etc.
(adj. ) Speeding headlong, rapidly, or dangerously; Proceeding with undue haste and without necessary forethought
(adj. ) Occurring abruptly or unexpectedly
(adj. ) Steep or rushing steeply downward

Question 8

disabuse

Answer 8

(v) To free someone from a misconception or deception

Question 9

aver

Answer 9

(v) To assert or affirm positively
(v) To formally assert or prove in pleading a case or cause

Question 10

bolster

Answer 10

(v) To support, uphold, hearten, or boost

Question 11

undermine

Answer 11

(v) To weaken by washing away the support or foundation underneath
(v) To weaken, injure, or ruin by degrees or a little at the time; to sap
(v) To subvert secretly or insidiously
(adj. ) To dig a mine or tunnel underneath

Question 12

deliberate

Answer 12

(v) To think carefully or consider

(adj. ) 1. Carefully considered
2. Slowly, unhurriedly decided
3. Done intentionally or with awareness of the consequences

Question 13

assuage

Answer 13

(v) To make less intense or severe; to ease
(v) To satisfy, appease, or quench
(v) To pacify, sooth, or quiet

Question 14

laconic

Answer 14

(adj.) Concise, terse, or extremely sparing with words

Question 15

lucid

Answer 15

(adj. ) Intelligible or readily understandable;
(adj. ) Sane or rational
(adj. ) Translucent or clear; bright or luminous

Question 16

enervate

Answer 16

(v) To weaken or sap the strength, vigor, or vitality of

Question 17

morose

Answer 17

(adj.) Sullen, gloomy, or melancholy

Question 18

eulogy

Answer 18

n) A praising speech or tribute, especially honoring someone who has died
(n) High praise

Question 19

placate

Answer 19

(v) To soothe the anger of, mollify, or appease

Question 20

antagonism

Answer 20

(n) Hostility, opposition, or active resistance

Question 21

skeptical

Answer 21

(adj.) Showing, expressing, or given to doubt or questioning

Question 22

intrepid

Answer 22

(adj.) Resolutely fearless or undaunted

Question 23

mollify

Answer 23

(v) To soothe or calm the temper or feelings
(v) To soften or make less rigid; to temper or lessen the intensity of

Question 24

anomalous

Answer 24

(adj. ) Deviating from the norm or expectations; irregular
(adj. ) Uncertain or incongruous in nature

Question 25

mundane

Answer 25

(adj. ) Ordinary, practical, commonplace; banal or uninteresting
(adj. ) Of or related to this world, as opposed to the heavens

Question 26

quotidian

Answer 26

(adj.) Everyday, commonplace or ordinary

Question 27

burgeon

Answer 27

(v) To produce or send out new growth; to sprout or bloom
(v) To grow, expand, or develop quickly and often profusely

Question 28

sap

Answer 28

(n) 1. The circulatory fluid of a plant; an essential bodily fluid
2. Health, vitality, or energy (metaphor related to “essential body fluid”)
3. A gullible person, fool, or dupe

(v) 1. To deplete, drain, or weaken, especially of energy or vitality
2. To diminish the intensity or supply of
3. To undermine the foundations of

Question 29

occult

Answer 29

(adj. ) Secret or withheld from the uninitiated
(adj. ) Mysterious, inscrutable, difficult or impossible to comprehend
(adj. ) Of, related to, or concerned with magic or the supernatural

Question 30

gainsay

Answer 30

(v) To deny or prove false;
(v) To oppose or speak out against

Question 31

pith

Answer 31

(n) The core, essence, or substance of a matter
(n) Mettle or vigor;
(n) Importance or significance

Question 32

gist

Answer 32

(n) The central point or essence; the heart of the matter
(n) The grounds of a legal action

Question 33

hackneyed

Answer 33

(adj.) Unoriginal, so commonplace as to be stale; trite, or banal

Question 34

corroborate

Answer 34

(v) To support with evidence, make more certain, or confirm

Question 35

plasticity

Answer 35

(n) Capacity to be molded or made to assume or hold a shape

Question 36

ebullience

Answer 36

(adj.) Liveliness or exuberance, especially in manner or expression

Question 37

plethora

Answer 37

(n) Excess, profusion, or overabundance

Question 38

artless

Answer 38

(adj. ) Uncultured or ignorant, lacking in knowledge
(adj. ) Poorly or crudely made;
(adj. ) Without artificiality; natural, sincere

Question 39

artifice

Answer 39

(n) A crafty, cunning trick or stratagem;
(n) Deception or false behavior
(n) Cleverness, skill, or ingenuity

Question 40

din

Answer 40

(n) A loud, clamorous noise

Question 41

precarious

Answer 41

(adj. ) Lacking stability, dangerously uncertain, or subject to unknown circumstances;
(adj. ) Based on uncertain or dubious premises

Question 42

default

Answer 42

(n) failure to meet an obligation, especially a financial obligation; failure to make a court appearance; failure to participate in a contest
(v) to fail to do any of the above

Question 43

tortuous

Answer 43

(adj. ) Winding; containing numerous twists, turns, or bends
(adj. ) Crooked, tricky, or devious;
(adj. ) Highly involved, circuitous, or complex

Question 44

tenuous

Answer 44

(adj. ) Not dense; thin or diluted in consistency (adj.) Slender;
(adj. ) Lacking substance or strength; flimsy; shaky

Question 45

profuse

Answer 45

(adj. ) Present or available in great amount; plentiful, bountiful, or copious
(adj. ) Pouring forth freely or abundantly; extravagant

Question 46

propitiate

Answer 46

(v) To gain or regain the favor of; appease or conciliate

Question 47

zenith

Answer 47

(n) The highest point, culmination

Question 48

desiccate

Answer 48

(v) To dry out completely;
(v) To preserve (food) by drying

Question 49

veneration

Answer 49

(n) The act of regarding or treating with profound respect, awe, or admiration