Week 2

Question 1

Adulterate

Answer 1

v - to debase or make impure by adding inferior materials; use cheaper, inferior or less desirable goods in the product
“the meat was ground fine and adulterated with potato flour”

Question 2

Advocate

Answer 2

n - a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause/policy
“he was an untiring advocate of unionizing”

Question 3

aggrandize

Answer 3

v - increase the power, status or wealth of; enhance the reputation of someone beyond what is justified by the facts
“he hopes to aggrandize himself by dying a hero’s death”

Question 4

alacrity

Answer 4

n - brisk and cheerful readiness; eager
“she accepted the invitation with alacrity”

Question 5

ambivalent

Answer 5

n - having mixed feeling or contradictory ideas about something or someone
“she had ambivalent feelings about him because of his sweet but pretentious demeanor”

Question 6

ameliorate

Answer 6

v - to make something that was bad or unsatisfactory better
“the reform did much to ameliorate living standards”

Question 7

amenable

Answer 7

adj. - person that is open and responsive to suggestion; easily persuaded or controlled
“parents who have had easy babies and amenable children”

adj. - thing that is capable of being acted upon in a particular way; susceptible to
“the patients had cardiac failure not amenable to medical treatment”

Question 8

anachronistic

Answer 8

adj. - belonging or appropriate to an earlier period, especially so as to seem conspicuously old fashioned
“she is rebelling against the anachronistic morality of her parents”

Question 9

audacious

Answer 9

adj. - showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks; showing an impudent lack of respect
“the audacious remarks of these men”

Question 10

avaricious

Answer 10

adj. - having or showing extreme greed for wealth or material gain
“avaricious corporate bosses (Bezos) looking to maximize profits

Question 11

banal

Answer 11

adj. - so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring
“songs with banal, repeated words”

Question 12

benign

Answer 12

adj. - gently, kindly; (disease) not harmful in effect
“his benign but firm manner”

Question 13

brazen

Answer 13

adj. - bold and without shame
“he went about his illegal business with a brazen assurance”

v - endure an embarrassing or difficult situation by behaving with apparent confidence and lack of shame
“there was nothing else to do but brazen it out”

Question 14

calumny

Answer 14

n - the making of false and defamatory statements about someone in order to damage their reputation; slander
“a bitter struggle marked by calumny and litigation”

Question 15

candid

Answer 15

adj. - truthful and straightforward; frank
adj. - of a photograph: taken informally, especially without the subject’s knowledge

Question 16

castigate

Answer 16

v - reprimand someone severely
“he was castigated for not setting a good example”

Question 17

caustic

Answer 17

adj. - able to burn or corrode organic tissue by chemical action; sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way
“the players were making caustic comments about the refereeing”

Question 18

construe

Answer 18

v - interpret a word or action in a particular way
“his words could hardly be construed as an apology”

Question 19

contrite

Answer 19

adj. - feeling of expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt
“a broken and contrite heart”

Question 20

convoluted

Answer 20

adj. - extremely complex and difficult to follow
“its convoluted narrative encompasses all manner of digression”

adj. - technical - intricately folded, twisted or coiled
“the shell of a walnut is hard and convoluted”

Question 21

covet

Answer 21

v - yearn to possess or have something
“he covets time for exercise and fishing”

Question 22

craven

Answer 22

adj. - contemptibly lacking in courage; cowardly
“a craven abdication of his moral duty”

Question 23

decorum

Answer 23

n. behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety; etiquette
“you exhibit remarkable modest and decorum”

Question 24

deft

Answer 24

adj. - neatly skillful and quick in one’s movement; demonstrating skill and cleverness
“the script was both deft and literate”

Question 25

demur

Answer 25

v - raise doubts or objections or show reluctance
“normally she would have accepted the challenge, but she demurred”

n - the action or process of objection to or hesitating over something
“they accepted this ruling with demur”

Question 26

derivative

Answer 26

adj. - imitative of the work of another person, and usually disapproved of for that reason
“to some, his art was considered derivative, but others believe he simply was inspired by Pierre”

n - something that is based of another source
“a derivative of the system was chosen for the aircraft”

Question 27

dessicate

Answer 27

v - to remove the moisture of something; cause to become completely dry
“ both the older growth and new vegetation were desiccated by months of relentless sun”

Question 28

diatribe

Answer 28

n - a forceful and bitter attack against something/someone
“a diatribe against the Roman Catholic Church”

Question 29

incredulous

Answer 29

adj. - (of a person or their manner) unwilling or unable to believe something
“an incredulous gasp”

Question 30

ingenuous

Answer 30

adj. - innocent and unsuspecting
“he eyed her with wide, ingenuous eyes”