Week 2

Question 1

conciliatory

Answer 1

appeasing; soothing; showing willingness to reconcile

After arguing endlessly with them for weeks, Connie switched to a more conciliatory tone with her parents once prom season arrived.

Question 2

credible

Answer 2

capable of being believed; plausible

The shocking but credible report of mice in the kitchen kept Eddie up all night

Question 3

exonerate

Answer 3

to free from blame

Xena was exonerated of all charges.

Question 4

incontrovertible

Answer 4

indisputable; not open to question

The videotape of the robbery provided incontrovertible evidence against the suspect – he was obviously guilty.

Question 5

indict

Answer 5

to officially charge with wrongdoing or a crim

President Nixon’s aides were indicted during the Watergate scandal.

Question 6

litigious

Answer 6

prone to engage in lawsuits

Letitia was a litigious little girl; at one point, she tried to sue her dog.

Question 7

partisan

Answer 7

devoted to or biased in support of a party, group, or cause

Today’s partisan politics are so antagonistic that it’s difficult to reach a successful compromise on any issue.

Question 8

parity

Answer 8

equality, as in amount, status, or value (antonym: disparity)

The judges at the Olympics must score each athlete’s performance with parity; such impartial treatment is hard since one always wants to root for one’s own country.

Question 9

rectitude

Answer 9

moral uprightness; righteousness

Thanks to his unerring sense of fairness and justics, Viktor was model of moral retitude; his hometown even erected a statue in his honor.

Question 10

remiss

Answer 10

lax in attending to duty; negligent

Cassie was remiss in fulfilling her Miss America duties; she didn’t even come close to ending world hunger.

Question 11

repudiate

Answer 11

to reject the validity or authority of

I repudiated the teacher’s arguments about Empress Wu Zetian’s reputation by showing him that the reports of her cruelty were from unreliable sources.

Question 12

sanctimonious

Answer 12

feigning piety or righteousness

The sanctimonious scholar had actually been palgiarizing other people’s work for years.

Question 13

scrupulous

Answer 13

principled, having a strong sense of right and wrong; conscientious and exacting

Evan’s scrupulous behavior began to annoy his friends when he called the cops on them for toilet papering their teacher’s house.

Question 14

solicitous

Answer 14

concerned

The parents asked solicitous questions bout the college admissions officer’s family.

Question 15

substantiate

Answer 15

to suport with proof or evidence; verify

The argument was substantiated by clear facts and hard evidence.

Question 16

veracity

Answer 16

adherence to the truth; truthfulness

Since Vera was known for her veracity, it came as a complete shock when her family found out she’d lied on her application.

Question 17

vindicate

Answer 17

to free from blame

Mrs. Layton was finally vindicated after her husband admitted to the crime.

Question 18

cajole

Answer 18

to urge with repeated appeals, teasing, or flattery

The sweet-talking senior cajoled an impressionable junior into seeing The Lord of the Rings for the tenth time.

Question 19

chicanery

Answer 19

trickery

The candidate accused his debate opponent of resorting to cheap chicanery to sway the electorate.

Question 20

obsequious

Answer 20

fawning and servile

Kevin was so obsequious that even his teachers were embarrassed; as a result, his sucking up rarely led to better grades.

Question 21

sycophant

Answer 21

Siggie is such a sycophant; he slyly sucks up to his teachers and reaps the rewards of his behavior.

Question 22

altruism

Answer 22

unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness

Alta, a model of altruism, gave her movie ticket to someone who needed it more.

Question 23

eminent

Answer 23

distinguished; prominent

Kobe Bryant is one of the most eminent basketball players in the world; every fan of basketball knows how well he is known and highly regarded.

Question 24

empathetic

Answer 24

identifying with and understanding of another’s situation, feeling, and motives

Emily is one of my most empathetic friends; she can always relate to my emotions.

Question 25

extol

Answer 25

to praise highly

Tollivan extolled the virtues of the troll while his teacher looked on amazed.

Question 26

laudatory

Answer 26

full of praise

The principal’s speech was laudatory, congratulating the students on their SAT scores.

Question 27

magnanimous

Answer 27

courageously or generously noble in mind and heart

The magnanimous prince cared deeply for his country and its people.

Question 28

philanthropic

Answer 28

humanitarian; benevolent; relating to monetary generosity;

Phil was a pilanthropic soul, always catering to the needy and the underpriviledged.

Question 29

reciprocate

Answer 29

to mutually take or give; to respond in kind

The chef reciprocated his rival’s respect; they admired each other so much that they even traded recipes.

Question 30

defunct

Answer 30

no longer existing or functioning

The theory that the world was flat became defunct when Magellan sailed to the West and didn’t fall from earth.

Question 31

eradicate

Answer 31

to get rid of as if by tearing it up by the roots; abolish

Radcliffed did her blest to eradicate the radishes from her farm.

Question 32

quell

Answer 32

to put down forcibly; suppress

Nell quelled th fight over the quiche by throwing it out the window – she had long given up on reasoning with her sisters.

Question 33

raze

Answer 33

to level to the ground; demolish

It is difficult to raze a city building without demosling other stuctures around it.

Question 34

squelch

Answer 34

to crush as if by trampling; squash

Sam wanted to keep squash as pets, but Quentin squelched the idea.

Question 35

supplant

Answer 35

to usurp te place of, especially through intrigue or underhanded tactics

The ants prepared to supplant the roaches as the dominant insect in the kitchen; their plan was to take the roaches by surprise and drive them out.

Question 36

stymie

Answer 36

to thwart or stump

Stan was stymied by the Sudoku puzzle; he just couldn’t solve it

Question 37

abase

Answer 37

to lower in rank, prestige or esteem

Bayard’s withering restaurant review as an attempt to abase his former friend, the owner.

Question 38

deride

Answer 38

to mock contemptuously

Derrick was deridied for wearing two different colored sockes, but he couldn’t help it – it was laundry day.

Question 39

derogatory

Answer 39

insulting or inteded to insult

The unethical politician didn’t just attack his opponent’s views; he also made derogatory remarks about the other candidate’s family and personal hygiene.

Question 40

disparage

Answer 40

to speak of negatively; to belittle

Wanda disparaged Glen by calling him a cheat and a liar

Question 41

effrontery

Answer 41

brazen boldness; presumptuousness

The attorney’s effrontery in asking such personal questions so soched Esther that she immediately ran from the office.

Question 42

ignominy

Answer 42

great personal dishonor or humiliation; disgraceful conduct

Ignacio felt great ignominy after the scandal broke.

Question 43

impugn

Answer 43

to attack as false or questionable

Instead of taking the high road, the cadidate impugned his opponent’s character.

Question 44

mar

Answer 44

to damage, especially in a disfiguring way

The perfect day was marred by the arrival of storm clouds

Question 45

pejorative

Answer 45

disparaging, belitting, insulting

Teachers should refraim from using pejorative terms such as “numbskull” and “jackass” to refer to other teachers.

Question 46

vex

Answer 46

to annoy or bother; to perplex

Bex’s mom was vexed when Bex was very vague about her whereabouts for the evening.

Question 47

vindictive

Answer 47

disposed to seek revenge; revengeful; spiteful

Vincenzo was very vindictive; when someone hurt him, he responded by vigorously plotting revenge.