Week 2 - Deck 1

Question 1

rancorous

Answer 1

adj. characterized by bitterness or resentment:

“sixteen miserable months of rancorous disputes”
“a rancorous debate”

Question 2

garrulous

Answer 2

adj. excessively talkative, esp. on trivial matters:

“Polonius is portrayed s a foolish, garrulous old man.”

Question 3

conjecture

Answer 3

n. an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information:
“conjectures about the newcomer were many and varied”

v. [with obj.] form an opinion or supposition about (something) on the basis of incomplete information:
“he conjectured the existence of an otherwise unknown feature”

Question 4

manic

Answer 4

adj. showing wild and apparently deranged excitement and energy:
“his manic enthusiasm”
“a manic grin”

Question 5

obdurate

Answer 5

adj. stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action.

Question 6

obtuse

Answer 6

adj.
1. annoying insensitive or slow to understand:
“he wondered if the doctor was being deliberately obtuse”
2. (of an angle) more than 90 and less than 180 degrees.

Question 7

grouse

Answer 7

v. [no obj.] complain pettily; grumble:
“she heard him grousing about his assistant”

n. a grumble or complaint
“our biggest grouse was about the noise of the construction work”

Question 8

disingenuous

Answer 8

adj. not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does.

Question 9

brazen

Answer 9

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

Question 10

adduce

Answer 10

v. [with obj.] cite as evidence:

“a number of factors are adduced to explain the situation”

Question 11

sadistic

Answer 11

adj. deriving pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on others:
“she took a sadistic pleasure in tormenting him.”
“a sadistic killer.”

Question 12

urbane

Answer 12

adj. (of a person, esp. a man) suave, courteous, and refined in manner

Question 13

irascible

Answer 13

adj. having or showing a tendency to be easily angered:

“an irascible man”

Question 14

malice

Answer 14

n. the intention or desire to do evil; ill will:

“I bear no malice toward anybody.”

Question 15

coup d’etat

Answer 15

coup
n. a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government

• a notable or successful stroke or move.

Question 16

pensive

Answer 16

adj. engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought:

“a pensive mood”

Question 17

nuptial

Answer 17

adj. of or relating to marriage or weddings:

“moments of nuptial bliss”

n. (usu. nuptials) a wedding:
“the forthcoming nuptials between Richard and Jocelyn”

Question 18

dolor (Brit. dolour)

Answer 18

n. (literary) a state of great sorrow or distress:

“they squatted, hunched in their habitual dolor.”

Question 19

orthodox

Answer 19

adj. (of a person or their views, esp. religious or political ones, or other beliefs or practices) conforming to what is generally or traditionally accepted as right or true; established and approved:

Question 20

satire

Answer 20

n. the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Question 21

subordinate

Answer 21

adj. lower in rank or position
n. a person under the authority or control of another within an organization.
v. treat or regard as of lesser importance than something else.

Question 22

bawdy

Answer 22

adj. dealing with sexual matters in a comical way; humorously indecent.

Question 23

coda

Answer 23

n. (music) the concluding passage of a piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure.
[]a concluding event, remark, or section:
“his new novel is a kind of coda to his previous books”

Question 24

portent

Answer 24

n. a sign or warning that something, esp. something momentous or calamitous, is likely to happen:

“they believed that wild birds in the house were portents of death”

Question 25

dearth

Answer 25

n. [in sing.] a scarcity or lack of something:

“there is a dearth of evidence”

Question 26

knave

Answer 26

n. (archaic) a dishonest or unscrupulous man

Question 27

base

Answer 27

adj. (of a person or a person’s actions or feelings) without moral principles; ignoble:

“we hope his motives are nothing so base as money”

Question 28

salutary

Answer 28

adj. (esp. with reference to something unwelcome or unpleasant) producing good effects; beneficial:

“a salutary reminder of where we came from”

Question 29

insolence

Answer 29

n. rude and disrespectful behavior:

“she was sacked for insolence”

Question 30

exegesis

ex-eh-gee-sis

Answer 30

n. (pl. exegeses) critical explanation or interpretation of a text, esp. of scripture:

“the task of biblical exegesis”
“a close exegesis of the plot”

Question 31

salient

Answer 31

adj. most noticeable or important:
“it succinctly covered all the salient points of the case”

[]prominent; conspicuous:
“it was always the salient object in my view”