Week #4

Question 1

Define

Alacrity

(ə lakˊrə ti)

Answer 1

Briskness, lively action

The waiter moved with alacrity because he perceived
they were big tippers.

Question 2

Define

Disdain

(dis dānˊ)

Answer 2

Contempt

When the curtain came down, the critic’s face
registered disdain he felt for the lackluster play.

Question 3

Define

Belligerent

(bə lijˊər ənt)

Answer 3

Warlike

His belligerent manner caused him to lose one friend
after another.

Question 4

Define

Intimidate

(in timˊə dāt)

Answer 4

To overawe

The motorist tried to intimidate the police officer,
telling him of his eminent friends in high places.

Question 5

Define

Feint

(fānt)

Answer 5

A false show

The Germans were duped by the Allies feint toward
the south, leaving the way open for the Normandy
invasion.

Question 6

Define

To Throw Down the Gauntlet

Answer 6

To challenge someone

The principal of our rival school threw down the
gauntlet, and we had no choice but to accept the
challenge.

Question 7

Define

Pugnacious

(pug nāˊshəs)

Answer 7

Quarrelsome

Since everyone can outpunch my cousin, he cannot
afford to be pugnacious.

Question 8

Define

Promulgate

(prō mulˊgāt or promˊəl gāt)

Answer 8

To make known officially

We implored the faculty advisor to promulgate the
requirements for the presidency of the club.

Question 9

Define

Brash

(brash)

Answer 9

Impudent, rude

My mother liked the salesman’s brash personality,
but he irritated most people.

Question 10

Define

Scoff

(skof)

Answer 10

To sneer at

I don’t understand modern art, but I neither loathe nor
scoff at it.

Question 11

Define

Belittle

(bi litˊl)

Answer 11

To make seem less important

Although Ralph can’t play, he doesn’t hesitate to belittle the efforts of our football team.

Question 12

Define

Feeling No Pain

Answer 12

Drunk

Although the party had just begun, after his first drink he was feeling no pain.

Question 13

Define

Tangible

(tanˊjə bl)

Answer 13

Having actual form

Mr. Dixon belittled our request for tangible proof of his
loyalty.

Question 14

Define

Laceration

(las ər āˊshən)

Answer 14

Jagged wound

The medic reached into his kit to find a bandage for the
ugly laceration.

Question 15

Define

Castigate

(kāsˊtə gāt)

Answer 15

To correct by punishing

The kindly foreman was too reticent to openly castigate the clumsy new worker.

Question 16

Define

Sordid

(sôrˊdid)

Answer 16

Dirty, base

Stories of their sordid youth poured forth from the
unhappy felons.

Question 17

Define

Octogenarian

(okˊ tə jə nãrˊiən)

Answer 17

Person in his eighties

When the teenager announced her engagement to the
octogenarian the public suspected it to be a publicity stunt.

Question 18

Define

Hobson’s Choice

Answer 18

To have no choice at all

Despite all the talk about democracy in my family, my
father usually gives the rest of us Hobson’s choice.

Question 19

Define

Solace

(solˊis)

Answer 19

Easing of grief

In trying to offer solace to the pilot’s wife, the reporter
inadvertently made the situation worse.

Question 20

Define

Aspirant

(əs pīrˊənt)

Answer 20

Candidate for high position

The publisher scoffed at the reports that he was an
aspirant for the job of Secretary of State.

Question 21

Define

Dregs

(dregz)

Answer 21

Most worthless part

At the bottom of the beautiful wine bottle, only the dregs remained.

Question 22

Define

Frenzy

(frenˊzē)

Answer 22

Wild fit

In a frenzy, the housewife overturned every drawer while searching for the car keys.

Question 23

Define

Scurrilous

(skėrˊə ləs)

Answer 23

Coarse

Vigilant censors protect the public from listening to
scurrilous language on television.

Question 24

Define

To Rule the Roost

Answer 24

To be in charge, to be master

Although he is a lowly private in the army, at home he
rules the roost.