Week 5 Vocab

Question 1

erudite

Answer 1

(adj.) Learned, knowledgeable, or scholarly

Question 2

diffident

Answer 2

(adj.) Lacking self-confidence; shy, timid

Question 3

eschew

Answer 3

(v) To shun, avoid, or abstain from

Question 4

malleable

Answer 4

(adj. ) Capable of being shaped or molded, as by a hammer or pressure
(adj. ) Susceptible to control or outside influence
(adj. ) Adaptable to changing conditions

Question 5

savant

Answer 5

(n) Learned person, scholar, sage; an idiot savant

Question 6

sedulous

Answer 6

(adj. ) Diligent or persevering in effort or application
(adj. ) Done or achieved through perseverance

Question 7

hallmark

Answer 7

(n) an outstanding or distinguishing feature; a mark indicating quality or excellence

Question 8

hapless

Answer 8

(adj.) Unfortunate or unlucky

Question 9

sinecure

Answer 9

(n) a paid position or office requiring little or no work

Question 10

harrow

Answer 10

(v) To disturb or torment
(v) To prepare ground for planting with a harrow, a tool designed to break up and even out plowed land

Question 11

exhaustive

Answer 11

(adj. ) Thorough; not leaving anything out
(adj. ) Tending to exhaust, exhausting

Question 12

haven

Answer 12

(n) A place of comfort or rest, a sanctuary
(n) A port or harbor

Question 13

clinch

Answer 13

(v) grab, hold; secure a goal (to “clinch the win”)

Question 14

stymie

Answer 14

(v) To block, thwart, or stand in the way of

Question 15

enigma

Answer 15

(n) A puzzling or inscrutable person, occurrence, or situation
(n) A puzzling or obscure text or speech

Question 16

welter

Answer 16

(n) A confused jumble or mass
(v) To become deeply involved or embroiled in something
(v) To roll, writhe, or heave

Question 17

supplicate

Answer 17

(v) To ask humbly of (someone); to beseech
(v) To ask for something humbly, to pray for

Question 18

zealous

Answer 18

(adj.) Fervent, filled with or motivated by passionate or excessive enthusiasm

Question 19

hyperbole

Answer 19

(n) Extreme exaggeration, often used for effect as a figure of speech

Question 20

torrid

Answer 20

(adj. ) Parched, burning, intensely hot
(adj. ) Passionate, ardent
(adj. ) Fast, hurried

Question 21

idyll

Answer 21

(n) A poem, either a short description of an idealized rural scene or a narrative dealing with romantic or heroic themes
(n) A carefree, lighthearted experience or period; a romantic interlude

Question 22

travesty

Answer 22

(n) A distorted, debased, grotesque, or inferior imitation or likeness
(n) An exaggerated burlesque or imitation of a serious literary work, usually grotesquely incongruous

Question 23

turpitude

Answer 23

(n) Depravity, baseness, or vileness
(n) A corrupt act

Question 24

fervor

Answer 24

(n) Intensity or warmth of emotion
(n) Intense heat

Question 25

cacophony

Answer 25

(adj.) Dissonance; Jarring, harsh, or discordant sound

Question 26

fledge

Answer 26

(v) To care for (as a young bird) until it is ready to fly
(v) To cover with or as with feathers
(v) To grow plumage needed for flight

Question 27

impassive

Answer 27

(adj.) Not revealing, expressing, or betraying emotion

Question 28

impecunious

Answer 28

(adj.) Penniless; without money

Question 29

warmonger

Answer 29

(n) One who advocates or attempts to incite war

Question 30

impede

Answer 30

(v) To hinder or obstruct movement or progress

Question 31

abhor

Answer 31

(v) To hate, despise, regard with horror or repugnance

Question 32

prevaricate

Answer 32

(v) To equivocate, lie, or stray from the truth

Question 33

divulge

Answer 33

(v) To reveal or make known (a secret or confidence)

Question 34

precursor

Answer 34

(n) One that precedes and announces or suggests another’s approach
(n) A forerunner or predecessor; one that precedes another

Question 35

attenuate

Answer 35

(v) To make thin, slender, or small
(v) To reduce in density or consistency; to rarefy
(v) To lessen the force, value, numbers, or strength of
(v) To reduce the intensity, vitality, or virulence of

Question 36

ostentatious

Answer 36

(adj.) Given to excessive, pretentious, conspicuous display

Question 37

improbity

Answer 37

(n) Dishonesty; lack of probity (probity = honesty)

Question 38

conversance

Answer 38

(n) Familiarity; the state of being able to speak about something (“converse”) knowledgeably

Question 39

quandary

Answer 39

(n) State of perplexity, especially regarding how to proceed

Question 40

propriety

Answer 40

(n) The quality of being proper or appropriate
(n) Plural: The customs and rules of polite society

Question 41

impudent

Answer 41

(adj.) Insolent, boldly disrespectful

Question 42

dwindle

Answer 42

(v) To shrink or diminish until little remains

Question 43

impugn

Answer 43

(v) To challenge or attack as false or questionable

Question 44

capricious

Answer 44

(adj.) Whimsical; governed by or subject to caprice or impulse

Question 45

inadvertent

Answer 45

(adj. ) Accidental or unintentional
(adj. ) Inattentive, not fully focused or taking heed

Question 46

recumbent

Answer 46

(adj. ) Lying down or reclining, especially in repose
(adj. ) Resting or idle

Question 47

impromptu

Answer 47

(adj.) Done, said or composed on the spur of the moment; improvised

Question 48

abjure

Answer 48

(v) To renounce, recant, or repudiate, often solemnly or under oath

Question 49

refulgent

Answer 49

(adj.) Radiant, resplendent; shining brilliantly