WOD 103

Question 1

a general proposition not self-evident but proved by a chain of reasoning; a truth established by means of accepted truths.
synonyms: proposition, hypothesis, postulate, thesis, assumption, deduction, statement

a rule in algebra or other branches of mathematics expressed by symbols or formulae.

Answer 1

theorem

Question 2

an underlying substance or layer.
the surface or material on or from which an organism lives, grows, or obtains its nourishment.

the substance on which an enzyme acts.

Answer 2

substrate

“computation is substrate-independent in the same way that information is”

Question 3

an extensive or impressive collection.

synonyms: array, range, collection
“the full panoply of America’s military might”
a splendid display.

synonyms: trappings, regalia, apparatus

Answer 3

panoply

“Before long, our planet was teeming with a diverse panoply of life forms.”

“a deliciously inventive panoply of insults”
“I leaned forward to take in the full panoply of tourist London”

Question 4

1.
a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial.

synonyms: winding sheet, grave clothes, burial clothes, cerements, chrisom

2.
a thing that envelops or obscures something.

synonyms: covering, cover, pall, cloak, mask, mantle, blanket, sheet, layer, overlay, envelope, cloud, veil, screen, curtain, canopy

Answer 4

shroud

“he was buried in a linen shroud”
“a shroud of mist”

Question 5

1.
incapable of being fully explored or understood.

synonyms: inscrutable, incomprehensible, enigmatic, incalculable, indecipherable, obscure, esoteric, abstruse, puzzling, cryptic, mysterious, mystifying, baffling, deep, profound, secretive

2.
(of water or a natural feature) impossible to measure the extent of.

synonyms: deep, immeasurable, fathomless, unfathomed, unplumbed, unplumbable, bottomless, unsounded, profound
“a pool of dark, unfathomable water”

Answer 5

unfathomable

“her grey eyes were dark with some unfathomable emotion”
“mountains of unfathomable scale”

Question 6

1.
informal
(of a question or problem) be too hard for; baffle.

synonyms: baffle, perplex, puzzle, confuse, confound, bewilder, mystify, nonplus, defeat; More
2.
walk stiffly and noisily.

synonyms: stomp, stamp, clomp, clump, lumber, trudge, plod;

Answer 6

stump

“education chiefs were stumped by some of the exam questions”
“he stumped away on short thick legs”

Question 7

a quality that cannot be described or named easily.

Answer 7

je ne sais quoi

“that je ne sais quoi which makes a professional”

Question 8

1.
cause (a spirit or ghost) to appear by means of a magic ritual.

2.
archaic
implore (someone) to do something.

Answer 8

conjure

“they hoped to conjure up the spirit of their dead friend”
“she conjured him to return”

Question 9

the science of communications and automatic control systems in both machines and living things.

Answer 9

cybernetics

Question 10

a place or position affording a good view of something.

synonyms: point of view, viewpoint, standpoint, stance, stand, view, opinion, position, way of thinking, frame of mind, outlook, perspective, angle, slant

Answer 10

vantage pron: wantage

“from our vantage point it remains a pretty hot issue”
“from my vantage point I could see into the front garden”

Question 11

lacking physical strength, especially as a result of age or illness.

synonyms: weak, weakly, weakened, puny, wasted, frail, infirm, delicate, sickly, ailing, unwell, poorly, failing, helpless, powerless, impotent, enfeebled, enervated, debilitated, incapacitated, effete; More
(of a sound) faint.

synonyms: faint, dim, weak, pale, soft, subdued, muted, indistinct, unclear, vague; informalwishy-washy
“the lamp shed a feeble light”
lacking strength of character.

synonyms: cowardly, craven, faint-hearted, spineless, spiritless, lily-livered, chicken-livered, pigeon-hearted

Answer 11

feeble

“by now, he was too feeble to leave his room”
“her feeble cries of pain”
“I know it’s feeble but I’ve never been one to stand up for myself”

Question 12

clear (someone) of blame or suspicion.

synonyms: acquit, clear, absolve, free from blame, declare innocent, exonerate, exculpate, discharge, liberate, free, deliver, redeem; More
show or prove to be right, reasonable, or justified.

synonyms: justify, warrant, substantiate, establish, demonstrate, ratify, authenticate, verify, confirm, corroborate, prove, defend, offer grounds for, support, back, evidence, bear out, bear witness to, endorse, give credence to, lend weight to; rareextenuate

Answer 12

vendicate

“more sober views were vindicated by events”
“I felt I had fully vindicated my request”

Question 13

waste (something, especially money or time) in a reckless and foolish manner.

synonyms: waste, misspend, misuse, throw away, dissipate,

allow (an opportunity) to pass or be lost.

Answer 13

squander

“£100m of taxpayers’ money has been squandered on administering the tax”
“the team squandered several good scoring chances”

Question 14

1.
give or bequeath an income or property to (a person or institution).

2.
provide with a quality, ability, or asset.

synonyms: provide, supply, furnish, equip, invest, give, present, favour, bless, grace

Answer 14

endow >indouw<

“he endowed the Church with lands”
“he was endowed with tremendous physical strength”
“nature endowed the human race with intelligence”

Question 15

a return to a previous state, practice, or belief.

Answer 15

reversion

“there was some reversion to polytheism”

Question 16

a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.

synonyms: wail, wailing, lamentation, moan, moaning, groan, weeping, crying, sob, sobbing, keening, howl, complaint; More
2.
a complaint.

Answer 16

lament

“his mother’s night-long laments for his father”
“there were constant laments about the conditions of employment”

Question 17

voluntarily cease to keep or claim; give up.

synonyms: renounce, give up, part with, give away

Answer 17

relinquish

“he relinquished his managerial role to become chief executive”

Question 18

escape or avoid (someone or something), especially by guile or trickery.

synonyms: elude, avoid, dodge, escape (from), stay away from, steer clear of, run away from, break away from

(of an abstract thing) elude (someone).

avoid giving a direct answer to (a question).

synonyms: avoid, not give a straight answer to, dodge, sidestep, bypass

Answer 18

evade

“friends helped him to evade capture for a time”
“sleep still evaded her”
“he denied evading the question”

Question 19

a member of any of the bands of English workers who destroyed machinery, especially in cotton and woollen mills, which they believed was threatening their jobs (1811–16).
derogatory
a person opposed to increased industrialization or new technology.

Answer 19

luddite >Laditte<

“a small-minded Luddite resisting progress”

Question 20

a cause of pain or harm.

synonyms: disorder, disease, malady, complaint, ailment, illness, indisposition, scourge, plague

the state of being in pain.

synonyms: suffering, distress, pain, trouble, misery, wretchedness, hardship, misfortune, adversity, sorrow, torment

Answer 20

affliction

“a crippling affliction of the nervous system”
“poor people in great affliction”
“the herb is reputed to cure a variety of afflictions”

Question 21

feel intense dislike or disgust for.

synonyms: hate, detest, abhor, despise, abominate

Answer 21

loath

“she loathed him on sight”

Question 22

a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society.

synonyms: hater of mankind, cynic, sceptic, churl, grouch, grump, recluse, hermit, anchorite; hikikomori

Answer 22

misanthrope >mizenthrope<

“Scrooge wasn’t the mean-spirited misanthrope most of us believe him to be”

Question 23

a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation.

synonyms: difficult situation, awkward situation, mess, difficulty, problematic situation, issue, plight, quandary, trouble, muddle, mare’s nest, crisis

Answer 23

predicament

“the club’s financial predicament”

Question 24

anxiety; mental uneasiness.

a deviation of a system, moving object, or process from its regular or normal state or path, caused by an outside influence.

Answer 24

perturbation

“she sensed her friend’s perturbation”
“these shifts and swings in wildlife populations are possibly related to climatic perturbations”

Question 25

(of an argument or reaction) directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.

2.
relating to or associated with a particular person.

Answer 25

ad hominem

“an ad hominem response”
“the office was created ad hominem for Fenton”

Question 26

the highest good, especially as the ultimate goal according to which values and priorities are established in an ethical system.

Answer 26

summum bonum

Question 27

state a fact or belief confidently and forcefully.

synonyms: declare, maintain, contend, argue, state, claim, propound, submit, posit, postulate, adduce, move, advocate, venture, volunteer, aver, proclaim, announce, pronounce, attest, affirm, protest, profess, swear, insist, avow; More
cause others to recognize (one’s authority or a right) by confident and forceful behaviour.

synonyms: insist on, stand up for, uphold, defend, contend, establish, press/push for, stress

Answer 27

assert

“the company asserts that the cuts will not affect development”
“the good librarian is able to assert authority when required”
“elderly people find it increasingly difficult to assert their rights”

Question 28

1.
make (a problem, injury, or offence) worse or more serious.

2.
informal
annoy or exasperate.

Answer 28

aggravate

“military action would only aggravate the situation”
“she found him thoroughly aggravating and unprofessional”

Question 29

dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women.

Answer 29

misogyny

“she felt she was struggling against thinly disguised misogyny”

Question 30

reach a climax or point of highest development.

synonyms: come to a climax, come to a crescendo, come to a head, reach a finale, peak, climax, reach a pinnacle

Answer 30

culminate

“weeks of violence culminated in the brutal murder of a magistrate”

Question 31

1.
an orchestral piece at the beginning of an opera, play, etc.

prelude, introduction, opening, introductory movement, voluntary

2.
an introduction to something more substantial.

synonyms: preliminary, prelude, curtain-raiser, introduction, lead-in, precursor, forerunner, harbinger, herald, start, beginning; informalopener
“the talks were no more than the overture to a long debate”

Answer 31

overture

“the overture to Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni”
“the talks were no more than an overture to a long debate”

Question 32

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

synonyms: exaggeration, overstatement, magnification, amplification, embroidery, embellishment, overplaying, excess, overkill

Answer 32

Hyperbole

“he vowed revenge with oaths and hyperboles”

Question 33

show that one feels superior; be patronizing.

synonyms: patronize, treat condescendingly, speak condescendingly to, speak haughtily to, talk down to, look down one’s nose at, look down on, put down, be snobbish to

do something in such a way as to emphasize that one clearly regards it as below one’s dignity or level of importance.

synonyms: deign, stoop, descend, lower oneself, humble oneself, demean oneself, debase oneself, vouchsafe, think fit, see fit, deem it worthy of oneself, consent; informalcome down from one’s high horse

Answer 33

condescend

“take care not to condescend to your reader”
“he condescended to see me at my hotel”
“a minor official condescended to see us”

Question 34

a machine or device that appears strange or unnecessarily complicated, and often badly made or unsafe.

synonyms: device, gadget, apparatus, machine, appliance, mechanism, implement, utensil, invention, contrivance

Answer 34

contraption

“repairing stereos and making contraptions out of spare electronic bits”

Question 35

a mischievous or cheeky person, especially a child or man (typically used in an affectionate way).

synonyms: scallywag, scamp, devil, imp, monkey, mischievous person, mischief-maker, wretch

Answer 35

rascal

“a lovable rascal”

Question 36

1.
express disapproval of.

synonyms: disapprove of, deplore, abhor, find unacceptable, be against, frown on, take a dim view of, look askance at, take exception to, detest, despise, execrate; More
2.
another term for depreciate (sense 2).

Answer 36

deprecate
“what I deprecate is persistent indulgence”

“he deprecates the value of children’s television”

Question 37

1.
GRAMMAR
the variation of the form of a verb in an inflected language such as Latin, by which the voice, mood, tense, number, and person are identified.

the class in which a verb is put according to the manner of this variation.
plural noun: conjugations

2.
technical
the formation or existence of a link between things

Answer 37

conjugation

“it was the conjugation of verbs he found most difficult”
“a past participle of the first conjugation”

Question 38

a slight objection or criticism.

synonyms: minor criticism, trivial objection, trivial complaint, adverse comment, protest, query, argument, exception, moan, grumble, grouse, cavil; More

verb
1.
argue or raise objections about a trivial matter.

synonyms: find fault with, raise trivial objections to, complain about, object to, cavil at

Answer 38

quibble
“the only quibble about this book is the price”
“they are always quibbling about the amount they are prepared to pay”

Question 39

a sudden desire or change of mind, especially one that is unusual or unexplained.

synonyms: impulse, urge, notion, fancy, whimsy, foible, idea, caprice, conceit, vagary, kink, megrim, crotchet, craze, fad, passion, inclination, bent

Answer 39

whim

“she bought it on a whim”

Question 40

used to refer to the fact that something has been done or repeated so often that it has become annoying or tiresome.

Answer 40

ad nauseam

“the phrase he repeated ad nauseam”

Question 41

grant (a title, degree, benefit, or right).

synonyms: bestow on, present with/to, grant to, award to, decorate with, honour with, give to, give out to, gift with, endow with, vest in, hand out to, extend to, vouchsafe to, accord to

2.
have discussions; exchange opinions.

synonyms: consult, have discussions, discuss things, exchange views, talk, have a talk, speak, converse, communicate,

Answer 41

confer
“the Minister may have exceeded the powers conferred on him by Parliament”
“the Queen conferred an honorary knighthood on him”
2
“the officials were conferring with allies”

Question 42

1.
dangerously high or steep.

synonyms: steep, sheer, high, perpendicular, abrupt, sharp, dizzy, vertiginous, vertical, bluff; More
2.
(of an action) done suddenly and without careful consideration.

Answer 42

precipitous
“the track skirted a precipitous drop”
2
“precipitous intervention”

Question 43

a strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something.

Answer 43

penchant

“he has a penchant for adopting stray dogs”

Question 44

1.
a connection or series of connections linking two or more things.

2.
a central or focal point.

Answer 44

nexus
“the nexus between industry and political power”
2
“the nexus of any government in this country is No. 10”

Question 45

an outcast.

synonyms: outcast, persona non grata, leper, reject, untouchable

Answer 45

pariah (prajah)

“they were treated as social pariahs”

Question 46

1.
dwell on one’s own success or another’s misfortune with smugness or malignant pleasure.

synonyms: delight in, relish, take great pleasure in, enjoy greatly, revel in, rejoice in, glory in, exult in, triumph over, crow over

Answer 46

gloat
“his enemies gloated over his death”

“I would join her for a good gloat”

Question 47

calm, dignified, and unhurried.

synonyms: calm, tranquil, placid, composed, serene, steady, unruffled, imperturbable, unflappable; More
quiet and rather dull.

Answer 47

sedate
“in the old days, business was carried on at a rather more sedate pace”
“sedate suburban domesticity”

Question 48

1.
great enjoyment.

2.
a piquant sauce or pickle eaten with plain food to add flavour.

synonyms: condiment, accompaniment, sauce, dressing, flavouring, seasoning, dip

verb
1.
enjoy greatly.

synonyms: enjoy, delight in, love, like, adore, be pleased by, take pleasure in, rejoice in, appreciate, savour, revel in, luxuriate in, glory in; More
2.
archaic
make pleasant to the taste; add relish to.

Answer 48

relish

“she swigged a mouthful of wine with relish”
2
“use salsa as a relish with grilled meat or fish”
“the sauce is ideal served as hot relish with beefburgers”

“he was relishing his moment of glory”
“I have also a novel to relish my wine”

Question 49

1.
affectedly grand, solemn, or self-important.

synonyms: self-important, imperious, overbearing, domineering, magisterial, pontifical, sententious, grandiose, affected, stiff, pretentious, puffed up, arrogant, vain, haughty, proud, conceited, egotistic, supercilious, condescending, patronizing

Answer 49

pompus

“a pompous ass who pretends he knows everything”

Question 50

a short, well-known pithy saying, stating a general truth or piece of advice.
synonyms: saying, adage, saw, maxim, axiom, motto, aphorism, epigram, gnome, dictum, precept

Answer 50

proverb

Question 51

1.
stick fast to (a surface or substance).

synonyms: stick, stick fast, cling, hold fast, cohere, bond, attach; More
2.
believe in and follow the practices of.

Answer 51

adhere
“paint won’t adhere well to a greasy surface”
2
“I do not adhere to any organized religion”

Question 52

sit, lie, or fall with one’s arms and legs spread out in an ungainly way.

synonyms: stretch out, lounge, loll, lie, lie down, lie back, recline, drape oneself, be recumbent, be prostrate, be supine, slump, flop, slouch

spread out over a large area in an untidy or irregular way.

synonyms: spread, stretch, straggle, ramble, trail, spill

Answer 52

sprawl
“the door shot open, sending him sprawling across the pavement”
“he sprawled on a sofa in the living room”
“the town sprawled along several miles of cliff top”

Question 53

fluent or persuasive speaking or writing.

synonyms: oratory, rhetoric, grandiloquence, magniloquence

Answer 53

eloquence

“a preacher of great power and eloquence”

Question 54

the quality of being full of energy, excitement, and cheerfulness; ebullience.

synonyms: ebullience, buoyancy, cheerfulness, sunniness, breeziness, jauntiness, light-heartedness, high spirits, exhilaration, excitement, elation, exultation, euphoria, joy, joyfulness, cheeriness, gaiety, jubilation, sparkle, effervescence, vivacity, enthusiasm, irrepressibility, energy, animation, life, liveliness, vigour, zest; More
the quality of growing profusely; luxuriance.

Answer 54

exuberance
“a sense of youthful exuberance”
“plants growing with wild exuberance”

Question 55

lasting or existing for a long or apparently infinite time; enduring or continually recurring.

synonyms: everlasting, perpetual, eternal, continuing, unending, never-ending, endless, undying, ceaseless, abiding, enduring, lasting, persisting, permanent, constant, continual, unfailing, unchanging, never-changing
“the perennial fascination with crime”
2.
(of a plant) living for several years.

noun
1.

Answer 55

perennial
“his perennial distrust of the media”
2
“cow parsley is perennial”

nuon:
a perennial plant.
“perennials will transform the garden in summer”

Question 56

the highest class in certain societies, typically comprising people of noble birth holding hereditary titles and offices.

synonyms: the nobility, the peerage, the gentry, the upper class, the ruling class, the privileged class, the elite, high society, the establishment, the patriciate, the haut monde, the beau monde; More
a form of government in which power is held by the nobility.
a state in which governing power is held by the nobility.

Answer 56

aristocracy

“members of the aristocracy”

Question 57

a person of wide knowledge or learning.

Answer 57

poly math

“a Renaissance polymath”

Question 58

modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence.

synonyms: shy, bashful, modest, self-effacing, unassuming, unpresuming, humble, meek, unconfident, unassertive, timid, timorous, shrinking, reserved, withdrawn, introverted, inhibited

Answer 58

diffident

“a diffident youth”

Question 59

concise and exact use of words in writing or speech.

synonyms: conciseness, concision, succinctness, economy of language, compendiousness, shortness, briefness, pithiness, pith, incisiveness, crispness, compactness, compression
shortness of time.

synonyms: shortness, briefness, transience, transitoriness, ephemerality, impermanence

Answer 59

brevity
“the staff will edit manuscripts with a view to brevity and clarity”
“the brevity of human life”

Question 60

given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behaviour.

synonyms: fickle, inconstant, changeable, variable, unstable, mercurial, volatile, erratic, vacillating, irregular, inconsistent, fitful, arbitrary
changing according to no discernible rules; unpredictable.

Answer 60

capricious
“a capricious and often brutal administration”
“a capricious climate”

Question 61

kept secret or done secretively, especially because illicit.

synonyms: secret, covert, furtive, surreptitious, stealthy, cloak-and-dagger, hole-and-corner, hole-in-the-corner, closet, behind-the-scenes, backstairs, back-alley, under-the-table, hugger-mugger, concealed

Answer 61

clandestine

“she deserved better than these clandestine meetings”

Question 62

a peculiar aspect of a person’s character or behaviour.

synonyms: idiosyncrasy, peculiarity, oddity, eccentricity, foible, whim, whimsy, notion, conceit, vagary, caprice, fancy, kink, crotchet, mannerism, habit, characteristic, trait, feature, obsession, fad

Answer 62

quirk

“they accepted her attitude as one of her little quirks”

Question 63

in exactly the same words as were used originally.

synonyms: word for word, letter for letter, line for line, to the letter, literally, exactly, precisely, in every detail, closely, faithfully, religiously, rigorously

Answer 63

verbatim (ver-baithem)

“subjects were instructed to recall the passage verbatim”

Question 64

a person whose interests or attitudes are similar to one’s own.

Answer 64

kindred spirit

“I longed to find a kindred spirit”

Question 65

Aristotle modes of persuasion

Answer 65

ethos pathos logos

Ethos is an appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader. Pathos is an appeal to emotion, and is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response. Logos is an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason.

Question 66

It’s is a form of language that exhibits a natural flow of speech and grammatical structure rather than a rhythmic structure as in traditional poetry, where the common unit of verse is based on meter or rhyme.

Answer 66

Prose

Question 67

a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.

synonyms:allegory, moral story, moral tale, fable, lesson, exemplum

Answer 67

parable

“the parable of the blind men and the elephant”

Question 68

1.
(of an action or decision) performed by or affecting only one person, group, or country involved in a situation, without the agreement of another or the others.

2.
relating to or affecting only one side of an organ, the body, or another structure.

Answer 68

unilateral

“unilateral nuclear disarmament”
“unilateral cerebral lesions”

Question 69

1.
throw or impel (someone or something) with great force.

synonyms: throw, toss, fling, pitch, cast, lob, launch, flip, catapult, shy, dash, send, bowl, aim, direct, project, propel, fire, let fly

Answer 69

hurl

“rioters hurled a brick through the windscreen”

Question 70

a ghost.

synonyms: ghost, phantom, apparition, spirit, wraith, shadow, presence, illusion; More
something widely feared as a possible unpleasant or dangerous occurrence.

synonyms: threat, menace, shadow, cloud, vision

Answer 70

spectre

“a dread of spectres and witches affected every aspect of daily life”
“the spectre of nuclear holocaust”

Question 71

1. a channel for conveying water or other fluid.

2.
a tube or trough for protecting electric wiring.

synonyms: channel, duct, pipe, tube, gutter, groove, furrow, trough, trench, culvert, cut, sluice, spillway, race, flume, chute, ditch, drain

Answer 71

conduit
“nearby springs supplied the conduit which ran into the brewery”
“the gas pipe should not be close to any electrical conduit”
“spring water ran down a conduit into the brewery”

Question 72

understanding of a situation or event only after it has happened or developed.

Answer 72

hindsight (haind)

“with hindsight, I should never have gone”

Question 73

understood or implied without being stated.

synonyms: implicit, understood, implied, inferred, hinted, suggested, insinuated

Answer 73

tacit

Question 74

the record of descent of an animal, showing it to be pure-bred.

the recorded ancestry or lineage of a person or family.

synonyms: ancestry, descent, lineage, line, line of descent, genealogy, family tree, extraction, derivation, origin, heritage,

Answer 74

pedigree
“they are looking for animals with pedigrees”
“with a pedigree equal to many of the gentry”

Question 75

a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

synonyms: polite term, substitute, mild alternative, indirect term, understatement, underplaying, softening, politeness, genteelism, coy term

Answer 75

euphemism
“the jargon has given us ‘downsizing’ as a euphemism for cuts”
“‘professional foul’ is just a euphemism for cheating”

Question 76

1.
relating to an owner or ownership.

2.
(of a product) marketed under and protected by a registered trade name.

Answer 76

proprietary
“the company has a proprietary right to the property”
“proprietary brands of insecticide”

Question 77

having a composed and self-assured manner.

synonyms: self-possessed, self-assured, composed, assured, self-controlled, cool-headed, calm, cool
having a graceful and elegant bearing.

Answer 77

poised
“not every day you saw that poised, competent kid distressed”
“she had learnt from the girls at the salon how to appear perfectly poised”

Question 78

denoting a dealer or trader in a specified commodity.

denoting a person who promotes a specified activity, situation, or feeling, especially one that is undesirable or discreditable.

Answer 78

monger
“fishmonger”
“warmonger”

Question 79

peculiar or individual.

synonyms: distinctive, individual, characteristic, distinct, distinguishing, peculiar, individualistic, different, typical, special, specific, representative, unique

Answer 79

idiosyncratic (eedio)
“she emerged as one of the great, idiosyncratic talents of the nineties”

Idiosyncrasy
An idiosyncrasy is an unusual feature of a person. It also means odd habit. The term is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity. A synonym may be “quirk”

Question 80

short-sighted.

synonyms: short-sighted; More
antonyms: long-sighted
lacking foresight or intellectual insight.
synonyms: unimaginative, uncreative, unadventurous, narrow-minded, lacking foresight, small-minded

Answer 80

myopic
“most myopic children can be fitted with glasses to correct their vision”
“the government still has a myopic attitude to public spending”

Question 81

inspire or permeate with (a feeling or quality).

synonyms: permeate, saturate, diffuse, suffuse, pervade

Answer 81

imbue

“his works are invariably imbued with a sense of calm and serenity”

Question 82

1.

resolve (a sentence) into its component parts and describe their syntactic roles.

Answer 82

parse

“I asked a couple of students to parse these sentences for me”

Question 83

cheat or fool.

Answer 83

bamboozle

“he bamboozled Canada’s largest banks in a massive counterfeit scam”

Question 84

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

synonyms: reference to, mention of, comment on, remark about, citation of, quotation of

Answer 84

allusion

“an allusion to Shakespeare”

Question 85

is an adjective to describe a person or thing that’s impulsive and unpredictable, like a bride who suddenly leaves her groom standing at the wedding altar.

Answer 85

Capricious

Question 86

(with reference to moisture or a smell) discharge or be discharged slowly and steadily.

synonyms: give off/out, discharge, release, send out, send forth, emit, issue, emanate; More
2.
(of a person) display (an emotion or quality) strongly and openly.

synonyms: emanate, radiate, ooze, give out, give forth, send out, issue, emit

Answer 86

exude

“the beetle exudes a caustic liquid”
“Sir Thomas exuded goodwill”

Question 87

the vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge.

Answer 87

lexicon

“the size of the English lexicon”

Question 88

a sensation of whirling and loss of balance, associated particularly with looking down from a great height, or caused by disease affecting the inner ear or the vestibular nerve; giddiness.
synonyms: dizziness, giddiness, light-headedness, loss of balance, loss of equilibrium

Answer 88

vertigo

Question 89

to speak to someone angrily because you disapprove of their behaviour

remonstrate with or rebuke (someone) angrily.
synonyms: rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reprove, admonish, remonstrate with, chastise, chide, upbraid, berate, take to task, pull up, castigate, lambaste, read someone the Riot Act, give someone a piece of one’s mind, go on at, haul over the coals, criticize
1.
a woman who nags or grumbles constantly.

synonyms: nag, nagger, shrew, fishwife, harpy, termagant, harridan

Answer 89

scold

“Mum took Anna away, scolding her for her bad behaviour”
“she was a scold—whenever she was near him he felt in the wrong”

Question 90

a person or thing that epitomizes or represents a specified quality, cause, etc.

Answer 90

poster child

“the anti-globalization movement’s poster child”

Question 91

existence or experience beyond the normal or physical level.

synonyms: superiority, supremacy, predominance, pre-eminence

Answer 91

transcendence

“the possibility of spiritual transcendence in the modern world”

Question 92

dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.

Answer 92

pragmatic

“a pragmatic approach to politics”

Question 93

the action or offence of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk.

synonyms: profanity, profaneness, sacrilege, irreligiousness, irreverence, taking the Lord’s name in vain, swearing, curse, cursing, impiety, impiousness, ungodliness, unholiness, desecration, disrespect

Answer 93

blasphemy

“he was detained on charges of blasphemy”

Question 94

free from an obligation or liability imposed on others.

synonyms: free from, not liable to, not subject to; More
verb
1.
free (a person or organization) from an obligation or liability imposed on others.
“they were exempted from paying the tax”
synonyms: free from, not liable to, not subject to; More
noun
1.
a person who is …. from something, especially the payment of tax.

Answer 94

exempt

“these patients are exempt from all charges”

Question 95

relevant or applicable to a particular matter; apposite.

synonyms: relevant, to the point, apposite, appropriate, suitable, fitting, fit, apt, applicable, material, germane, to the purpose, apropos

Answer 95

pertinent

“she asked me a lot of very pertinent questions”

Question 96

showing poor taste and quality.

synonyms: tawdry, tasteless, kitsch, vulgar, crude, garish, gaudy, showy, loud, trashy, cheap

(of glue, paint, or other substances) not fully dry and retaining a slightly sticky feel.

Answer 96

tacky

You don’t want to come over tacky.
“the paint was still tacky”

Question 97

showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others.

synonyms: heartless, unfeeling, uncaring, cold, cold-hearted, hard

Answer 97

callous

“his callous comments about the murder made me shiver”

Question 98

reduce (someone) to extreme hunger.

be extremely hungry.

Answer 98

famish

“they had famished the city into surrender”

Question 99

1.
dated
a sitting room in a private house.

synonyms: sitting room, living room, lounge, front room, best room, drawing room, morning room, salon; reception room
“they had tea in the parlour”
2.
a room in a public building for receiving guests.

Answer 99

parlour (parler)

“they had lunch in the parlour”
“the mayor’s parlour”

Question 100

the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one’s consideration or respect.

synonyms: contempt, scorn, scornfulness, contemptuousness, derision, disrespect

Answer 100

disdain

“her upper lip curled in disdain”

Question 101

excited or euphoric.

Answer 101

stoked

“when they told me I was on the team, I was stoked”

Question 102

(of a quality or state) existing but not yet developed or manifest; hidden or concealed.

synonyms: dormant, quiescent, inactive, untapped, unused

Answer 102

latent

“they have a huge reserve of latent talent”

Question 103

inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable.

synonyms: intimidating, forbidding, redoubtable, daunting, alarming, frightening, terrifying, petrifying, horrifying, chilling, disturbing, disquieting, dreadful, brooding, awesome

Answer 103

formidable

“a formidable opponent”

Question 104

a person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person.

synonyms: pupil, student, trainee, apprentice

Answer 104

protégé

Question 105

happening by chance rather than intention.

synonyms: chance, unexpected, unanticipated, unpredictable, unforeseen, unlooked-for, serendipitous, casual, incidental, coincidental, haphazard, random, accidental, inadvertent, unintentional, unintended, unplanned, unpremeditated
events”happening by a lucky chance; fortunate.
“the ball went into the goal by a fortuitous ricochet”
synonyms: lucky, fortunate, providential, advantageous, timely, opportune, serendipitous, expedient, heaven-sent, auspicious, propitious, felicitous

Answer 105

fortuitous (Four-tui-chess) (Tui like doei in dutch)

“the similarity between the paintings may not be simply fortuitous”

“his success depended on entirely fortuitous

Question 106

unnecessary, especially through being more than enough.

synonyms: surplus, redundant, unneeded, not required, excess, extra, spare, to spare, remaining, unused

Answer 106

superfluous

“the purchaser should avoid asking for superfluous information”

Question 107

1.
the action of being rescued or set free.

synonyms: liberation, release, freeing, rescue, delivery, discharge, ransom, emancipation; More
2.
a formal or authoritative utterance.

synonyms: utterance, statement, announcement, pronouncement, declaration, proclamation

Answer 107

deliverance

“prayers for deliverance”

Question 108

1.
(of an animal such as a dog) make an aggressive growl with bared teeth.

synonyms:	growl, show its teeth
"a pack of snarling wolves"
noun
1.
an act or sound of snarling.

Answer 108

snarl (snaal)

“a snarl of rage”

Question 109

express or feel sympathy or pity; sympathize.

synonyms: offer sympathy to, be sympathetic to, express sympathy for, send condolences to, offer condolences to, condole with, sympathize with, empathize with, feel pity for, feel sorry for

Answer 109

commiserate

“she went over to commiserate with Rose on her unfortunate circumstances”

Question 110

(of an amount) very small or meagre.

synonyms: small, meagre, trifling, insignificant, negligible, inadequate, insufficient, scant, scanty, derisory, pitiful, pitiable, pathetic, miserable, sorry, wretched, puny, trivial, niggardly, beggarly, mean, ungenerous, inappreciable, mere; More
petty; trivial.

synonyms: worthless, petty, trivial, unimportant, insignificant, inconsequential, of little account/consequence, meaningless, negligible, nugatory, minor, footling, contemptible

Answer 110

paltry (poltri)

“she would earn a paltry £33 more a month”
“naval glory struck him as paltry”

Question 111

announce officially or publicly.

2.
indicate clearly.

synonyms: demonstrate, indicate, show, signify, reveal, testify to, manifest, betray

Answer 111

“the government’s chief scientific adviser proclaimed that the epidemic was under control”

“his high, intelligent forehead proclaimed a strength of mind that was almost tangible”

Question 112

defeat thoroughly.

synonyms: conquer, defeat (utterly), beat (hollow), trounce, annihilate, triumph over, win a resounding victory over, be victorious over, best, get the better of, worst, bring someone to their knees, overcome, overwhelm, subdue, subjugate

Answer 112

vanquish

“he successfully vanquished his rival”

Question 113

destroy utterly; wipe out.

synonyms: destroy, wipe out, annihilate, exterminate, extirpate, demolish, eliminate, eradicate, kill, decimate, liquidate, wipe off the face of the earth,

make invisible or indistinct; conceal or cover.

cancel (something, especially a postage stamp) to prevent further use.

synonyms: erase, eradicate, expunge, efface

Answer 113

obliterate

“the memory was so painful that he obliterated it from his mind”

“a nuclear explosion that would obliterate a city”
“clouds were darkening, obliterating the sun”
“the special stamp should be placed on the left-hand side and not be used to obliterate the postage stamp”

Question 114

(of an object) difficult to move because of its size, shape, or weight.

synonyms: cumbersome, unmanageable, unhandy, unmanoeuvrable; More
(of a system) too large or disorganized to function efficiently.

Answer 114

unwieldy

“huge, unwieldy arc lamps”
“the benefits system is unwieldy and unnecessarily complex”

Question 115

a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement.

synonyms: boredom, tedium, listlessness, lethargy, lassitude, languor, restlessness, weariness, sluggishness, enervation

Answer 115

ennui (onwi)

“he succumbed to ennui and despair”

Question 116

a work of art, music, or literature that is regarded as the most important or best work that an artist, composer, or writer has produced.

Answer 116

magnum opus

Question 117

comfort (someone) at a time of grief or disappointment.

synonyms: comfort, solace

Answer 117

console, consoling

“she tried to console him but he pushed her gently away”

Question 118

a natural ability to do something.

a natural tendency.

synonyms: talent, gift, flair, bent, skill, knack, facility, finesse, genius

Answer 118

aptitude

“children with an aptitude for painting and drawing”
“his aptitude for deceit”

Question 119

1.
search unsystematically and untidily through something.

synonyms: search (through), hunt through, scrabble about/around in, root about/around in, ferret (about/around) in

Answer 119

rummage

“he rummaged in his pocket for a handkerchief”

Question 120

an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information.

synonyms: guess, speculation, surmise, fancy, notion, belief, suspicion, presumption, assumption, theory, hypothesis, postulation, supposition
verb
1.
form an opinion or supposition about (something) on the basis of incomplete information.

synonyms: guess, speculate, surmise, infer, fancy, imagine, believe, think, suspect, presume, assume, hypothesize, take as a hypothesis, theorize, form/formulate a theory, suppose

Answer 120

conjecture

“conjectures about the newcomer were many and varied”
“many conjectured that she had a second husband in mind”
“I conjectured that the game was about to end”

Question 121

subject to chance.

synonyms: chance, accidental, fortuitous, possible, unforeseen, unforeseeable, unexpected, unpredicted, unpredictable, unanticipated, unlooked-for; More
2.
occurring or existing only if (certain circumstances) are the case; dependent on.

synonyms: dependent, conditional; More
noun
1.
a group of people sharing a common feature, forming part of a larger group.

synonyms: group, party, body, band, set

Answer 121

contingent

“the contingent nature of the job”
“his fees were contingent on the success of his search”
“a contingent of Japanese businessmen attending a conference”

Question 122

replaceable by another identical item; mutually interchangeable.

Answer 122

fungible

Fungibility refers only to the equivalence of each unit of a commodity with other units of the same commodity and not to the exchange of one commodity for another, which is barter.

Question 123

the science of the causes and effects of diseases, especially the branch of medicine that deals with the laboratory examination of samples of body tissue for diagnostic or forensic purposes.

Answer 123

“research people skilled in experimental pathology”

The word pathology itself may be used broadly to refer to the study of disease in genera

Question 124

1.
travel across or through.

synonyms: travel over/across, cross, journey over/across, make one’s way across, pass over, go across, negotiate; More
2.
move back and forth or sideways.

Answer 124

traverse

“he traversed the forest”
“a probe is traversed along the tunnel”

Question 125

describing an apparent bad thing that can have or has a good side

Answer 125

silver lining.
Use the term silver lining when you want to emphasize the hopeful side of a situation that might seem gloomy on the surface. The common expression “every cloud has a silver lining” means that even the worst events or situations have some positive aspect.

Question 126

1.
formal
use or take advantage of (an opportunity or available resource).

synonyms: use, make use of, take advantage of, utilize, employ; More
2.
literary
help or benefit.

synonyms: help, aid, assist, benefit, be of use to, be useful to, profit, be of advantage to, be of service to

Answer 126

avail

“my daughter did not avail herself of my advice”
“even if his arguments are correct, that cannot avail him in this case”
“no amount of struggle availed Charles”

Question 127

a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a Church, political party, or other group.

synonyms: creed, credo, dogma, belief, set of beliefs, code of belief, conviction, teaching

Answer 127

doctrine

“the doctrine of predestination”

Question 128

1.
partial or total darkness.

synonyms: darkness, semi-darkness, dark, gloominess, dimness, blackness, murkiness, murk, shadows, shade, shadiness, obscurity; More
2.
a state of depression or despondency.

synonyms: despondency, depression, dejection, downheartedness, dispiritedness, heavy-heartedness, melancholy, melancholia,

Answer 128

gloom

“he strained his eyes peering into the gloom”
“a year of economic gloom for the car industry”

Question 129

dark and gloomy, especially due to thick mist.

synonyms: dark, gloomy, grey, leaden, dull, dim, overcast, cloudy, clouded, sunless, foggy, misty, dismal, dreary, bleak, louring, threatening, cheerless, depressing, shadowy, sombre
2.
obscure or morally questionable.

synonyms: questionable, suspicious, suspect, dubious, dark, mysterious, secret; informalshady

Answer 129

murky

“the sky was murky and a thin drizzle was falling”
“a government minister with a murky past”

Question 130

preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.

synonyms: preconceived idea, preconception, preconceived notion; prejudgement

Answer 130

prejudice

“English prejudice against foreigners”
“male prejudices about women”

Question 131

regarding humankind as the central or most important element of existence, especially as opposed to God or animals.

Answer 131

anthropocentric

“when we assess animal intelligence we tend to take a very anthropocentric view”

Question 132

having or showing good judgement.

synonyms: discriminating, selective, judicious, tasteful, refined, cultivated, cultured, sophisticated, enlightened, sensitive, subtle, critical

Answer 132

discerning

“the brasserie attracts discerning customers”

Question 133

is an expression commonly used in the United States that refers to any person or group who goes along with a doomed or dangerous idea because of peer pressure. The phrase often carries a negative connotation when applied to an individual or group. It can also be used ironically or humorously to refer to accepting an idea or changing a preference due to popularity, peer pressure, or persuasion. In recent years it has evolved further to mean extreme dedication to a cause or purpose, so extreme that one would “Drink the Kool-Aid” and die for the cause.

Answer 133

“Drinking the Kool-Aid”

Question 134

exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action.

synonyms: immunity, indemnity, exemption from punishment, freedom from punishment, exemption, non-liability, licence

Answer 134

Impunity

“the impunity enjoyed by military officers implicated in civilian killings”

Question 135

excessively concerned with minor details or rules; overscrupulous.

synonyms: overscrupulous, scrupulous, precise, exact, over-exacting, perfectionist, precisionist, punctilious, meticulous, fussy

Answer 135

pedantic

“his analyses are careful and even painstaking, but never pedantic”

Question 136

interfere in something that is not one’s concern.

synonyms: interfere, butt in, intrude, intervene, interlope, pry, poke, nose, busybody, interpose, obtrude, thrust; More
touch or handle (something) without permission.

Answer 136

meddle

“I don’t want him meddling in our affairs”
“you have no right to come in here meddling with my things”

Question 137

the class of people who are poor and do not have secure jobs (= ones that are likely to continue for a long time):

.

Answer 137

precariat

After 20 years in the same job, I entered the precariat

Question 138

1.
of or involving right angles; at right angles.
2.
STATISTICS
(of variates) statistically independent.

Answer 138

orthogonal

Question 139

1.
the contradiction or denial of something.

synonyms: denial, contradiction, repudiation, disproving, refutation, refuting, rebuttal, countering, disclaiming; More
2.
the absence or opposite of something actual or positive.
“evil is not merely the negation of goodness”
synonyms: opposite, reverse, antithesis, contrary, inverse, converse

Answer 139

negation

“there should be confirmation—or negation—of the findings”
“evil is not merely the negation of goodness”

Question 140

secretly listen to a conversation.

synonyms: listen in, spy, intrude

Answer 140

eavesdrop

“my father eavesdropped on my phone calls”

Question 141

prevent (someone) from accomplishing something.

noun
1.
a structural crosspiece forming a seat for a rower in a boat.
preposition & adverbarchaicliterary
1.
from one side to another side of; across.

Answer 141

thwart

“he never did anything to thwart his father”
“a pink-tinged cloud spread thwart the shore”

Question 142

1.
being a part of a whole.

synonyms: component, integral; More
2.
being a voting member of an organization and having the power to appoint or elect.

noun
1.
a member of an area which elects a representative to a legislative body.

synonyms: voter, elector, member of the electorate, member of a constituency

2.
a component part of something.

synonyms: component, component part, ingredient, element

Answer 142

constituent

“the constituent minerals of the rock”
“the constituent body has a right of veto”
“the MP is playing on his constituents’ sense of regional identity to win votes”
“MPs have a duty to listen to the concerns of their constituents”
“the essential constituents of the human diet”

Question 143

(of a person or animal) search widely for food or provisions.

noun
1.
food such as grass or hay for horses and cattle; fodder.
synonyms: fodder, feed, food, foodstuff, herbage, pasturage; More
2.
a wide search over an area in order to obtain something, especially food or provisions.
synonyms: scavenge, hunt, search, look, exploration, quest, scout, probe

Answer 143

forage

“the birds forage for aquatic invertebrates, insects, and seeds”
“a nightly forage for food”

Question 144

not harmful or offensive.

synonyms: harmless, safe, non-dangerous, non-poisonous, non-toxic

Answer 144

innocuous

“it was an innocuous question”

Question 145

1.
a small waterfall, typically one of several that fall in stages down a steep rocky slope.

synonyms: waterfall, falls, water chute, cataract, rapids, torrent, flood, deluge, outpouring, white water, fountain, shower, avalanche; More
2.
a process whereby something, typically information or knowledge, is successively passed on.

verb
1.
(of water) pour downwards rapidly and in large quantities.

synonyms: pour, gush, surge, spill, stream, flow, issue, spurt, jet; More
2.
pass (something) on to a succession of others.

Answer 145

cascade

“the waterfall raced down in a series of cascades”
“water was cascading down the stairs”
“teachers who are able to cascade their experience effectively”

Question 146

subject to a law or standard external to itself.

(in Kantian moral philosophy) acting in accordance with one’s desires rather than reason or moral duty.

Answer 146

hetronomous

Question 147

make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse.

synonyms: aggravate, make worse, worsen, inflame, compound

Answer 147

exacerbate

“the exorbitant cost of land in urban areas only exacerbated the problem”

Question 148

dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.

synonyms: racism, racialism, racial hatred, ethnocentrism, ethnocentricity

Answer 148

xenophobia

“racism and xenophobia are steadily growing in Europe”

Question 149

offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging; bland.

synonyms: insipid, uninspired, colourless, uninteresting, feeble, flat, dead, dull

Answer 149

vapid

“tuneful but vapid musical comedies”

Question 150

touch or stroke gently or lovingly.

synonyms: stroke, touch, fondle, brush, skim, pet, pat, nuzzle

Answer 150

caress

“she caressed the girl’s forehead”

Question 151

(of a woman or her behaviour) reserved, modest, and shy.

synonyms: modest, unassuming, meek, mild, reserved, retiring, quiet, shy, bashful, diffident, reticent, timid, timorous, shrinking; More
(of clothing) suggesting that a woman is demure.

Answer 151

demure
“a demure little wife who sits at home minding the house”
“a demure white lace cap”

Question 152

used as an acknowledgement of one’s fault or error.

Answer 152

mea culpa (may a )

Question 153

smile or speak in a contemptuous or mocking manner.

synonyms: curl one’s lip, smile disparagingly, smile contemptuously, smile smugly

Answer 153

sneer

“she had sneered at their bad taste”

Question 154

(especially with reference to creative work) the most important or remarkable feature.

synonyms: masterpiece, magnum opus, masterwork, tour de force, showpiece, prize, gem, jewel, jewel in the crown, speciality, special, claim to fame, forte; chef-d’œuvre

Answer 154

pièce de résistance

“the pièce de résistance of the meal was flaming ice cream”

Question 155

1 a : the habitation of a hermit
b : a secluded residence or private retreat : hideaway
c : monastery

Answer 155

hermitage

Question 156

inspiring affection.

synonyms: lovable, adorable, cute, sweet, dear, delightful, lovely, charming, appealing, attractive, engaging, winning, captivating, enchanting

Answer 156

endearing

“an endearing little grin”

Question 157

extremely distasteful; unacceptable.

synonyms: abhorrent, revolting, repulsive, repellent, disgusting, offensive, objectionable, vile, foul, nasty, loathsome, sickening, nauseating, nauseous, hateful, detestable, execrable, abominable, monstrous, appalling, reprehensible, deplorable, insufferable, intolerable, unacceptable, despicable, contemptible, beyond the pale, unspeakable, noxious, obscene, base, hideous, grisly, gruesome, horrendous, heinous, atrocious, awful, terrible, dreadful, frightful, obnoxious, unsavoury, unpalatable,
2.
in conflict or incompatible with.

synonyms: incompatible with, in conflict with, contrary to, at variance with, contradictory to, inconsistent with, alien to

Answer 157

repugnant

“cannibalism seems repugnant to us”

“a by-law must not be repugnant to the general law of the country”

Question 158

dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.

Answer 158

pragmatic

“a pragmatic approach to politics”

Question 159

erode the base or foundation of (a rock formation).

synonyms: erode, wear away, eat away at, chip away, undercut

2.
lessen the effectiveness, power, or ability of, especially gradually or insidiously.
“this could undermine years of hard work”
synonyms: subvert, sabotage, threaten, weaken, compromise, diminish, reduce, impair, mar, spoil, ruin, impede, hinder, damage, hurt, injure, cripple

Answer 159

undermine

“the flow of water had undermined pillars supporting the roof”
“the damp had so undermined the structure that the wall fell down”

Question 160

apparently but not really; seemingly.

synonyms: supposedly, seemingly, apparently, allegedly, reportedly, professedly, ostensibly, on the face of it, to all appearances, on the surface, to all intents and purposes, outwardly, superficially, purportedly, nominally, by one’s/its own account, on paper; More
being partly or almost.

Answer 160

quasi

“quasi-American”
“quasicrystalline”

Question 161

strange; odd.

synonyms: odd, strange, unusual, funny, peculiar, curious, bizarre, weird, outlandish, eccentric, unconventional, unorthodox, uncanny, unexpected, unfamiliar, abnormal, anomalous, atypical, untypical, different, out of the ordinary, out of the way, extraordinary, remarkable, puzzling, mystifying, mysterious, perplexing, baffling, unaccountable, incongruous, uncommon, irregular, outré, offbeat, singular, deviant, aberrant, freak, freakish; More
verbinformal
1.
spoil or ruin (an agreement, event, or situation).

synonyms: spoil, damage, impair, harm, be detrimental to, mar, wreck, destroy, devastate

Answer 161

queer

“she had a queer feeling that they were being watched”

“Reg didn’t want someone meddling and queering the deal at the last minute”

Question 162

a group of people leading the way in new developments or ideas.

a position at the forefront of new developments or ideas.

synonyms: forefront, van, advance guard, avant-garde, spearhead, front, front line, front rank, fore, lead, leading position, cutting edge, driving force

Answer 162

vanguard
“the experimental spirit of the modernist vanguard”
“the prototype was in the vanguard of technical development”

Question 163

treating all rivals or disputants equally.

synonyms: unbiased, unprejudiced, neutral, non-partisan, non-discriminatory, anti-discrimination, disinterested, uninvolved, uncommitted, detached, dispassionate, objective

Answer 163

impartial

Technology is impartial
“the minister cannot be impartial in the way that a judge would be”

Question 164

a dishonest or unprincipled man.

synonyms: scoundrel, villain, reprobate, rascal, good-for-nothing, wretch; More
2.
an elephant or other large wild animal living apart from the herd and having savage or destructive tendencies.

verb
1.
remove inferior or defective plants or seedlings from (a crop).

Answer 164

rouge (row-gh)

rouge A.I
“you are a rogue and an embezzler”
“a rogue elephant”

“the sowing has to be rogued to remove aberrant seedlings”

Question 165

the ability or tendency of something to float in water or other fluid.
synonyms: ability to float, tendency to float, lightness; rarefloatability

2.
a cheerful and optimistic attitude or disposition.
synonyms: cheerfulness, cheeriness, happiness, light-heartedness, carefreeness, brightness, gladness, merriment, joy, bounce, effervescence,

Answer 165

buoyancy

“the drum’s buoyancy forced it up again”

Question 166

1.
sternness or severity of manner or attitude.

2.
difficult economic conditions created by government measures to reduce public expenditure.

Answer 166

austerity

“he was noted for his austerity and his authoritarianism”
“the country was subjected to acute economic austerity”

Question 167

a rounded mass projecting above a surface.

2.
a large pile or quantity of something.

synonyms: heap, pile, stack; More
verb
1.
heap up into a rounded pile.

synonyms: pile, pile up, heap, heap up

2.
archaic
enclose or fortify with an embankment.

Answer 167

mound

“the bushes were little more than vague mounds beneath the snow”
“a mound of dirty crockery”
“basmati rice was mounded on our plates”
“mound up the rice on a serving plate”
“a sand-built ridge Of heaped hills that mound the sea”

Question 168

blasphemous or obscene language.

synonyms: oath, swear word, expletive, curse, obscenity, four-letter word, dirty word, execration, imprecation; More
a swear word; an oath.

irreligious or irreverent behaviour.
synonyms: idolatry, sacrilege, irreligiousness, ungodliness, impiety, unholiness, blasphemy, irreverence, disrespectfulness, disrespect

Answer 168

profanity

“an outburst of profanity”
“a man with bloodied chin mouthing profanities”
“some traditional festivals were irremediably tainted with profanity”

Question 169

a disease or ailment.

synonyms: illness, sickness, ailment, disorder, complaint, disease, infection, indisposition, affliction, infirmity; More
a serious problem.

Answer 169

malady

“an incurable malady”
“the nation’s maladies”

Question 170

plant leaves collectively.

synonyms: leaves, leafage, greenery, vegetation

Answer 170

foliage

“healthy green foliage”

Question 171

1.
direct descent from an ancestor; ancestry or pedigree.

synonyms: ancestry, family, parentage, birth; More
2.
BIOLOGY
a sequence of species each of which is considered to have evolved from its predecessor.

Answer 171

lineage

“a Dutch nobleman of ancient lineage”
“the chimpanzee and gorilla lineages”

Question 172

synonyms: hamper, hinder, obstruct, impede, check, cramp, inhibit, restrict, limit, constrain, restrain, bog down, retard

Answer 172

encumber

“she was encumbered by her heavy skirts”

Question 173

a ceremony or event marking an important stage in someone’s life, especially birth, the transition from childhood to adulthood, marriage, and death.

Answer 173

rite of passage

“a novel which depicts the state of adolescence and the rites of passage that lead to adulthood”

Question 174

secret or dishonest activity or manoeuvring.

silly or high-spirited behaviour; mischief.

Answer 174

shenanigans

“the chairman was accused of financial shenanigans”

Question 175

the state of being respected or admired; prestige.

synonyms: prestige, prestigiousness, distinction, status, standing, kudos, snob value, stature, prominence, importance, pre-eminence, eminence; More
2.
a distinguishing mark or seal.

Answer 175

cachet

“no other shipping company had quite the cachet of Cunard”
“special cachets are applied to cards sold at the stands”

Question 176

a regulation requiring people to remain indoors between specified hours, typically at night.

the hour designated as the beginning of a curfew.

the daily signal indicating the beginning of a curfew.

Answer 176

curfew

“a dusk-to-dawn curfew”
“to be abroad after curfew without permission was to risk punishment”
“they had to return before the curfew sounded”

Question 177

the place where two rivers flow together and become one larger river

​
a situation in which two things join or come together:

Answer 177

confluence

The change has been brought on by a confluence of factors.
A confluence of events is pushing nuclear policy into the national spotlight.

Question 178

a person who refuses to see the beauty or the value of art or culture:

a person who enjoys only popular entertainment but does not appreciate art, literature, or music of high quality

Answer 178

philistine

I wouldn’t have expected them to enjoy a film of that quality anyway - they’re just a bunch of philistines!

Question 179

extremely honest
doing everything correctly and exactly as it should be done
extremely careful to do what is right or moral:

also means extremely accurate and exact:

Answer 179

Scrupulous (screw-pee-les)

She managed to get a copy of the report through a friend who wasn’t so scrupulous about sharing information.
Her report is scrupulous in its detail.

Question 180

the activity of reducing the risk of losing money on shares, bonds, etc. that you own, for example, by buying futures (= agreements to sell shares for a particular price at a date in the future) or options (= the rights to buy or sell shares for a particular price within a particular time period):

Answer 180

hedging

Question 181

a group of people who share a characteristic, usually age:

About 42% of women in this age cohort have a college degree.
​
a person or a group of people who support a particular person, usually a leader:

Answer 181

cohort

This year’s cohort of graduates will have particular difficulties finding jobs.
Perhaps he should have considered warning his cohort away from his investments.

Question 182

a gradual increase in loudness, or the moment when a noise or piece of music is at its loudest:
​
an increase in excitement, danger, or action:

Answer 182

crescendo

Question 183

of food) very high quality:
a connoisseur of good food; a person with a discerning palate.
synonyms: gastronome, epicure, epicurean

Answer 183

gourmet

gourmet coffee
a gourmet meal

Question 184

(of a secret or something unknown) come to be known; be revealed.

synonyms: become known, become apparent, be revealed, be disclosed, come to light, emerge, come out, get out, be discovered, be uncovered, materialize, leak out, turn out, be made public

Answer 184

transpire

“it transpired that millions of dollars of debt had been hidden in a complex web of transactions”
“it transpired that Mr. Washington had been in London throughout the period of the robberies”

Question 185

verb
1.
push suddenly or violently in a specified direction.

synonyms: shove, push, propel, impel; More
noun
1.
a sudden or violent lunge with a pointed weapon or a bodily part.
“he drove the blade upwards with one powerful thrust”
synonyms: shove, push, ram, prod, poke, stab, jab, lunge, drive, barge, bump, bang, jolt, butt, knock, nudge

Answer 185

thrust

“she thrust her hands into her pockets”
“he gave the gate a hard thrust”

Question 186

given, felt, or done in return.

synonyms: given/felt in return, corresponding; More
2.
(of an agreement or obligation) bearing on or binding each of two parties equally.
“the treaty is a bilateral commitment with reciprocal rights and duties”
synonyms: mutual, common, shared, joint, corresponding, correlative, give-and-take, exchanged, complementary

Answer 186

reciprocal

“she was hoping for some reciprocal comment or gesture”

Question 187

causing shock or dismay; horrific.

synonyms: shocking, horrific, horrifying, horrible, terrible, awful, dreadful, ghastly, hideous, horrendous, frightful, atrocious, abominable, abhorrent, outrageous, hateful, loathsome, odious, gruesome, grisly, monstrous, nightmarish, heinous, harrowing, dire, vile, shameful, unspeakable, unforgivable, unpardonable; More
very bad; awful.

synonyms: dreadful, very bad, awful, terrible, frightful, atrocious, disgraceful, deplorable, shameful, hopeless, lamentable

Answer 187

appalling

“the cat suffered appalling injuries during the attack”
“his conduct was appalling”

Question 188

cease to resist an opponent or an unwelcome demand; yield.

synonyms: surrender, give in, yield, admit defeat, concede defeat, give up the struggle, submit, back down, climb down, give way, cave in, succumb, crumble

Answer 188

capitulate

“the patriots had to capitulate to the enemy forces”

Question 189

a persistent feeling of ill will or resentment resulting from a past insult or injury.

synonyms: grievance; More
verb
1.
be resentfully unwilling to give or allow (something).
“he grudged the work and time that the meeting involved”
synonyms: begrudge, resent, feel aggrieved/bitter about, be annoyed about, be angry about, be displeased about, be resentful of, mind, object to, take exception to, regret

Answer 189

grudge

“I’ve never been one to hold a grudge”
“he grudged the work and time that the meeting involved”

Question 190

carry out or commit (a harmful, illegal, or immoral action).

synonyms: commit, carry out, perform, execute, do, effect, bring about, be guilty of, be to blame for, be responsible for, accomplish, inflict

Answer 190

perpetrate

“a crime has been perpetrated against a sovereign state”

Question 191

intolerance towards those who hold different opinions from oneself.

synonyms: prejudice, bias, partiality, partisanship, sectarianism, discrimination, unfairness, injustice

Answer 191

bigotry (big-e-tree)

“the difficulties of combating prejudice and bigotry”

Question 192

the quality of being childishly sulky or bad-tempered.

synonyms: peevishness, bad temper, ill temper, pettishness, pique, impatience, irritability, moodiness, sulkiness, snappishness, touchiness, waspishness, irascibility, tetchiness, testiness, querulousness, fractiousness, cantankerousness, grumpiness, grouchiness

Answer 192

petulance

“a slight degree of petulance had crept into his voice”

Question 193

noun
1.
a long, thick pillow that is placed under other pillows for support.
synonyms: pillow, cushion, pad, support, rest

2.
a part on a vehicle or tool providing structural support or reducing friction.
verb
1.
support or strengthen.

synonyms: strengthen, support, reinforce, make stronger, boost, fortify, give a boost to; More
2.
provide (a seat) with padded support.

Answer 193

bolster

“the fall in interest rates is starting to bolster confidence”
“I snuggled down into the heavily bolstered seat”

Question 194

historical
a whip used as an instrument of punishment.
synonyms: whip, horsewhip, lash, strap, birch, switch, flail
2.
a person or thing that causes great trouble or suffering.

synonyms: affliction, bane, curse, plague, menace, evil, misfortune, burden, cross to bear, thorn in one’s flesh/side, bitter pill, trial, nuisance, pest

Answer 194

scourge

“the scourge of mass unemployment”
“our people did scourge him severely”
“political methods used to scourge and oppress workers”

Question 195

using or expressed in more words than are needed.

synonyms: wordy, loquacious, garrulous, talkative, voluble, orotund, expansive, babbling, blathering, prattling, prating, jabbering, gushing, effusive

Answer 195

verbose (like boos in Dutch)

“much academic language is obscure and verbose”

Question 196

a surgical operation involving incision into the prefrontal lobe of the brain, formerly used to treat mental illness.

Answer 196

lobotomy

“there was talk of performing a lobotomy”

Question 197

a person or thing that one particularly dislikes.

synonyms: bugbear, pet hate, pet aversion, anathema, abomination, bogey, bugaboo

Answer 197

bête noire

“great-uncle Edward was my father’s bête noire”

Question 198

the action of fixing the boundary or limits of something.

synonyms: separation, distinction, differentiation, division; More
a dividing line.
plural noun: demarcations

synonyms: boundary, border, borderline, frontier, bound, limit

Answer 198

demarcation

“the demarcation of the maritime border”
“a horizontal band that produces a distinct demarcation two inches from the top”

Question 199

admit or agree that something is true after first denying or resisting it.

synonyms: admit, acknowledge, accept, allow, grant, recognize, own, confess; More
2.
surrender or yield (a possession, right, or privilege).

synonyms: surrender, yield, give up, relinquish, cede

Answer 199

concede

“I had to concede that I’d overreacted”
“in 475 the emperor conceded the Auvergne to Euric”

Question 200

appropriate or suitable in the circumstances.

synonyms: suitable, fitting, appropriate, befitting, relevant, felicitous, congruous, fit, applicable, judicious, apposite, apropos, to the purpose, to the point; More
2.
having a tendency to do something.

synonyms: inclined, given, likely, liable, disposed, predisposed, prone, ready, tending, subject, of a mind, capable

Answer 200

apt

“the theme could not be more apt”
“men left to themselves are apt to get a mite slipshod about meals”
“he is apt to be swayed by irrational considerations”

Question 201

having or showing a wish to do evil to others.

synonyms: malicious, spiteful, hostile, evil-minded, baleful, bitter, evil-intentioned, poisonous, venomous, evil, malign, malignant, rancorous, vicious, vindictive, revengeful, vengeful, pernicious

Answer 201

malovolent

“the glint of dark, malevolent eyes”

Question 202

a fire or light set up in a high or prominent position as a warning, signal, or celebration.

Answer 202

beacon

“a chain of beacons carried the news”

Question 203

supreme power or authority.

synonyms: jurisdiction, supremacy, dominion, power, ascendancy, suzerainty, tyranny, hegemony, domination, sway, predominance, authority, control, influence, rule; More
the authority of a state to govern itself or another state.

synonyms: autonomy, independence, self-government, self-rule, home rule, self-legislation, self-determination, non-alignment, freedom

a self-governing state.

Answer 203

sovereignty

“the sovereignty of Parliament”
“national sovereignty”
“full West German sovereignty was achieved in 1955”

Question 204

A … or rabble-rouser is a leader in a democracy who gains popularity by exploiting prejudice and ignorance among the common people, whipping up the passions of the crowd and shutting down reasoned deliberation.
political agitator, agitator, soapbox orator, firebrand

Answer 204

demagogue (demo-gaag)
Demagoguery opposed to democracy (Plato and Socrates)

“the Senator was a gifted demagogue, with particular skill in manipulating the press”

Question 205

1.
with reference to; concerning.

synonyms: with reference to, with regard to, with respect to, regarding, concerning, respecting, on the subject of, in the matter of, touching on, dealing with, connected with, in connection with, about, re; anent

adjective
1.
very appropriate to a particular situation.

synonyms: appropriate, pertinent, relevant, apposite, apt, applicable, suitable, germane, material, becoming, befitting, significant, to the point/purpose

Answer 205

apropos

“she remarked apropos of the initiative, ‘It’s not going to stop the abuse’”
“value judgements apropos of particular works of art”
“the song feels apropos to a midnight jaunt”

Question 206

a concentrated artillery bombardment over a wide area.

synonyms: bombardment, gunfire, cannonade, battery, blast, broadside, salvo, volley, fusillade; More
2.
an artificial barrier across a river or estuary to prevent flooding, aid irrigation or navigation, or to generate electricity by tidal power.

synonyms: dam, weir, barrier, dyke, defence, embankment, wall, obstruction, gate, sluice

verb
1.
bombard (someone) with questions, criticisms, or complaints.

Answer 206

barrage

“his forces launched an artillery barrage on the city”
“they are considering a tidal barrage built across the Severn estuary”
“a barrage across the River Usk”
“his doctor was barraged with unsolicited advice”

Question 207

excessively proud or self-confident.

Answer 207

hubristic

“a hubristic belief in his own self-proclaimed genius”

Question 208

pay attention to; take notice of.

synonyms: pay attention to, take notice of, take note of, pay heed to, be heedful of, attend to, listen to, notice, note, pay regard to, bear in mind, be mindful of, mind, mark, consider, take into account, take into consideration, be guided by, follow, obey, keep, keep to, adhere to, abide by, observe, take to heart, give ear to, be alert to; More
noun
1.
careful attention.

synonyms: attention, notice, note, regard, heedfulness, attentiveness, consideration

Answer 208

heed

“he should have heeded the warnings”
“if he heard, he paid no heed”

Question 209

having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.

synonyms: harmful, damaging, destructive, injurious, hurtful, detrimental, deleterious, dangerous, adverse, inimical, unhealthy, unfavourable, bad, evil, baleful, wicked, malign, malevolent, malignant, noxious, poisonous, cancerous, corrupting, ruinous, deadly, lethal, fatal

Answer 209

pernicious

“the pernicious influences of the mass media”

Question 210

a pause or break in continuity in a sequence or activity.

synonyms: pause, break, interval, interruption, suspension, intermission, interlude, gap, lacuna, lull, rest, respite, breathing space, time out

Answer 210

hiatus (ha-aid-eas)

“there was a brief hiatus in the war with France”

Question 211

(typically of a young person) tending to commit crime, particularly minor crime.

synonyms:	lawless, lawbreaking, criminal, offending; More
2.
formal
failing in one's duty.
synonyms:	negligent, neglectful, remiss, careless of one's duty, irresponsible, lax, slack; More
noun
1.
a delinquent person.

synonyms: offender, wrongdoer, malefactor, lawbreaker, culprit, criminal

Answer 211

delinquent

“delinquent teenagers”
“juvenile delinquents”

Question 212

an act or incident involving excitement, daring, or adventure.

synonyms: exploit, stunt, caper, skylarking, mischief, romp, antic(s), fling, spree, prank, jape, game, trick;

Answer 212

escapade

“he told of their escapade with a ‘borrowed’ truck”

Question 213

relating to the body, especially as distinct from the mind.

Answer 213

somatic

“patients completed a questionnaire about their somatic and psychological symptoms”

Question 214

a dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation.

Answer 214

plight

“we must direct our efforts towards relieving the plight of children living in poverty”

Question 215

(of a feeling, quality, or sensation) issue or spread out from (a source).

synonyms: emerge, flow, pour, proceed, issue, ensue, come out, come forth, spread out, come; More
originate from; be produced by.

give out or emit (a feeling, quality, or sensation).

synonyms: exude, give off, give out, send out, send forth, pour out, throw out, spread, discharge, disgorge, emit, exhale, radiate

Answer 215

emanate

“warmth emanated from the fireplace”
“the proposals emanated from a committee”
“he emanated a powerful brooding air”

Question 216

kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of.

synonyms: secret, stealthy, clandestine, secretive, sneaky, sly, furtive, concealed, hidden, undercover, covert, veiled, under the table, cloak-and-dagger, backstair, indirect; black

Answer 216

surreptitious

“low wages were supplemented by surreptitious payments from tradesmen”
“Rory tried to sneak a surreptitious glance at Adam’s wristwatch”

Question 217

1.
make (someone) feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried, especially with trivial matters.

synonyms: annoy, irritate, infuriate, anger, incense, inflame, enrage, irk, chagrin, exasperate, madden, pique, provoke, nettle, disturb, upset, perturb, discompose, put out

Answer 217

vex

“the memory of the conversation still vexed him”

Question 218

rapid increase in the number or amount of something.

rapid reproduction of a cell, part, or organism.

synonyms: rapid increase, growth, multiplication, spread, escalation, expansion, build-up, buildout, burgeoning, snowballing, mushrooming
“the proliferation of missiles and missile technology”
a large number of something.

Answer 218

proliferation

“a continuing threat of nuclear proliferation”
“we attempted to measure cell proliferation”
“stress levels are high, forcing upon them a proliferation of ailments”

Question 219

1.
LAWformal
the country that a person treats as their permanent home, or lives in and has a substantial connection with.
verbLAWformal
1.
treat a specified country as a permanent home.

Answer 219

domicile
“his wife has a domicile of origin in Germany”
“the tenant is domiciled in the United Kingdom”

Question 220

(typically of an action or activity) wicked or criminal.

Answer 220

nefarious

“the nefarious activities of the organized-crime syndicates”

Question 221

It is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important issue. It may be either a logical fallacy or a literary device that leads readers or audiences towards a false conclusion.

Answer 221

red herring

Question 222

a blunt-ended surgical instrument used for exploring a wound or part of the body.
2.
a thorough investigation into a crime or other matter.

synonyms: investigation, enquiry, enquiry, examination, scrutiny, inquest, exploration, study, research, analysis, scrutinization

verb
1.
explore or examine (something), especially with the hands or an instrument.
“hands probed his body from top to bottom”
synonyms: examine, feel, feel around, explore, prod, poke, check

Answer 222

probe

“a probe into city hall corruption”
“a probe into alleged financial irregularities at the club”
“hands probed his body from top to bottom”

Question 223

deserving censure or condemnation.

synonyms: deplorable, disgraceful, discreditable, disreputable, despicable, blameworthy, culpable, wrong, bad, shameful, dishonourable, ignoble, erring, errant, objectionable, odious, opprobrious, repugnant, inexcusable, unpardonable, unforgivable, insufferable, indefensible, unjustifiable, regrettable, unacceptable, unworthy, remiss

Answer 223

reprehensible

“his complacency and reprehensible laxity”

Question 224

render (something) poorer in quality by adding another substance.

synonyms: make impure, degrade, debase, spoil, taint, defile, contaminate, pollute, foul, sully

Answer 224

adulterate

“the brewer is said to adulterate his beer”

Question 225

a small booklet or leaflet containing information or arguments about a single subject.

synonyms: brochure, leaflet, booklet, circular, flyer, handbill, handout, bill, notice, tract

Answer 225

pamphlet

“he published a spate of pamphlets on the subjects about which he felt strongly”

Question 226

place or deal with close together for contrasting effect.

synonyms: place/set side by side, place/set close to one another

Answer 226

juxtapose

“black-and-white photos of slums were starkly juxtaposed with colour images”

Question 227

intense disgust.

synonyms: revulsion, disgust, abhorrence, repulsion, nausea, loathing, horror, hatred, detestation, aversion, abomination, distaste, antipathy, dislike, contempt, odium

Answer 227

repugnance

“our repugnance at the bleeding carcasses”

Question 228

a person who is honoured with an award for outstanding creative or intellectual achievement.

adjectiveliterary
1.
wreathed with laurel as a mark of honour.

Answer 228

laureate (like loreal)

“a Nobel laureate”

Question 229

extremely impressive.

synonyms: amazing, astounding, astonishing, extraordinary, remarkable, wonderful, prodigious, phenomenal, staggering, breathtaking

Answer 229

stupendous

“the most stupendous views”

Question 230

a pithy observation which contains a general truth.

a concise statement of a scientific principle, typically by a classical author.

Answer 230

aphorism

“the old aphorism ‘the child is father to the man’”
“the opening sentence of the first aphorism of Hippocrates”

Question 231

a huge or monstrous creature.

something enormous, especially a large and powerful organization.

Answer 231

behemoth

“behemoths like the brontosaurus”
“shoppers are now more loyal to their local shops than to faceless behemoths”

Question 232

he practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.

synonyms: copying, infringement of copyright, piracy, theft, stealing, poaching, appropriation

Answer 232

plagiarism (play-ge-rism) (g like in gender)

“there were accusations of plagiarism”

Question 233

increasing or reviving after a period of little activity, popularity, or occurrence.

Answer 233

resurgent

“resurgent nationalism”

Question 234

relating to mental activity or the intellect.

Answer 234

noetic

“the noetic quality of a mystical experience refers to the sense of revelation”

Question 235

a person who sells or deals in particular goods.

synonyms: seller, vendor, trader, retailer, supplier, provider, stockist, tout, trafficker, pedlar, hawker

a person or group who spreads or promotes an idea, view, etc.

Answer 235

purveyor (pr-vey-er)

“a local purveyor of gourmet sandwiches”
“a purveyor of large luxury vehicles”
“a purveyor of traditional Christian values”

Question 236

extreme anger.

synonyms: anger, rage, fury, annoyance, indignation, outrage, pique, spleen, chagrin, vexation, exasperation, dudgeon, high dudgeon, hot temper, bad temper, bad mood, ill humour, irritation, irritability, crossness, displeasure, discontentment, disgruntlement, irascibility, cantankerousness, peevishness, querulousness, crabbiness, testiness, tetchiness, snappishness

Answer 236

wrath (like broth)

“he hid his pipe for fear of incurring his father’s wrath”

Question 237

1.
(of a fruit or plant) containing much pith.
2.
(of language or style) terse and vigorously expressive.

Answer 237

pithy (like pity but more th)

“his characteristically pithy comments”

Question 238

existing at or from the beginning of time; primeval.

synonyms: ancient, earliest, first, prehistoric, antediluvian, antique, primeval, primitive, primal; More
(especially of a feeling or state) basic and fundamental.

synonyms: instinctive, primitive, basic, primal, primeval, intuitive, intuitional, involuntary, inborn, innate, inherent, inbred, natural, congenital, hereditary, inherited, in the blood, ingrained
“the primordial desire for earthly happiness”
BIOLOGY
(of a cell, part, or tissue) in the earliest stage of development.

Answer 238

primordial ( sounds like cry-)

“the primordial oceans”
“the primordial needs of the masses”
“primordial germ cells”

Question 239

1.
a leading dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinals are nominated by the Pope, and form the Sacred College which elects succeeding popes (now invariably from among their own number).

2.
a New World songbird of the bunting family, having a stout bill and typically a conspicuous crest. The male is partly or mostly red in colour.
adjective
1.
of the greatest importance; fundamental.
“two cardinal points must be borne in mind”
synonyms: fundamental, basic, main, chief, primary, prime, principal, premier, first, leading, capital, paramount, pre-eminent

Answer 239

cardinal

“his appointment as cardinal”

Question 240

the action of making something obscure, unclear, or unintelligible.

Answer 240

obfuscation (ob-fuss-cation)

“when confronted with sharp questions they resort to obfuscation”

Question 241

unchanging over time or unable to be changed.

synonyms: unchangeable, fixed, set, rigid, inflexible, unyielding, unbending, permanent, entrenched, established, well-established, unshakeable, irremovable, indelible, ineradicable

Answer 241

immutable

“an immutable fact”

Question 242

1.
a proposition that follows from (and is often appended to) one already proved.
adjective
1.
forming a proposition that follows from one already proved.

Answer 242

corollary

Question 243

egard with disgust and hatred.

Answer 243

abhor

“he abhorred sexism in every form”

Question 244

surround (a place) with armed forces in order to capture it or force its surrender.

synonyms: lay siege to, beleaguer, blockade, surround; More
surround and harass.

synonyms: surround, mob, crowd round, swarm round, throng round, ring round, encircle; More
be inundated by large numbers of requests or complaints.
“the television station was besieged with calls”
synonyms: overwhelm, inundate, deluge, flood, swamp, snow under; bombard

Answer 244

besiege

“the king marched north to besiege Berwick”
“she spent the whole day besieged by newsmen”
“the television station was besieged with calls from worried homeowners”

Question 245

hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed.

synonyms: perfunctory, desultory, casual, superficial, token, uninterested, half-hearted, inattentive, unthinking, offhand, mechanical, automatic, routine

Answer 245

cursory

“a cursory glance at the figures”

Question 246

reprimand firmly.

synonyms: reprimand, rebuke, scold, reprove, upbraid, chastise, chide, censure, castigate, lambaste, berate, reproach, lecture, criticize, take to task, pull up, read the Riot Act to, give a piece of one’s mind to, haul over the coals; More
advise or urge (someone) earnestly.

synonyms: advise, recommend, urge, caution, warn, counsel, exhort, implore, beseech, entreat, encourage, bid, enjoin, adjure, push, pressure

archaic
warn (someone) of something to be avoided.

Answer 246

admonish

“she admonished me for appearing at breakfast unshaven”
“she admonished him to drink no more than one glass of wine”
“she admonished him to drink no more than one glass of wine”
“he admonished the people against the evil of such practices”

Question 247

1.
(of an official body) absolve (someone) from blame for a fault or wrongdoing.

synonyms: absolve, clear, acquit, declare innocent, find innocent, pronounce not guilty, discharge; More
2.
release someone from (a duty or obligation).
“
synonyms: release, discharge, relieve, free, liberate

Answer 247

exonerate

“an inquiry exonerated those involved”
Pope Clement V exonerated the king from his oath to the barons”

Question 248

1.
on or relating to the earth.

synonyms: earthly, worldly, mundane, earthbound; More
2.
of or on dry land.

noun
1.
an inhabitant of the earth.

Answer 248

terrestrial

“increased ultraviolet radiation may disrupt terrestrial ecosystems”
“a submarine eruption will be much more explosive than its terrestrial counterpart”

Question 249

shine brightly, especially with reflected light.

synonyms: shine, glimmer, glint, catch the light, glitter, shimmer, glow, sparkle, twinkle, flicker, blink, wink, glisten, flash, flare, beam, fluoresce; More
(of a smooth surface or object) reflect light because well polished.

(of an emotion or quality) be expressed through the brightness of a person’s eyes.

Answer 249

gleam
“light gleamed on the china cats”
“Victor buffed the glass until it gleamed”
“affection gleamed in her large green eyes”

Question 250

1.
very enthusiastic or passionate.

synonyms: passionate, avid, impassioned, fervent, fervid, zealous, wholehearted, eager, vehement, intense, fierce, fiery, flaming, emotional, hot-blooded; More
2.
archaicliterary
burning; glowing.

Answer 250

ardent

“an ardent supporter of the conservative cause”
“the ardent flames”

Question 251

a piece of thick textile fabric with pictures or designs formed by weaving coloured weft threads or by embroidering on canvas, used as a wall hanging or soft furnishing.

used in reference to an intricate or complex sequence of events.

Answer 251

tapestry

“panelled walls hung with old tapestries”
“the loopiness of the Commons adds to life’s rich tapestry”

Question 252

requiring or using great effort or exertion.

synonyms: arduous, difficult, hard, tough, taxing, demanding, exacting, uphill, stiff, formidable, heavy, exhausting, tiring, fatiguing, gruelling, back-breaking, murderous, punishing

Answer 252

strenuous (like continuous)

“the government made strenuous efforts to upgrade the quality of the teaching profession”

Question 253

1.
wriggle or twist the body from side to side, especially as a result of nervousness or discomfort.

synonyms: wriggle, wiggle, writhe, twist, slide, slither, turn, shift, fidget, jiggle, twitch, thresh, flounder, flail, toss and turn; agonize

noun
1.
a wriggling movement.

Answer 253

squirm

“he looked uncomfortable and squirmed in his chair”
“I tried to squirm away”
“the toddler gave a sudden squirm”

Question 254

1.
the time at which something is most powerful or successful.

synonyms: highest point, high point, crowning point, height, top, acme, peak, pinnacle, apex, apogee, vertex, tip, crown, crest, summit, climax, culmination, maximum, optimum, prime, meridian, flower; informalhigh noon

2.
ASTRONOMY
the point in the sky or celestial sphere directly above an observer.

Answer 254

zenith

“in 1977, punk was at its zenith”
“the king was at the zenith of his power”

Question 255

avoidance of activity or exertion; laziness.

synonyms: laziness, idleness, slothfulness, sloth, shiftlessness, inactivity, inaction, inertia, lifelessness, sluggishness, lethargy, languor, languidness, torpor, torpidity, slowness

Answer 255

indolence

“my failure is probably due to my own indolence”

Question 256

in a way that cannot be changed, reversed, or recovered.

Answer 256

irrevocably

“my life changed irrevocably in an instant”

Question 257

all future generations of people.

synonyms: future generations, succeeding generations, those who come after us; the future
“the names of those who died are recorded for posterity on a framed scroll”
archaic
the descendants of a person.

synonyms: descendants, heirs, successors, offspring, children, family, progeny, scions

Answer 257

posterity

“the victims’ names are recorded for posterity”
“God offered Abraham a posterity like the stars of heaven”

Question 258

1.
a hope or ambition of achieving something.

synonyms: desire, hope, longing, yearning, hankering, urge, wish

Answer 258

aspiration

“the needs and aspirations of the people”

Question 259

1.
a charitable or helpful person (with reference to Luke 10:33).

2.
a member of a people inhabiting Samaria in biblical times, or of the modern community claiming descent from them, adhering to a form of Judaism accepting only its own ancient version of the Pentateuch as Scripture.
adjective
1.
relating to Samaria or the Samaritans.

Answer 259

samaritan

“suddenly, miraculously, a Good Samaritan leaned over and handed the cashier a dollar bill on my behalf”

“Jesus’s words to the Samaritan woman”

Question 260

a person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals.
synonyms: fanatic, enthusiast, extremist, radical, Young Turk, diehard, activist, militant; More
historical
a member of an ancient Jewish sect aiming at a world Jewish theocracy and resisting the Romans until AD 70.

Answer 260

zealot (z-lot)

Question 261

a system of religious belief; a faith.

synonyms: faith, religion, religious belief(s), religious persuasion, religious conviction, religious group, faith community, church; More
a formal statement of Christian beliefs, especially the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed.
noun: Creed; noun: the Creed

synonyms: system of belief, set of principles, statement of beliefs, profession of faith; More
a set of beliefs or aims which guide someone’s actions.

Answer 261

creed

“people of many creeds and cultures”

“the godparents will then swear that they believe in the Creed and the Commandments”
“liberalism was more than a political creed”

Question 262

knock or force out of position.

synonyms: remove, move, shift, displace, knock out of place, knock out of position, knock over, upset; More
remove from a position of power or authority.

Answer 262

dislodge

“the hoofs of their horses dislodged loose stones”
“government opponents failed to dislodge the Prime Minister”

Question 263

serious and immediate danger.

synonyms: danger, jeopardy, risk, riskiness, hazard, insecurity, uncertainty, menace, threat, perilousness; More
verbarchaic
1.
expose to danger; threaten.

Answer 263

peril

“you could well place us both in peril”
“Jonathon perilled his life for love of David”

Question 264

impossible to stop or prevent.

synonyms: relentless, unstoppable, unavoidable, inescapable, inevitable, irrevocable; More
(of a person) impossible to persuade; unrelenting.

synonyms: intransigent, unbending, unyielding, inflexible, unswerving, unwavering, adamant, obdurate, determined, immovable, unshakeable, implacable, unappeasable, unpacifiable, unplacatable, unmollifiable, unforgiving, unsparing, uncompromising;

Answer 264

inexorable

“the seemingly inexorable march of new technology”

Nietzsche: “It was then that my instinct made its inexorable decision against any longer yielding, going along, and confounding myself.”

“the doctors were inexorable, and there was nothing to be done”

Question 265

a system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is reckoned through the male line.

a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it.

a society or community organized on patriarchal lines.
plural noun: patriarchies

Answer 265

patriarchy (peet-ri-arky)

“the thematic relationships of the ballad are worked out according to the conventional archetypes of the patriarchy”
“the dominant ideology of patriarchy”
“we live in a patriarchy”

Question 266

in cognitive linguistics, means missing and being unable to communicate cognitive and linguistic representations because there are no words for particular concepts.

Answer 266

Hypocognition

Question 267

a god or goddess (in a polytheistic religion).

synonyms: god, goddess, divine being, celestial being, supreme being, divinity, immortal; More
divine status, quality, or nature.

the creator and supreme being (in a monotheistic religion such as Christianity).
noun: Deity; noun: the Deity

Answer 267

deity

“a deity of ancient Greece”
“a ruler driven by delusions of deity”
“she raised her head as if appealing to the Deity presiding over the church”

Question 268

1.
a thing consisting of a number of different and distinct parts or items that are grouped together.

synonyms: mixture, mix, combination, mingling, commingling, amalgamation, amalgam, union, conjunction, marriage, merging, compound, alloy, fusion, meld, composite, concoction, synthesis, homogenization; More

1.
relating to a conglomerate, especially a large corporation.

synonyms:	aggregate, agglomerate, amassed, gathered, clustered, combined
"a conglomerate mass"
verb
kənˈɡlɒməreɪt/Submit
1.
gather together into a compact mass.

synonyms: coalesce, unite, join together, combine, merge, fuse, consolidate, amalgamate, integrate, mingle, meld, blend, intermingle, knit (together), link up, converge, come together; literarycommingle
“the debris then conglomerated into planets

Answer 268

conglomerate

“the Earth is a specialized conglomerate of organisms”
“conglomerate firms”
“atoms which conglomerate at the centre”

Question 269

completely engrossing; compelling.

Answer 269

riveting

“the book is a riveting account of the legendary freedom fighter”

Question 270

(of a person) weak and delicate.

synonyms: infirm, weak, weakened, feeble, enfeebled, debilitated, incapacitated, crippled, wasted

Answer 270

frail

“his small, frail body”

Question 271

1.
an official employed to oversee state ceremonial, precedence, and the use of armorial bearings, and (historically) to make proclamations, carry official messages, and oversee tournaments.
synonyms: messenger, courier, bearer of tidings; More
2.
a person or thing viewed as a sign that something is about to happen.

synonyms: harbinger, sign, indicator, indication, signal, prelude, portent, omen, augury, forewarning, presage, announcer; More
verb
1.
be a sign that (something) is about to happen.

synonyms: signal, indicate, announce, point to, spell, presage, augur, portend, promise, prefigure, foreshadow, foretell, usher in, show in, pave the way for, open the way for, be a harbinger of, be a forerunner, be a precursor o

Answer 271

herald

“they considered the first primroses as the herald of spring”
“the speech heralded a change in policy”

Question 272

bring under domination or control, especially by conquest.

synonyms: conquer, vanquish, defeat, crush, quell, quash, gain mastery over, gain ascendancy over, gain control of, bring under the yoke, bring to heel, bring someone to their knees, overcome, overpower, hegemonize; More
make someone or something subordinate to.

Answer 272

subjugate

“the invaders had soon subjugated most of the population”
“the new ruler firmly subjugated the Church to the state”

Question 273

1.
having or showing an excessively high opinion of one’s appearance, abilities, or worth.

synonyms: conceited, narcissistic, self-loving, in love with oneself, self-admiring, self-regarding, wrapped up in oneself, self-absorbed, self-obsessed, self-centred, egotistic, egotistical, egoistic, egocentric, egomaniac; More
2.
producing no result; useless.

synonyms: futile, useless, pointless, worthless, nugatory, to no purpose

Answer 273

vain

“their flattery made him vain”
“a vain attempt to tidy up the room”

Question 274

1.
GRAMMARLOGIC
state, affirm, or assert (something) about the subject of a sentence or an argument of a proposition.

2.
found or base something on.

synonyms: base, be dependent, found, establish, rest, build, ground, premise

Answer 274

predicate

“a word which predicates something about its subject”
“all the social sciences are predicated on the notion that individuals are not isolated”
“the theory of structure on which later chemistry was predicated”

Question 275

compete eagerly with someone in order to do or achieve something.

synonyms: compete, contend, contest, struggle, fight, battle, cross swords, lock horns, jockey, jostle, grapple, wrestle

Answer 275

vie (like why)
past tense: vied; past participle: vied

“the athletes were vying for a place in the British team”

Question 276

ostentatiously costly and luxurious.

synonyms: luxurious, sumptuous, palatial, lavishly appointed, lavish, deluxe, rich, lush, luxuriant, splendid, magnificent, grand, grandiose, costly, expensive, fancy; More
wealthy.

synonyms: wealthy, rich, affluent, well off, well-to-do, moneyed, cash rich, with deep pockets, prosperous

Answer 276

opulent

“the opulent comfort of a limousine”
“his more opulent tenants”

Question 277

1.
great delight, especially from one’s own good fortune or another’s misfortune.

synonyms: delight, pleasure, happiness, joy, joyfulness, gladness, elation, euphoria, exhilaration, cheerfulness, amusement

Answer 277

glee

“his face lit up with impish glee”

Question 278

move (someone) to a lower position or rank, usually as a punishment.

synonyms: downgrade, relegate, declass, move down, lower in rank, reduce in rank, strip of rank, reduce to the ranks

Answer 278

demote

“the head of the army was demoted to deputy defence secretary”

Question 279

widespread in a particular area or at a particular time.

synonyms: widespread, prevailing, frequent, usual, common, general, universal, pervasive, extensive, ubiquitous, ordinary

Answer 279

prevalent

“the social ills prevalent in society today”

Question 280

the quality of being open and honest; frankness.

synonyms: frankness, openness, honesty, candidness, truthfulness, sincerity, forthrightness, directness, lack of restraint, straightforwardness, plain-spokenness, plain dealing, plainness, calling a spade a spade, unreservedness, bluffness, bluntness, outspokenness; informaltelling it like it is

Answer 280

candour

“a man of refreshing candour”
“he spoke with a degree of candour unusual in political life”

Question 281

1.
INFORMAL
an important or powerful person, especially in the film or media industry.

synonyms: magnate, tycoon, VIP, notable, notability, personage, baron, captain, king, lord, grandee, mandarin, nabob; More
2.
a steam locomotive of 2-6-0 wheel arrangement.

Answer 281

mogul

“the Hollywood movie mogul, Sam Goldwyn”

Question 282

an extensive group of islands.

a sea or stretch of water having many islands.

Answer 282

archipelago (archipelego)

“the Indonesian archipelago”

Question 283

1.
an angry argument or disagreement.

synonyms: argument, row, fight, disagreement, difference of opinion, dissension, falling-out; More
verb
1.
have an angry argument or disagreement.

synonyms: argue, have a row/fight, row, fight, disagree, fail to agree, differ, be at odds, have a misunderstanding, be at variance, fall out

Answer 283

quarrel (like (s)quar+l

“he made the mistake of picking a quarrel with John”
“stop quarrelling with your sister”
“stop quarrelling with your sister”

Question 284

1.
very enthusiastic or passionate.

synonyms: passionate, avid, impassioned, fervent, fervid, zealous, wholehearted, eager, vehement, intense, fierce, fiery, flaming, emotional, hot-blooded; More
2.
ARCHAIC•LITERARY
burning; glowing.

Answer 284

ardent

“an ardent supporter of the conservative cause”
“the ardent flames”

Question 285

adjective
1.
(of land) too poor to produce much or any vegetation.

synonyms: unproductive, infertile, unfruitful, sterile, arid, desert, waste, desolate, uncultivatable; impoverished

2.
showing no results or achievements; unproductive.

noun
1.
NORTH AMERICAN
a barren tract or tracts of land.

Answer 285

barren

“the plains of Kyrenia were barren”
“barren land”
“he scored yesterday to end his barren spell”
“the Newfoundland barrens”

Question 286

formally declare one’s abandonment of (a claim, right, or possession).

synonyms: reject, refuse to abide by, refuse to recognize, repudiate

LAW
refuse or resign a right or position, especially one as an heir or trustee.

synonyms: give up, relinquish, abandon, resign, abdicate, surrender, sign away, waive, forgo; More
refuse to continue to recognize or abide by.

synonyms: reject, refuse to abide by, refuse to recognize, repudiate

Answer 286

renounce

“Isabella offered to renounce her son’s claim to the French Crown”
“Hungary renounced the 1977 agreement on environmental grounds”
“there will be forms enabling the allottee to renounce”
“these agreements were renounced after the fall of the Tsarist regime”
“Hungary renounced the 1977 agreement on environmental grounds”

Question 287

without a clearly defined shape or form.

synonyms: shapeless, formless, unformed, unshaped, structureless, unstructured, indeterminate, indefinite, vague, nebulous

lacking a clear structure or focus.

MINERALOGY•CHEMISTRY
(of a solid) not crystalline, or not apparently crystalline.

Answer 287

amorphous

“an amorphous, characterless conurbation”
“an amorphous grey mass which proved to be mashed potato”
“an amorphous and leaderless legislature”
“an amorphous polymer”

Question 288

pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune.

Answer 288

Schadenfreude (shaden…)

“a business that thrives on Schadenfreude”

Question 289

a member of a Himalayan people living on the borders of Nepal and Tibet, renowned for their skill in mountaineering.
INFORMAL
a civil servant or diplomat who undertakes preparatory work prior to a summit conference.

Answer 289

sherpa

Question 290

1.
having or characterized by many transient sexual relationships.

synonyms: licentious, sexually indiscriminate, immoral, unchaste, debauched, dissolute, dissipated, profligate, of easy virtue, fast; More
2.
demonstrating or implying an unselective approach; indiscriminate or casual.

synonyms: indiscriminate, undiscriminating, unselective, random, irresponsible, haphazard, thoughtless, unthinking, unconsidered, casual, careless

Answer 290

promiscuous

“promiscuous teenagers”
“the city fathers were promiscuous with their honours”

“the promiscuous popping of antibiotics hasn’t helped his T-cell count”

Question 291

the ability to make good judgements and take quick decisions.

synonyms: astuteness, awareness, shrewdness, acuity, sharpness, sharp-wittedness, cleverness, brightness, smartness;

Answer 291

acumen

“she hides a shrewd business acumen”

Question 292

1.

having or denoting an artificial, typically electromechanical, body part or parts.

Answer 292

bionic

“there’s no doubt that Aird’s bionic arm has transformed his life”

Question 293

MUSIC
adverb & adjective
1.
(especially as a direction) with all voices or instruments together.
noun
1.
a passage to be performed with all voices or instruments together.

Answer 293

tutti

Question 294

causing a mood of gloom or depression.

synonyms: dingy, dim, dark, gloomy, sombre, dreary, drab, dull, desolate, bleak, cheerless, comfortless, depressing, grim, funereal, inhospitable, uninviting, unwelcoming

(of a person or their mood) gloomy.

synonyms: gloomy, glum, mournful, melancholy, morose, doleful, woeful, woebegone, forlorn, abject, dejected, depressed, dispirited, downcast, crestfallen, despondent, disconsolate, miserable, sad, unhappy, sorrowful, sorrowing, desolate, wretched, lugubrious; More
INFORMAL
pitifully or disgracefully bad.

synonyms: bad, poor, dreadful, awful, terrible, pitiful, disgraceful, lamentable, deplorable

Answer 294

dismal

“the dismal weather made the late afternoon seem like evening”
“she led them into a dismal cavernous hall”
“his dismal mood was not dispelled by finding the house empty”

“he shuddered as he watched his team’s dismal performance”

Question 295

1.
(of a plant) become dry and shrivelled.

synonyms: wilt, become limp, droop, fade; More
2.
fall into decay or decline.

synonyms: diminish, dwindle, shrink, lessen, fade, ebb (away), wane, weaken, languish

Answer 295

wither

“the grass had withered to an unappealing brown”
“it is not true that old myths either die or wither away”

Question 296

1.
(of a bullet or other projectile) rebound off a surface.

noun
1.
a shot or hit that rebounds off a surface.

Answer 296

ricochet

“a bullet ricocheted off a nearby wall”
“she was hit by a ricochet in the leg”

Question 297

a preliminary or preparatory statement; an introduction.

LAW
the introductory part of a statute or deed, stating its purpose, aims, and justification.
synonyms: introduction, preliminary/preparatory/opening remarks, preliminary/preparatory/opening statement, preliminaries, preface, lead-in, overture, prologue

Answer 297

preamble

“he could tell that what she said was by way of a preamble”

Question 298

(of something regarded as unpleasant) continuing without pause or interruption.

synonyms: ceaseless, unceasing, constant, continual, unabating, interminable, endless, unending, never-ending, everlasting, eternal, perpetual, continuous, non-stop, uninterrupted, unbroken, ongoing, unremitting, persistent, relentless, unrelenting, unrelieved, sustained, unflagging, unwearying, untiring; recurrent
“incessant rain fell for several days”

Answer 298

incessant (like insect+ cent)

“the incessant beat of the music”

Question 299

1.
lose or cause to lose lustre, especially as a result of exposure to air or moisture.

synonyms: become discoloured, discolour, stain, rust, oxidize, corrode, deteriorate; More
noun
1.
dullness of colour; loss of brightness.

Answer 299

tarnish

“silver tarnishes too easily”

Question 300

an idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

synonyms: overtone, undertone, undercurrent, implication, hidden meaning, secondary meaning, nuance, flavour, feeling, aura, atmosphere, colouring, smack, hint, vein, echo, vibrations, association, intimation, suggestion, suspicion, insinuation; More
PHILOSOPHY
the abstract meaning or intension of a term, which forms a principle determining which objects or concepts it applies to.

Answer 300

connotation

“the word ‘discipline’ has unhappy connotations of punishment and repression”

Question 301

the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.
the action of indicating or referring to something by means of a word, symbol, etc.
PHILOSOPHY
the object or concept to which a term refers, or the set of objects of which a predicate is true.

Answer 301

denotation

Question 302

1.
emitting light as a result of being heated.

synonyms: white-hot, intensely hot, red-hot, burning, fiery, on fire, blazing, ablaze, aflame; More
2.
full of strong emotion; passionate.

Answer 302

incandescent (in-can-decent like repent)

“plumes of incandescent liquid rock”
“she felt an incandescent love for life”

Question 303

combine (two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, etc.) into one.

Answer 303

conflate

“the urban crisis conflates a number of different economic, political, and social issues”

Question 304

regard or consider in a specified way.

synonyms: regard as, consider, judge, adjudge, hold to be, look on as, view as, see as, take to be, take for, class as, estimate as, count, rate, find, esteem, calculate to be, gauge, suppose, reckon, account, interpret as

Answer 304

deem

“the event was deemed a great success”

Question 305

having or showing sharp powers of judgement; astute.

synonyms: astute, sharp-witted, sharp, acute, intelligent, clever, alert, canny, media-savvy, perceptive, perspicacious, observant, discriminating, sagacious, sage, wise, far-seeing, far-sighted; More
2.
ARCHAIC
(especially of weather) piercingly cold.

Answer 305

shrewd

“she was shrewd enough to guess the motive behind his gesture”

“a shrewd east wind”

Question 306

very old or old-fashioned.

synonyms: obsolete, obsolescent, out of date, anachronistic, old-fashioned, outmoded, behind the times, bygone, antiquated, antique, superannuated, antediluvian, past its prime, having seen better days, olde worlde, old-fangled; More
(of a word or a style of language) no longer in everyday use but sometimes used to impart an old-fashioned flavour.

of an early period of art or culture, especially the 7th–6th centuries BC in Greece.

Answer 306

archaic

“prisons are run on archaic methods”
“a term with a rather archaic ring to it”
“the archaic temple at Corinth”

Question 307

1.
a current score or amount.

synonyms: total, score, count, sum, result

2.
HISTORICAL
a piece of wood scored across with notches for the items of an account and then split into halves, each party keeping one.
verb
1.
agree or correspond.

synonyms: correspond, agree, accord, concur, coincide, match, fit, be in agreement, be consistent, conform, equate, harmonize, suit, be in tune, dovetail, correlate, parallel; More
2.
calculate the total number of.

synonyms: count, calculate, add up, total, enumerate, compute

Answer 307

tally

“that takes his tally to 10 goals in 10 games”
“his tally of 1,816 wickets is still a county record”

“their signatures should tally with their names on the register”

“the votes were being tallied with abacuses”

Question 308

(especially of a smell) spread through and be perceived in every part of.

synonyms: spread through, permeate, fill, suffuse, be diffused through, diffuse through, imbue, penetrate, pass through, filter through, percolate through, infuse, perfuse, extend throughout, be disseminated through, flow through, run through; More
be present and apparent throughout.
“the sense of crisis which pervaded Europe in the 1930s”

Answer 308

pervade

“a smell of stale cabbage pervaded the air”

Question 309

a line of descent traced continuously from an ancestor.

synonyms: pedigree, ancestry, descent, lineage, line, line of descent, family tree, extraction, derivation, origin, heritage, parentage, paternity, birth, family, dynasty, house, race, strain, stock, breed, blood, bloodline, history, background, roots; More
the study and tracing of lines of descent.
a plant’s or animal’s line of evolutionary development from earlier forms.

Answer 309

genealogy

“the genealogies of the kings of Mercia”

Question 310

created or done for a particular purpose as necessary.

synonyms: impromptu, extempore, extemporary, extemporaneous, expedient, emergency, improvised

Answer 310

ad hoc

“the discussions were on an ad hoc basis”

Question 311

… is a set of beliefs and practices that aims at improving the genetic quality of a human population. The exact definition of eugenics has been a matter of debate since the term was coined by Francis Galton in 1883.

Answer 311

Eugenics

Question 312

1.
intense happiness.

synonyms: happiness, joy, joyfulness, joyousness, rapture, bliss, euphoria, delight, cheer, cheerfulness, gaiety; More
2.
the ability to find appropriate expression for one’s thoughts.

synonyms: eloquence, aptness, appropriateness, appropriacy, suitability, suitableness, applicability, fitness, relevance, pertinence, correctness, rightness

Answer 312

felicity

“domestic felicity”
“he exposed the kernel of the matter with his customary elegance and felicity”
“David expressed his feelings with his customary felicity”

Question 313

relating to a mother, especially during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth.

synonyms: on one’s mother’s side, on the distaff side

(of feelings) typical of a caring mother; motherly.

synonyms: motherly, maternalistic; More
related through the mother’s side of the family.

Answer 313

maternal

“maternal care”
“his maternal grandparents”
“a mother who radiated maternal concern”
“my maternal grandfather”

Question 314

(of an appetite or desire) impossible to satisfy.

(of a person) having an insatiable appetite or desire for something, especially sex.

synonyms: unquenchable, unappeasable, uncontrollable, voracious, prodigious, gluttonous, greedy, hungry, ravenous, ravening, wolfish, avid, eager, keen

Answer 314

insatiable

“an insatiable hunger for success”
“‘You’re insatiable!’ she cried as she pushed him away”

Question 315

a lack of energy and enthusiasm.

synonyms: sluggishness, inertia, inactivity, inaction, slowness, torpor, torpidity, lifelessness, dullness, listlessness, languor, languidness, stagnation, laziness, idleness, indolence, shiftlessness, sloth, phlegm, apathy, passivity, ennui, weariness, tiredness, lassitude, fatigue, sleepiness, drowsiness, enervation, somnolence, narcosis; rarehebetude
antonyms: vigour, energy, animation

Answer 315

lethargy

“there was an air of lethargy about him”
“with an effort, Miles shook off the lethargy that had been creeping over him since his wife’s death”

Question 316

(of a person or their manner) serious and unrelenting, especially in the assertion of authority and exercise of discipline.

synonyms: serious, unsmiling, frowning, poker-faced, severe, forbidding, grim, unfriendly, sombre, grave, sober, austere, dour, stony, flinty, steely, unrelenting, unyielding, unforgiving, unbending, unsympathetic, disapproving; More
(of an act or statement) strict and severe.

synonyms: strict, severe, stringent, harsh, drastic, hard, tough, fierce, extreme, rigorous, rigid, exacting, demanding, uncompromising, unsparing, inflexible, authoritarian, draconian; More
(of competition or opposition) putting someone or something under extreme pressure.

Answer 316

stern

“a smile transformed his stern face”
“stern measures to restrict vehicle growth”
“the past year has been a stern test of the ability of British industry”

Question 317

treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humour; flippant.

synonyms: flippant, flip, glib, frivolous, tongue-in-cheek, waggish, whimsical, joking, jokey, jesting, jocular, playful, roguish, impish, teasing, arch, mischievous, puckish

Answer 317

facetious (fe-see-shes)

“a facetious remark”

Question 318

feel or express strong condemnation of (something).

synonyms: abhor, be shocked by, be offended by, be scandalized by, find unacceptable, be against, frown on;

Answer 318

deplore

“we deplore all violence”

Question 319

1.
extremely small.

synonyms: minute, tiny, minuscule, extremely small, very small; More
nounMATHEMATICS
1.
an indefinitely small quantity; a value approaching zero.

Answer 319

infinitesimal

“an infinitesimal pause”

Question 320

the state of abstaining from marriage and sexual relations.

synonyms: chastity, virginity, maidenhood, maidenhead, abstinence, self-denial, self-restraint, abnegation, asceticism

Answer 320

celibacy

“a priest who had taken a vow of celibacy”

Question 321

characterized by pretentious or showy display; designed to impress.

synonyms: showy, pretentious, conspicuous, obtrusive, flamboyant, gaudy, garish, tinsel, tinselly, brash, vulgar, loud, extravagant, fancy, ornate, affected, theatrical, actorly, overdone, over-elaborate, kitsch, tasteless

Answer 321

ostentatious

“a simple design that is glamorous without being ostentatious”

Question 322

…is plant life; …refers to animals.

Answer 322

Flora & fauna

Question 323

harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant.

synonyms: poisonous, toxic, deadly, virulent

Answer 323

noxious

“they were overcome by the noxious fumes”

Question 324

showing a critical or disrespectful attitude.

synonyms: disparaging, denigratory, belittling, diminishing, slighting, deprecatory, depreciatory, depreciative, detracting, deflating

Answer 324

derogatory (de -rug-otree)

“she tells me I’m fat and is always making derogatory remarks”

Question 325

a powerful whirlpool in the sea or a river.
synonyms: whirlpool, vortex, eddy, swirl; literaryCharybdis

a situation or state of confused movement or violent turmoil.
“the train station was a maelstrom of crowds”
synonyms: turbulence, tumult, turmoil, uproar, commotion, disorder, jumble, disarray, chaos, confusion, upheaval, seething mass, welter, pandemonium, bedlam, whirlwind, swirl

Answer 325

maelstrom (meale-strum)

“we headed south, with one eye on the maelstrom to starboard”
“they were caught up in the maelstrom of war”

Question 326

a deep fissure in the earth’s surface.

synonyms: gorge, abyss, canyon, ravine, gully, gulf, pass, defile, couloir, crevasse, cleft, rift, rent; More
a profound difference between people, viewpoints, feelings, etc.

synonyms: breach, gulf, rift

Answer 326

chasm

“a chasm a mile long”
“the chasm between rich and poor”

Question 327

prolong.

Answer 327

protract

“he had certainly taken his time, even protracting the process”
“ It is protracted suicide.”

Question 328

1.
devoutly religious.

synonyms: religious, devout, devoted, dedicated, reverent, God-fearing, churchgoing, spiritual, prayerful, holy, godly, saintly, faithful, dutiful, righteous

2.
(of a hope) sincere but unlikely to be fulfilled.
synonyms: sincere, forlorn, vain, desperate, despairing, doomed, hopeless, lost;

Answer 328

pious (pa-ious)

“a deeply pious woman”
“a pious family”

Question 329

lively and noisy festivities, especially when these involve drinking a large amount of alcohol.

synonyms: celebration(s), partying, parties, revels, festivity/festivities, jollification, merrymaking, carousing, carousal, roistering, debauchery

Answer 329

revelry (revel-ree)

“sounds of revelry issued into the night”

Question 330

attractively unusual or old-fashioned.

charming, sweet, attractive, pleasantly old-fashioned, old-fashioned, old-world, toytown

Answer 330

quaint

“quaint country cottages”

Question 331

verbLITERARY
1.
(especially of a man) bring (a child) into existence by the process of reproduction.

synonyms: father, sire, engender, generate, spawn, create, give life to, bring into being, bring into the world, have; More
2.
cause; bring about.

synonyms: cause, give rise to, lead to

Answer 331

beget

“they hoped that the King might beget an heir by his new queen”
“killings beget more killings”

Question 332

1.
excessive pride in oneself.

synonyms: vanity, narcissism, conceitedness, self-love, self-admiration, self-adulation, self-regard, egotism, egoism, egocentricity, egomania; More
2.
an ingenious or fanciful comparison or metaphor.

synonyms: image, imagery, figurative expression, metaphor, simile, trope

Answer 332

conceit (con-seat)

“he was puffed up with conceit”
“the idea of the wind’s singing is a prime romantic conceit”

Question 333

habitual greed or excess in eating.

synonyms: greed, greediness, overeating, overconsumption, binge eating, gourmandism, gourmandizing, gluttonousness, voraciousness, voracity, wolfishness, insatiability

Answer 333

gluttony (gla-tony)

“she said plumpness was a sign of gluttony in most cases”

Question 334

the state or practice of refraining from extramarital, or especially from all, sexual intercourse.

synonyms: celibacy, chasteness, virginity, abstinence, self-restraint, self-denial

Answer 334

chastity

“vows of chastity”

Question 335

the faculty or power of using one’s will.

Answer 335

volition

“without conscious volition she backed into her office”

Question 336

1.
not allowing fluid to pass through.

synonyms: impermeable, impenetrable, impregnable, waterproof, watertight, water-resistant, water-repellent; More
2.
unable to be affected by.

synonyms: unaffected by, untouched by, immune to, invulnerable to, insusceptible to, not susceptible to, proof against, unreceptive to, closed to, resistant to, indifferent to, heedless of, unresponsive to, oblivious to, unmoved by, deaf to

Answer 336

impervious

“an impervious layer of basaltic clay”
“he worked, apparently impervious to the heat”
“he seemed impervious to the chill wind”

Question 337

make a gesture with the hand, arm, or head to encourage or instruct someone to approach or follow.

synonyms: gesture, signal, wave, gesticulate, make a gesture, motion, nod, call

summon (someone) by beckoning to them.

appear attractive or inviting.
“the going is tough and soft options beckon”
synonyms: entice, invite, tempt, coax, lure

Answer 337

beckon

“Miranda beckoned to Adam”
“the guard beckoned to Benny”
“he beckoned Cameron over”

Question 338

1.
a person who attacks or criticizes cherished beliefs or institutions.
synonyms: critic, sceptic, questioner; More
2.
a destroyer of images used in religious worship, in particular:

Answer 338

iconoclast

Question 339

1.
deliberately cruel or violent.

synonyms: brutal, ferocious, savage, violent, dangerous, ruthless, remorseless, merciless, heartless, callous, cruel, harsh, cold-blooded, inhuman, fierce, barbarous, barbaric, brutish, bestial, bloodthirsty, bloody, fiendish, sadistic, monstrous, villainous, murderous, homicidal, heinous, atrocious, diabolical, terrible, dreadful, awful, grim; More
2.
LITERARY
immoral.

Answer 339

vicious

“a vicious assault”
“every soul on earth, virtuous or vicious, shall perish”

Question 340

the expulsion or attempted expulsion of a supposed evil spirit from a person or place.

synonyms: driving out, casting out, expulsion

Answer 340

exorcism

“the rite of exorcism”

Question 341

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

synonyms: thoughtful, thinking, reflective, contemplative, musing, meditative, introspective, prayerful, philosophical, cogitative, ruminative, absorbed, engrossed, rapt, preoccupied

Answer 341

pensive

“a pensive mood”

Question 342

the action of forcing someone to leave an organization.

synonyms: removal, debarment, dismissal, exclusion, discharge, ejection, rejection, blackballing, blacklisting; More
the action or process of forcing someone to leave a place.

the action of forcing something out of the body.

synonyms: discharge, ejection, excretion, voiding, voidance, evacuation, ejaculation, disgorgement, elimination, emptying out, passing, draining

Answer 342

expulsion

“his expulsion from the union”
“the expulsion of two diplomats from the embassy”
“oxytocin causes expulsion of milk from the lactating mammary gland”
“the expulsion of bodily wastes”

Question 343

1.
an official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country.

2.
HISTORICAL
an order of a state forbidding foreign ships to enter, or any ships to leave, its ports.

verb
1.
impose an official ban on (trade or a country or commodity).

2.
ARCHAIC
seize (a ship or goods) for state service.

Answer 343

embargo

“an embargo on grain sales”
“an embargo laid by our Emperor upon all vessels whatsoever”
“all of these countries have been embargoed by the US”
“they must embargo means of transport”

Question 344

1.
extremely bad; appalling.

synonyms: very bad, dreadful, awful, terrible, frightful, atrocious, disgraceful, deplorable, shameful, woeful, hopeless, lamentable, laughable, substandard, poor, inadequate, inferior, unsatisfactory; More
2.
LITERARY
very deep.

synonyms: profound, extreme, utter, complete, thorough, deep, endless, immeasurable, boundless, incalculable, unfathomable, bottomless

Answer 344

abysmal

“the quality of her work is abysmal”
“waterfalls that plunge into abysmal depths”
“abysmal ignorance”

Question 345

angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues; conflict.

synonyms: conflict, friction, discord, disagreement, dissension, variance, dispute, argument, quarrelling, wrangling, bickering, controversy, contention; More
AUSTRALIAN/NZ
trouble or difficulty of any kind.

Answer 345

strife

“strife within the community”

Question 346

destroy (something, especially waste material) by burning.

synonyms: burn, burn up, reduce to ashes, consume by fire, carbonize; cremate

Answer 346

incinerate

“waste packaging is to be incinerated rather than buried in landfills”
“household waste should be incinerated to generate electricity”

Question 347

1.
prove more powerful or superior.

synonyms: win, win out, win through, triumph, be victorious, be the victor, gain the victory, carry the day, carry all before one, finish first, come out ahead, come out on top, succeed, prove superior, conquer, overcome, gain/achieve mastery, gain ascendancy; More
2.
persuade (someone) to do something.

synonyms: persuade, induce, talk someone into, coax, convince

Answer 347

prevail

“it is hard for logic to prevail over emotion”
“she was prevailed upon to give an account of her work”

Question 348

verb
have an effect, especially a negative one.

synonyms: affect, have an effect on, have a bearing on, touch, influence, exert influence on, make an impression on, make an impact on, leave a mark on

advance over an area belonging to someone or something else; encroach.

synonyms: encroach on, intrude on, infringe, invade, trespass on, obtrude into, make inroads into, cut through, interfere with

Answer 348

impinge

“several factors impinge on market efficiency”
“these issues impinge on all of us”
“the proposed fencing would impinge on a public bridleway”

Question 349

1.
characterized by severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.

synonyms: austere, self-denying, abstinent, abstemious, non-indulgent, self-disciplined, frugal, simple, rigorous, strict, severe, hair-shirt, spartan, monastic, monkish, nunlike; More
noun
1.
a person who follows an ascetic life.
synonyms: abstainer, recluse, hermit, solitary, anchorite, anchoress, desert saint, celibate, puritan, nun, monk

Answer 349

ascetic

“an ascetic life of prayer, fasting, and manual labour”

Question 350

government or the holding of power by people selected according to merit.

a society governed by people selected according to merit.
plural noun: meritocracies

a ruling or influential class of educated or able people.

Answer 350

meritocracy

“progress towards meritocracy was slow”
“Britain is a meritocracy, and everyone with skill and imagination may aspire to reach the highest level”
“the relentless advance of the meritocracy”

Question 351

a short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant.

synonyms: rest, break, breathing space, interval, intermission, interlude, recess, lull, pause, time out, hiatus, halt, stop, stoppage, cessation

Answer 351

respite

“the refugee encampments will provide some respite from the suffering”

Question 352

extend beyond or above a surface.

synonyms: stick out, jut, jut out, poke out, project, stand out, come through, peek, poke, stick up, hang out, loom (out), extend, obtrude; More
(of an animal) cause (a body part) to protrude.

Answer 352

protrude

“something like a fin protruded from the water”
“when attacking, it protrudes its long snout”

Question 353

1.
kind and friendly towards a younger or less experienced person.

2.
ANTHROPOLOGY
relating to the relationship between men and the children of their siblings.

Answer 353

avuncular (avan like persian aban)

“he was avuncular, reassuring, and trustworthy”

Question 354

come together to form one mass or whole.

synonyms: unite, join together, combine, merge, fuse, mingle, meld, blend, intermingle, knit (together), amalgamate, consolidate, integrate, affiliate, link up, homogenize, synthesize, converge; More
combine (elements) in a mass or whole.

Answer 354

coalesce

“the puddles had coalesced into shallow streams”
“his idea served to coalesce all that happened into one connected whole”

Question 355

the three persons of the Christian Godhead; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
a group of three people or things.
noun: trinity; plural noun: trinities

the state of being three.
noun: trinity

Answer 355

trinity

“the wine was the first of a trinity of three excellent vintages”
“God is said to be trinity in unity”

Question 356

regard or represent as being of little worth.

synonyms: belittle, denigrate, deprecate, depreciate, downgrade, play down, deflate, trivialize, minimize, make light of, treat lightly, undervalue, underrate, underestimate

Answer 356

disparage

“he never missed an opportunity to disparage his competitors”

Question 357

having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one’s advantage.

synonyms: shrewd, sharp, sharp-witted, razor-sharp, acute, quick, quick-witted, ingenious, clever, intelligent, bright, brilliant, smart, canny, media-savvy, intuitive, discerning, perceptive, perspicacious, penetrating, insightful, incisive, piercing

Answer 357

astute

“an astute businessman”

Question 358

ready to accept control or instruction; submissive.

synonyms: compliant, obedient, pliant, dutiful, willing, passive, submissive, deferential, tame, meek, mild, lamblike, unassertive, unresisting, yielding, cooperative, amenable, accommodating, biddable, persuadable, ductile, manageable, controllable, tractable, malleable

Answer 358

docile

“a cheap and docile workforce”

Question 359

reward centre in the brain linked with addiction. It also lights up with sugar and other fast carbs.

Answer 359

nucleus accumbens

Question 360

dislike intensely.

synonyms: abhor, hate, loathe, despise, abominate, execrate, regard with disgust, feel disgust for, feel repugnance towards, feel distaste for, shrink from, recoil from, shudder at, be unable to bear, be unable to abide, feel hostility to, feel aversion to, feel animosity to, find intolerable, dislike, disdain, have an aversion to;

Answer 360

detest

“she really did detest his mockery”
“I do detest social climbers”

Question 361

be full to the point of overflowing.

synonyms: be full, be filled up, be filled to the top, be full to capacity, be packed with, overflow, run/well over

fill something so completely that it almost overflows.
“large tears brimmed in her eyes”
synonyms: fill, fill up, fill to capacity, overflow

be full of a particular quality, feeling, etc.

Answer 361

brim

“a brimming cup”
“the pan was brimming with water”
“the tears brimmed in her eyes”
“he is brimming with ideas”

Question 362

1.
assemble (troops), especially for inspection or in preparation for battle.

synonyms: assemble, bring together, call together, marshal, mobilize, rally, round up, raise, summon, gather, gather together, mass, collect, convene, call up, call to arms, recruit, conscript, draft; More
2.
collect or assemble (a number or amount).

noun
1.
a formal gathering of troops, especially for inspection, display, or exercise.

synonyms: roll call, assembly, rally, meeting, round-up, convocation, mobilization, gathering, assemblage, congregation, convention

Answer 362

muster

“17,000 men had been mustered on Haldon Hill”
“he could fail to muster a majority”

“he attended the musters, which were called to train all able-bodied men”

Question 363

adjective
1.
(of a medicine or medical care) relieving pain without dealing with the cause of the condition.

synonyms: soothing, alleviating, sedative, calmative, calming; More
noun
1.
a palliative medicine, measure, etc.

synonyms: painkiller, analgesic, pain reliever, sedative, tranquillizer, anodyne, calmative, opiate

Answer 363

palliative

“orthodox medicines tend to be palliative rather than curative”
“antibiotics and other palliatives”

Question 364

verb
1.
laugh quietly or inwardly.

synonyms: chortle, giggle, titter, laugh quietly, tee-hee, snicker, snigger; crow

noun
1.
a quiet or suppressed laugh.

Answer 364

chuckle

“I chuckled at the astonishment on her face”
“Adam chuckled to himself as he drove away”

“Melissa gave a chuckle”

Question 365

having or using the style or diction of prose as opposed to poetry; lacking imaginativeness or originality.

synonyms: unimaginative, uninspired, matter-of-fact, dull, dry, humdrum, mundane, pedestrian, heavy, plodding, lifeless, dead, spiritless, lacklustre, undistinguished, stale, jejune, bland, insipid, vapid, vacuous, banal, hackneyed, trite, literal, factual, unpoetic, unemotional, unsentimental, clear, plain, unadorned, unembellished, unvarnished, monotonous, deadpan, flat

commonplace; unromantic.

synonyms: ordinary, everyday, usual, common, conventional, straightforward, routine, humdrum, commonplace, run-of-the-mill, workaday, businesslike, pedestrian, tame, mundane, dull, dreary, tedious, boring, ho-hum, uninspiring, monotonous

Answer 365

prosaic

“prosaic language can’t convey the experience”
“flowers are given variously poetic or prosaic names”

“the masses were too preoccupied by prosaic day-to-day concerns”
“Bloomwater’s present owner was a more prosaic figure”

Question 366

1.
beat or sound with a strong, regular rhythm; pulsate steadily.

synonyms: pulsate, beat, pulse, palpitate, pound, thud, thump, hammer, drum, thrum, reverberate, vibrate, pitter-patter, go pit-a-pat, quiver; rarequop
“her arms and legs throbbed with tiredness”
noun
1.
a strong, regular beat or sound; a steady pulsation.

synonyms: pulsation, beat, beating, pulse, pulsating, palpitation, pounding, thud, thudding, thump, thumping, hammering, drumming, thrum, thrumming, reverberation, vibration, pit-a-pat, pitter-patter, quivering

Answer 366

throb

“the war drums throbbed”
“the throb of the ship’s engines”

“the throb of the ship’s engines”

Question 367

adjective
1.
denoting or concerning a sect or sects.

noun
1.
a member of a sect.

synonyms: separatist, dissenter, dissident, nonconformist, free thinker, renegade, recusant, schismatic, revisionist;

Answer 367

sectarian

“the city’s traditional sectarian divide”
“a Jewish sectarian who preached the redemption of the Gentiles”

Question 368

involved with others in an activity that is unlawful or morally wrong.

Answer 368

complicit

“the careers of those complicit in the cover-up were blighted”

Question 369

the state or feeling of being calm and in control of oneself.

synonyms: self-control, self-possession, self-command, calmness, equanimity, equilibrium, calm, coolness, collectedness, serenity, tranquillity

Answer 369

composure

“she was struggling to regain her composure”

Question 370

a person who advocates a theory, proposal, or course of action.

synonyms: advocate, supporter, upholder, exponent, promoter, adherent, endorser, champion, defender, backer, subscriber, patron, espouser, friend, apostle, apologist, pleader

Answer 370

proponent

“a strong proponent of the free market and liberal trade policies”

Question 371

adverb & adjective
(of a door or other opening) slightly open.

synonyms: slightly open, half open

Answer 371

ajar

“the home help had left the window ajar”

Question 372

criticize unfairly; disparage.

synonyms: disparage, belittle, diminish, deprecate, cast aspersions on, decry, criticize unfairly, attack, speak ill of

Answer 372

denigrate

“doom and gloom merchants who denigrate their own country”

Question 373

reprimand (someone) severely.

synonyms: reprimand, rebuke, admonish, chastise, chide, upbraid, reprove, reproach, scold, remonstrate with, berate, take to task, pull up, lambaste

Answer 373

castigate

“he was castigated for not setting a good example”

Question 374

undermine the power and authority of (an established system or institution).

synonyms: destabilize, unsettle, overthrow, overturn

Answer 374

subvert

“an attempt to subvert democratic government”

Question 375

1.
a group of states with a central government but independence in internal affairs.

2.
the action of forming states or organizations into a single group with centralized control.

Answer 375

federation

“the Russian Federation”
“a first step in the federation of Europe”

Question 376

done or shown openly; plainly apparent.

synonyms: undisguised, unconcealed, plain to see, plainly seen, plain, clear, apparent, conspicuous, unmistakable, obvious, noticeable, observable, visible

Answer 376

overt

“an overt act of aggression”

Question 377

suggest or call attention to indirectly; hint at.

synonyms: refer to, suggest, hint at, imply, mention, touch on, mention in passing, mention en passant, speak briefly of, make an allusion to, cite; rareadvert to

mention without discussing at length.

(of an artist or a work of art) recall (an earlier work or style) in such a way as to suggest a relationship with it.

Answer 377

allude

“she had a way of alluding to Jean but never saying her name”
“the Vice Chancellor alluded to the same idea”
“we will allude briefly to the main points”
“the photographs allude to Italian Baroque painting”

Question 378

1.
escape from or avoid (a danger, enemy, or pursuer), typically in a skilful or cunning way.

synonyms: evade, avoid, get away from, dodge, flee, escape (from), run (away) from; More
2.
(of an achievement or something desired) fail to be attained by (someone).

Answer 378

elude

“he tried to elude the security men by sneaking through a back door”
“sleep still eluded her”

Question 379

1.
raise (one’s shoulders) slightly and momentarily to express doubt, ignorance, or indifference.

noun
1.
an act or instance of shrugging one’s shoulders.

2.
a woman’s close-fitting cardigan or jacket, cut short at the front and back so that only the arms and shoulders are covered.

Answer 379

shrug

“Jimmy looked enquiringly at Pete, who shrugged his shoulders”
“she lifted her shoulders in a dismissive shrug”

Question 380

1.
(of a physical illness or other condition) caused or aggravated by a mental factor such as internal conflict or stress.

synonyms: (all) in the mind, psychological, irrational, stress-related, stress-induced, subjective, subconscious, unconscious

2.
relating to the interaction of mind and body.

Answer 380

psychosomatic

“her doctor was convinced that most of Edith’s problems were psychosomatic”
“a diagnosis of psychosomatic illness should not be made lightly”
“hypnosis involves powerful but little-understood psychosomatic interactions”

Question 381

discourage (someone) from doing something by instilling doubt or fear of the consequences.

synonyms: put off, discourage, dissuade, scare off; More
prevent the occurrence of.

synonyms: prevent, stop, put a stop to, avert, nip in the bud, fend off, turn aside, stave off, ward off, head off, shut out, block, intercept, halt, arrest, check, stay, keep, hinder, impede, hamper, obstruc

Answer 381

deter

“only a health problem would deter him from seeking re-election”

“strategists think not only about how to deter war, but about how war might occur”

Question 382

corresponding or similar in form and relations.

having the same crystalline form.

Answer 382

isomorphic

Question 383

he action of prophesying future events.

a prophecy.
plural noun: prognostications
synonyms: prediction, forecast, prophecy, divination, prognosis

Answer 383

prognostication

“an unprecedented amount of soul-searching and prognostication”
“these gloomy prognostications proved to be unfounded”

Question 384

engage in a close fight or struggle without weapons; wrestle.
synonyms: wrestle, struggle, tussle

Answer 384

grapple

“passers-by grappled with the man after the knife attack”

Question 385

a mass departure of people.
synonyms: mass departure, withdrawal, evacuation, leaving, exit; More
the departure of the Israelites from Egypt.
noun: Exodus; plural noun: the Exodus

Answer 385

exodus

“the annual exodus of sun-seeking Canadians to Florida”
“the Passover festival celebrates the Exodus”

Question 386

not spoiled or made impure.

synonyms: spotless, untarnished, unblemished, untainted, impeccable, undamaged, unspoilt, unimpaired, undefiled, stainless, intact, perfect, pristine, immaculate, virgin, unharmed, unbroken, unflawed, unmutilated, untouched, unmarked, unaffected

Answer 386

unsullied

“an unsullied reputation”
“he came with an unsullied reputation”