Word List 5

Question 1

anecdote

Answer 1

a brief amusing story; She told anecdotes to her grandchildren.

Question 2

celerity

Answer 2

speed; The runner’s celerity was amazing.

Question 3

dexterous

Answer 3

skillful with hands; The woodcarver was extremely dexterous.

Question 4

maladroit

Answer 4

unskillful; He plays sports in a very maladroit way.

Question 5

pallid

Answer 5

pale; Your face is pallid.

Question 6

unequivocal

Answer 6

clear; There is unequivocal proof of the crime.

Question 7

censorious

Answer 7

critical; The censorious professor yelled at his student.

Question 8

palpable

Answer 8

easily felt; easily perceived; There was palpable resentment.

Question 9

unfetter

Answer 9

set free; The unfettered animals raced into the wild.

Question 10

censure

Answer 10

blame; She is the victim and should not be censured.

Question 11

didactic

Answer 11

instructive; This chapter is on didactic poetry.

Question 12

extrinsic

Answer 12

irrelevant; on the outside; Those facts are extrinsic to this case.

Question 13

inconsequential

Answer 13

insignificant; He was punished for something inconsequential.

Question 14

malediction

Answer 14

a curse; The witch whispered a malediction.

Question 15

panacea

Answer 15

remedy for all ills; That medicine is not a panacea.

Question 16

prevaricate

Answer 16

speak misleadingly and evasively; The conman spoke in a prevaricate manner.

Question 17

scuttle

Answer 17

to sink; The boat scuttled to the bottom of the ocean.

Question 18

unfrock

Answer 18

to remove a priest from his position; The priest was unfrocked due to the scandal.

Question 19

annex

Answer 19

take possession of; The army annexed the camp.

Question 20

cerebral

Answer 20

intellectual; The topic is cerebral, and does not appeal to emotions.

Question 21

diffident

Answer 21

lacking confidence; You cannot be diffident in an interview.

Question 22

malefactor

Answer 22

a wrong-doer; The malefactor ran from the cops.

Question 23

unprecedented

Answer 23

never having happened before; The event was unprecedented.

Question 24

certitude

Answer 24

certainty; He spoke with certitude, reassuring me.

Question 25

indelible

Answer 25

cannot be wiped out; The ink is indelible.

Question 26

malinger

Answer 26

deliberately avoid work; She malingered and went on a trip.

Question 27

paradox

Answer 27

apparently contradictory statement; It is a paradox that can’t be explained.

Question 28

charlatan

Answer 28

trickster who claims knowledge he doesn’t have; He is a showman with a touch of charlatan.

Question 29

dike

Answer 29

dam; They built a temporary dike of sandbags.

Question 30

fanatical

Answer 30

obsessive; The rock star has many fanatical followers.

Question 31

indifferent

Answer 31

neutral; not outstanding; The performance was indifferent.

Question 32

paragon

Answer 32

a perfect example; He is the paragon of efficiency.

Question 33

unwitting

Answer 33

not deliberate; His unwitting remark still hurt her.

Question 34

chary

Answer 34

wary of; reluctant to give; He is very chary of his praise.

Question 35

dilatory

Answer 35

slow; falling behind with one’s work; His injury has had dilatory effects.

Question 36

fanaticism

Answer 36

passion; excessive devotion; Her fanaticism with him is worrisome.

Question 37

prodigal

Answer 37

wasteful; He is a prodigal spender.

Question 38

sequester

Answer 38

isolate; The virus must be sequestered.

Question 39

upbraid

Answer 39

scold; The soldier was upbraided for his cowardice.

Question 40

antediluvian

Answer 40

very old-fashioned; His views are too antediluvian.

Question 41

fastidious

Answer 41

overly particular; The child is a fastidious eater and won’t eat most things.

Question 42

indolence

Answer 42

laziness; Your indolence is unacceptable in the workplace.

Question 43

prodigious

Answer 43

very large; I received a prodigious research grant.

Question 44

serendipity

Answer 44

fortunate coincidence; Meeting my husband was pure serendipity.

Question 45

uproarious

Answer 45

hilarious; He let out an uproarious laugh.

Question 46

anthology

Answer 46

a book with a collection of poems or stories; The anthology has many great stories.

Question 47

chicanery

Answer 47

trickery; He resorted to chicanery to get the job.

Question 48

dilettante

Answer 48

person who dabbles in a subject without serious study; She is a dilettante in the arts.

Question 49

fatuous

Answer 49

silly; It is fatuous to book a flight without having solid plans.

Question 50

inductee

Answer 50

novice; He is an inductee in music.

Question 51

profane

Answer 51

unholy; Drop your profane manner.

Question 52

upshot

Answer 52

outcome; The upshot of the disagreement was an end of the relationship.

Question 53

anthropocentrism

Answer 53

putting man at the center of one’s philosophy; Your anthropocentrism is just arrogance.

Question 54

chimerical

Answer 54

changeable; Your plan is chimerical and not thought out.

Question 55

pariah

Answer 55

outcast from society; She has become a pariah due to her scandals.

Question 56

serrated

Answer 56

jagged; The blade of the bread knife was serrated.

Question 57

urbane

Answer 57

sophisticated; The billionaire spoke in an urbane manner.