Word List 7

Question 1

Burlesque (v)

Answer 1

give an imitation that ridicules
In Galaxy Quest, Alan Rickman burlesques Mr. Spock of Star trek, outrageously parodying Spock’s unemotional manner and stiff bearing

Question 2

Burnish (v)

Answer 2

make shiny by rubbing; polish

Question 3

Buttress (v)

Answer 3

support; prop up

Question 4

Buxom (adj)

Answer 4

full-bosomed; plump; jolly

High-fashion models usually are slender rather than buxom

Question 5

Cabal (n)

Answer 5

small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interest
Some conspiracy theorists contend that a shadowy cabal of powerful tycoons secretly rules the world

Question 6

Cacophonous (adj)

Answer 6

discordant; inharmonious

Do the students in the orchestra enjoy the cacophonous sounds they make?

Question 7

Cage (v)

Answer 7

beg; mooch; panhandle

While his car was in the shop - Bob had to cadge a ride to work each day

Question 8

Cajole (v)

Answer 8

coax; wheedle

Cher tried to cajole her father into letting her drive the family car (cajolery n)

Question 9

Callow (adj)

Answer 9

youthful; immature; inexperienced

Question 10

Calumny (n)

Answer 10

malicious misrepresentation; slander

He could endure his financial failure, but he could not bear the calumny that his foes heaped upon him

Question 11

Camaraderie (n)

Answer 11

good-fellowship

Question 12

Candor (n)

Answer 12

frankness; open honesty

Jack can carry cantor too far when he told Jill his honest opinion of her, she nearly slapped his face

Question 13

Canny (adj)

Answer 13

shrewd; thrifty

The canny Scotsman was more than a match for the swindlers

Question 14

Cant (n)

Answer 14

insincere expressions of piety; jargon of thieves
Shocked by news of the minister’s extramarital love affairs, the worshippers dismissed his talk about the sacredness of marriage as mere cant. Cant is a form of hypocrisy

Question 15

Cantankerous (adj)

Answer 15

ill-humoured; irritable
Constantly complaining about his treatment and refusing to cooperate with the hospitals staff, he was a cantankerous patient

Question 16

Canvass (v)

Answer 16

determine or seek opinions, votes
After canvassing the sentiment of his constituents, the congressman was confident that he represented the majority opinion of his district

Question 17

Capacious (adj)

Answer 17

spacious

Question 18

Capitulate (v)

Answer 18

surrender

Once the allied forces converged on Berlin, the was near, the Berlin garrison commander capitulated on the second of May

Question 19

Capricious (adj)

Answer 19

unpredictable; fickle

The storm was capricious. Jill was capricious too, she changed boyfriends almost as often as she changed clothes

Question 20

Captious (adj)

Answer 20

faultfinding

His criticism were always captious and frivolous, never offering constructive suggestions

Question 21

Carnal (adj)

Answer 21

fleshly

Is the public more interested in carnal pleasures than in spiritual matters?

Question 22

Carping (n)

Answer 22

petty criticism; fault-finding

Welcoming constructive criticism, Lexy appreciated her editor’s comments, finding them free of carping

Question 23

Castigation (n)

Answer 23

punishment; severe criticism

Question 24

Catechism (n)

Answer 24

book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer
He taught by engaging his pupils in a catechism until they gave him the correct answer

Question 25

Catharsis (n)

Answer 25

purging or cleansing of any passage of the body

Aristotle maintained that tragedy created a catharsis by purging the soul of base concepts

Question 26

Cathartic (n)

Answer 26

purgative

Some drugs act as laxatives when taken in small doses but act as cathartics when taken in much larger doses

Question 27

Caucus (n)

Answer 27

private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy
At the opening of Congress the members of Democratic Party held a caucus to elect the majority leader of the House

Question 28

Caustic (adj)

Answer 28

burning; sarcastically biting

The critic’s caustic remarks angered the hapless actors who were the subjects of his sarcasm

Question 29

Cauterize (v)

Answer 29

burn with hot iron or caustic

The doctor cauterised the wound

Question 30

Cavalcade

Answer 30

procession; parade

As described by Chaucer, the cavalcade of Canterbury pilgrims was a motley group

Question 31

Cavil (v)

Answer 31

make frivolous objections

I respect your sensible criticisms, but i dislike the way you cavil about unimportant details

Question 32

Cede (v)

Answer 32

yield (title, territory) to; surrender formally

Eventually the descendants of England’s Henry II were forced to cede their French territories

Question 33

Celerity (n)

Answer 33

speed; rapidity

Hamlet resented his mother’s celerity in remarrying within a month after his father’s death

Question 34

Celibate (adj)

Answer 34

abstaining from sexual intercourse; unmarried