Words I Don't Know 3

Question 1

Intractable

Answer 1

Adjective, hard to control or deal with

Ex: Not at all mellow like my old cat, Fifi was intractable and impossible to predict.

Question 2

Adroit

Answer 2

Adjective, clever or skillful with hands or mind

Ex: He was a double danger con artist, as adroit with his plots as he was with his sleight of hand.

Question 3

Vociferous

Answer 3

Adjective, vehement or clamorous

Ex: I was proud to voice my vociferous support for the pro-LGBT, environmentally minded candidate.

Question 4

Plaudit

Answer 4

Noun, an expression of praise or approval

Ex: Roaring with excitement, the crowd’s exuberant response was plaudit enough to confirm his speech was a success.

Question 5

Avuncular

Answer 5

Adjective

1) relating to an uncle
2) relating to the relationship between men and their siblings’ children

Ex: Though I was only his lab-senior by a few months, i felt a mentorish, even avuncular relationship with the new grad student.

Question 6

Jocular

Answer 6

Adjective

Fond of or characterized by joking, humorous or playful

Ex: His jocular attitude was vital for alleviating our tension while we waited for dad to come out of surgery.

Question 7

Lugubrious

Loo-goo-bree-us

Answer 7

Adjective

Looking or sounding sad and dismal

Ex: I was, as always, disappointed by the lugubrious state of Kat’s houseplants.

Question 8

Propitiate

Pruh-pish-ee-ate

Answer 8

Verb

To win or regain the favor of a (god, spirit, authority) by doing something that pleases them.

Ex: My planting of lots of native grasses and butterfly flowers should propitiate the local nature spirits.

Question 9

Unctuous

Unk-shoo-us

Answer 9

Adjective

1) (of a person) excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily
2) (of a mineral) having a greasy or soapy feel

Ex: His unctuous brown-nosing was nearly as greasy as his hair.

Question 10

Anathema

Uh-nag-theh-muh

Answer 10

Noun

1) Someone or something vehemently disliked

Ex: Fennel used to be anathema to me, but now I put it in every meal!

2) a formal curse by the pope or church council, excommunicating a person or denouncing a doctrine

Ex: The USA’s new bill extending abortion access for all women swiftly received an anathema from the Pope.

Question 11

Accoutrements

Answer 11

Noun, additional items of dress or equipment, or other items carried or work by a person for a particular activity

Ex: He brought along the usual accoutrements to the casual hike, like a water bottle and hat, but also some less-typical equipment like goggles and road flares.

Question 12

Contiguity (con-tih-goo-itty)

Answer 12

Noun, the state of bordering or being in direct contact with something.

Ex: Oregon and Washington are contiguous states.

Question 13

Allusive

Answer 13

Adjective, of a remark or reference, working by suggestion rather than explicit mention, ie alluding to something.

Ex: I like to pepper my writing with allusive references to better writers.

Question 14

Metonymy (met-ah-nih-me)

Answer 14

Noun, the substitution of the name or an adjunct for that of the thing meant. So using something small as the stand-in for the whole thing.

Ex: Saying “there are 3 sails coming in to the dock” as a shorthand for 3 ships is an example of metonymy.

Question 15

Incommensurable

Answer 15

Adjective, not able to be judged/measured by the same standards as something else, or having no common standard of comparison

Ex: My lab partner and I weren’t just apples and oranges, we’re completely incommensurable.

Question 16

Heuristic

Answer 16

Adjective, enabling someone to discover or learn something for themselves.

Ex: I’m a big believer in heuristic learning and take a very hands-off approach to teaching my students.

Question 17

Pecuniary (pih-q-nee-airy)

Answer 17

Adjective, relating to or consisting of money.

Ex: The difference in pecuniary knowledge between my boyfriend and I led to some difficult conversations about personal finances.

Question 18

Sclerotic

Answer 18

Adjective, becoming rigid and unresponsive; losing the ability to adapt

Ex: Once an adaptive and flexible leader, he became increasingly sclerotic the longer he was in charge.

Question 19

Sanguineous

Answer 19

Adjective, blood red or anything related to bloodshed, bloodthirsty, or blood.

Ex: My sanguineous werewolf costume raised some eyebrows at my daughter’s kindergarten Halloween party.

Question 20

Gnomic

Answer 20

Adjective

1) expressed in or of the nature of short, pithy aphorisms or maxims

Ex 1: My mentor refused to provide long form advice and always provided guidance as gnomic responses.

2) enigmatic or ambiguous

Ex 2: His gnomic response to my inquiry left me with more questions than before.

Question 21

Contemporary

Answer 21

Adjective

1) Living or occurring at the same time

Ex 1: The Edison biography written by a contemporary historian who actually knew the inventor shed illuminated just how scummy Edison‘a business practices really were.

2) belonging or occurring in the present

Ex 2) Contemporary art requires a different mindset to appreciate relative to the classics.

Question 22

Voluble

Answer 22

Adjective, (of a person) talking fluently, readily, or incessantly. (Of speech) characterized by fluency and readiness of utterance.

Ex: Between the two debaters, it was readily apparent Kantbot was much better-read and his volubility quickly tipped the debate in his favor.