WW12 Lesson 10 (Fifi)

Question 1

acumen

Answer 1

(n)

Keenness of the mind; shrewdness.

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s legal _acumen_ led to her appointment to a position on the Supreme Court.

Question 2

apotheosis

Answer 2

(n)

1. The elevation of a person or thing to divine status.
   * Nero’s vanity was so great that nothing less than his _apotheosis_ by the Roman Senate could satisfy it.
2. The highest point or best example.
   * Many people’s view Beethoven’s music as the _apotheosis_ of the Romantic movement.

Question 3

askew

Answer 3

(adj)

(adv)

Turned or twisted to one side; out of line.

• The gate to the cow pasture had been knocked slightly _askew_ and didn’t close properly.

Question 4

chasten

Answer 4

(v)

To correct or improve by disciplining; to cause to be more careful or restrained.

• The boy’s parents chastened him for arriving home after his curfew.

(adj)

chastening

Having the effect of humbling or restraining.

Question 5

demarcation

Answer 5

(n)

1. The act or process of setting a boundary; the boundary itself.
   * According to the 1953 armistice, the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) is the _demarcation_ between North Korea and South Korea.
2. Separation; distinction.
   * In the summer haze, there was no clear line of _demarcation_ between sea and sky.

Question 6

dictum

Answer 6

(n)

A statement or pronouncement.

• The gym instructor’s _dictum_ was “No pain, no gain.”

Question 7

erstwhile

Answer 7

(adj)

Of an earlier time; former.

• My _erstwhile_ companions have all gone their separate ways.

Question 8

forte

Answer 8

(n)

An activity at which a person excels.

• Tennessee Williams was a poet and short story writer, but his _forte_ was playwriting.

Question 9

habitue

Answer 9

(n)

A person who regularly goes to a particular place.

• Edward Hopper painted the _habitues_ of all-night diners.

Question 10

nonplus

Answer 10

(v)

To cause to be at loss as to what to say or do.

• The guest’s continuing _reticence_ nonplussed the host of the TV talk show.

Question 11

peripatetic

Answer 11

(adj)

Of or relating to going from place to place, especially on foot.

• These _peripatetic_ discussions among the lawyers took place between their offices and the courthouse.

Question 12

prodigal

Answer 12

(n)

One who spends lavishly or wastefully.

• During the Gilded Age of the second half of the nineteenth century, millionaires in the United States were often referred to as _prodigals_.

Question 13

sycophant

Answer 13

(n)

One who uses flattery to win favor or to ingratiate him - or herself.

• The Emperor’s _sycophants_ would not dream of telling him the truth about his “new clothes.”

(adj)

sycophantic

Question 14

vacuous

Answer 14

(adj)

Lacking intelligence or ideas; intellectual emptiness.

• I couldn’t wait to leave the dinner because of the _vacuous_ conversation at the table.

Question 15

wraith

Answer 15

(n)

A shadowy or ghostlike figure.

• In the film, a _wraith_ appeared out of the mist, pointed an accusing finger, and then was gone.

(adj)

wraithlike