WW12 Lesson 17 (Fifi)

Question 1

abnegate

Answer 1

(v)

1. To give up as a right or claim.
   * In 1947, Britain was obliged to _abnegate_ its mandate to govern Palestine.
2. To deny or renounce.
   * When she _abnegated_ her former position on the issue, some described her as a traitor to her party.

Question 2

ancillary

Answer 2

(adj)

Subordinate; less important.

• Degas was primarily a painter, and sculpture was never more than an _ancillary_ activity for him.

Question 3

badinage

Answer 3

(n)

Light, playful conversation; banter.

• When the _badinage_ between the two news anchors grew tiresome, I changed the channel.

Question 4

bedizen

Answer 4

(v)

To dress or decorate in a showy or gaudy fashion.

• The little girls, _bedizened_ with beads and feathered hats, tottered about the room in their mother’s high heels.

Question 5

celerity

Answer 5

(n)

Speed or promptness in acting or responding.

• When the doorbell rang, he leaped off the sofa with unaccustomed _celerity_.

Question 6

cynosure

Answer 6

(n)

The center of attention.

• At the golf tournament, Tiger Woods was the _cynosure_ of reporters and fans alike.

Question 7

itinerary

Answer 7

(n)

1. The course or the planned route of a journey.
   * My _itinerary_ was to travel by bus from Boston to New York to Washington D.C.
2. A travel diary.
   * Rereading my _itinerary_, I was filled with nostalgia for the great open spaces of the Midwest.
3. A traveler’s guide.
   * Our Mexican _itinerary_ suggested Guanajuata as a place seldom visited by tourists.

Question 8

lissome

Answer 8

(adj)

Moving or bending easily; supple.

• My goal is to exercise enough to become as _lissome_ as my aerobics instructor.

Question 9

milieu

Answer 9

(n)

A particular social or cultural environment in which events occur.

• The author shows a remarkable familiarity with the _milieu_ of Louis XIV’s court.

Question 10

obstreperous

Answer 10

(adj)

Aggressively noisy or rude.

• When the guest on the television talk show became _obstreperous_, she was quickly whisked off.

Question 11

paragon

Answer 11

(n)

A model of perfection.

• Mother Teresa, who worked among the indigents of Calcutta, was a _paragon_ of saintliness.

Question 12

perquisite

Answer 12

(n)

An extra benefit in addition to one’s regular earnings.

• Free travel is a _perquisite_ of being a travel agent.

Question 13

staid

Answer 13

(adj)

Lacking flamboyance; sedate; restrained.

• The _staid_ tunes of the 1940s suddenly seemed antediluvian when rock music burst onto the scene.

Question 14

symbiotic

Answer 14

(adj)

Mutually cooperative and beneficial.

• Given the _symbiotic_ relationship between fashion reporters and designers, one does not expect to find trenchant criticism of the industry in fashion magazines.

(n)

symbiosis

Two unlike organisms living together in a close and mutually beneficial way.

Question 15

tyro

Answer 15

(n)

A beginner in any field.

• A former classmate of the Olympic medalist recalls her as a young _tyro_ practicing in the city pool.