Word List 4

Question 1

ambivalence

Answer 1

lack of clarity; being undecided; Get over your ambivalence and make a decision.

Question 2

cantankerous

Answer 2

bad-tempered; The cantankerous baby threw a tantrum.

Question 3

impecunious

Answer 3

having no money; My impecunious condition prevents me from going out.

Question 4

lucid

Answer 4

clear; He is sick and doesn’t have many lucid moments.

Question 5

ornate

Answer 5

highly decorated; The space was ornate, with a decorated ceiling.

Question 6

precipice

Answer 6

steep slope; The precipice is dangerous.

Question 7

salubrious

Answer 7

health-giving; The mountain air is salubrious.

Question 8

ambulatory

Answer 8

able to walk around; He is no longer confined to his bed and is ambulatory.

Question 9

capacious

Answer 9

spacious; The storage bin is very capacious.

Question 10

desecrate

Answer 10

to damage or pollute a holy place; Don’t desecrate the sanctuary with your swearing.

Question 11

impious

Answer 11

wicked, profane; His impious nature scares me.

Question 12

precipitous

Answer 12

done in a hurry; This job was clearly done precipitously.

Question 13

salutary

Answer 13

beneficial; As difficult as the relationship was, it was salutary.

Question 14

truncate

Answer 14

cut short; Truncate the lengthy explanation.

Question 15

ameliorate

Answer 15

make better; I’m glad to see you are attempting to ameliorate the situation.

Question 16

capitulate

Answer 16

surrender; I will capitulate and do it your way.

Question 17

ossify

Answer 17

turn to bone; become fixed and rigid; His bad habits are now ossified.

Question 18

preclude

Answer 18

prevent; His disability precludes an athletic career.

Question 19

sanctimonious

Answer 19

hypocritically holy; They resented his sanctimonious rant on morality.

Question 20

carping

Answer 20

constant criticism; Quit carping over trivial matters.

Question 21

desist

Answer 21

stop; Cease and desist.

Question 22

lummox

Answer 22

clumsy person; He is a lummox and constantly crashes into things.

Question 23

precocious

Answer 23

developing early; The precocious child will turn out to be exceptionally smart.

Question 24

sanction

Answer 24

give approval to; The authorities sanctioned the event.

Question 25

turpitude

Answer 25

depravity; His turpitude nature is unsettling.

Question 26

despondent

Answer 26

having no hope; I am despondent about my failing health.

Question 27

expatriate

Answer 27

refugee; emigrant; He expatriated from his homeland.

Question 28

inadvertent

Answer 28

not intentional; However inadvertent, the comment was still insulting.

Question 29

sanguinary

Answer 29

bloodthirsty; The sanguinary wolf howled with hunger.

Question 30

tyro

Answer 30

novice; He is only a tyro, cut him some slack.

Question 31

amity

Answer 31

friendship; I am grateful for our amity.

Question 32

castigate

Answer 32

scold strongly; The captain castigated his soldier.

Question 33

destitution

Answer 33

hardship; poverty; Uganda is in a state of destitution.

Question 34

expedient

Answer 34

convenient, practical; The timing is very expedient.

Question 35

lynch

Answer 35

assassinate; illegal hanging; The KKK lynched many blacks.

Question 36

overt

Answer 36

obvious; The message is overly overt.

Question 37

sanguine

Answer 37

optimistic; He has a sanguine disposition.

Question 38

amorphous

Answer 38

lacking in shape; The amorphous blob did not move.

Question 39

catharsis

Answer 39

purging of pent-up emotions; Music is my way to catharsis.

Question 40

deter

Answer 40

put off; prevent; The large dog deterred trespassers.

Question 41

machinations

Answer 41

plots; The machinations for the robbery were extremely detailed.

Question 42

preeminent

Answer 42

outstanding; He is preeminent in his profession.

Question 43

sardonic

Answer 43

mocking; He grinned sardonically.

Question 44

unalloyed

Answer 44

undiluted; total; You have my unalloyed support.

Question 45

analgesic

Answer 45

medicine to combat pain; Apply this analgesic to the wounded area.

Question 46

caucus

Answer 46

type of private political meeting; The caucus was held at city hall.

Question 47

exposition

Answer 47

clear explanation; The student prepared expositions on their essay topics.

Question 48

maelstrom

Answer 48

whirlpool; The violent maelstrom killed many people.

Question 49

palatable

Answer 49

good to eat; agreeable; Your ideas are palatable.

Question 50

prerogative

Answer 50

privilege; The prerogatives of the President are very different from a civilian’s.

Question 51

savant

Answer 51

person with knowledge; He is an intelligent business savant.

Question 52

unctuous

Answer 52

using excessive flattery; The unctuous conman was charming.

Question 53

caustic

Answer 53

burning; Lye is a caustic substance.

Question 54

incipient

Answer 54

just beginning; His cold is incipient and must be monitored.

Question 55

magnanimous

Answer 55

big-hearted; She is magnanimous towards her enemies.

Question 56

palisade

Answer 56

fence made of posts; There was a palisade for defense.

Question 57

prescient

Answer 57

having forknowledge; The prescient economist expected the financial collapse.

Question 58

undermined

Answer 58

damaged; attacked; The army greatly undermined the village.

Question 59

cavalcade

Answer 59

procession of vehicles; The cop escorted the cavalcade of cars to the funeral.

Question 60

extradite

Answer 60

deport from one country back to the home country; I will be extradited if I don’t find a job.

Question 61

inclination

Answer 61

tendency; The door’s inclination is to stick.

Question 62

magnate

Answer 62

powerful businessman; The magnate deals with many important people.

Question 63

palliative

Answer 63

a remedy that improves but doesn’t cure; This is only a palliative remedy, and will not get rid of the disease.

Question 64

presentiment

Answer 64

a feeling that something might happen; I have a slight presentiment of a storm approaching.