2. Lessons 6-10

Question 1

affable

Answer 1

adj. EASY TO TALK TO; EASY TO APPROACH, FRIENDLY; KIND; AMIABLE. Don’s friendly grin conveys his affable personality.

Question 2

amiable

Answer 2

adj. FRIENDLY, KIND. Keith is patient, friendly, and kind-an altogether nice person.

Question 3

amicable

Answer 3

adj. SHOWING GOODWILL; PEACEABLE. The amicable negotiations ended when the parties began to insult each other.

Question 4

congenial

Answer 4

adj. COMPATIBLE; HAVING KINDRED NEEDS OR TASTES; SYMPATHETIC. What a congenial place this is! I always feel welcome here.

Question 5

convivial

Answer 5

adj. SOCIABLE, OUTGOING IN A FESTIVE WAY, ESPECIALLY WHEN PERTAINING TO EATING AND DRINKING; FOND OF GOOD COMPANY. Jake is a party animal one of the most convivial guys I know.

Question 6

cordial

Answer 6

adj. WARM AND FRIENDLY; AMIABLE. With a cordial welcome, Harry made everyone feel glad to be at the meeting.

Question 7

gregarious

Answer 7

adj. SOCIABLE, OUTGOING. The gregarious crowd kept the place buzzing all evening.

Question 8

jocular

Answer 8

adj. LIKING TO BE WITH PEOPLE, JOKE AROUND WITH THEM AND HAVE FUN. Samantha is a funny person, but she’s somber compared to her jocular sister.

Question 9

levity

Answer 9

n. LIGHTHEARTEDNESS; GAIETY; CAREFREE DISPOSITION, PARTICULARLY WHEN NOT APPROPRIATE. A little levity is needed to lighten up this depressing class.

Question 10

animosity

Answer 10

n. HATRED; ILL WILL. Sonya’s sarcasm raised the level of animosity between her and Liz.

Question 11

antagonism

Answer 11

n. HATRED OR HOSTILITY. Stan’s mocking and teasing incited antagonism among his teammates.

Question 12

bellicose

Answer 12

adj. OF A QUARRELSOME NATURE; EAGAR TO FIGHT; WARLIKE; BELLIGERENT. The speech was full of bellicose threats, suggesting war was at hand.

Question 13

belligerent

Answer 13

adj. TAKING PART IN WAR OR FIGHTING; READY TO FIGHT. After two decades of war, the belligerent countries made peace.

Question 14

cantankerous

Answer 14

adj. BAD-TEMPERED OR IRRITABLE; QUARRELSOME. Grandma and Grandpa are a cantankerous old couple, always fighting and scolding.

Question 15

captious

Answer 15

adj. MADE FOR THE SAKE OF QUARRELING; QUIBBLING. My supervisor does nothing but bicker with the staff. His captiousness forced me to quit my job.

Question 16

contentious

Answer 16

adj. QUARRELSOME; BELLIGERENT. You can’t talk to contentious Cal without getting into an argument.

Question 17

disputatious

Answer 17

adj. LIKELY TO DISPUTE OR ARGUE. I don’t want to be disputatious, but I think you are completely wrong about Hester’s motives.

Question 18

polemical

Answer 18

adj. INCLINED TO ARGUE OR DEBATE; CONTROVERSIAL. The speech was not a responsible argument against gun control; it was more polemic.

Question 19

predator

Answer 19

n. ONE WHO TAKES ADVANTAGE OF ANOTHER, EXPLOITS OR FEEDS ON ANOTHER; A STRONG ADVERSARY OR RIVAL. Watch out for predatory schemers who’ll take your money and run.

Question 20

pugnacious

Answer 20

adj. EAGER TO FIGHT; BELLIGERENT. Walter and Willa are a pugnacious pair, always squabbling and fighting.

Question 21

altruistic

Answer 21

adj. SHOWING AN UNSELFISH CONCERN FOR OTHERS. Altruistic Al never thinks of himself; he devotes all his time to helping others.

Question 22

benevolent

Answer 22

adj. GIVING FREELY AND EASILY TO OTHERS; CHARITABLE; KIND. Ready to help people at any time , Tina is about the most benevolent person I know.

Question 23

largess

Answer 23

n. GENEROUS GIVING. (Also spelled largesse) To survive on the street, beggars often depend on the largess of passersby.

Question 24

lavish

Answer 24

adj. GENEROUS IN GIVING TO OTHERS OR IN SPENDING MONEY. Despite a modest income, the McTaveys make lavish donations to their church.

Question 25

magnanimous

Answer 25

adj. GENEROUS IN OVERLOOKING INSULT OR INJURY BY OTHERS; RISING ABOVE PETTINESS. After an attempt on his life, the Pope magnanimously forgave the man who shot him.

Question 26

munificent

Answer 26

adj. VERY GENEROUS. It's easy to be munificent when you already have more of everything than you'll ever want or need.

Question 27

philanthropic

Answer 27

adj. SHOWING A DESIRE TO HELP OTHERS BY GIVING GIFTS; CHARITABLE; HUMANE. By definition, a philanthropist helps those in need.

Question 28

prodigal

Answer 28

adj. WASTEFUL; LAVISH. Unable to control his expenses, Krups spent prodigally until he was broke.

Question 29

profligate

Answer 29

adj. WASTEFUL; CARLESS, EVEN RECKLESS, WITH SPENDING MONEY; EXTRAVAGANT. Profligate individuals rarely shop the sales racks or use store coupons.

Question 30

squander

Answer 30

vb. TO SPEND MONEY (OR TIME) IN A WASTEFUL, UNCARING FASHION. Jimmy squandered a perfectly good day, aimlessly watching TV from dawn till dusk.

Question 31

austere

Answer 31

adj. HAVING A GREAT ECONOMY; SHOWING SELF CONTROL WHEN IT COMES TO FOREGOING LUXURIES AND FRILLS; STERN IN MANNER OR APPEARANCE. The poet lived an austere life, foregoing all luxuries.

Question 32

avaricious

Answer 32

adj. GREEDY. Avarice motivates many people to cheat on their income tax.

Question 33

frugal

Answer 33

adj. CAREFUL WITH MONEY; THRIFTY; NOT PRODIGAL OR WASTEFUL. Surprisingly, they were frugal at breakfast, but they spared no expense at dinner.

Question 34

mercenary

Answer 34

adj. GREEDY FOR SELF-AGAIN; THINKING ONLY OF MONEY-MAKING. He cared little about the quality of his merchandise. As a mercenary, he focused only on the size of his profit.

Question 35

miserly

Answer 35

adj. CAREFUL WITH HOW MONEY IS SPENT; THRIFTY. To lose weight, I eat a miserly breakfast: one prune and a cup of fat-free milk.

Question 36

parsimonious

Answer 36

adj. OVERLY THRIFTY OR MISERLY. Gramps is parsimonious with his words. Sometimes he doesn't speak for days.

Question 37

penurious

Answer 37

adj. STINGY; RELATING TO GREAT POVERTY, DESTITUTION. His penurious childhood taught my father the value of every penny.

Question 38

thrifty

Answer 38

adj. SHOWING CARE WITH HOW MONEY AND RESOURCES ARE SPENT OR USED. Be thrifty for the next few months, and you'll save enough money for a new iphone.

Question 39

adversity

Answer 39

n. GREAT TROUBLE OR DIFFICULTY. The book tells how he overcame the adversity of an impoverished childhood

Question 40

conflagration

Answer 40

n. A HUGE FIRE, AN INFERNO. Flames from the conflagration lit up the sky for miles around.

Question 41

confounding

Answer 41

adj. PUZZLING; BAFFLING. Who ate the strawberries continues to be a confounding mystery.

Question 42

cryptic

Answer 42

adj. HIDDEN; HARD TO UNDERSTAND; MYSTERIOUS; OBSCURE. The twins used a cryptic, incomprehensible language to talk with each other.

Question 43

debacle

Answer 43

n. A FAILURE OR BREAKDOWN; A COLLAPSE THAT IS OFTEN NONSENSICAL. For me, physics class was a debacle. I understood non of it, and finally dropped the course.

Question 44

enigma

Answer 44

n. A RIDDLE OR A MYSTERY; A PUZZLING OR BAFFLING MATTER OR PERSON. The enigmatic carvings on the ancient Egyptian tomb never have been fully interpreted.

Question 45

labyrinth

Answer 45

n. A MAZE FROM WHICH IT IS VERY HARD TO EXTRICATE OR FREE ONESELF. The plumbing system in my house is a labyrinth of copper pipes that turn and bend every which way.

Question 46

precarious

Answer 46

adj. DANGEROUS OR RISKY; UNCERTAIN. Bungee jumping is too precarious for me: I prefer safer activities like playing chess.

Question 47

quagmire

Answer 47

n. A DIFFICULT OR TROUBLING SITUATION; A SWAMPY GROUND, BOG, MIRE. A quagmire of troubles kept Julia awake at night.

Question 48

quandary

Answer 48

n. A DILEMMA; A CONFUSING OR PUZZLING SITUATION. Confronted with the quandary of staying home with her new baby or going back to work, my sister chose her job.

Question 49

turbulence

Answer 49

n. GREAT UNREST; TURMOIL OR DISORDER. Migrating whales caused the turbulence in the water.

Question 50

turmoil

Answer 50

n. A TURBULENT SCENARIO OR SITUATION; TUMULT. There was turmoil in the room because the teacher had lost control of the class.