2015.02.17-[SGRE19]-6

Question 1

phlegmatic

adjective
/fleɡˈmæt̬•ɪk/

Answer 1

› not easily excited or emotional; calm; calm, sluggish temperament, unemotional:

He is a retired lawyer with a solid, p-c manner.

Question 2

arrant

adjective
/ˈær.ənt/
/ˈer.ənt /
old-fashioned

Answer 2

› completely such; thoroughgoing; in the highest degree:

an a-t fool

the a-t luxury of the ocean liner.

› phrase a-t nonsense (used to say how bad something is):

He dismissed the rumors as “a-t nonsense.”

Question 3

arboreal

adjective
/ɑːˈbɔː.ri.əl/
/ɑːrˈbɔːr.i-/
specialized

Answer 3

› of or living in trees; of connected with trees:

a-l animals

Humans evolved from a-l ancestors.

Question 4

specious

adjective
/ˈspi•ʃəs/
formal

Answer 4

› seeming to be right or true, but really wrong or false; illogical, of questionable truth or merit:

a s-s distinction

His whole argument is s-s.

Question 5

peremptory

adjective
/pəˈremp•tər•i/
formal

Answer 5

› having the expectation of immediate and complete obedience, or to be obeyed without explanation; urgent, imperative, unchallengeable, ending debate:

In his usual p-y manner, he ordered us all into the conference room.

Question 6

irascible

adjective
/ɪˈræs•ə•bəl/

Answer 6

› (of a person) easily made angry; irritable, easily angered:

He is a cranky, i-e artist.

Question 7

contumacious

/ˌkɒntjʊˈmeɪʃəs/
adjective

Answer 7

› insubordinate, rebellious; stubbornly resistant to authority; wilfully obstinate:

The judge called John a c-s lout because John had his glove box full of unpaid parking tickets.

John will not only have to pay his numerous tickets for parking in the handicap lot, he will also be slapped with a big fine to make sure he’ll never be c-s again.

Question 8

germane

adjective
/dʒɜːˈmeɪn/
/dʒɝːˈmeɪn/
formal

Answer 8

› describes ideas or information connected with and important to a particular subject or situation; relevant, pertinent to:

Her remarks could not have been more g-e to the discussion.

Question 9

Ignominious

adjective
/ˌɪɡ•nəˈmɪn•i•əs/

Answer 9

› (esp. of events or behavior) embarrassing; shameful, dishonorable, undignified, disgraceful:

an i-s defeat

Question 10

obsequious

adjective
/əbˈsi•kwi•əs/
/ɑbˈsi•kwi•əs/

Answer 10

› too eager to serve or obey someone; too eager to obey or serve:

She is embarrassingly o-s to anyone in authority.

Question 11

inane

adjective
/ɪˈneɪn/

Answer 11

› extremely silly or lacking real meaning or importance; senseless:

There are so many i-e programs on television!

Question 12

extant

adjective
/ˈek•stənt/
/ɪkˈstænt/

Answer 12

› still existing; still in existence:

Phyllis Wheatley is the author of the earliest e-t volume of poetry by an African American.

Question 13

lithe

adjective
/lɑɪð/
/lɑɪθ/

Answer 13

› (of a body) thin and attractive, and able to move easily and gracefully, or (of movements) easy and graceful; bending twisting:

He was a fabulous athlete, full of l-e, quick movements.

She represented the era’s ideal of l-e, athletic, modern American womanhood.

Question 14

mellifluous

adjective
/melˈɪf.lu.əs/
formal

Answer 14

› having a pleasant and flowing sound; sweetly flowing:

a deep m-s voice the mellifluous sound of the cello

Question 15

turgid

adjective
/ˈtɜr•dʒɪd/

Answer 15

1 : being in a state of distension : swollen, tumid <t-d>; especially : exhibiting turgor
2 : excessively embellished in style or language : bombastic, pompous <t-d></t-d></t-d>

Question 16

pellucid

/pəˈlu sɪd/
adjective

Answer 16

› transparent, allowing the maximum passage of light, as glass; translucent; clear or limpid:

P-d water is clear.

› easy to understand, clear in meaning or expression:

A sentence that teaches a new vocabulary word should always be p-d.

The word lucid means clear. Both lucid and p-d derive from a Latin word that means “to shine through.”

Question 17

diaphanous

adjective
/daɪˈæf.ən.əs/
literary

Answer 17

› describes a substance, especially cloth, that is so delicate and thin that you can see through it; transparent, gauzy:

a d-s silk veil

Question 18

parsimony

noun [U]
/ˈpɑːsɪməni/
/ˈpɑrsɪməʊni/
formal
disapproving
----------
parsimonious

adjective

Answer 18

› unwillingness to spend money or to give things to people; too economical miserly:

p-s

Question 19

prolix

adjective
/ˈprəʊ.lɪks/
/ˈproʊ.lɪks/
formal
disapproving

Answer 19

› using too many words and therefore boring or difficult to read or listen to; tiring because too long:

The author’s p-x style has done nothing to encourage sales of the book.

Question 20

peripatetic

adjective
/ˌper.ɪ.pəˈtet.ɪk/
formal

Answer 20

› travelling around to different places, usually because you work in more than one place; wandering:

a p-c music teacher

Question 21

pusillanimous

adjective
/ˌpjuː.sɪˈlæn.ɪ.məs/
formal

Answer 21

› weak and cowardly (= not brave); frightened of taking risks; cowardly craven:

He’s too p-s to stand up to his opponents.

Question 22

extempore

adjective
adverb
/ekˈstem.pər.i/
formal

Answer 22

› done or said without any preparation or thought:

an e-e performance

At the audition, the actors were asked to perform e-e.

Question 23

mendicant

noun [C]
/ˈmen.dɪ.kənt/
formal

Answer 23

› someone who lives by asking people they do not know for money, especially a member of a religious group; a beggar:

Medieval Indian texts suggest that many people found m-t yogis alien and off-putting, even menacing.

Question 24

virago

noun [C]
/vɪˈrɑː.ɡəʊ/
/-ˈɡoʊ/
Plural: viragos or viragoes
old-fashioned

Answer 24

› a violent, unpleasant woman who shouts a lot

Mrs. Smith is really a v-o. She is loud, bossy, and always yelling at kids to get off her lawn.

Question 25

exigency noun [C or U] /ˈek.sɪ.dʒən.si/ formal

Answer 25

› the difficulties of a situation, especially one that causes urgent demands; emergency, an urgent situation: the e-cies of war Economic e-y obliged the government to act.

Question 26

odium noun [U] /ˈəʊ.di.əm/ /ˈoʊ.di.əm/ formal

Answer 26

› hate and strong disapproval; contempt, dislike, aversion; hate mixed with repulsion and condemnation: That shivery feeling of disgust and hatred that you get when you see something senseless and horrible is called o-m. O-m is a little more immediate than hate and usually describes a negative response to a specific action rather than a long-held, sustained hatred.

Question 27

qualm noun [C usually pl] /kwɑm/ /kwɔm/

Answer 27

› an uncomfortable feeling of doubt about whether you are doing the right thing; temporary feeling of sickness: Unfortunately, he said, there are people who have no q-ms about bringing in replacement workers for strikers.

Question 28

panegyric noun [C] /ˌpæn.əˈdʒɪr.ɪk/ formal

Answer 28

› a speech or piece of writing that praises someone very much and does not mention anything bad about them; formal praise, eulogy: She delivered a p-c on the president-elect.

Question 29

encomium ``` noun /ɪnˈkəʊ.mi.əm/ /enˈkoʊ-/ Plural: encomiums or encomia formal ```

Answer 29

› a piece of writing, speech, etc. that praises someone or something; warm or glowing praise, eulogy: You might hear an e-m at a retirement party, after you publish a fabulous book, or even at a funeral. The celebration went on, as did the e-ms to Nigeria’s greatness.

Question 30

travesty noun [C] /ˈtræv•ə•sti/

Answer 30

› something that completely fails to do what it is intended or expected to do, and therefore seems ridiculous; parody/imitation: The police chief called the judge’s ruling a t-y of justice.