Word List 13

Question 1

dyslexia

Answer 1

a condition in the brain that makes it hard for a person to read, write, and spell

Question 2

dyspeptic

Answer 2

of, related to, or showing indigestion

given to grumbling; morose, grouchy

Question 3

flippant

Answer 3

lacking proper respect or seriousness

e.g. a flippant response to a serious question
His flippant comment that the poor save on taxes offended many people.

Question 4

facetious

Answer 4

joking or jesting often inappropriately; waggish
meant to be humorous or funny; not serious

e.g. The essay is a facetious commentary on the absurdity of war as a solution for international disputes.
a facetious and tasteless remark about people in famine-stricken countries being spared the problem of overeating

Question 5

earshot

Answer 5

the range within which one may hear a person’s unaided voice

e.g. waited until he was out of earshot

Question 6

earsplitting

Answer 6

distressingly loud or shrill

e.g. the earsplitting noise coming from the jackhammers at the construction site

Question 7

earthly

Answer 7

characteristic of or belonging to this earth
relating to the human race’s actual life on this earth
possible

e.g. a sermon against our obsession with earthly pursuits
Of what earthly use is it?

Question 8

earthy

Answer 8

of, relating to, consisting of, or suggestive of earth
rough, coarse, or plain in taste
characteristic of or associated with moral life on the earth
suggestive of plain or poor people or their ways (practical, down-to-earth; crude, gross; unsophisticated)

e.g. earthy creatures like worms/ an earthy yellow
earthy flavors
prefers earthy to ethereal themes 
earthy problems of everyday life
earthy humor
earthy peasant cookery/decor

Question 9

easel

Answer 9

a frame for supporting something (as an artist’s canvas)

Question 10

ebb

Answer 10

the reflux of the tide toward its lowest ebb
a point of condition of decline
also

e.g. a surprising ebb in the quality of workmanship in goods coming from that country
The fortunes of the town slowly ebbed as factory after textile factory closed.

Question 11

ebullience

Answer 11

the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression or thoughts or feelings; exuberance

Question 12

impassive

Answer 12

unsusceptible to physical feeling; insensible
unsusceptible to or destitute of emotion; apathetic
giving no sign of feeling or emotion; expressionless

e.g. She remained impassive as the officers informed her of her son’s death.

Question 13

eclectic

Answer 13

selecting what appears to be best in various doctrine, methods, or styles
composed of elements drawn from various sources; also, heterogeneous

e.g. The museum’s eclectic collection has everything from a giraffe skeleton to medieval musical instrument.

Question 14

economical

Answer 14

marked by careful, efficient, and prudent use of resources; thrifty
operating with little waste or at a saving

e.g. a practical and economical solution to the problem

Question 15

ecstasy

Answer 15

a state of being beyond reason and self-control
a state of overwhelming emotion; especially, rapturous delight
trance; especially, a mystic or prophetic trance

e.g. Actors are typically in ecstasy upon winning an Oscar.

Question 16

eddy

Answer 16

a current of water or air running contrary to the main current; especially a circular current; whirlpool
something moving similarly
a contrary or circular current (as of thought or policy)

e.g. caught in a powerful eddy

Question 17

edifice

Answer 17

building, especially a large or massive structure
a large abstract structure

e.g. a magnificent edifice with a domed ceiling
holds together the social edifice

Question 18

edify

Answer 18

build, establish
to instruct and improve especially in moral and religious knowledge; uplift, also enlighten, inform

e.g. a family-oriented show that tried to edify the television audience as well as entertain it

Question 19

edacious

Answer 19

voracious

e.g. My edacious dining companion could always be counted on to order the largest - the often the most expensive - item on the menu.

Question 20

effervesce

Answer 20

to bubble, hiss, and foam as gas escapes

to show liveliness or exhilaration

Question 21

fervor

Answer 21

intensity of feeling or expression
intense heat

e.g. The fervor surrounding her campaign continued right through election day.
The novel captures the revolutionary fervor of the period.

Question 22

effete

Answer 22

no long fertile
having lost character, vitality, or strength
marked by weakness or decadence
soft or delicate from or as if from a pampered existence
effeminate

e.g. the soft, effete society that marked the final years of the Roman empire
a wool scarf a bit effete on an outdoorsman
a good-humored, effete bot brought up by maiden aunts

Question 23

effluvium

Answer 23

(pl.: effluvia) an invisible emanation; especially, an offensive exhalation or smell
a by-product especially in the form of waste

e.g. the effluvia from local sewage treatment plants polluting the river

Question 24

efficacy

Answer 24

the power of producing an effect

e.g. questioned the efficacy of the alarms in actually preventing auto theft

Question 25

effrontery

Answer 25

shameless boldness; insolence

Question 26

effulgence

Answer 26

radiant splendor; brilliance

e.g. The exceptional effulgence of the harvest moon is always a striking sight.

Question 27

fulguration

Answer 27

the act or process of flashing like lightning

the drying up of tissue by a high-frequency electric current applied with a needle-shaped electrode; electrodesiccation

Question 28

refulgence

Answer 28

a radiant or resplendent quality or state; brilliance

e.g. the refulgence of a full moon on a clear autumn night

Question 29

egalitarianism

Answer 29

a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic affairs
a social philosophy advocating the removal of inequalities among people

Question 30

egregious

Answer 30

conspicuous; especially, conspicuously bad, flagrant

e.g. egregious padding of the evidence

Question 31

egress

Answer 31

the action or right of going or coming out
a place or means of going out; exit
also

e.g. The auditorium is designed to provide easy egress in an emergency.

Question 32

elated

Answer 32

marked by high spirits; exultant

Question 33

despondent

Answer 33

feeling or showing extreme discouragement, dejection, or depression

e.g. a group of despondent fans

Question 34

elegy

Answer 34

a poem in elegiac couplets
a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation especially for one who is dead
a pensive or reflective poem that is usually nostalgic or melancholy; a short pensive musical composition

Question 35

elephantine

Answer 35

having enormous size or strength; massive
clumsy, ponderous
of or relating to an elephant

e.g. The wedding reception was held under an elephantine tent on the great lawn.
elephantine verse

Question 36

elicit

Answer 36

to draw forth or bring out (something latent or potential)
to call forth or draw out (as information or a response)

e.g. Hypnotism elicited his hidden fears.
She’s been trying to elicit the support of other committee members.

Question 37

subliminal

Answer 37

inadequate to produce a sensation or a perception
existing or functioning below the threshold of consciousness

e.g. The studio denied the existence of subliminal messages in the movie.
I am skeptical that subliminal advertising actually works.

Question 38

ellipsis

Answer 38

the omission of one or more words that are obviously understood but that must be supplied to make a construction grammatically complete
a sudden leap from one topic to another
the marks “…”

e.g. “As long as I’ve seen -“ and a significant nod supplied the ellipsis.

Question 39

elliptical

Answer 39

of, relating to, or shaped like an ellipse
of, relating to, or marked by ellipsis or an ellipsis
of, relating to, or marked by extreme economy of speech or writing; of or relating to deliberate obscurity (as of literary or conversational style)

e.g. an elliptical path
a writer with an elliptical style

Question 40

elocution

Answer 40

a style of speaking especially in public
the art of effective public speaking

e.g. the oft-told story that he practiced elocution by learning to speak with a mouth full of pebbles

Question 41

palpable

Answer 41

capable of being touched or felt; tangible
easily perceptible; noticeable
easily perceptible by the mind; manifest

e.g. There was a palpable excitement in the air as the town prepared for the festival.

Question 42

elucidate

Answer 42

to make lucid especially by explanation or analysis

e.g. colored charts that really help to elucidate the points made in the text

Question 43

garble

Answer 43

to sift impurities from
to so alter or distort as to create a wrong impression or change the meaning
to introduce textual error into (a message) by inaccurate encipherment, transmission, or decipherment

e.g. The candidate complained that his views had been deliberately garbled by his opponent.
Garbled spices are less likely to contaminate a recipe.

Question 44

elude

Answer 44

to avoid adroitly; evade
to escape the perception, understanding, or grasp of
defy

e.g. managed to elude capture
Victory continued to elude us.

Question 45

elusive

Answer 45

• elude
  tending to evade grasp or pursuit
  hard to comprehend or define
  hard to isolate or identify

e.g. The truth may prove elusive.
The giant squid is one of the ocean’s most elusive inhabitants.

Question 46

emaciate

Answer 46

to waste away physically
to cause to lose flesh so as to become very thin
to make feeble

e.g. Without adequate medical supplies, doctors could only look on helplessly as cholera victims continues to emaciate.

Question 47

manumit

Answer 47

to release from slavery

e.g. Though he was an outspoken defender of liberty, this son of Virginia did not manumit his own slaves until he was on his deathbed.

Question 48

embargo

Answer 48

an order of a government prohibiting the departure of commercial ships from its ports
a legal prohibition on commerce
stoppage, impediment, especially prohibition

e.g. a trade embargo
I lay no embargo on anybody’s words.

Question 49

embed

Answer 49

to enclose closely in or as if in a matrix
to make something an integral part of
to surround closely

e.g. fossils embedded in stone
the prejudices embedded in our language
The sweet pulp embeds the plum seed

Question 50

embellish

Answer 50

to make beautiful with ornament; decorate
to heighten the attractiveness of by adding decorative or fanciful details; enhance

e.g. a book embellished with colorful illustrations
He embellished his speech with a few quotations.

Question 51

embezzlement

Answer 51

the act of appropriating (as property entrusted to one’s care) fraudulently to one’s own use; or an instance of such

Question 52

emblematic

Answer 52

of, relating to, or constituting an emblem; symbolic, representative

e.g. The dove is emblematic of the organization’s mission to bring some peace to a troubled world.

Question 53

embody

Answer 53

to give a body to (a spirit); incarnate
to deprive of spirituality
to make concrete and perceptible; to cause to become a body of part of a body, incorporate
to represent in human or animal form; personify

e.g. The legislature embodied a revenue provision in the new law.
They must embody their ideas in substantial institutions if they are to survive.

Question 54

emboss

Answer 54

to raise the surface of into bosses; especially to ornament with raise work
to raise in relief from a surface
adorn, embellish

Question 55

eschew

Answer 55

to avoid habitually especially on moral or practical grounds; shun

e.g. a psychologist who eschews the traditional methods of psychotherapy

Question 56

ostracize

Answer 56

to exile by ostracism
to exclude from a group by common consent

e.g. She was ostracized from the scientific community for many years because of her radical political beliefs.

Question 57

spurn

Answer 57

to tread sharply or heavily upon; trample
to reject with disdain or contempt; scorn

e.g. Fiercely independent, the elderly couple spurned all offers of financial help.

Question 58

embroider

Answer 58

to ornament with needlework
to form with needlework
to elaborate on; embellish

e.g. a scarf embroidered with tiny flowers
He is known to embroider the truth about his service in the army.

Question 59

emend

Answer 59

to correct usually by textual alterations

e.g. emended the manuscript

Question 60

mendacious

Answer 60

given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolute truth

e.g. That tabloid routinely publishes the most moronically mendacious stories about celebrities.

Question 61

emissary

Answer 61

one designated as the agent of another; representative
a secret agent

e.g. Most of the industrialized nations of the world sent emissaries to the conference on global warming.

Question 62

emollient

Answer 62

making soft or supple; also, soothing especially to skin or mucous membrane
making less intense or harsh; mollifying
something often softens or soothes

e.g. an emollient hand lotion
soothe us in our agonies with emollient words

Question 63

mollycoddle

Answer 63

a pampered or effeminate man or boy
to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence and attention

e.g. refused to mollycoddle her malingering son and sent him off to school

Question 64

emote

Answer 64

to act in an emotional or theatrical manner

e.g. He stood on the stage, emoting and gesturing wildly.

Question 65

emphatic

Answer 65

uttered with or marked by emphasis
tending to express oneself in forceful speech or to take decisive action
attracting special attention

e.g. an emphatic refusal
They were emphatic about their political differences.

Question 66

empiricism

Answer 66

• empirical

Question 67

empyreal

Answer 67

of or relating to the empyrean; celestial
sublime

e.g. a painting depicting the Deity as seated on an empyreal throne surrounded by saints and angels

Question 68

emulate

Answer 68

to strive to equal or excel
imitate; especially to imitate by means of an emulator
to equal approach equality with

e.g. She grew up emulating her sports heroes.
artists emulating the style of their teachers

Question 69

emulous

Answer 69

inspired by or deriving from a desire to emulate

ambitious or eager to emulate

Question 70

enact

Answer 70

to establish by legal and authoritative act; specifically to make (as a bill) into law
act out

e.g. Congress will enact legislation related to that issue.
enact a role

Question 71

enamel

Answer 71

to cover, inlay, or decorate with enamel
to beautiful with a colorful surface
to form a glossy surface on (as paper, leather, or cloth)
a usually opaque vitreous composition applied by fusion to the surface of metal, glass, or pottery
a hard calcareous substance capping the teeth
a paint that flows out to a smooth coat when applied and that dries with a glossy appearance

Question 72

encapsulate

Answer 72

to enclose in or as if in a capsule
epitomize, summarize

e.g. The contaminated material should be encapsulated and removed.
Can you encapsulate the president’s speech in about a paragraph?

Question 73

enclosure

Answer 73

the act of action of enclosing; the quality or state of being enclosed
something that encloses
something enclosed

e.g. a letter with two enclosures

Question 74

encomiast

Answer 74

one that praises; eulogist

Question 75

encompass

Answer 75

to form a circle about; enclose
envelop; include, comprehend
bring about, accomplish

e.g. a plan that encompasses a number of aims
encompass a task

Question 76

encroach

Answer 76

to enter by gradual steps or by stealth into the possessions or rights of another
to advance beyond the usual or proper limits

e.g. The suburbs encroach further into the rural areas each year.
Each year the sea continues to encroach upon the island’s beaches.

Question 77

encumber

Answer 77

weigh down, burden
to impede or hamper the function or activity of; hinder
to burden with a legal claim (as a mortgage)

e.g. tourists encumbered by heavy luggage
Lack of funding has encumbered the project.

Question 78

endearing

Answer 78

resulting in affection

Question 79

endemic

Answer 79

belonging or native to a particular people or country
characteristic of or prevalent in a particular field, area, or environment
restricted or peculiar to a locality or region

e.g. the self-indulgence endemic in the film industry
endemic diseases

Question 80

endorse

Answer 80

to inscribe (one’s signature) on a check, bill, or note

Question 81

endow

Answer 81

to furnish with an income; especially to make a grand of money providing for the continuing support or maintenance of
to furnish with a dower
to provide with something freely or naturally

e.g. The wealthy couple endowed a new wing of the hospital.
endowed with a good sense of humor

Question 82

enduring

Answer 82

lasting, durable

e.g. science fiction’s enduring fascination with worlds beyond our own

Question 83

transitory

Answer 83

tending to pass away; not persistent
or brief duration; temporary

e.g. the transitory nature of earthly joy

Question 84

enervate

Answer 84

to reduce the mental or moral vigor of
to lessen the vitality or strength of

e.g. A lifetime of working in dreary jobs had enervated his very soul.

Question 85

enfeeble

Answer 85

to make feeble; deprive of strength

e.g. Long periods of being confined to a hospital bed will enfeeble anyone.

Question 86

tonic

Answer 86

increasing or restoring physical or mental tone; refreshing

e.g. Never underestimate the tonic power of humor on a sick person.

Question 87

enfetter

Answer 87

to bind in fetters; enchain

e.g. Enfettered by debt, she was in no position to take early retirement.

Question 88

enflame

Answer 88

• inflame
  to excite to excessive or uncontrollable action or feeling; especially to make angry
  to make more heated or violent; intensify
  to set on fire; kindle
  to cause to redden or grow hot from anger or excitement

e.g. His angry speech inflamed the mob.
Insults served only to inflame the feud.

Question 89

engender

Answer 89

beget, procreate
to cause to exist or to develop; produce

e.g. The issue has engendered a considerable amount of debate.
a suggestion to go out for pizza that didn’t seem to engender any interest

Question 90

quash

Answer 90

to suppress or extinguish summarily and completely

e.g. quash a rebellion

Question 91

engrave

Answer 91

to impress deeply as if with a graver

e.g. The incident was engraved in his memory.

Question 92

engross

Answer 92

to copy or write in a large hand
to take or engage the whole attention of; occupy completely

e.g. ideas that have engrossed the minds of scholars for generations

Question 93

engulf

Answer 93

to flow over and enclose; overwhelm
to take in (food) by or as if by flowing over and enclosing

e.g. The mounting seas threatened to engulf the island.

Question 94

enjoin

Answer 94

to direct or impose by authoritative order or with urgent admonition
forbid, prohibit

e.g. He was enjoined by his conscience from telling a lie.
A book had been enjoined prior to publication.

Question 95

enmesh

Answer 95

to catch or entangle in or as if in meshes

e.g. He spent the rest of his life enmeshed in lawsuits trying to protect his invention.

Question 96

enliven

Answer 96

to give life, action, or spirit to; animate

e.g. He enlivened his speech with a few jokes.
a soup enlivened by chili pepper

Question 97

extricate

Answer 97

to distinguish from a related thing
to free or remove from an entanglement or difficulty

e.g. Several survivors were extricated from the wreckage.
She hasn’t been able to extricate herself from her legal problems.

Question 98

enmity

Answer 98

positive, active, and typically mutual hatred or ill will

e.g. His comments earned him the enmity of his coworkers.

Question 99

inimical

Answer 99

being adverse often by reason of hostility or malevolence
having the disposition of an enemy; hostile
reflecting or indicating hostility; unfriendly

e.g. forces inimical to democracy
his father’s inimical glare

Question 100

enormity

Answer 100

an outrageous, improper, vicious, or immoral act
the quality or state of being immoderate, monstrous, or outrageous; especially great wickedness
the quality or state of being huge; immensity
a quality of momentous importance or impact

e.g. We were shocked at the enormity of the crime.
the enormity of the decision

Question 101

enrapture

Answer 101

to fill with delight

e.g. enraptured upon learning that he would be attending college on a full sports scholarship

Question 102

ensconce

Answer 102

shelter, conceal
establish, settle

e.g. The sculpture is safely ensconced behind glass.
He ensconced himself in front of the television.

Question 103

ensign

Answer 103

a flag that is flown (as by a ship) as the symbol of nationality and that may also be flown with a distinctive badge added to its design
a badge of office, rank, or power; emblem, sign

e.g. Fittingly, the organization promoting the welfare of marine life features a dolphin on its ensign.

Question 104

entail

Answer 104

to fix (a person) permanently in some condition or status
to impose, involve, or imply as a necessary accompaniment or result

e.g. entail him and his heirs to the crown
A lavish wedding entails extensive planning and often staggering expense.

Question 105

enterprise

Answer 105

a project or undertaking that is especially difficult, complicated, or risky
readiness to engage in daring or difficult action; initiative
a unit of economic organization or activity; especially a business organization

e.g. Moving the drilling rig offshore was a costly enterprise.
showed great enterprise in dealing with the crisis
Agriculture is the main economic enterprise among these people.

Question 106

entice

Answer 106

to attract artfully or adroitly or by arousing hope or desire; tempt

e.g. Every commercial seemed to be for some tempting snack specifically designed to entice me from my diet.

Question 107

entrance

Answer 107

to put into a trance
to carry away with delight, wonder, or rapture

e.g. a production of ballet that will entrance audiences

Question 108

entreat

Answer 108

to make an earnest request; plead

e.g. entreated his boss for another chance

Question 109

entreaty

Answer 109

• entreat; plea

e. g. Our entreaties to give us another few minutes to answer the test questions fell on deaf ears.

Question 110

entree

Answer 110

the act or manner of entering; entrance
freedom of entry or access

e.g. Entree to the country club is through sponsorship by someone who is already a member.