Word List 15

Question 1

Disputatious (adj)

Answer 1

argumentative; fond of arguing
Convinced he knew more than his lawyers, Tony was a disputatious client, ready to argue about the best way to conduct the case

Question 2

Disquietude (n)

Answer 2

uneasiness; anxiety

When Holmes had been gone for a day, Watson felt only a slight sense of disquietude

Question 3

Disquisition (n)

Answer 3

a formal systematic inquiry

In his disquisition, he outlined the steps he had taken in reaching his conclusions

Question 4

Dissident (adj)

Answer 4

dissenting; rebellious

Question 5

Dissimulate (v)

Answer 5

pretend; conceal by feigning

Although the governor tried to dissimulate his feelings about the opposing candidate, we all knew he despised his rival

Question 6

Dissonance (n)

Answer 6

discord; opposite of harmony
Composer Charles Ives often used dissonance - clashing or unresolved chords - for special effects in his musical works
(dissonant adj)

Question 7

Distend (v)

Answer 7

expand; swell out

I can tell when he is under stress in the way the veins on his forehead distend

Question 8

Diurnal (adj)

Answer 8

daily

A farmer cannot neglect his diurnal tasks at any time; cows, for example, must be milked regularly

Question 9

Divulge (v)

Answer 9

reveal

No lover of gossip, Charlotte would never divulge anything that a friend told her in confidence

Question 10

Doctrinaire (adj)

Answer 10

unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding
Weng had hoped that the student-led democracy movement might bring about change in China, but the repressive response of the doctrinaire hard-liners crushed his dreams of democracy

Question 11

Doctrinaire (adj)

Answer 11

unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding
Weng had hoped that the student-led democracy movement might bring about change in China, but the repressive response of the doctrinaire hard-liners crushed his dreams of democracy

Question 12

Dogmatic (adj)

Answer 12

opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal

We tried to discourage Doug from being so dogmatic; but never could convince him that his opinions might be wrong

Question 13

Doleful (adj)

Answer 13

mournful; causing sadness
Eyesore, the lugubrious donkey immortalised by A.A Milne, looked at his cheerful friend Tigger and sighed out a doleful sigh

Question 14

Domicile (n)

Answer 14

home

Although his legal domicile was in NYC, his work kept him away from home for many years

Question 15

Domineer (v)

Answer 15

rule over tyrannically

Students prefer teachers who guide, not ones who domineer

Question 16

Dossier (n)

Answer 16

file of documents on a subject

Ordered by J. Edgar Hoover to investigate the senator, the FBI compiled a complete dossier on him

Question 17

Dotage (n)

Answer 17

senility

In his dotage, the old man bored us with long tales of events in his childhood

Question 18

Dote (v)

Answer 18

be excessively fond of, show signs of mental decline
Not only grandmothers bore you with stories about their brilliant grandchildren; grandfathers dote on the little rascals too

Question 19

Dour (adj)

Answer 19

sullen; severe; gloomy
The Protestant missionaries who settled on Tahiti in the early nineteenth century were followers of a dour and cheerless creed, who routinely dressed in black and never let themselves forget for a moment the awful burden of the sins of the world

Question 20

Dowdy (adj)

Answer 20

slovenly; untidy

She tired to change he dowdy image by buying a fashionable new wardrobe

Question 21

Drab (adj)

Answer 21

dull; lacking colour; cheerless

The Dutch woman’s drab winter coat contrasted with the distinctive, colourful native costume she wrote beneath it

Question 22

Draconian (adj)

Answer 22

extremely severe

Question 23

Dregs (n)

Answer 23

sediment; worthless residue

David poured the wine carefully to avoid stirring up the dregs

Question 24

Drivel (n)

Answer 24

nonsense; foolishness

Why do i have to spend my time listening to such idiotic drivel?

Question 25

Droll (adj)

Answer 25

queer and amusing

He was a popular guest because his droll anecdotes were always entertaining

Question 26

Drone (n)

Answer 26

talk dully; idle person, buzz or murmur like a bee

Question 27

Drudgery (n)

Answer 27

menial work

Cinderella’s fairy godmother rescued her from a life of drudgery