20 Vocab Words

Question 1

in existence.

Few documents antedating the advent of papyrus are —— today.

Answer 1

Extant (adj.)

Question 2

short-lived

Youtube has made fame truly ———-. Just ask Rebecca Black.

Answer 2

Ephemeral (adj)

Question 3

to confirm, make stronger

Three witnesses were able to——– Lucy’s alibi that she had been at the bowling alley at the time of the murder.

Answer 3

Corroborate (v.)

Question 4

– talkative

Carl was so ——– his friends usually didn’t like to watch a movie with him.

Answer 4

Loquacious (adj)

Question 5

– known to a select few

Many jazz artists once deemed —– have emerged due to the greater access users have to avant-garde music on-line.

Answer 5

Esoteric (adj)

Question 6

– scholarly

A Rhodes Scholar, Maxine was a true —-, and a formidable opponent on Jeopardy.

Answer 6

Erudite (adj.)

Question 7

– practical

Edna never cared for abstract thinking and preferred the ——— world of business, in which every action, ideally, has an intended consequence.

Answer 7

Pragmatic (adj.)

Question 8

– having contradictory feelings

Erin was ——- about her freshman year in college; her classes were fascinating but she missed her high school friends.

Answer 8

Ambivalent (adj.)

Question 9

– inducing sleep

Professor Moore’s lectures were ——– to the point that students, before they nodded off in class, would usually quip, “It’s time for Professor Bore.”

Answer 9

Soporific (adj.)

Question 10

– producing or creating abundantly

Irving Berlin had one of the most —- careers in song-writing history; dozens of his hundreds of tunes are familiar to us. Anyone dreaming of a “White Christmas?”

Answer 10

Prolific (adj.)

Question 11

– favorable

The team’s run for the pennant started ——- with 24 wins. Two starting pitchers snapped their elbows mid-season, clearly an inauspicious sign

Answer 11

Auspicious (adj.)

Question 12

– cheerful; optimistic

A Yale graduate with a 4.0, she was——-about finding a job right out of college.

Answer 12

Sanguine (adj.)

Question 13

– to weaken; drain the energy from

Sitting in the windowless room, the tropical humidity soaking through the walls, I was ——- before noon.

Answer 13

Enervate (v.)

Question 14

– big-hearted; generous

Upon receiving his first Wall Street paycheck, Jerry was so ——– he not only bought his Mom a car, he bought his Dad one too.

Answer 14

Magnanimous (adj.)

Question 15

– 1. Changing one’s personality often and unpredictably. 2. Animated, sprightly

One never knew exactly what the professor’s class would be like; he was so —— that many of his students thought of him as two different people.

Answer 15

Mercurial(adj.)

Question 16

– Inclined to fighting

After a few drinks Stevie was convivial; after two six-packs he became ———–, challenging anyone around him to a head-butting contest.

Answer 16

Belligerent (adj.)

Question 17

– nitpicky

A ——– eater, Herman would only eat the center of anything he touched. As a result, his plate

Answer 17

Fastidious (adj.)

Question 18

– tightlipped, not prone to saying much, reluctant

Paul was =—– and preferred observing others mannerisms

Answer 18

Reticent (adj.)

Question 19

– to charge with wrong-doing; accuse

To—– Eddy with the murder was absurd; he’d been bowling with Lucy.

Answer 19

Inculpate (v.)