Chapter 1

Question 1

abate (v)

Answer 1

(of something unpleasant or severe) become less intense or widespread
e.g. The storm suddenly abated

Question 2

abdicate (v)

Answer 2

(of a monarch) renounce one’s throne: in 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated as German emperor | [ with obj. ] : Ferdinand abdicated the throne in favor of the emperor’s brother.
• [ with obj. ] fail to fulfill or undertake (a responsibility or duty): the government was accused of abdicating its responsibility | [ no obj. ] : the secretary of state should not abdicate from leadership on educational issues.

Question 3

aberrant (adj)

Answer 3

departing from an accepted standard.

• chiefly Biology diverging from the normal type: aberrant chromosomes.

Question 4

abeyance (n)

Answer 4

a state of temporary disuse or suspension: matters were held in abeyance pending further inquiries.
• Law the position of being without, or waiting for, an owner or claimant.

Question 5

abject (adj)

Answer 5

1 [ attrib. ] (of a situation or condition) extremely bad, unpleasant, and degrading: abject poverty.
• (of an unhappy state of mind) experienced to the maximum degree: his letter plunged her into abject misery.
2 (of a person or their behavior) completely without pride or dignity; self-abasing: an abject apology.

Question 6

abjure (v)

Answer 6

solemnly renounce (a belief, cause, or claim): his refusal to abjure the Catholic faith.

abjure the realm: (historical) swear an oath to leave a country or realm forever.

Question 7

abscission (n)

Answer 7

the natural detachment of parts of a plant, typically dead leaves and ripe fruit.

Question 8

abscond (v)

Answer 8

leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to avoid detection of or arrest for an unlawful action such as theft: she absconded with the remaining thousand dollars.
• (of someone on bail) fail to surrender oneself for custody at the appointed time.
• (of a person kept in detention or under supervision) escape: 176 detainees absconded.
• (of a colony of honeybees, esp. Africanized ones) entirely abandon a hive or nest.

Question 9

abstemious (adj)

Answer 9

not self-indulgent, esp. when eating and drinking: “We only had a bottle.” “Very abstemious of you.”

Question 10

abstinence (n)

Answer 10

the fact or practice of restraining oneself from indulging in something, typically alcohol: I started drinking again after six years of abstinence.

Question 11

banal (adj)

Answer 11

so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring: songs with banal, repeated words.

Question 12

banter (n)

Answer 12

the playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks: there was much singing and good-natured banter.

Question 13

bard (n)

Answer 13

a poet, traditionally one reciting epics and associated with a particular oral tradition.
• ( the Bard or the Bard of Avon )Shakespeare.

Question 14

cacophonous (adj):

Answer 14

involving or producing a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds: the cacophonous sound of slot machines.

Question 15

bawdy (adj)

Answer 15

dealing with sexual matters in a comical way; humorously indecent.

Question 16

bifurcate (v)

Answer 16

divide into two branches or forks: [ no obj. ] : just below Cairo the river bifurcates | [ with obj. ] : the trail was bifurcated by a mountain stream.

Question 17

beatify (v)

Answer 17

[ with obj. ]

(in the Roman Catholic Church) announce the beatification of.

Question 18

bedizen (v)

Answer 18

dressed up or decorated gaudily: a dress bedizened with resplendent military medals.

Question 19

behemoth (n)

Answer 19

a huge or monstrous creature.
• something enormous, esp. a big and powerful organization: shoppers are now more loyal to their local stores than to faceless behemoths | [ as modifier ] : behemoth telephone companies.

Question 20

belie (v)

Answer 20

1 (of an appearance) fail to give a true notion or impression of (something); disguise or contradict: his lively alert manner belied his years.
2 fail to fulfill or justify (a claim or expectation); betray: the notebooks belie Darwin’s later recollection.

Question 21

cadge (v)

Answer 21

ask for or obtain (something to which one is not strictly entitled): he eats whenever he can cadge a meal | [ no obj. ] : they cadge, but timidly.

Question 22

callous (adj)

Answer 22

showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others: his callous comments about the murder made me shiver.

Question 23

calumny (n)

Answer 23

the making of false and defamatory statements in order to damage someone’s reputation; slander.
• a false and slanderous statement.

Question 24

canard (n)

Answer 24

1 an unfounded rumor or story: the old canard that LA is a cultural wasteland.
2 a small winglike projection attached to an aircraft forward of the main wing to provide extra stability or control, sometimes replacing the tail.
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from French, literally ‘duck,’ also ‘hoax,’ from Old French caner ‘to quack.’

Question 25

canon (n):

Answer 25

1 a general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged: the appointment violated the canons of fair play and equal opportunity. • a church decree or law: a set of ecclesiastical canons. 2 a collection or list of sacred books accepted as genuine: the formation of the biblical canon. • the works of a particular author or artist that are recognized as genuine: the Shakespeare canon. • the list of works considered to be permanently established as being of the highest quality: Hopkins was firmly established in the canon of English poetry.

Question 26

cant (n):

Answer 26

1 hypocritical and sanctimonious talk, typically of a moral, religious, or political nature: the liberal case against all censorship is often cant. 2 [ as modifier ] denoting a phrase or catchword temporarily current or in fashion: they are misrepresented as, in the cant word of our day, uncaring. • language peculiar to a specified group or profession and regarded with disparagement: thieves' cant.

Question 27

cantankerous (adj)

Answer 27

bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative: a crusty, cantankerous old man.

Question 28

capricious (adj)

Answer 28

given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior: a capricious and often brutal administration | a capricious climate.

Question 29

captious (adj)

Answer 29

(of a person) tending to find fault or raise petty objections.

Question 30

daunt (v)

Answer 30

make (someone) feel intimidated or apprehensive: some people are daunted by technology. PHRASES: nothing daunted: without having been made fearful or apprehensive: nothing daunted, the committee set to work.

Question 31

dearth(n)

Answer 31

a scarcity or lack of something: there is a dearth of evidence.

Question 32

debauchery (n)

Answer 32

excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures

Question 33

decorum (n)

Answer 33

behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety: you exhibit remarkable modesty and decorum. • etiquette: he had no idea of funeral decorum. • (usu. decorums) archaic a particular requirement of good taste and propriety. • archaic suitability to the requirements of a person, rank, or occasion.

Question 34

defame (v)

Answer 34

damage the good reputation of (someone); slander or libel: he claimed that the article defamed his family

Question 35

default (v)

Answer 35

1 fail to fulfill an obligation, esp. to repay a loan or to appear in a court of law: some had defaulted on student loans. • [ with obj. ] declare (a party) in default and give judgment against that party: the possibility that cases would be defaulted and defendants released. 2 (default to) (of a computer program or other mechanism) revert automatically to (a preselected option): when you start a fresh letter, the system will default to its own style.

Question 36

deference (n)

Answer 36

humble submission and respect: he addressed her with the deference due to age. PHRASES in deference to: out of respect for; in consideration of.

Question 37

defunct (adj)

Answer 37

no longer existing or functioning: a now defunct technology that only people over a certain age remember.

Question 38

delineate (v)

Answer 38

describe or portray (something) precisely: the law should delineate and prohibit behavior that is socially abhorrent. • indicate the exact position of (a border or boundary).

Question 39

demographic (adj)

Answer 39

relating to the structure of populations: the demographic trend is toward an older population.