DH 10: The Toughest Words I

Question 0

quiescent

Answer 0

marked by inactivity; in a state of quiet repose

Question 1

lambaste

Answer 1

denounce; strongly criticize

Question 2

provisional

Answer 2

tentative; temporary; for the time being (like a provisional driver’s license)

Question 3

lurid

Answer 3

sensational; shocking; ghastly

Question 4

truculent, pugnacious, belligerent

Answer 4

defiantly aggressive; eager to fight

Question 5

propitiate

Answer 5

to appease; to conciliate; to regain the favor or goodwill of

Question 6

élan

Answer 6

a vigorous spirit; great enthusiasm

Question 7

perfunctory

Answer 7

something performed in a spiritless, mechanical, and routine manner

Question 8

aplomb

Answer 8

self-assurance; confident composure; admirable poise under pressure

Question 9

opaque

Answer 9

hard to understand; impenetrably dense and obscure

Question 10

craven

Answer 10

cowardly; contemptibly faint-hearted

Question 11

venal

Answer 11

corrupt; dishonest; open to bribery

Question 12

licentious

Answer 12

immoral; dissolute; debauched

Question 13

noxious

Answer 13

harmful; injurious to physical, mental, or moral health

Question 14

superfluous, extraneous

Answer 14

unnecessary; extra

Question 15

duplicitous

Answer 15

deliberately deceptive in behavior or speech

Question 16

profligate

Answer 16

wasteful; squandering time and money by living for the moment

Question 17

epiphany

Answer 17

a sudden realization; an insightful moment

Question 18

insidious

Answer 18

causing harm in a subtle or stealthy manner; devious

Question 19

vacuous, inane

Answer 19

empty; lacking serious purpose; vapid

Question 20

harbinger, portent, presage

Answer 20

indications or omens that something important or calamitous is about to occur

Question 21

beleaguer

Answer 21

to beset; to surround with problems

Question 22

burgeon

Answer 22

to grow rapidly; to expand

Question 23

imperious

Answer 23

domineering and arrogant; haughty

Question 24

petulant

Answer 24

peevish, irritable

Question 25

complaisant

Answer 25

agreeable; marked by a pleasing personality; affable; amiable

Question 26

fawn

Answer 26

behaving in a servile, obsequious, or subservient manner

Question 27

obdurate, intransigent

Answer 27

very stubborn; obstinate; unyieldingly persistent; inflexible; intractable

Question 28

redolent

Answer 28

exuding fragrance; full of a specified smell; suggestive of

Question 29

chicanery

Answer 29

deception by subterfuge; deliberate trickery

Question 30

conundrum

Answer 30

a difficult problem; a dilemma with no easy solution

Question 31

slight

Answer 31

to treat in a disparaging manner; to deliberately ignore

Question 32

capitulate

Answer 32

to surrender; to comply without protest

Question 33

disheartening

Answer 33

very discouraging; dismaying; dispiriting

Question 34

apocryphal

Answer 34

of doubtful authenticity; false; spurious

Question 35

magisterial

Answer 35

learned and authoritative

Question 36

plastic, malleable, pliable

Answer 36

flexible; easily shaped, especially by outside influences or forces

Question 37

chagrin

Answer 37

the feeling of distress caused by humiliation, failure, or embarrassment

Question 38

obstreperous

Answer 38

noisily and stubbornly defiant; unruly; boisterous

Question 39

idyllic

Answer 39

charmingly simple and carefree

Question 40

dilapidated

Answer 40

having fallen into a state of disrepair; broken-down; in deplorable condition

Question 41

extemporize, improvise

Answer 41

to lecture or speak without notes

Question 42

myriad

Answer 42

many; numerous

Question 43

ungainly

Answer 43

awkward; clumsy; not graceful

Question 44

dilatory

Answer 44

habitually late; tardy

Question 45

vituperative

Answer 45

characterized by verbal abuse and bitter criticism

Question 46

discordant

Answer 46

not in harmony; incompatible; at variance with, as in a discordant detail that doesn't fit a pattern

Question 47

perfidious

Answer 47

treacherous; traitorous; deceitful

Question 48

proliferate

Answer 48

to increase rapidly

Question 49

indomitable, resolute

Answer 49

very determined; unwavering

Question 50

moribund

Answer 50

approaching death; about to become obsolete

Question 51

nuance

Answer 51

a subtle shade of meaning or feeling; a slight degree of difference

Question 52

flippant, facetious

Answer 52

treating serious matters with lighthearted humor or lack of respect

Question 53

credulous

Answer 53

easily convinced; tending to believe too readily; gullible; incredulous—disbelieving, skeptical

Question 54

florid

Answer 54

flowery in style; very ornate

Question 55

excoriating, scathing

Answer 55

expressing strong disapproval; condemning; loudly decrying

Question 56

interloper

Answer 56

an intruder; a gatecrasher

Question 57

cerebral

Answer 57

intellectual rather than emotional

Question 58

visceral

Answer 58

instinctive rather than rational

Question 59

nonplussed, confounded

Answer 59

utterly perplexed; completely puzzled; totally bewildered

Question 60

ignominious

Answer 60

humiliating; shameful; disgraceful

Question 61

euphony

Answer 61

soothing or pleasant sounds; harmony

Question 62

cacophony

Answer 62

harsh, clashing, jarring, grating sounds; disharmony

Question 63

obsequious

Answer 63

promptly obedient, submissive; marked by or exhibiting fawning attentiveness

Question 64

timorous

Answer 64

showing nervousness or fear