F

Question 1

fabricate

(v.)

Answer 1

to make up, invent

(When I arrived an hour late to class, I fabricated some excuse about my car breaking down on the way to school.)

Question 2

facade

(n.)

Answer 2

1. the wall of a building
2. a deceptive appearance or attitude

1. (Meet me in front of the museum’s main façade.)
2. (Despite my smiling façade, I am feeling melancholy.)

Question 3

facile

(adj.)

Answer 3

1. easy, requiring little effort
2. superficial, achieved with minimal thought or care, insincere

1. (This game is so facile that even a four-year-old can master it.)
2. (The business was in such shambles that any solution seemed facile at best; nothing could really help it in the long-run.)

Question 4

fallacious

(adj.)

Answer 4

incorrect, misleading

(Emily offered me cigarettes on the fallacious assumption that I smoked.)

Question 5

fastidious

(adj.)

Answer 5

meticulous, demanding, having high and often unattainable standards

(Mark is so fastidious that he is never able to finish a project because it always seems imperfect to him.)

Question 6

fathom

(v.)

Answer 6

to understand, comprehend

(I cannot fathom why you like that crabby and mean-spirited neighbor of ours.)

Question 7

fatuous

(adj.)

Answer 7

silly, foolish

(He considers himself a serious poet, but in truth, he only writes fatuous limericks.)

Question 8

fecund

(adj.)

Answer 8

fruitful, fertile

(The fecund tree bore enough apples to last us through the entire season.)

Question 9

felicitous

(adj.)

Answer 9

1. well suited, apt
2. delightful, pleasing

1. (While his comments were idiotic and rambling, mine were felicitous and helpful.)
2. (I spent a felicitous afternoon visiting old friends.)

Question 10

feral

(adj.)

Answer 10

wild, savage

(That beast looks so feral that I would fear being alone with it.)

Question 11

fervent

(adj.)

Answer 11

ardent, passionate

(The fervent protestors chained themselves to the
building and shouted all night long.)

Question 12

fetid

(adj.)

Answer 12

having a foul odor

(I can tell from the fetid smell in your refrigerator that your milk has spoiled.)

Question 13

fetter

(v.)

Answer 13

to chain, restrain

(The dog was fettered to the parking meter.)

Question 14

fickle

(adj.)

Answer 14

shifting in character, inconstant

(In Greek dramas, the fickle gods help
Achilles one day, and then harm him the next.)

Question 15

fidelity

(n.)

Answer 15

loyalty, devotion

(Guard dogs are known for the great fidelity they show toward their masters.)

Question 16

figurative

(adj.)

Answer 16

symbolic

(Using figurative language, Jane likened the storm to an angry bull.)

Question 17

flabbergasted

(adj.)

Answer 17

astounded

(Whenever I read an Agatha Christie mystery novel, I am always flabbergasted when I learn the identity of the murderer.)

Question 18

flaccid

(adj.)

Answer 18

limp, not firm or strong

(If a plant is not watered enough, its leaves become droopy and flaccid.)

Question 19

flagrant

(adj.)

Answer 19

offensive, egregious

(The judge’s decision to set the man free simply because that man was his brother was a flagrant abuse of power.)

Question 20

florid

(adj.)

Answer 20

flowery, ornate

(The writer’s florid prose belongs on a sentimental Hallmark card.)

Question 21

flout

(v.)

Answer 21

to disregard or disobey openly

(I flouted the school’s dress code by wearing a tie-dyed tank top and a pair of cut-off jeans.)

Question 22

foil

(v.)

Answer 22

to thwart, frustrate, defeat

(Inspector Wilkens foiled the thieves by locking them in the bank along with their stolen money.)

Question 23

forage

(v.)

Answer 23

to graze, rummage for food

(When we got lost on our hiking trip, we foraged for berries and nuts in order to survive.)

Question 24

forbearance

(n.)

Answer 24

patience, restraint, toleration

(The doctor showed great forbearance in calming down the angry patient who shouted insults at him.)

Question 25

forestall | (v.)

Answer 25

to prevent, thwart, delay ## Footnote (I **forestalled** the cold I was getting by taking plenty of vitamin C pills and wearing a scarf.)

Question 26

forlorn | (adj.)

Answer 26

lonely, abandoned, hopeless ## Footnote (Even though I had the flu, my family decided to go skiing for the weekend and leave me home alone, feeling feverish and **forlorn**.)

Question 27

forsake | (v.)

Answer 27

to give up, renounce ## Footnote (My New Year’s resolution is to **forsake** smoking and drinking.)

Question 28

fortitude | (n.)

Answer 28

strength, guts ## Footnote (Achilles’ **fortitude** in battle is legendary.)

Question 29

fortuitous | (adj.)

Answer 29

happening by chance, often lucky or fortunate ## Footnote (After looking for Manuel and not finding him at home, Harriet had a **fortuitous** encounter with him at the post office.)

Question 30

forum | (n.)

Answer 30

a medium for lecture or disussion ## Footnote (Some radio talk-shows provide a good **forum** for political debate.)

Question 31

foster | (v.)

Answer 31

to stimulate, promote, encourage ## Footnote (To **foster** good health in the city, the mayor started a “Get out and exercise!” campaign.)

Question 32

fractious | (adj.)

Answer 32

troublesome or irritable ## Footnote (Although the child insisted he wasn’t tired, his **fractious** behavior—especially his decision to crush his cheese and crackers all over the floor—convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.)

Question 33

fraught | (adj.) ## Footnote (usually used with "with")

Answer 33

filled or accompanied with ## Footnote (Her glances in his direction were **fraught** with meaning, though precisely what meaning remained unclear.)

Question 34

frenetic | (adj.)

Answer 34

frenzied, hectic, frantic ## Footnote (In the hours between night and morning, the **frenetic** pace of city life slows to a lull.)

Question 35

frivolous | (adj.)

Answer 35

of little importance, trifling ## Footnote (Someday, all that anxiety about whether your zit will disappear before the prom will seem totally **frivolous**.)

Question 36

frugal | (adj.)

Answer 36

thrifty, economical ## Footnote (Richard is so **frugal** that his diet consists almost exclusively of catfish and chicken liver—the two most inexpensive foods in the store.)

Question 37

furtive | (adj.)

Answer 37

secretive, sly ## Footnote (Jane’s placement of her drugs in her sock drawer was not as **furtive** as she thought, as the sock drawer is the first place most parents look.)