Hit Parade Group 1

Question 1

abscond

Answer 1

to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide

Question 2

aberrant

Answer 2

deviating from the norm (noun form: aberration)

Question 3

alacrity

Answer 3

eager and enthusiastic willingness

e.g. ‘she accepted the invitation with alacrity’

Question 4

approbation

Answer 4

an expression of approval or praise

Question 5

austere

Answer 5

without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic

Question 6

axiomatic

Answer 6

taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth

Question 7

canonical

Answer 7

following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards

Question 8

capricious

Answer 8

inclined to change one’s mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable

Question 9

censure

Answer 9

to criticize severely; to officially rebuke

Question 10

chicanery

Answer 10

trickery or subterfuge

Question 11

disabuse

Answer 11

to undeceive; to set right

Question 12

discordant

Answer 12

conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound

Question 13

disparate

Answer 13

fundamentally distinct or dissimilar

Question 14

effrontery

Answer 14

extreme boldness; presumptuousness

e.g. ‘had the effrontery to challenge the decision’

Question 15

eloquent

Answer 15

well-spoken, expressive, articulate

Question 16

enervate

Answer 16

to weaken; to reduce in vitality

Question 17

ennui

Answer 17

dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy

Question 18

equivocate

Answer 18

to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent (adj form: equivocal)

Question 19

erudite

Answer 19

very learned; scholarly (noun form: erudition)

Question 20

exculpate

Answer 20

exonerate; to clear of blame

Question 21

exigent

Answer 21

urgent, pressing; requiring immediate immediate action or attention

Question 22

extemporaneous

Answer 22

improvised; done without preparation

Question 23

filibuster

Answer 23

intentional obstruction, esp using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action

Question 24

fulminate

Answer 24

to loudly attack or denounce

e.g. ‘fulminate a decree’

Question 25

ingenuous

Answer 25

artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication | e.g. 'ingenuous in their brutality'

Question 26

inured

Answer 26

accustomed to accepting something undesirable | e.g. 'inured to violence'

Question 27

irascible

Answer 27

easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts

Question 28

nebulous

Answer 28

vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form

Question 29

neologism

Answer 29

a new word, expression or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses

Question 30

obtuse

Answer 30

lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression

Question 31

obviate

Answer 31

to anticipate and make unnecessary | e.g. 'a parachute can be used to obviate disaster'

Question 32

perfidy

Answer 32

disloyalty; treachery (adj: perfidious)

Question 33

perspicacious

Answer 33

acutely perceptive; having keen discernment (noun: perspicacity)

Question 34

precipitate (adj)

Answer 34

acting with excessive haste and impulse | e.g. 'their actions were precipitate'

Question 35

precipitate (verb)

Answer 35

to cause or happen before anticipated or required

Question 36

predilection

Answer 36

a disposition in favour of something; preference

Question 37

prescience

Answer 37

foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring (adj: prescient)

Question 38

prevaricate

Answer 38

to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead

Question 39

recant

Answer 39

to retract, esp a previously held belief

Question 40

solicitous

Answer 40

concerned and attentive; eager | e.g. 'she was solicitous about the welfare of her students'

Question 41

sordid

Answer 41

characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul

Question 42

truculent

Answer 42

fierce and cruel; eager to fight; harsh e.g. 'truculent criticism'

Question 43

veracity

Answer 43

truthfulness, honesty

Question 44

virulent

Answer 44

extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic