Hit Parade Group 2

Question 1

Abate

Answer 1

v. to lessen in intensity or degree

Question 2

Accolade

Answer 2

n. an expression of praise

Question 3

Adulation

Answer 3

n. excessive praise; intense adoration

Question 4

Aesthetic

Answer 4

adj. dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful

Question 5

Ameliorate

Answer 5

v. to make better or more tolerable

Question 6

Ascetic

Answer 6

n. one who practices rigid self-denial, especially as an act of religious devotion

Question 7

Avarice

Answer 7

n. greed, esp. for wealth

adj. form avaricious

Question 8

Axiom

Answer 8

n. a universally recognized principle

Question 9

Burgeon

Answer 9

v. to grow rapidly or flourish

Question 10

Bucolic

Answer 10

rustic and pastoral

Question 11

Cacophony

Answer 11

n. harsh, jarring, discordant sound

Question 12

Canon

Answer 12

n. an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature

Question 13

Castigation

Answer 13

n. severe criticism or punishment

Question 14

Catalyst

Answer 14

n. a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change

Question 15

Caustic

Answer 15

adj. burning or stinging; causing corrosion

Question 16

Chary

Answer 16

adj. wary; cautious; sparing

Question 17

Cogent

Answer 17

adj. convincing

Question 18

Complaisance

Answer 18

n. the willingness to comply with the wishes of others

Question 19

Contentious

Answer 19

adj. argumentative; causing controversy or disagreement

Question 20

Contrite

Answer 20

adj. regretful; seeking forgiveness

Question 21

Culpable

Answer 21

adj. deserving blame

Question 22

Dearth

Answer 22

n. scarcity; a lack; smallness of quantity or number

Question 23

Demur

Answer 23

v. to question or oppose

Question 24

Didactic

Answer 24

adj. intended to teach or instruct

Question 25

Discretion

Answer 25

n. cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions

Question 26

Disinterested

Answer 26

adj. impartial

Question 27

Dogmatic

Answer 27

adj. expressing a rigid opinion on unproved principles

Question 28

Ebullience

Answer 28

n. the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings

Question 29

Eclectic

Answer 29

adj. composed of elements drawn from various sources

Question 30

Elegy

Answer 30

n. a mournful poem

Question 31

Emollient

Answer 31

adj. soothing; making less harsh | n. an agent that softens or smooths the skin

Question 32

Empirical

Answer 32

adj. based on observation or experimentation

Question 33

Enigmatic

Answer 33

adj. mysterious; difficult to understand

Question 34

Ephemeral

Answer 34

adj. brief; fleeting

Question 35

Esoteric

Answer 35

adj. intended for or understood by a small, specific group

Question 36

Eulogy

Answer 36

n. a speech honoring the dead

Question 37

Exonerate

Answer 37

v. to remove blame

Question 38

Facetious

Answer 38

adj. playful; humorous

Question 39

Fallacy

Answer 39

n. an invalid or incorrect notion

Question 40

Furtive

Answer 40

adj. stealthy; covert; surreptitious

Question 41

Gregarious

Answer 41

adj. sociable and outgoing

Question 42

Harangue

Answer 42

v. to deliver a pompous speech or tirade | n. a long, pompous speech

Question 43

Heretical

Answer 43

adj. violating accepted dogma or convention

Question 44

Hyperbole

Answer 44

n. an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech

Question 45

Impecunious

Answer 45

adj. lacking funds

Question 46

Incipient

Answer 46

adj. beginning to come into being or become apparent

Question 47

Inert

Answer 47

adj. unmoving; lethargic

Question 48

Innocuous

Answer 48

adj. harmless

Question 49

Intransigent

Answer 49

adj. refusing to compromise

Question 50

Inveigle

Answer 50

v. to obtain by deception or flattery

Question 51

Morose

Answer 51

adj. sad; sullen; melancholy

Question 52

Odious

Answer 52

adj. evoking intense aversion or dislike

Question 53

Opaque

Answer 53

adj. impenetrable by light; not reflecting light

Question 54

Oscillation

Answer 54

n. the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady rhythm

Question 55

Penurious

Answer 55

adj. penny-pinching; ungenerous

Question 56

Pernicious

Answer 56

adj. extremely harmful; potentially causing death

Question 57

Peruse

Answer 57

v. to examine with great care

Question 58

Pious

Answer 58

adj. extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion (n. form piety)

Question 59

Precursor

Answer 59

n. one that precedes and indicates or announces another

Question 60

Preen

Answer 60

v. to dress up; to groom oneself with elaborate care

Question 61

Prodigious

Answer 61

adj. abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary

Question 62

Prolific

Answer 62

adj. productive

Question 63

Putrefy

Answer 63

v. to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor

Question 64

Quaff

Answer 64

v. to drink deeply

Question 65

Quiescence

Answer 65

n. stillness; quality of being at rest

Question 66

Redoubtable

Answer 66

adj. awe-inspiring; worthy of honor

Question 67

Sanction

Answer 67

n. authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance v. to give permission or authority to

Question 68

Satire

Answer 68

n. a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor and derision

Question 69

Squalid

Answer 69

adj. sordid; wretched and dirty

Question 70

Stoic

Answer 70

adj. indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast

Question 71

Supplant

Answer 71

v. to take the place of; to supersede

Question 72

Torpid

Answer 72

adj. lethargic; dormant

Question 73

Ubiquitous

Answer 73

adj. existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread

Question 74

Urbane

Answer 74

adj. sophisticated; refined

Question 75

Vilify

Answer 75

v. to defame or characterize harshly

Question 76

Viscous

Answer 76

adj. thick; sticky