Hit Parade Group 3

Question 1

aver

Answer 1

to state as a fact; to declare or assert

e.g. ‘he averred that he was innocent’

Question 2

diatribe

Answer 2

a harsh denunciation

Question 3

dissemble

Answer 3

to disguise or conceal; to mislead

e.g. ‘an honest, sincere person with no need to dissemble’

Question 4

endemic

Answer 4

characteristic of or often found in a particular locality, region, or people

Question 5

evanescent

Answer 5

tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing

Question 6

fortuitous

Answer 6

happening by accident or chance

Question 7

germane

Answer 7

relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter

e.g. ‘that is not germane to our theme’

Question 8

grandiloquence

Answer 8

pompous speech or expression (adj: grandiloquent)

Question 9

hackneyed

Answer 9

rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage

e.g. ‘hackneyed old sayings’

Question 10

halcyon

Answer 10

calm and peaceful

Question 11

iconoclast

Answer 11

one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions

Question 12

idolatrous

Answer 12

given to intense devotion to something (noun: idolatry). religious / excessive

e.g. ‘the modern obsession with health is idolatrous.

Question 13

imperturbable

Answer 13

marked by extreme calm, impassivity, and steadiness

Question 14

impunity

Answer 14

immunity from punishment or penalty

e.g. ‘the impunity enjoyed by military officers in civilian killings’

Question 15

inchoate

Answer 15

in an initial stage; not fully formed

e.g. ‘a still inchoate democracy’

Question 16

infelicitous

Answer 16

unfortunate; inappropriate

e. g. ‘an infelicitous remark’
e. g. ‘an infelicitous moment’

Question 17

mendacity

Answer 17

the condition of being untruthful; dishonesty (adj: mendacious)

Question 18

misanthrope

Answer 18

one who hates all other humans (adj: misanthropic)

Question 19

obdurate

Answer 19

unyielding; hardhearted; intractable

‘I argued this point with him, but he was obdurate’

Question 20

obsequious

Answer 20

exhibiting a fawning attentiveness

Question 21

occlude

Answer 21

to obstruct or block

e.g. ‘this makeup can occlude the pores’

Question 22

opprobrium

Answer 22

disgrace; contempt; scorn

e.g. ‘the critical opprobrium generated by his films’

Question 23

penury

Answer 23

poverty; destitution

Question 24

pith

Answer 24

the essential or central part

e.g. ‘the pith and core of socialism’

Question 25

pithy

Answer 25

precise and brief e.g. 'pithy comments'

Question 26

polemical

Answer 26

controversial; argumentative e.g. 'a polemical essay'

Question 27

prodigal

Answer 27

recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish

Question 28

querulous

Answer 28

prone to complaining or grumbling; peevish 'she became querulous and demanding'

Question 29

rancorous

Answer 29

characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment (noun: rancor) e.g. 'sixteen miserable months of rancorous disputes'

Question 30

recalcitrant

Answer 30

obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage

Question 31

repudiate

Answer 31

to refuse to have anything to do with; to disown e.g. 'repudiate allegations'

Question 32

reverent

Answer 32

marked by, feeling, or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect

Question 33

salubrious

Answer 33

promoting health or well-being e.g. 'he doesn't live in a particularly salubrious part of town'

Question 34

specious

Answer 34

seeming true, but actually being fallacious; misleadingly attractive; plausible but false

Question 35

spurious

Answer 35

lacking authenticity or validity; false; counterfeit

Question 36

subpoena

Answer 36

a court order requiring appearance and/or testimony

Question 37

surfeit

Answer 37

(verb) an overabundant supply; excess; to feed or supply to excess noun: 'a surfeit of supplies'