Hit Parade Group 4

Question 1

Acerbic

Answer 1

adj. having a sour or bitter taste or character; sharp; biting

Question 2

Aggrandize

Answer 2

v. to increase in intensity, power, influence, or prestige

Question 3

Alchemy

Answer 3

n. a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, esp. base metals into gold

Question 4

Amenable

Answer 4

adj. agreeable; responsive to suggestion

Question 5

Anachronism

Answer 5

n. something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context

Question 6

Astringent

Answer 6

adj. having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe; something with tightening effect on tissue

Question 7

Contiguous

Answer 7

adj. sharing a border; touching; adjacent

Question 8

Convention

Answer 8

n. a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude

Question 9

Credulous

Answer 9

adj. tending to believe too readily; gullible

Question 10

Cynicism

Answer 10

n. an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness

Question 11

Decorum

Answer 11

n. polite or appropriate conduct or behavior

Question 12

Derision

Answer 12

n. scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment

Question 13

Desiccate

Answer 13

v. to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull

Question 14

Dilettante

Answer 14

n. one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts of a branch of knowledge

Question 15

Disparage

Answer 15

v. to slight or belittle

Question 16

Divulge

Answer 16

v. to disclose something secret

Question 17

Fawn

Answer 17

v. to flatter or praise excessively

Question 18

Flout

Answer 18

v. to show contempt for, as in a rule or convention

Question 19

Garrulous

Answer 19

adj. pointlessly talkative; talking too much

Question 20

Glib

Answer 20

adj. marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial

Question 21

Hubris

Answer 21

n. overbearing presumption or pride; arrogance

Question 22

Imminent

Answer 22

adj. about to happen; impending

Question 23

Immutable

Answer 23

adj. not capable of change

Question 24

Impetuous

Answer 24

adj. Hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement

Question 25

Indifferent

Answer 25

adj. having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice

Question 26

Inimical

Answer 26

damaging; harmful; injurious

Question 27

Intractable

Answer 27

adj. not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate

Question 28

Intrepid

Answer 28

adj. steadfast and courageous

Question 29

Laconic

Answer 29

adj. using few words; terse

Question 30

Maverick

Answer 30

n. an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party

Question 31

Mercurial

Answer 31

adj. characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood

Question 32

Mollify

Answer 32

v. to calm or soothe; to reduce in emotional intensity

Question 33

Neophyte

Answer 33

n. a recent convert; a beginner; novice

Question 34

Obfuscate

Answer 34

v. to deliberately obscure; to make confusing

Question 35

Obstinate

Answer 35

adj. stubborn; hard-headed; uncompromising

Question 36

Ostentatious

Answer 36

adj. characterized by or given to pretentious display; showy

Question 37

Phlegmatic

Answer 37

adj. calm; sluggish; unemotional

Question 38

Pervade

Answer 38

v. to permeate throughout

Question 39

Pragmatic

Answer 39

adj. practical rather than idealistic

Question 40

Plethora

Answer 40

n. an overabundance; a surplus

Question 41

Pristine

Answer 41

adj. pure; uncorrupted; clean

Question 42

Presumptuous

Answer 42

adj. overstepping due to bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties

Question 43

Proclivity

Answer 43

n. a natural predisposition or inclination

Question 44

Probity

Answer 44

n. adherence to highest principles; complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness

Question 45

Propensity

Answer 45

n. a natural inclination or tendency; penchant

Question 46

Profligate

Answer 46

adj. excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant

Question 47

Pungent

Answer 47

adj. characterized by strong, sharp smell or taste

Question 48

Prosaic

Answer 48

adj. dull; lacking in spirit or imagination

Question 49

Quotidian

Answer 49

adj. occurring or recurring daily; commonplace

Question 50

Quixotic

Answer 50

adj. foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals

Question 51

Recondite

Answer 51

adj. hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure

Question 52

Rarefy

Answer 52

v. to make or become thin, less dense; to refine

Question 53

Renege

Answer 53

v. to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise

Question 54

Refulgent

Answer 54

adj. radiant; shiny; brilliant

Question 55

Shard

Answer 55

n. a piece of broken pottery or glass

Question 56

Sedulous

Answer 56

adj. diligent; persistent; hard-working

Question 57

Sparse

Answer 57

adj. thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals

Question 58

Soporific

Answer 58

adj. causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep

Question 59

Subtle

Answer 59

adj. not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern

Question 60

Spendthrift

Answer 60

n. one who spends money wastefully

Question 61

Terse

Answer 61

adj. brief and concise in wording

Question 62

Tacit

Answer 62

adj. implied; not explicitly stated

Question 63

Trenchant

Answer 63

adj. sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating

Question 64

Tout

Answer 64

v. to publicly praise or promote

Question 65

Untenable

Answer 65

adj. indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable

Question 66

Unfeigned

Answer 66

adj. genuine; not false or hypocritical

Question 67

Variegated

Answer 67

adj. multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different color

Question 68

Vacillate

Answer 68

v. to waver indecisively between one course of action of opinion and another

Question 69

Vigilant

Answer 69

adj. alertly watchful

Question 70

Vexation

Answer 70

n. annoyance; irritation

Question 71

Volatile

Answer 71

adj. readily changing to vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive

Question 72

Vituperate

Answer 72

v. to use harsh condemnatory language, to abuse or censure severely or abusively; to berate