Key Terms 2

Question 1

abate

Answer 1

to lessen in intensity or degree

Question 2

ameliorate

Answer 2

to make better or more tolerable

Question 3

ascetic

Answer 3

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

Question 4

avarice

Answer 4

greed, especially for wealth

Question 5

burgeon

Answer 5

to grow rapidly or flourish

Question 6

bucolic

Answer 6

rustic and pastoral; characteristic rural areas and their inhabitants

Question 7

cacophony

Answer 7

harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance

Question 8

castigation

Answer 8

severe criticism or punishment

Question 9

chary

Answer 9

wary; cautious; sparing

Question 10

contrite

Answer 10

regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness

Question 11

dearth

Answer 11

smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack

Question 12

demur

Answer 12

to question of oppose

Question 13

ebullience

Answer 13

the quality of lively of enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings

Question 14

elegy

Answer 14

a mournful poem, especially one lamenting the dead

Question 15

emollient

Answer 15

soothing, especially to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin

Question 16

sphemeral

Answer 16

brief, fleeting

Question 17

esoteric

Answer 17

intended for or understood by a small, specific group

Question 18

facetious

Answer 18

playful; humorous

Question 19

furtive

Answer 19

marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious

Question 20

surreptitious

Answer 20

kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of

Question 21

gregarious

Answer 21

sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people

Question 22

harangue

Answer 22

to deliver a forceful or angry speech; ranting speech or writing

Question 23

impecunious

Answer 23

lacking funds; without money

Question 24

innocuous

Answer 24

harmless; causing no damage

Question 25

intransigent

Answer 25

refusing to compromise

Question 26

inveigle

Answer 26

to obtain by deception or flattery

Question 27

morose

Answer 27

sad; sullen; melancholy

Question 28

odious

Answer 28

evoking intense aversion or dislike

Question 29

penurious

Answer 29

penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous

Question 30

pernicious

Answer 30

extremely harmful in a way that is not easily seen or notcied

Question 31

prodigious

Answer 31

abundant in size, force, or extent, extraordinary

Question 32

quaff

Answer 32

to drink deeply

Question 33

redoubtable

Answer 33

awe-inspiring; worthy of honor

Question 34

squalid

Answer 34

sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect

Question 35

supplant

Answer 35

to take the place of; to supersede

Question 36

torpid

Answer 36

lethargic; sluggish; dormant