Lagerdemain

Question 1

Legerdemain

Answer 1

Sleight of hands (magic as performed by a megician); trickery or deception

Synonym: prestidigitation
Related word: thaumaturgy - working of miracle

Legerdemain - French - meaning light of hands

Question 2

Diaphanous

Answer 2

Very sheer, fine, translucent

Question 3

Imbue

Answer 3

Permeate or saturate, as dye in a fabric; influence throughout

Question 4

Posit

Answer 4

Presume, suggest, put forward an idea

We pose a question but we posit an idea

Question 5

Assuage

Answer 5

Make milder, relieve; soothe, pacify, or calm

Placate, mollify, appease

Question 6

Aspersions

Answer 6

Damaging remarks, defamation, slander

Question 7

Irascible

Answer 7

Irritable, easily angered

Question 8

Slake

Answer 8

Satisfy thirst, cool, or refresh; make less active

Slake is related to slack (loose, negligent, lazy, weak)

Question 9

Leery of

Answer 9

Suspicious or wary

Ex. You should be leery of any business opportunity that requires a startup fee.

Question 10

Supplant

Answer 10

Take the place of, displace through sneaky tactics (to replace)

Question 11

Gambol

Answer 11

Frolic; skip or leap playfully

Gambol comes from the Latin “gamba” a horse’s leg

Question 12

Truce

Answer 12

An agreement between enemies

Question 13

Fraught

Answer 13

Filled with; likely to result in something undesirable

Ex. Marketing a new product is fraught with danger.

Question 14

Strut

Answer 14

A structural support or brace

Related words: bolster, fortify, buttress

To strut is to walk in a showy way, like in a fashion show.

Question 15

Quibble

Answer 15

Make trivial arguments or criticisms, find faults in a petty way

This word is often associated with lawyers

Question 16

Baying

Answer 16

Howling in a deep way, like a wolf

Ex. The lonely dog bayed all night.

When a person is at bay or brought to bay, that means he is in a captured position, powerless and unable to flee

Question 17

Vitriol

Answer 17

Something highly caustic, such as criticism
Ex. After another embarrassing loss, the team’s shortstop was full of vitriol for the coach who had lead them to the worst season in history.

Related words: caustic, acrimony.

Question 18

Grandstand

Answer 18

Perform showily an attempt to impress onlookers.

Question 19

Hand-wringing

Answer 19

Grasping, squeezing of hands as an expression of nervousness, guilt; extend debate over what to do about an issue.

Question 20

Goad

Answer 20

Spur on, stimulate, encourage; urge on (as cattle) with a pointed or electrically charged stick

Synonym: prod

Goad means to peer-pressure

Question 21

Discordant

Answer 21

Harsh or inharmonious in sound ; disagreeing, incongruous

Related words: dissonance

The opposite of discord is accord

Question 22

Credulous

Answer 22

Gullible; prone to believing or trusting too easily

Question 23

Bygone

Answer 23

Past, former

Bygone days.

Question 24

Prolix

Answer 24

Excessively long and wordy (of a person, piece or writing).

Ex. She is incredible verbose. She tells biting, prolix stories.

Question 25

Belie

Answer 25

Contradict or misrepresent

Question 26

Fulminate

Answer 26

Attack verbally in a vehement way; explode, detonate

Question 27

Winnow

Answer 27

Sift (examen), analyze critically, separate useful part from worthless part

Question 28

Recrudescent

Answer 28

Revival, breaking out into renewed activity

Ex. Recrudescence of his psoriasis came back at the worst possible time.

Question 29

Distaff

Answer 29

Female; related to the maternal side of the family

Question 30

Aloof

Answer 30

Distant physically or emotionally; reserved; indifferent

Dogs are affable while cats are aloof.

Question 31

Ingrate

Answer 31

Ungrateful person

Question 32

Lassitude

Answer 32

Lazy indifference; tiredness, weariness

Question 33

Blithe

Answer 33

Joyous, merry; excessively carefree

Blithe can be positive or negative.

Question 34

Attenuate

Answer 34

Weaken or thin out

Question 35

Milieu

Answer 35

Environment, atmosphere;the environmental setting in which something happens or develops

Question 36

Penchant for

Answer 36

He has penchant for adventure sports.