Magoosh Words

Question 1

lambast

Answer 1

criticize severely or angrily.

=> showing no patience, the manager lambasted the sales team.

Question 2

predilection

Answer 2

strong liking, bias
*predilection = preference.
But given those choices, judges tend to pick whatever authority supports their predilection.

Question 3

Dogmatic

Answer 3

highly opinionated and asserting principles as the truth undeniably.
=> Kant himself distinguished two types of philosophy, which he called the dogmatic and critical types.

Question 4

torpor

Answer 4

inactivity resulting from lethargy or lack of vigor or energy.
*How to remember: A topper does not torpor.
=> Elizabeth alone had the power to draw me from these fits; her gentle voice would soothe me when transported by passion, and inspire me with human feelings when sunk in torpor.

Question 5

reticent

Answer 5

disinclined to talk, keeping thoughts to oneself, chilled, introverted.
=> Danger appears not to stir him, but he becomes reticent when asked about his work.

Question 6

Volubility

Answer 6

sheer quality of talking and writing, fluency.

=> I’m talking, freed of all restraint a volubility which isn’t pleasant should you share the room with me.

Question 7

Vociferous

Answer 7

conspicuously and offensively loud, outspoken, outcry.

=>

Question 8

deferential

Answer 8

respectful in manner.
=> He reached forward and, head bowed in deferential respect, he made so as to lift the holy book, and it yielded to his purity and righteousness, and opened for him.

Question 9

Superfluous

Answer 9

serving no useful purpose.
=> After defeated in the fight with Sakura, Sasori was superfluous to the Akatsuki.
God never intended for one group of people to live in superfluous inordinate wealth, while others live in abject deadening poverty. ‘

Question 10

mawkish

Answer 10

overly sentimental.

=> The last episode was incredibly mawkish, to the point that racism was apparently a sane concept in comparison.

Question 11

apathetic

Answer 11

marked by a lack of interest.
(way to remember: a__pathetic)
=> The fact that some may call San Diegans lazy and apathetic is just inaccurate and beyond the bounds of reasonableness and decency.

Question 12

bucolic

Answer 12

relating to the pleasant aspects of the country life.
=> Casey was so intrigued after watching one season of Heartland that she wanted to move from NYC to the bucolic life of the pastures.

Question 13

impudent

Answer 13

*How to remember: I’m putting a “dent”.
improperly forward or bold.
=> What some would call impudent, Teddy said, others might call spirited.

Question 14

culpability

Answer 14

*How to remember: Culprit’s Ability.
a state of guilt.
=> I believe the issue of culpability is very important, and this nonsense of guilt on the part of derivative players such as Pelosi is a red herring, both legally and practically.

Question 15

platitude

Answer 15

*How to remember: Pretty Latitude(obvious)
obvious remark.
=> Morley once warned the Emersonian that a platitude is not transformed into a profundity by being dressed up as a conundrum.

Question 16

querulous

Answer 16

habitually complaining.

=> “Don’t stand looking any longer, for mercy’s sake!” called the querulous voice from the house.

Question 17

gall

Answer 17

the trait of being rude or impertinent.
*how to remember: Gall -> Gal -> Girl -> rude without reason. -> defining trait.
=> The speeding car had the gall to switch five lanes at once, run through a red light, and then cut off a police car before finally coming to a stop in front of a sea of flashing red lights.

Question 18

recondite

Answer 18

difficult to penetrate.
*How to remember: “recon” => difficult to infiltrate without recon.
=> For a popular treatment of the somewhat recondite underpinnings of this thesis, see R.

Question 19

banal

Answer 19

repeated too often, overfamiliar through overuse.
*How to remember: offence repeated too often => you get banned; hence banal.
In his letter the pope said that in the wake of the sexual abuse crisis, the church had to be all the more watchful and attentive about who should become priests and ensure that future ministers do not succumb to what he called a banal and destructive sexuality.

Question 20

chortle

Answer 20

to laugh or chuckle merrily.
*How to remember: choking chuckle => muffled laugh.
Walking into the cafe, I could hear happy, chortling people and smell the rich aroma of roasted coffee beans.

Question 21

culminate

Answer 21

reach the highest or the most decisive point.

=> Beethoven’s musical genius culminated in the 9th Symphony, which many consider his greatest work.

Question 21

culminate

Answer 21

reach the highest or the most decisive point.

=> Beethoven’s musical genius culminated in the 9th Symphony, which many consider his greatest work.

Question 22

germane

Answer 22

relevant or appropriate.
=> The professor wanted to tell the jury in detail about his new book, but the lawyer said it wasn’t germane to the charges in the cases.

Question 23

ameliorate

Answer 23

make something bad better.
*How to remember: opposite of deteriorate.
=> The question for me is: will the execution of Hussein ameliorate or worsen the situation in Iraq in the short term and in the long run?

Question 24

staunch

Answer 24

support firmly. *steady stance => staunch => Menino was described as a "staunch opponent" of the retailer.

Question 25

languid

Answer 25

slow and relaxed; not inclined towards physical exertion. *langda == slow => languid. => I find it interesting that the review says the first half was 'languid' - I thought it was rushed and choppy .. the romance is more assumed than shown, which was too bad.

Question 26

Delineate

Answer 26

explain something meticulously and properly. *Delineate = (Diligently and neatly) => Tallies of living languages differ widely depending on how evaluators delineate one language from another.

Question 27

subsume

Answer 27

contain or include. *subsume = consume but not completely(i.e. sub-consume) => Don Quixote of La Mancha subsumes all other modern novels, demonstrating modern literary devices and predating even the idea of a postmodern, metanarrative.

Question 28

quotidian

Answer 28

found in ordinary course of events. *Quotidian=Quoted every day. => Under his expert hand, the Wiener Philharmoniker, apt to phone it in for something as "quotidian" as Mozart's 40th, shines and sparkles with the swank and swagger only it has.

Question 29

vehement

Answer 29

marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions. *Vehement: Via-payment; hence forcefully. => Andrew responded in a vehement manner, tipping over his desk and shouting at the top of his lungs.

Question 30

eclectic

Answer 30

comprising of variety of styles. => I rarely match in that official "ladies who lunch" way, but I firmly believe that coloring outside of the lines and being eclectic is the true measure of an interesting person that I want to know better.

Question 31

forlorn

Answer 31

marked by or showing hopelessness. *FOR + LOAN =aap loan lene gaye aur vaha se hope less ho kar vapas aaye.. FORLON => I saw my kind, our women with us, in forlorn hopes and lost endeavors, pent in hill fortresses, rotted in jungle fastnesses, cut down to the last one on the decks of rocking ships.

Question 32

rudimentary

Answer 32

in the early stages of development. | => Without memory we would have to relearn everything every day and society would remain rudimentary at best.

Question 33

ephemeral

Answer 33

lasting a very short time. *e-funeral = electric funeral = SHORT. => How, then, with that kind of history, do you think the government will fare attempting to prevent the flow of something so ephemeral is “electronic bits” around the world?

Question 34

avaricious

Answer 34

excessively greedy. *a + very + rich > a strong greed to be 'a very rich' person. => Men hate the individual whom they call avaricious only because there is nothing to be gained by him.

Question 35

vilify

Answer 35

spread negative information about. *opposite of glorify. => However, hardly anyone has seriously attempted to "vilify" them since the fact of the matter is simple: one lost and the other is losing.

Question 36

belligerent

Answer 36

characteristic of one that is eager to fight. => Tom said that he was arguing the matter purely for philosophical reasons, but his belligerent tone indicated an underlying anger about the issue.

Question 37

precocious

Answer 37

characterized by exceptionally early development. | => Though only seven years old, she was a precocious chess prodigy, able to beat players twice her age.

Question 38

tantamounted

Answer 38

being essentially equal to something. *tanta = tauto => In many situations, remaining silent is tantamount to admitting guilt, so speak to prove your innocence.

Question 39

spurious

Answer 39

plausible but false. * to "spurn" means to reject. => A novel on more positive, constructive lines, and not emotionally spurious, is at present very difficult to imagine

Question 40

mollify

Answer 40

to make someone angry less angry. *mollify = PACIFY. =>In the morning, Janine was unable to mollify Harry, if he happened to become angry, unless he'd had his cup of coffee.

Question 40

mollify

Answer 40

to make someone angry less angry. *mollify = PACIFY. =>In the morning, Janine was unable to mollify Harry, if he happened to become angry, unless he'd had his cup of coffee.

Question 41

unequivocal

Answer 41

having only one meaning or interpretation. => The President's first statement on the subject was vague and open to competing interpretations, so when he spoke to Congress about the same subject later, he was careful to make his position completely unequivocal.

Question 42

haughty

Answer 42

having shown oneself as a superior and disdain views of others as unworthy. => The haughty manager didn't believe that any of his subordinates could ever have an insight as brilliant as his own.

Question 43

magnanimous

Answer 43

noble and generous in spirit. *magna = large magnitude. => he was a great sportsman, in defeat he was magnanimous.

Question 44

heretic

Answer 44

a person who holds unorthodox opinions. | => Though everybody at the gym told Mikey to do cardio before weights, Mikey was a heretic and always did the reverse.

Question 45

indignant

Answer 45

feeling anger over perceived injustice. | => Don't get so friggin 'indignant about your own hallucinations, m'kay?

Question 46

remiss

Answer 46

to be negligent in one's duty. *remiss = Repeat + Miss => I vowed to myself to never remiss towards my work.

Question 47

unnerve

Answer 47

to make nervous or lose courage or purpose. *unnerve = stopping nerves from doing something important to you. => New equity targets would not be introduced when the charter was revised by the end of June because they would "unnerve" investors and companies yet to attain that level, Nogxina said.

Question 48

tirade

Answer 48

an angry speech. *tirade = Ti + Rage. => In terms of political change, a tirade oftentimes does little more than make the person speaking red in the face.

Question 49

slapdash

Answer 49

carelessly and hastily put together. *slapped + ass = for being careless. => But that's not going to keep her original, "slapdash," study from being widely cited by the usual ranters.

Question 50

macabre

Answer 50

suggesting horror death or decay. | * => My taste in movies is rather dark, I enjoy mostly macabre horror films.

Question 51

demure

Answer 51

to be modest or shy or reserved. *demur + e = showing shy reluctance. => Above his head, Jasmine curls her body into a Scorpion, her expression demure, bordering on bashful.

Question 52

inundate

Answer 52

to flood or overwhelm. *inundate == increasingly update => to flood. => The newsroom was inundated with false reports that only made it more difficult for the newscasters to provide an objective account of the bank robbery.

Question 53

apocryphal

Answer 53

being of questionable authenticity. apo == a poor, cry, phal == false. hence questionable. => Nor can any further light be gained from the story of what Mr. Lang has happily termed the apocryphal eight which the King of Scots stroked on the Dee in the reign of Edgar.

Question 54

ostentatious

Answer 54

showy. *Oz tent was spacious (ostentatious) and had a chandelier and a welcome mat at its entrance. It sure was showy. => We dined anywhere from seven to nine, and soothed each other's irritation by calling ostentatious attention to the delicacy and perfection of each dish as it came on the table.

Question 55

adultation

Answer 55

severe flattery. | *adultation = adulting => excessvie mixing bad things.

Question 56

bellicose

Answer 56

warlike; inclined to quarrel. | => Known for their bellicose ways, the Spartans were once the most feared people from Peloponnesus to Persia.

Question 57

pithy

Answer 57

concise and full of meaning. *pithy = pi + tha => pi bht precise tha. => I enjoy reading the Daodejing for its pithy and insightful prose; it always gives me something to think about.

Question 58

soporific

Answer 58

sleep inducing.

Question 59

obdurate

Answer 59

stubborn; unyielding. *obdurate = obviously durable; hence stubborn. => No number of pleas and bribes would get him to change his obdurate attitude.

Question 60

impertinent

Answer 60

being disrespectful. Dexter, distraught over losing his pet dachshund, Madeline, found the police officer’s questions impertinent—after all, he thought, did she have to pry into such details as to what Madeline’s favorite snack was?

Question 61

munificent

Answer 61

very generous. *munificent = muni => rishimuni who are very generous. => Uncle Charley was known for his munificence, giving all seven of his nephews lavish Christmas presents each year.

Question 62

avarice

Answer 62

greed. *avarice = a very rich person => greedy. => The Spanish Conquistadores were known to be avarice

Question 63

erudite

Answer 63

scholarly *erudite = r u deity => deities are scholarly. => In comparison with her, a woman, I might have been called erudite and well-informed.

Question 64

unscrupulous

Answer 64

without principles. => In the courtroom, the lawyer was unscrupulous, using every manner of deceit and manipulation to secure a victory for himself.

Question 65

implacable

Answer 65

incapable to making less angry or hostile. | => Win or lose, the coach was always implacable, never giving the athletes an easy practice or a break.

Question 66

pedantic

Answer 66

marked by a narrow focus on or display or learning especially its trivial aspects. *pedant = patent => research i.e. they researched the trivial aspects. => Professor Thompson was regarded as an expert in his field, but his lectures were utterly pedantic, focused on rigorous details of the most trivial conventions in the field.

Question 67

ingratiate

Answer 67

gain favor with somebody by deliberate efforts.

Question 68

petulant

Answer 68

easily irritated or annoyed. => Although the three year old was often described as mature for his age, he was petulant and whiny whenever his father forgot to remove the crust from his sandwiches.

Question 69

incorrigible

Answer 69

impervious to correction by punishment. | => Tom Sawyer seems like an incorrigible youth until Huck Finn enters the novel.

Question 70

burgeon

Answer 70

grow and flourish. *BURGEr+piGEON = if you eat too many burgers you grow like a pigeon! => China's housing market is burgeoning, but some predict that the growth is merely a bubble and will burst much like the U.S. real estate bubble of 2008.

Question 71

idiosyncrasy

Answer 71

a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual. *idiosyncrasy = distinctive, peculiar. => Peggy's numerous idiosyncrasies include wearing mismatched shoes, laughing loudly to herself, and owning a pet aardvark.

Question 72

indifference

Answer 72

the trait of seeming not to care. | => In an effort to fight indifference, the president of the college introduced a new, stricter grading system.

Question 73

intransigent

Answer 73

unwilling to change one's course of action. *In = not, trans = change, for igent think 'disagreement. => despite many calls for mercy, the judge remained intransigent, citing legal precedence.

Question 74

tortuous

Answer 74

marked by repeated bends and turns. *had to steer the car down a tortuous track. => Winds and seismic and tectonic disruptions have left their mark in tortuous folds and uplifts, deep gashes, and conical incrustations that hark back far before the age of human folly.

Question 75

espouse

Answer 75

to support an ideology. => As a college student, Charlie espoused Marxism, growing his beard out and railing against the evils of the free-market.

Question 76

iconoclastic

Answer 76

defying rules and traditions. *icon = idol clash = fragments. So, one who destroys idols into pieces is iconoclast. => Jackson Pollock was an iconoclastic artist, totally breaking with tradition by splashing paint on a blank canvas.

Question 77

soporific

Answer 77

inducing mental lethargy. *sopor rhymes with torpor which means being a lazy minded asshole. => Although the professor is brilliant, his bland monotone gives his lectures a soporific effect.

Question 78

exonerate

Answer 78

pronounce not guilty of any charges. *exonerate rhymes with exempted. => The document clearly indicated that Nick was out of the state at the time of the crime, and so served to exonerate him of any charges.

Question 79

denigrate

Answer 79

charge falsely or with malicious intent. * DENY to be GRATEful => Count Rumford denigrated the new theory of heat, demonstrating that it was wholly inadequate to explain the observations.

Question 80

pragmatic

Answer 80

guided by practical experience and observations. => Rather than make a philosophical appeal to the Congressmen, the Speaker decided to take a far more pragmatic approach, making small side-deals that would add votes to his bill.

Question 81

abstruse

Answer 81

difficult to understand. =>Physics textbooks can seem so abstruse to the uninitiated that readers feel as though they are looking at hieroglyphics.

Question 82

admonitory

Answer 82

serving to warn. *Remember MONITOR in class who used to give admonitory gesture and warning other students not to talk => At the assembly, the high school vice-principal gave the students an admonitory speech, warning them of the many risks and dangers of prom night.

Question 83

temperance

Answer 83

the trait of avoiding excesses. *Synonyms for TEMPERANCE: moderateness, moderation, temperateness => Welles wasn't known for his temperance--he usually ate enough for two and drank enough for three.

Question 84

construe

Answer 84

interpreted in a particular way. *CONcentrate on decoding the TRUE messages. => The author's inability to take a side on the issue was construed by both his opponents and supporters as a sign of weakness.

Question 85

***acerbic***

Answer 85

harsh in tone. *Sounds like "Acidic." Lemons have a sour taste and are acidic. => Most movie critics are acerbic towards summer blockbusters, often referring to them as garbage.

Question 86

unscrupulous

Answer 86

without principles. *no morals. => In the courtroom, the lawyer was unscrupulous, using every manner of deceit and manipulation to secure a victory for himself.

Question 87

fulsome

Answer 87

complimentary or flattering to an excessive degree. | => The press are embarrassingly fulsome in their appreciation.

Question 88

derision

Answer 88

subjection to ridicule or mockery. *neecha dikhana is derision. => His stories were greeted with derision and disbelief.

Question 89

posthumous

Answer 89

Appearing or existing after the death or cessation of that to which its origin is due; especially, of books, published after the death of the author: as, posthumous works.

Question 90

paucity

Answer 90

a lack of something. *paucity == pauper; someone who has a "lack" of money. => There is a paucity of jobs hiring today that require menial skills, since most such jobs have either been automated or outsourced.

Question 91

insidious

Answer 91

working in a subtle but destructive way. => Plaque is insidious: we cannot see it, but each day it eats away at our enamel, causing cavities and other dental problems.

Question 92

coda

Answer 92

the tail or stem of a note. => A coda is the part of a book or musical piece that comes at the very end. We are not focused on the ordering of a specific text.

Question 93

inkling

Answer 93

a slight suggestion or vague understanding. *inkling => linking == a hint or a clue! => Lynne speaks four Romance languages, but she doesn't have an inkling about how East Asian languages are structured.

Question 94

innocuous

Answer 94

not harmful. => I thought Jim's comment about how much salt I'd put on my food were innocuous until I realized he was criticizing my health choices.

Question 95

conspicuous

Answer 95

without any attempt of concealment; completely obvious. => Among the tall trees and flower fields, the building seemed out of place with its conspicuous, cold concrete and angular steel exterior.

Question 96

vacuity

Answer 96

The state of being empty. *sounds like vacuum and paucity combined and hence EMPTY! => It was a kind of vacuity, in which he wished for nothing and took no interest in anything, but only staggered along mechanically at the back of the bar.

Question 97

taciturn

Answer 97

habitually reserve and uncommunicative. => While the CEO enthusiastically shares his plans and agenda with all who will listen, the CFO is far more taciturn, rarely revealing his perspective.

Question 98

inscrutable

Answer 98

not easily understood.

Question 99

precipitous

Answer 99

done with very great haste and without due deliberation. => Instead of calling his financial advisor, Harold acted precipitously, buying 4,000 shares of the latest "hot" stock, only to find out that the company had a history of inflating its year end numbers.

Question 100

ravenous

Answer 100

extremely hungry. => John didn't eat much at all during the week he had the flu, so now that he is regaining his health, it's not surprising that he has a ravenous appetite.

Question 101

sporadic

Answer 101

recurring in scattered and irregular instances. *Sporadic == sometimes periodic. =>The signals were at first sporadic, but now we detect a clear, consistent pattern of electromagnetic radiation emanating from deep space.

Question 102

obsequious

Answer 102

attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery. *obstinate in getting a yes (qui) from everyone => The obsequious waiter did not give the couple a moment's peace all through the meal, constantly returning to their table to refill their water glasses and to tell them what a handsome pair they made.

Question 103

dilettante

Answer 103

an amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge. => Fred has no formal medical training; while he likes to claim authority on medical issues, he is little more than a dilettante.

Question 104

inimical

Answer 104

hostile. *inimical = intimidating Venus, with a surface temperature that would turn rubber to liquid, is inimical to any form of life.

Question 105

admonish

Answer 105

to warn strongly. | => Before the concert began, security personnel admonished the crowd not to come up on stage during the performance.

Question 106

Gauche

Answer 106

lacking social polish. => Sylvester says the most gauche things, such as telling a girl he liked that she was much prettier when she wore makeup.

Question 107

masochist

Answer 107

a person who derives sexual gratification from their own pain or humiliation. => What kind of masochist would take part in such an experiment?