p9

Question 1

grovel

Answer 1

Creep or crawl with one’s face to the ground, prostrate oneself as a token of subservience, degrade or abase oneself

He made a groveling apology to his girlfriend after being caught dating another woman

Question 2

guile

Answer 2

Clever deceit, cunning, craftiness

Question 3

hackneyed

Answer 3

so commonplace as to be stale; not fresh or original

The obligatory voiceovers before each episode can get annoying, and the dialogue is a bit hackneyed in places

Question 4

halcyon

Answer 4

Calm and peaceful, carefree; prosperous, successful, happy

During those halcyon years, the company’s potential for growth seemed unlimited

Question 5

hand-wringing

Answer 5

an overwrought expression of concern or guilt

Question 6

hapless

Answer 6

Unlucky, unfortunate

As the no.1 overall pick, the rookie’s ability turned the hapless team into a title-contender

Question 7

harangue

Answer 7

Long, intense verbal attack, esp. when delivered publicly

Sixteen months into the Biden administration, the number remains stuck on zero, even as the administration continues to harangue the industry for failing to produce more oil and gas.

Question 8

hardy

Answer 8

Bold, brave, capable of withstanding hardship, fatigue, cold, etc.

Only the hardy pilgrims could survive the journey across the ocean

Question 9

harrow

Answer 9

painfully disturb or distress (verb)

Question 10

haven

Answer 10

Harbor or port; refuge, safe place

The shelter provides haven for the homeless immigrants

Question 11

hearken

Answer 11

Listen, pay attention to; to bring to mind something in the past

the humble folk who hearkened to these evangelists

Portrayals of dinosaurs with lizard-like tongues hearken to early interpretations of the beasts as oversized lizards.

Question 12

hedge

Answer 12

to protect oneself financially

… tried to hedge against the inflation

Question 13

hedonist

Answer 13

Person devoted to pleasure

Question 14

hermetic

Answer 14

relating to or characterized by subjects that are mysterious and difficult to understand; pertaining to alchemy, occult; isolated

He wrote hermetic poetry whose sole intended readership was himself

The hermetic North Korea has been test-firing ballistic missiles amid a coronavirus outbreak

Question 15

hew

Answer 15

Strike, chop, or hack (as with an axe, sword. etc.); make or shape something (such as a statue) with a cutting tool; conform, adhere

The state court said the new maps should hew as closely as possible to the prior districts while complying with legal requirements.

Question 16

hoary

Answer 16

Very old, gray or white as from old age

What at one point in Allen’s long career may have felt clever and innovative simply comes off like a hoary device to pad an undernourished story.

Question 17

hodgepodge

Answer 17

Mixture of different kinds of things, jumble

the exhibit was a hodgepodge of mediocre art, bad art, and really bad art

Question 18

husband

Answer 18

Manage prudently, sparingly, or economically; conserve

a country that has husbanded its natural resources well

Question 19

hyberbole

Answer 19

Deliberate exaggeration for effect

Various media outlets described her testimony as shocking, bombshell and blockbuster — words typically associated with hyperbole, but not this time.

Question 20

iconoclast

Answer 20

Attacker of cherished beliefs or institutions

notorious as an iconoclast, that music critic isn’t afraid to go after sacred cows

Question 21

idiosyncrasy

Answer 21

Characteristic or habit peculiar to an individual; peculiar quality, quirk, eccentricity

Owing to an idiosyncrasy of Texas legal procedure, the defendant has 10 days to prepare a trial

Question 22

idolatry

Answer 22

Idol worship; excessive or unthinking devotion or adoration

fans of the team are well known for their idolatry of the quarterback

Question 23

idyllic

Answer 23

Presenting a positive, peaceful view of rural life (as poetry or prose); pleasant in a natural, simple way

As cracks begin to surface in their idyllic community, Alice becomes obsessed with the nature of her husband’s work.

Question 24

ignoble

Answer 24

Not noble; having mean, base, low motives; low quality

After the financial crisis, his American dream was about to suffer an ignoble death

Question 25

illiberality

Answer 25

Narrow-mindedness, bigotry; strictness or lack of generosity An illiberal society that viewed artistic depiction of the nude as inherently indecent

Question 26

imbue

Answer 26

Permeate or saturate, as dye in a fabric; influence throughout Her training at the school for the deaf imbued her with a sense of purpose that she had never known before

Question 27

impartial

Answer 27

Unbiased, fair an impartial evaluation of the job applicant's qualifications that does not consider age, gender, or race

Question 28

impasse

Answer 28

Position or road from which there is no escape; deadlock Musk and Twitter could not come to an agreement to settle the dispute, leading to the current impasse.

Question 29

impassive

Answer 29

Not having or not showing physical feeling or emotion She remained impassive as the officers informed her of her son's death, which made the police to believe she was involved in the incident.

Question 30

impecunious

Answer 30

Poor, without money they were so impecunious that they couldn't afford to give one another even token Christmas gifts

Question 31

impede

Answer 31

Hold back, obstruct the progress of He claims that economic growth is being impeded by government regulations.

Question 32

imperious

Answer 32

Commanding, domineering; acting like a high-ranking person; urgent an imperious little boy who liked to tell the other scouts what to do

Question 33

imperturbable

Answer 33

Calm, not able to be upset or agitated Although he seems outwardly imperturbable, he can get very angry at times.

Question 34

impervious

Answer 34

Impenetrable, not able to be harmed or emotionally disturbed Covid-19 vaccines, despite their ability to drastically reduce hospitalization and death, are not impervious to the threat of variations

Question 35

impetuous

Answer 35

Passionately impulsive, marked by sudden, hasty emotion; forceful, violent When he promised to put an American on the moon by the end of the decade, JF Kennedy's impetuous science-fiction PR really put the pressure on NASA.

Question 36

impious

Answer 36

Not religious, lacking reverence, ungodly (opposite of pious) Once secular policies are interpreted by their opponents as impious challenges to God’s rule, compromise becomes apostasy.

Question 37

implacable

Answer 37

Not able to be appeased, calmed, or satisfied (opposite of placable) Sadly for the White House, he was an implacable judge who knew in his bones that the cover-up extended to the highest levels of government

Question 38

implode

Answer 38

Burst inward (opposite of explode) Lunacoin, an algorithmic stablecoin, saw its market capitalization implode from $18 million one week to nearly nothing.

Question 39

imprecation

Answer 39

Curse; prayer for harm to come to someone the defiant prisoner continued to hurl imprecations and insults at the guards