Quick Quizzes 32 - 41

Question 1

derogatory

Answer 1

derogatory ( dih RAHG uh tor ee) adj disapproving; degrading
Derogatory remarks are negative remarks expressing disapproval. They are nastier than merely critical remarks.
Stephen could never seem to think of anything nice to say about anyone; virtually all of his comments were derogatory.

Question 2

desiccate

Answer 2

desiccate ( DES uh kayt) v to dry out

The hot wind desiccated the few grapes remaining on the vine; after a day or two, they looked like raisins.

Question 3

despondent

Answer 3

despondent (dih SPAHN dunt) adj extremely depressed; full of despair
After the death of his wife, the man was despondent for many months.

Question 4

despot

Answer 4

despot (DES puht) n an absolute ruler; an autocrat
Stephen was a despot; workers who disagreed with him were fired.
To act like a despot is to be despotic (di SPAH ti) There was cheering in the street when the country’s despotic government was overthrown.

Question 5

destitute

Answer 5

destitute (DES tuh toot) adj extremely poor; utterly lacking
Destitute people are people without money or possessions, or with very little money and very few possessions. To be left destitute is to be left without money or property. The word can also be used figuratively. A teacher might accuse her students of being destitute of brains, or intellectually destitute.

Question 6

desultory

Answer 6

desultory ( DES ul tor ee) adj without a plan or purpose; disconnected; random
In his desultory address, Rizal skipped from one topic to another and never came to the point.

Question 7

dextrous

Answer 7

dextrous ( DEX trus) adj skillful; adroit
Dextrous often, but not always, connotes physical ability. Like adroit, it comes from the Latin word for right (as in the direction), because right-handed people were once considered physically and mentally superior.
Though not imposing in nature, Rashid was the most dextrous basketball player on the court; he often beat taller competitors with his nimble management of the ball.
You may also see this word spelled dexterous. Dexterity is the noun form. For an antonym see gauche.

Question 8

dialectical

Answer 8

dialectical (dye uh LEK ti kul) adj relating to discussions; relating to the rules and methods of reasoning; approaching truth in the middle of opposing extremes
The game of Twenty Questions is dialectical, in that the participants attempt to narrow down a chosen object by asking a series of ever more specific questions. The noun is dialectic.

Question 9

dictum

Answer 9

dictum (DIK tum) n an authoritative saying; and adage; a maxim; a proverb
“No pain, no gain” is a hackneyed dictum of sadistic coaches everywhere.

Question 10

didactic

Answer 10

didactic (dye DAK tik) adj intended to teach; morally instructive; pedantic
The new novel is painfully didactic; the author’s aim is always to instruct and never to entertain.

Question 11

diffident

Answer 11

diffident (DIF i dunt) adj timid; lacking in self-confidence.
Diffident and confident are opposites.
The diffident student never made a single comment in class.

Question 12

digress

Answer 12

digress (dye GRES) v to stray from the main subject
Speaking metaphorically, to digress is to leave the main highway in order to travel aimlessly on back roads. When a speaker digresses, he departs from the main topic and tells a story only distantly related to it. Such a story is called a digression. Sometimes a writer’s or speaker’s digressions are more interesting than his or her main points.

Question 13

dilettante

Answer 13

dilettante (DIL uh tahnt) n someone with superficial knowledge of the arts; an amateur; a dabbler
To be a dilettante is to dabble in something rather than doing it in a serious way.
Reginald said he was an artist, but he was merely a dilettante; he didn’t know a pencil from a paintbrush.

Question 14

discern

Answer 14

discern (dih SURN) v to have insight; to see things clearly; to discriminate; to differentiate
To discern something is to perceive it clearly. A writer whose work demonstrates discernment is a writer who is a keen observer.

Question 15

discreet

Answer 15

discreet (dih SKREET) adj prudent; judiciously reserved

To make discreet inquiries is to ask around without letting the whole world know you’re doing it.

Question 16

discrete

Answer 16

discrete (dih SKREET) adj unconnected; separate; distinct Do not confuse discrete with discreet.
The twins were identical, but their personalities were discrete.

Question 17

discriminate

Answer 17

discriminate (dih SKRIM uh nayt) v to notice or point out the difference between two or more things; to discern; to differentiate

Question 18

disdain

Answer 18

disdain (dis DAYN) n arrogant scorn; contempt

Audrey viewed the hot dog with disdain, believing that to eat such a disgusting food was beneath her.

Question 19

disinterested

Answer 19

disinterested (dis IN truh stid) adj not taking sides; unbiased
Disinterested should not be used to mean uninterested. If you don’t care about knowing something, you are uninterested, not disinterested.
A referee should be disinterested. He or she should not be rooting for one of the competing teams.

Question 20

disparage

Answer 20

disparage (dih SPAR ij) v to belittle; to say uncomplimentary things about, usually in a somewhat indirect way.
My guidance counselor disparaged my high school record by telling me that not everybody belongs in college.

Question 21

indiscrete

Answer 21

indiscrete - not separated or sorted, when things are all jumbled up together

Question 22

disparate

Answer 22

disparate (DIS pur it) adj different; incompatible; unequal

Our interests were disparate: Cathy liked to play with dolls and I liked to throw her dolls out the window.

Question 23

disseminate

Answer 23

disseminate (dih SEM uh nayt) v to spread the seeds of something; to scatter; to make widely known
News is disseminated through many media; radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and gossips.

Question 24

dissipate

Answer 24

dissipate (DIS uh payt) v to thin out, drift away, or dissolve; to cause to thin out, drift away, or dissolve; to waste or squander
The smoke dissipated as soon as we opened the window.

Question 25

dissolution

Answer 25

dissolution (dis uh LOO shun) n the breaking up or dissolving of something into parts; disintegration Nothing could prevent the dissolution of the Justin Beiber fan club after he retired to seek a golf career.

Question 26

distend

Answer 26

distend (di STEND) v to swell; to extend a great deal | A distended belly is one symptom of malnutrition. A swelling is a distention.

Question 27

distinguish

Answer 27

distinguish (di STING gwish) v to tell apart; to cause to stand out I studied and studied but I was never able to distinguish between discrete and discreet.

Question 28

docile

Answer 28

docile (DAHS ul) adj easily taught; obedient; easy to handle The baby raccoons appeared docile at first, but they were almost impossible to control. Mia's docility (dah SIL i tee) fooled the professor into believing that she was incapable of thinking for herself.

Question 29

doctrinaire

Answer 29

doctrinaire (dahk truh NAYR) adj inflexibility committed to a doctrine or theory without regard to its practicality; dogmatic A doctrinaire opponent of fluoridation of water would be someone whose opposition could not be shaken by proof that fluoride is good for teeth and not bad for anything else.

Question 30

dogmatic

Answer 30

dogmatic (dawg MAT ik) adj arrogantly assertive of unproven ideas; stubbornly claiming that something (often a system of beliefs) is beyond dispute A dogma is a belief. A dogmatic person, however, is stubbornly convinced of his beliefs. Marty is dogmatic on the subject of the creation of the world; he sneers at anyone whose views are not identical to his.

Question 31

domestic

Answer 31

domestic (duh MES tik) adj having to do with the household or family; not foreign. A maid is sometimes called a domestic engineer or simply as a domestic.

Question 32

dogma

Answer 32

dogma - firmly held system of beliefs

Question 33

dormant

Answer 33

dormant (DOR munt) adj inactive; as though asleep; asleep Dormant, like dormitory, comes from a root meaning sleep. Many plants remain dormant through the winter; that is they stop growing until spring.

Question 34

dubious

Answer 34

dubious (DOO bee us) adj full of doubt; uncertain We were dubious about the team's chance of success and, as it turned out, our dubiety (doo BYE uh tee) was justified: The team lost.

Question 35

dubiety

Answer 35

dubiety (doo BYE uh tee) uncertainty

Question 36

duplicity

Answer 36

duplicity (doo PLIS uh tee) n the act of being two-faced; double-dealing; deception Liars engage in duplicity all the time; they say one thing and do another.

Question 37

ebullient

Answer 37

ebullient (ih BUL yunt) adj boiling; bubbling with excitement; exuberant A boiling liquid can be called ebullient. More often, though, this word describes excited or enthusiastic people. The roaring crowd in a full stadium before the World Series might be said to be ebullient.

Question 38

eccentric

Answer 38

eccentric (ek SEN trik) adj not conventional; a little kooky; irregular The eccentric inventor spent all his waking hours fiddling with what he said was a time machine but was actually just an old telephone booth.

Question 39

eclectic

Answer 39

eclectic (ih KLEK tik) adj choosing the best from many sources; drawn from many sources Adolfo's taste in art was eclectic. He liked the Old Masters, the Impressionists, and Walt Disney.

Question 40

edify

Answer 40

edify (ED uh fye) v to enlighten; to instruct, especially in moral or religious matters We found the pastor's sermon on the importance of not eating beans to be most edifying.

Question 41

efface

Answer 41

efface (ih FAYS) v to erase; to rub away the features of The inscription on the tombstone had been effaced by centuries of weather. To self-effacing is to be modest.

Question 42

effusion

Answer 42

effusion (ih FYOO zhun) n a pouring forth When the child was rescued from the well, there as an intense effusion of emotion from the crowd that had gathered around the hole. To be effusive is to be highly emotional.

Question 43

egalitarian

Answer 43

egalitarian ( ih gal uh TAYR ee un) adj believing in the social and economic equality of all people People often lose interest in egalitarian measures when such measures interfere with their own interests.

Question 44

egocentric

Answer 44

egocentric (ee goh SEN trik) adj selfish; believing that one is the center of everything It never occurred to the egocentric musician that his audiences might like to hear someone else's songs every once in a while. An egoist is an egocentric person.

Question 45

egotist

Answer 45

egotist - self-obsessed person; another type of egocentric; an egoist who tells everyone how wonderful he is

Question 46

egregious

Answer 46

egregious ( ih GREE jus) adj extremely bad; flagrant. Save this word for things that are worse than bad. Aaron's manners were egregious; he ate his mashed potatoes with his fingers and slurped the peas right off his plate.

Question 47

elicit

Answer 47

elicit (ih LIS it) v to bring out; to call forth | The interviewer skillfully elicited our true feelings by asking us questions that got to the heart of the matter.

Question 48

elliptical

Answer 48

elliptical (ih LIP ti kul) adj oval; missing a word or words; obscure This word has several meanings. An egg may have an elliptical shape. An elliptical statement is one that is hard or impossible to understand, either because something is missing from it or because the speaker or writer is trying to be hard to understand.

Question 49

elusive

Answer 49

elusive (ih LOO siv) adj hard to pin down; evasive To be elusive is to elude, which means to avoid, evade, or escape. The elusive criminal was next impossible for the police to catch. (The criminal eluded the police).

Question 50

emigrate

Answer 50

emigrate (EM uh grayt) v to leave a country permanently; to expatriate At the heart of this word is the word migrate, which means to move from one place or country to another. Emigrate adds to migrate the sense of moving out of some place in particular. On the other end of every emigration is an immigration (think of this as "in-migration") When Solange emigrated from France, she immigrated to the United States.

Question 51

immigration

Answer 51

immigration - moving into a country

Question 52

eminent

Answer 52

eminent (EM uh nunt) adj well-known and respected; standing out from all others in quality or accomplishment; outstanding The visiting poet was so eminent that our English teacher fell to the ground before him and licked his shoes. Our English teacher thought the poet was preeminent in his field.

Question 53

empirical

Answer 53

empirical (em PIR uh kul) adj relying on experience or observation; not merely theoretical We proved the pie's deliciousness empirically, by eating it.

Question 54

emulate

Answer 54

emulate (EM yuh layt) v to strive to equal or excel, usually through imitation To emulate someone is to try to be just as good as, or better than, him or her.

Question 55

encroach

Answer 55

encroach (in KROHCH) v to make gradual or stealthy inroads into; to trespass As the city grew, it encroached on the countryside surrounding it.

Question 56

endemic

Answer 56

endemic (en DEM ik) adj native; restricted to a particular region or era; indigenous You won't find that kind of tree in California; it is endemic to our part of the country.

Question 57

enervate

Answer 57

enervate (EN ur vayt) v to reduce the strength or energy of, especially to do so gradually Sander felt enervated by his long ordeal and couldn't make himself get out of bed.

Question 58

enfranchise

Answer 58

enfranchise (en FRAN chyze) v to grant the privileges of citizenship, especially the right to vote In the United States, citizens become enfranchised on their eighteenth birthdays. American women were not enfranchised until the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, which gave them the right to vote.

Question 59

disfranchise (or disenfranchise)

Answer 59

disfranchise (or disenfranchise) to take away the privileges of citizenship or take away the right to vote One of the goals of the reform candidate was to disfranchise the bodies at the cemetery, which had had a habit of voting for the crooked mayor.

Question 60

engender

Answer 60

engender (en JEN dur) v to bring into existence; to create; to cause Smiles engender smiles.

Question 61

enigma

Answer 61

enigma (uh NIG muh) n a mystery Ben is an enigma; he never does any homework but he always gets good grades. An enigma is enigmatic (en ig MAT ik). Ben's good grades were enigmatic.

Question 62

enormity

Answer 62

enormity (i NOR muh tee) n extreme evil; a hideous offense; immensity Hitler's soldiers stormed through the village, committing one enormity after another. Hugeness or great size is not the main meaning of enormity. When you want to talk about the gigantic size of something, use immensity instead.

Question 63

ephemeral

Answer 63

ephemeral (i FEM ur al) adj lasting a very short time Ephemeral comes from the Greek and means lasting a single day. The word is usually used more loosely to mean lasting a short time. Youth and flowers are both ephemeral. They're gone before you know it.

Question 64

epigram

Answer 64

epigram (EP uh gram) n a brief and usually itty or satirical saying People often find it difficult to remember the difference between epigram and similar words. An epigram is epigrammatic (ep uh gruh MAT ik)

Question 65

epigraph

Answer 65

epigraph - an apt quotation placed at the beginning of a book or essay

Question 66

epitaph

Answer 66

epitaph - a commemorative inscription on a grave

Question 67

epithet

Answer 67

epithet - a term used to characterize the nature of something; sometimes a disparaging term used to describe a person

Question 68

epitome

Answer 68

epitome (i PIT uh mee) n a brief summary that captures the meaning of the whole; the perfect example of something; a paradigm The first paragraph of the new novel is an epitome of the entire book; you could read it and understand what the author was trying to get across. It epitomized the entire work.

Question 69

equanimity

Answer 69

equanimity (ik wuh NIM uh tee) n composure; calm John's mother looked at the broken glass on the floor with equanimity; at least he didn't hurt himself when he knocked over the vase.

Question 70

equitable

Answer 70

equitable (EK wuh tuh bul) adj fair King Solomon's decision was certainly equitable; each mother would receive half the child. Equity is fairness; inequity is unfairness. Iniquity and inequity both mean unfair, but iniquity implies wickedness as well.

Question 71

equivocal

Answer 71

equivocal (ih KWIV uh kul) adj ambiguous; intentionally confusing; capable of being interpreted in more than one way Ambiguous means unclear. To be equivocal is to be intentionally ambiguous. Joe's response was equivocal; we couldn't tell whether he meant yes or no, which is precisely what Joe wanted.

Question 72

erudite

Answer 72

erudite (ER yoo dyte) adj scholarly; deeply learned The professor said such erudite things that none of us had the slightest idea of what he was saying. To be erudite is to possess erudition (er yoo DISH un), or extensive knowledge.

Question 73

equivocate

Answer 73

equivocate - to mislead by saying confusing or ambiguous things

Question 74

esoteric

Answer 74

esoteric (is uh TER ik) adj hard to understand; understood by only a select few; peculiar Chicken wrestling and underwater yodeling were just two of Earl's esoteric hobbies.

Question 75

espouse

Answer 75

espouse (eh SPOWZ) v to support; to advocate | The Mormons used to espouse bigamy, or marriage to more than one woman.

Question 76

ethereal

Answer 76

ethereal (ih THIR ee ul) adj heavenly; as light and insubstantial as a gas or ether The ethereal music we heard turned out to be not angels plucking on their harps but the wind blowing past our satellite television antenna.

Question 77

euphemism

Answer 77

euphemism (YOO fuh miz um) n a pleasant or inoffensive expression used in place of an unpleasant or offensive one Aunt Angie, who couldn't bring herself to say the word death said that Uncle George had taken the big bus uptown. "Taking the big bus uptown" was her euphemism for dying.

Question 78

evanescent

Answer 78

evanescent (ev uh NES unt) adj fleeting; vanishing; happening for only the briefest period Meteors are evanescent: They last so briefly that it is hard to tell whether one has actually appeared.

Question 79

exacerbate

Answer 79

exacerbate (ig ZAS ur bayt) v to make worse | Dipping Austin in lye exacerbated his skin condition.

Question 80

exacting

Answer 80

exacting (ig ZAK ting) adj extremely demanding; difficult; requiring great skill or care The exacting math teacher subtracted points for even the most unimportant errors.

Question 81

exalt

Answer 81

exalt (ig ZAWLT) v to raise high; to glorify | The manager decided to exalt the lowly batboy by asking him to pitch in the opening game of the World Series.

Question 82

exasperate

Answer 82

exasperate (ig ZAS puh rayt) v to annoy thoroughly; to make very angry; to try the patience of The child's insistence on hopping backward on one foot exasperated his mother, who was in a hurry.

Question 83

exemplify

Answer 83

``` exemplify (ig ZEM pluh fye) v to illustrate by example; to serve as a good example Fred participated in every class discussion and typed all of his papers. His teacher thought Fred exemplified the model student; Fred's classmates thought he was sycophantic. ```

Question 84

exhaustive

Answer 84

exhaustive (ig ZAWS tiv) adj thorough; rigorous; complete; painstaking Before you use a parachute, you should examine it exhaustively for defects. Once you jump, your decision is irrevocable.

Question 85

exhort

Answer 85

exhort (ig ZORT) v to urge strongly; to give a serious warning to The coach used his bullhorn to exhort us to try harder. The adjective is hortatory (HOR tuh tor ee).

Question 86

exigency

Answer 86

exigency (EK si jen see) n an emergency; an urgency | An academic exigency: You haven't opened a book all term and the final is tomorrow morning. Exigent means urgent.

Question 87

existential

Answer 87

existential (eg zis TEN shul) adj having to do with existence; having to do with the body of thought called existentialism, which basically holds that human beings are responsible for their own actions but is otherwise too complicated to summarize in a single sentence. This word is overused but under-understood by virtually all of the people who use it. Unless you have a very good reason for throwing it around, you should probably avoid it.

Question 88

exonerate

Answer 88

exonerate (ig ZAHN uh rayt) v to free completely from blame; to exculpate Our dog was exonerated when we discovered that it was in fact the cat that had eaten all the chocolate chip cookies.

Question 89

expatriate

Answer 89

expatriate (eks PAY tree ayt) v to throw (someone) out of his or her native land; to move away from one's native land; to emigrate Hugo was fed up with his native country and so expatriated to America. In doing so, Hugo became an expatriate (eks PAY tree ut).

Question 90

expedient

Answer 90

expedient ( ik SPEE dee unt) adj providing an immediate advantage; serving one's immediate self-interest; practical Since the basement had nearly filled with water, the plumber felt it would be expedient to clear out the drain.

Question 91

expedite

Answer 91

expedite (EK spi dyte) v to speed up or ease the progress of The post office expedited mail delivery by hiring more letter carriers.

Question 92

explicit

Answer 92

explicit (ik SPLIS it) adj clearly and directly expressed | The machine's instructions were explicit -- they told us exactly what to do.

Question 93

implicit

Answer 93

implicit - indirectly expressed or implied | Gerry's dissatisfaction with our work was implicit in his expression, although he never criticized us directly.

Question 94

extol

Answer 94

extol (ik STOHL) v to praise highly; to laud | The millionaire extolled the citizen who returned his gold watch and then rewarded him with a heartfelt handshake.

Question 95

extraneous

Answer 95

extraneous (ik STRAY nee us) adj unnecessary; irrelevant; extra The soup contained several extraneous ingredients, including hair, sand, and a single dead fly.

Question 96

extrapolate

Answer 96

extrapolate (ik STRAP uh layt) v to project or deduce from something known; to infer George's estimates were extrapolated from last year's data; he simply took all the old numbers and doubled them.

Question 97

extricate

Answer 97

extricate ( EK struh kayt) v to free from difficulty | Monica had no trouble driving her car into a ditch, but she needed a tow truck to extricate it.

Question 98

extrovert

Answer 98

extrovert (EKS truh vurt) n an open, outgoing person; a person whose attention is focused on others rather than on himself or herself Maria was quite an extrovert; she walked boldly into the roomful of strange adults and struck up a friendly conversation.

Question 99

introvert

Answer 99

introvert (IN truh vurt) n a person whose attention is directed inward and who is concerned with little outside himself or herself Ryan was an introvert; he spent virtually all his time in his room, writing in his diary and talking to himself. An introvert is usually introspective.

Question 100

exult

Answer 100

exult (ig ZULT) v to rejoice; to celebrate | The women's team exulted in its victory over the men's team at the badminton finals. They were exultant.