Quick Quizzes 42 - 50

Question 1

fabrication

Answer 1

fabrication (FAB ruh kay shun) n a lie; something made up

My story about being the prince of Wales was a fabrication. I’m really the king of Denmark.

Question 2

facetious

Answer 2

facetious ( fuh SEE shus) adj humorous; not serious; clumsily humorous
David was sent to the principal’s office for making a facetious remark about the intelligence of the French teacher.

Question 3

facile

Answer 3

facile (FAS il) adj fluent; skillful in a superficial way; easy
To say that a writer’s style is facile is to say both that it is skillful and that it would be better if the writer exerted himself or herself more. The word facile almost always contains this sense of superficiality.
Paolo’s poems were facile rather than truly accomplished; if you read them closely, you soon realized they were filled with cliches.

Question 4

faction

Answer 4

faction (FAK shun) n a group, usually a small part of a larger group, united around some cause; disagreement within an organization.
The faculty was relatively happy, but there was a faction that called for higher pay.

Question 5

farcical

Answer 5

farcical (FARS i kul) adj absurd; ludicrous

The serious play quickly turned farcical when the leading man’s belt broke and his pants fell to his ankles.

Question 6

fastidious

Answer 6

fastidious (fa STID ee us) adj meticulous; demanding; finicky
Mrs. O’Hara was a fastidious housekeeper; she cleaned up our crumbs almost before they hit the floor.

Question 7

fatalist

Answer 7

fatalist (FAYT uh list) n someone who believes that future events are already determined and that humans are powerless to change them
The old man was a fatalist about his illness, believing there was no sense in worrying about something over which he had no control.

Question 8

figurative

Answer 8

figurative (FIG yur uh tiv) adj based on figure of speech; expressing something in terms usually used for something else; metaphorical
When the mayor said that the housing market had sprouted wings, he was speaking figuratively. The housing market hadn’t really sprouted wings; it had merely risen so rapidly that it had almost seemed to fly.

Question 9

literal

Answer 9

literal - a literal statement is one in which every word means exactly what it says.

Question 10

finesse

Answer 10

finesse (fi NES) n skillful maneuvering; subtlety; craftiness
The doctor sewed up the wound with finesse, making stitches so small one could scarcely see them.

Question 11

flagrant

Answer 11

flagrant (FLAY grunt) adj glaringly bad; notorious; scandalous
An example of a flagrant theft would be stealing a car from the parking lot of a police station. A flagrant spelling error is a very noticeable one. This word is often confused with blatant.

Question 12

flaunt

Answer 12

flaunt (flawnt) v to show off; to display ostentatiously
Colleen flaunted her engagement ring, shoving it in the face of almost anyone who came near her.
This word is often confused with flout.

Question 13

flout

Answer 13

flout (flowt) v to disregard something out o disrespect
A driver flouts the traffic laws by driving through red lights and knocking down pedestrians.
To flaunt success is to make certain that everyone knows you are successful. To flout success is to be contemptuous of success or to act as though it means nothing at all.

Question 14

foible

Answer 14

foible (FOY bul) n a minor character flaw

Patti’s foibles included a tendency to prefer dogs to people.

Question 15

foment

Answer 15

foment (foh MENT) v to stir up; to instigate

The radicals spread several rumors in an effort to foment rebellion among the peasants

Question 16

forbear

Answer 16

forbear (for BAYR) v to refrain from; to abstain
Stephen told me I could become a millionaire if I joined him in his business, but his company makes me nervous so I decided to forbear.
The noun is forbearance. A forebear (FOR bayr) –sometimes also spelled forbear– is an ancestor.

Question 17

forego

Answer 17

forego (for GOH) v to do without; to forbear
We had some of the chocolate cake, some of the chocolate mousse, and some of the chocolate cream pie, but we were worried about our weight so we decided to forego the chocolate covered potato chips. That is, we forewent them. (Can also be spelled forgo).

Question 18

forsake

Answer 18

forsake (for SAYK) v to abandon; to renounce; to relinquish

We urged Buddy to forsake his life with the alien beings and return to his job at the drugstore.

Question 19

fortuitous

Answer 19

fortuitous (for TOO uh tus) adj accidental; occurring by chance
The performer’s outcome was not the result of any plan but was entirely fortuitous.

Question 20

founder

Answer 20

founder (FOWN dur) v to fail; to collapse; to sink
The ship foundered shortly after it’s hull fell off.
Be careful not to confuse this word with flounder, which means to move clumsily or in confusion.

Question 21

flounder

Answer 21

flounder - to move clumsily or in confusion
The witness began to flounder as the attorney fired question after question.
To remember the difference between founder and flounder…remember to flounder is to be flopping around like a flounder.

Question 22

fraternal

Answer 22

fraternal (fruh TUR nul) adj like brothers
a fraternity is an organization of men who have bound themselves together in a relationship analogous to that of real brothers.

Question 23

frenetic

Answer 23

frenetic (fruh NET ik) adj frantic; frenzied

There was a lot of frenetic activity in the office, but nothing ever seemed to get accomplished.

Question 24

frugal

Answer 24

frugal (FROO gul) adj economical; penny-pinching
Laura was so frugal that she even tried to bargain with the checkout girl at the supermarket.
Mike’s frugality annoyed his daughter Audrey, who loved nothing more than spending money.

Question 25

furtive

Answer 25

furtive (FUR tiv) adj secretive; sly | Cal wiggled his ears while the countess was talking to him in a furtive attempt to catch our attention.

Question 26

futile

Answer 26

futile (FYOOT ul) adj useless; hopeless A D+ average and no extracurricular interests to speak of meant that applying to Harvard was futile, but Lucinda hoped against hope.

Question 27

forebear

Answer 27

forebear - ancestor

Question 28

garrulous

Answer 28

garrulous (GAR uh lus) adj talkative; chatty | Gabriella is gregarious and garrulous; she loves to hang out with the gang and gab.

Question 29

gauche

Answer 29

gauche (gohsh) adj unskillful; awkward; maladroit Remember the word dexterous? Well, gauche is pretty much the exact opposite. It is the French word for left--the connection is that left-handed people were once thought to be clumsy (this was clearly before the invention of left-handed scissors) and perverse, even evil. These days, gauche tends to describe social, rather than physical, ineptness. Smadar had a poor sense of comic timing, and her gauche attempts to mock her left-handed friends soon left her with none.

Question 30

genre

Answer 30

genre (ZHAHN ruh) n a type of category, especially of art or writing The novel is one literary genre. Poetry is another. Daoyen displayed a great talent for a particular genre: the bawdy limerick.

Question 31

genteel

Answer 31

genteel (jen TEEL) adj refined; polite; aristocratic; affecting refinement The ladies at the ball were too genteel to accept our invitation to the wrestling match. A person who is genteel has gentility.

Question 32

gesticulate

Answer 32

gesticulate (jes TIK yuh layt) v to make gestures, especially when speaking or in place of speaking The speaker gesticulated in such a strange way that the audience paid more attention to his hands than to his words. A person who gesticulates makes gesticulations.

Question 33

glut

Answer 33

glut (glut) n surplus; an overabundance We had a glut of contributions but a dearth, or scarcity, of volunteers; it seemed that people would rather give their money than their time.

Question 34

grandiloquent

Answer 34

grandiloquent (gran DIL uh kwunt) adj pompous; using a lot of big fancy words in an attempt to sound impressive The president's speech was grandiloquent rather than eloquent; there were some six-dollar words and some impressive phrases, but he really had nothing to say.

Question 35

grandiose

Answer 35

grandiose (GRAN dee ohs) adj absurdly exaggerated | The scientist's grandiose plan was to build a huge shopping center on the surface of the moon.

Question 36

gratuitous

Answer 36

gratuitous (gruh TOO uh tus) adj given freely (said of something bad); unjustified; unprovoked; uncalled for The scathing movie review contained several gratuitous remarks about the sex life of the director. Their attack against us was gratuitous; we had never done anything to offend them. Gratuitous is often misunderstood because it is confused with gratuity. A gratuity is a tip, like the one you leave in a restaurant. A gratuity is a nice thing. Gratuitous, however, is not nice. Don't confuse these words.

Question 37

gravity

Answer 37

gravity (GRAV uh tee) n seriousness The anchorman's nervous giggling was entirely inappropriate, given the gravity of the situation. Gravity is the force that makes apples fall down instead of up, and also a different sort of weightiness. At the heart of the word gravity is grave, which means serious.

Question 38

gregarious

Answer 38

gregarious (gruh GAR ee us) adj sociable; enjoying the company of others Dirk was too gregarious to enjoy the fifty years he spent in solitary confinement. In biology, gregarious is used to describe animals that live in groups. Bees, which live together in large colonies, are said to be gregarious insects.

Question 39

guile

Answer 39

guile (gyle) n cunning; duplicity; artfulness Stuart was shocked by the guile of the car mechanic, who had poked a hole in his radiator and then told him that it had spring a leak. To be guileless is to be innocent or naive. Guileless and artless are synonyms. The word beguile also means to deceive, but in a charming and not always bad way. Clarence found Mary's beauty so beguiling that he did anything she asked of him.

Question 40

hackneyed

Answer 40

hackneyed (HAK need) adj overused; trite; stale Michael's book was full of cliches and hackneyed phrases. "As cold as ice" is a hackneyed expression.

Question 41

hapless

Answer 41

hapless (HAP lis) adj unlucky | Joe's hapless search for fun led him from one disappointment to another.

Question 42

harbinger

Answer 42

harbinger (HAR bin jur) n a forerunner; a signal of Warm weather is a harbinger of spring. A cloud of bad breath and body odor, which preceded him by several yards everywhere he went, was Harold's harbinger.

Question 43

hedonism

Answer 43

hedonism (HEED uh niz um) n the pursuit of pleasure as a way of life A hedonist practices hedonism twenty-four hours a day. Yoshi's life of hedonism came to an end when his lottery winnings ran out; his massaging armchair and widescreen TV were repossessed, he had to eat macaroni and cheese instead of champagne and lobster, and he could no longer pay to have Victoria's Secret models fan him with palm fronds and feed him grapes.

Question 44

hegemony

Answer 44

hegemony (hi JEM uh nee) n leadership, especially of one nation over another America once held an unchallenged nuclear hegemony. Japan and Germany vie for hegemony in the foreign-car market.

Question 45

heresy

Answer 45

heresy (HER uh see) n any belief that is strongly opposed to established beliefs Galileo was tried for the heresy of suggesting that the sun did not revolve around Earth. He was almost convicted of being a heretic (HER uh tik), but he recanted his heretical (huh RET i kul) view.

Question 46

hermetic

Answer 46

hermetic (hur MET ik) adj impervious to external influence; airtight The president led a hermetic existence in the White House, as his advisers attempted to seal him off from the outside world. The poisonous substance was hermetically sealed inside a glass cylinder.

Question 47

heyday

Answer 47

``` heyday (HAY day) n golden age; prime In his heyday, Vernon was a world-class athlete; today he's just Vernon. The heyday of the British Navy ended a long, long time ago. ```

Question 48

hiatus

Answer 48

hiatus (hye AY tus) n a break or interruption, often from work Spencer looked forward to spring break as a welcome hiatus from the rigors of campus parties.

Question 49

hierarchy

Answer 49

hierarchy (HYE uh rahr kee) n an organization based on rank or degree; pecking order Kendra was very low in the State Department hierarchy. In fact, her phone number wasn't even listed in the State Department directory. There appeared to be no hierarchy in the newly discovered tribe; there were no leaders and, for that matter, no followers.

Question 50

histrionic

Answer 50

histrionic (his tree AHN ik) adj overly dramatic; theatrical Adele's histrionic request for a raise embarrassed everyone in the office. She gesticulated wildly, jumped up and down, and pulled out handfuls of hair, threw herself to the ground, and groaned in agony.

Question 51

homily

Answer 51

homily (HAHM uh lee) n a sermon | The football coach often began practice with a lengthy homily on the virtues of clean living.

Question 52

homogeneous

Answer 52

``` homogeneous (hoh muh JEE nee us) adj uniform; made entirely of one thing The kindergarten class was extremely homogeneous: All the children had blond hair, blue eyes, red shoes, and the same last name. ```

Question 53

heterogeneous

Answer 53

heterogeneous (het ur uh JEE nee us) is to be mixed or varied On Halloween the children amassed a heterogeneous collection of candy, chewing gum, popcorn, and cookies.

Question 54

husbandry

Answer 54

husbandry (HUZ bun dree) n thrifty management of resources; live-stock farming Husbandry is the practice of conserving money or resources. To husband is to economize. Everyone husbanded oil and electricity during the energy crisis of the 1970s.

Question 55

hyperbole

Answer 55

hyperbole (hye PUR buh lee) n an exaggeration used as a figure of speech; exaggeration When Joe said, "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," he was using hyperbole to convey the extent of his hunger.

Question 56

hypothetical

Answer 56

hypothetical (hye puh THET uh kul) adj uncertain; unproven There were several hypothetical explanations for the strange phenomenon, but no one could say for certain what had caused it. A hypothetical explanation is a hypothesis (hye PAHTH uh sis), the plural of which is hypotheses (hye PAHTH uh seez).

Question 57

iconoclast

Answer 57

iconoclast (eye KAHN uh klast) n one who attacks popular beliefs or institutions Iconoclast comes from Greek words meaning image breaker. The original iconoclasts were opponents of the use of icons, or sacred images, in certain Christian churches. Today the word is used to refer to someone who attacks popular figures and ideas--a person to whom "nothing is sacred." The popular columnist was an inveterate iconoclast, avidly attacking public figures no matter what their party affiliations.

Question 58

ideology

Answer 58

ideology (eye dee AHL uh jee) n a system of social or political ideas Conservatism and liberalism are competing ideologies. The candidate never managed to communicate his ideology to the voters, so few people were able to grasp what he stood for.

Question 59

idiosyncrasy

Answer 59

idiosyncrasy (id ee oh SINK ruh see) n a peculiarity; an eccentricity Eating green beans drenched in ketchup for breakfast was one of Jordan's idiosyncrasies. A person who has an idiosyncrasy is said to be idiosyncratic (id ee oh sin KRAT it).

Question 60

idyllic

Answer 60

idyllic (eye DIL ik) adj charming in a rustic way; naturally peaceful They built their house on an idyllic spot. There was a babbling brook in back and an unbroken view of wooded hills in front. An idyllic time or place could also be called an idyl (EYE dul).

Question 61

ignominy

Answer 61

ignominy (IG nuh min ee) n deep disgrace After the big scandal, the formerly high-flying investment banker fell into a life of shame and ignominy. Something that is deeply disgraceful is ignominious (ig nuh MIN ee us).

Question 62

illicit

Answer 62

illicit ( i LIS it) adj illegal; not permitted Criminals engage in illicit activities. Don't confuse this word with elicit, listed previously. Police interviewed hundreds of witnesses, trying to elicit clues that might help them stop an illicit business.

Question 63

immigrate

Answer 63

immigrate (IM i grayt) v to move permanently to a new country It's easy to confuse t his word with emigrate. To avoid this, just remember that emigrate means exit, and immigrate means come in. Edwin immigrated to Canada, thinking the move would give his two-year-old daughter a better shot at attending the University of Toronto preschool.

Question 64

imminent

Answer 64

imminent (IM uh nunt) adj just about to happen The pink glow in the east made it clear that sunrise was imminent. Don't confuse this word with eminent, listed previously. (well known, respected....)

Question 65

immutable

Answer 65

immutable (i MYOO tuh bul) adj unchangeable Jerry's mother had only one immutable rule: no dancing on the dinner table. Something that is changeable is said to be mutable.

Question 66

impartial

Answer 66

impartial (im PAHR shul) adj fair; not favoring one side or the other; unbiased Jurors are supposed to be impartial rather than partial; they aren't supposed to make-up their minds until they've heard all the evidence.

Question 67

imperial

Answer 67

imperial (im PEER ee ul) adj like an emperor or an empire Imperial, emperor, and empire are all derived from the same root. England's imperial days are over, now that the British Emire has broken apart. The palace was decorated with imperial splendor. George's imperial manner was inappropriate since he was nothing more exalted than the local dogcatcher.

Question 68

imperious

Answer 68

imperious (im PEER ee us), which means bossy and, usually arrogant. The director's imperious style rubbed everyone the wrong way; he always seemed to be giving orders and he never listened to what anyone said.

Question 69

impeccable

Answer 69

impeccable (im PEK uh bul) adj flawless; entirely without sin The children's behavior was impeccable; they didn't pour dye into the swimming pool Hal's clothes were always impeccable; even the wrinkles were perfectly creased.. By the way, peccable means liable to sin. And while we're at it, a peccadillo is a minor sin.

Question 70

impervious

Answer 70

impervious (im PUR vee us) adj not allowing anything to pass through; impenetrable A raincoat, if it is any good, is impervious to water. It is made of an impervious material. David was impervious to criticism--he did what he wanted to do no matter what anyone said.

Question 71

impetuous

Answer 71

impetuous (im PECH oo wus) adj impulsive; extremely impatient Impetuous Dick always seemed to be running off to buy a new car, even if he had just bought one the day before. Samantha was so impetuous that she never took more than a few seconds to make up her mind.

Question 72

implement

Answer 72

implement (IM pluh munt) v to carry out Leo developed a plan for shortening the grass in his yard, but he was unable to implement it because he didn't have a lawn mower.

Question 73

impotent

Answer 73

impotent (IM puh tunt) adj powerless; helpless; unable to perform sexual intercourse Joe and Olga made a few impotent efforts to turn aside the steamroller, but it squished their vegetable garden anyway. Omnipotent (ahm NIP uh tunt) means all powerful

Question 74

impugn

Answer 74

impugn (im PYOON) v to attack, especially to attack the truth or integrity of something The critic impugned the originality of Jacob's novel, claiming that long stretches of it had been lifted from the work of someone else.

Question 75

inane

Answer 75

inane (i NAYN) adj silly; senseless | Their plan to make an indoor swimming pool by flooding the basement was inane.

Question 76

inaugurate

Answer 76

inaugurate (in AW gyuh rayt) v to begin officially; to induct formally into office The mayor inaugurated the new no-smoking policy and then celebrated by lighting up a big cigar. To inaugurate a US president is to make him take the oath of office and then give him the keys to the White House.

Question 77

incandescent

Answer 77

incandescent (in kun DES unt) adj brilliant; giving off heat or light An incandescent light bulb is one containing a wire or filament that gives off light when it is heated. An incandescent person is one who gives off light or energy in a figurative sense. Jan's ideas were so incandescent that simply being near her made you feel as though you understood the subject for the first time.

Question 78

incantation

Answer 78

incantation (in kan TAY shun) n a chant; the repetition of statements or phrases in a way reminiscent of a chant. Much to our delight, the wizard's incantation eventually caused the small stone to turn into a sleek black BMW.

Question 79

incense

Answer 79

incense (in SENS) v to make very angry | Jeremy was incensed when I told him that even though he was stupid and loathsome, he would always be my best friend.

Question 80

incessant

Answer 80

incessant (in SES unt) adj unceasing I will go deaf and lose my mind if your children don't stop the incessant bickering! A cessation in a ceasing.

Question 81

incipient

Answer 81

incipient (in SIP ee unt) adj beginning; emerging Sitting in class, Henrietta detected an incipient tingle of boredom that told her she would soon be asleep. The inception of something is its start or formal beginning.

Question 82

incisive

Answer 82

incisive (in SYE siv) adj cutting right to the heart of the matter When a surgeon cuts into you, he or she makes an incision. To be incisive is to be as sharp as a scalpel in a figurative sense. Lloyd's essays were always incisive; he never wasted any words, and his reasoning was sharp and persuasive.

Question 83

incongruous

Answer 83

incongruous (in KAHN groo us) adj not harmonious; not consistent; not appropriate; not fitting in Bill's membership in the motorcycle gang was incongruous with his mild personality and his career as a management consultant.

Question 84

incorrigible

Answer 84

incorrigible (in KOR uh juh bul) adj incapable of being reformed The convict was an incorrigible criminal; as soon as he got out of prison, he said, he was going to rob another doughnut store. Think of incorrigible as incorrectable. The word corrigible is rarely seen or used these days.

Question 85

increment

Answer 85

increment (IN cruh munt) n an increase; one in a series of increases Bernard received a small increment in his salary each year, even though he did less and less work with every day that passed.

Question 86

indifferent

Answer 86

indifferent (in DIF ur unt) adj not caring one way or the other; apathetic; mediocre Pedro was indifferent about politics; he didn't care who was elected to office so long as no one passed a law against Monday night football.

Question 87

indigenous

Answer 87

indigenous ( in DIJ uh nus) adj native; originating in that area Fast-food restaurants are indigenous to America, where they were invented.

Question 88

indigent

Answer 88

indigent (IN di junt) adj poor The indigent family had little to eat, nothing to spend, and virtually nothing to wear. Don't confuse this word with indigenous, listed above.

Question 89

indignant

Answer 89

indignant (in DIG nunt) adj angry, especially as a result of something unjust or unworthy; insulted Ted became indignant when the policewoman accused him of stealing the nuclear weapon.

Question 90

indolent

Answer 90

indolent (IN duh lunt) adj lazy | The indolent teenagers slept late, moped around, and never looked for summer jobs.

Question 91

indulgent

Answer 91

indulgent (in DUL junt) adj lenient; yielding to desire The nice mom was indulgent of her children, letting them have all the candy, cookies and ice cream that they wanted, even for breakfast.

Question 92

ineffable

Answer 92

ineffable (in EF uh bul) adj incapable of being expressed or described The simple beauty of nature is often so ineffable that it brings tears to our eyes. The word effable--expressable--is rarely used.

Question 93

inept

Answer 93

inept (in EPT) adj clumsy; incompetent; gauche | Joshua is an inept dancer; he is as likely to stomp on his partner's foot as he is to step on it.

Question 94

inert

Answer 94

inert (in URT) adj inactive; sluggish; not reacting chemically Having colds made the children inert and reluctant to get out of bed.

Question 95

inexorable

Answer 95

inexorable (in EK sur uh bul) adj relentless; inevitable; unavoidable The inexorable waves pounded the shore, as they have always pounded it and as they always will pound it.

Question 96

infamous

Answer 96

infamous (IN fuh mus) adj shamefully wicked; having an extremely bad reputation; disgraceful To be infamous is to be famous for being evil or bad. An infamous cheater is one whose cheating is well known.

Question 97

infatuated

Answer 97

infatuated (in FACH oo ay tid) adj foolish; foolishly passionate or attracted; made folish; foolishly in love To be infatuated is to be fatuous or foolish. I was so infatuated with Harry that I drooled and gurgled whenever he was near.

Question 98

fatuous

Answer 98

fatuous (FACH oo us) adj foolish; silly; idiotic | Pauline is so pretty that her suitors are often driven to fatuous acts of devotion. They are infatuated with her.

Question 99

fauna

Answer 99

fauna (FAW nuh) n animals | We saw little evidence of fauna on our walk through the woods. We did, however, see plenty of flora, or plants.

Question 100

flora

Answer 100

flora (FLOOR uh) n plants | In Jim's yard, the flora consists mostly of weeds.

Question 101

fecund

Answer 101

fecund (FEE kund) adj fertile; productive | The fecund mother rabbit gave birth to hundreds and hundreds of little rabbits.

Question 102

felicity

Answer 102

felicity (fuh LIS uh tee) n happiness; skillfulness, especially at expressing things; adeptness Love was not all felicity for Judy and Steve; they argued all the time. In fact their relationship was characterized by infelicity.

Question 103

fervor

Answer 103

fervor (FUR vur) n great warmth or earnestness; ardor; zeal | Avid baseball fans frequently display their fervor for the game by throwing food at bad players.

Question 104

fetter

Answer 104

fetter (FET ur) v to restrain; to hamper In his pursuit of the Nobel Prize for physics, Professor Jenkins was fettered by his near-total ignorance of the subject.

Question 105

fidelity

Answer 105

fidelity (fuh DEL uh tee) n faithfulness; loyalty | The motto of the United States Marine Corps is semper fidelis, which is Latin for always loyal.