The Laws Of Human Nature

Question 1

Verb- accumulate or receive (payments or benefits) over time

Answer 1

Accrue (they accrue entitlements to holiday pay)

Question 2

Verb - make more noticeable or prominent

Answer 2

Accentuate

Question 3

Noun - a proverb or short statement expressing a general truth

Answer 3

Adage (the old adage ‘out of sight out of mind’)

Question 4

Conjunction - though

Answer 4

Albeit (he was making progress, albeit slowly)

Question 5

Adj - showing a disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others; unselfish

Answer 5

Altruistic

Question 6

Adj - open to more than one interpretation; not having one obvious meaning

Answer 6

Ambiguous

Question 7

Adj - having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone

Answer 7

Ambivalent (some loved her, some hated her, few were ambivalent about her)

Question 8

Noun - a deep seated feeling of hostility/ aversion

Answer 8

Antipathy

Question 9

Adj - quick to learn

Answer 9

Apt (she proved an apt pupil)

Question 10

Noun - member of the the highest class in certain societies, typically comprising people of noble birth holding hereditary titles and offices

Answer 10

Aristocrat

Question 11

Noun - characterized by severe self-discipline and abstention (restraint in one’s consumption) from all forms of indulgence

Answer 11

Ascetic

Question 12

Verb - regard something as being due to

Answer 12

Ascribe (he ascribed Jane’s short temper to her upset stomach)

Question 13

Adj - having the freedom to act independently

Answer 13

Autonomous (school governors are legally autonomous)

Question 14

Adj - away from the usual or expected course; amiss

Answer 14

Awry (our plans went awry)

Question 15

Verb x2 meanings - surround and harass / be inundated by large numbers of requests or complaints; overwhelmed

Answer 15

Besiege (1: she was besieged by reporters) (2: people besiege you with their petty emotions and endless dramas)

Question 16

Adj - rough and bad-mannered; coarse

Answer 16

Boorish

Question 17

Verb - support or strengthen (ideas, confidence)

Answer 17

Bolster

Question 18

Adj - high-sounding but with little meaning; inflated, pompous

Answer 18

Bombastic (his style was bombastic but full of humour)

Question 19

Noun - the state of abstaining from marriage and sexual relations

Answer 19

Celibacy (despite his new view of celibacy, he kept making her pregnant)

Question 20

Adj - attracting notice or attention; discernible

Answer 20

Conspicuous - (he showed conspicuous bravery)

Question 21

Verb - be (a part) of a whole

Answer 21

Constitute (lone parents constitute a great proportion of the poor)

Question 22

Adj - created or arranged in a way that seems artificial and unrealistic, strained, forced

Answer 22

Contrived (the ending of the novel is too pat and contrived)

Question 23

Verb - recover one’s health and strength over a period of time after an illness or medical treatment, recuperate

Answer 23

Convalesce (he spent 8 months convalescing after his stroke)

Question 24

Noun - behaviour that is considered acceptable or polite to most members of a society; custom

Answer 24

Convention (he was an upholder of convention and correct form)

Question 25

Noun - direct or natural consequence of something that’s definitely true

Answer 25

Corollary (the huge increases in unemployment were the corollary of expenditure cuts)

Question 26

Adj- behaving in such a way as to suggest a playful sexual attraction; flirtatious

Answer 26

Coquettish

Question 27

Verb - entrust (a task or responsibility) to another person, typically one who is less senior than oneself

Answer 27

Delegate (she must delegate duties so as to free herself for more important tasks)

Question 28

Noun - a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument

Answer 28

Demagogue

Question 29

Noun - polite submission and respect Adj - showing this quality, respectful

Answer 29

Deference (he addressed her with the deference due to age) Deferential

Question 30

Adverb - in a totally committed and sincere way; earnestly

Answer 30

Devoutly

Question 31

Noun - the moral or intellectual instruction or improvement of someone; education

Answer 31

Edification

Question 32

Verb - (of a feeling, quality, or sensation) issue or spread out from (a source); emerge, flow

Answer 32

Emanate (warmth emanated from the fireplace)

Question 33

Noun - the quality of being full of energy, excitement, and cheerfulness; (2 SYNONYMS)

Answer 33

Exuberance, ebullience

Question 34

Adj - fast and energetic in a rather wild and uncontrolled way, frantic

Answer 34

Frenetic

Question 35

Noun - pompous superiority or pretentiousness

Answer 35

Grandiosity (he was self-absorbed and prone to grandiosity)

Question 36

Verb - make (something bad) less severe, serious, or painful

Answer 36

Mitigate (you can learn to mitigate certain negative behaviour patterns)

Question 37

Adj - experienced or skilled in; knowledgeable about

Answer 37

Versed (a solicitor well versed in employment law)

Question 38

Verb - to compensate Noun - compensation or reward given for loss or harm suffered or effort made

Answer 38

Recompense (adequate recompense for workers who lose their jobs)

Question 39

Adj - having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way

Answer 39

Pernicious (the pernicious influences of the mass media)(some people can be pernicious to deal with)

Question 40

Adj - not harmful or offensive

Answer 40

Innocuous (they may take your innocuous comment personally)

Question 41

Adj - impossible to stop or prevent

Answer 41

Inexorable (this law is simple and inexorable: you have a set character)

Question 42

Noun - eager or excessive desire, especially for wealth or possessions or something that belongs to someone else

Answer 42

Covetousness (Social media so often encourages us to compare ourselves to others, inspiring covetousness and insecurity)

Question 43

Noun - person who travels from place to place

Answer 43

Itinerant (her father was an itinerant and was rarely at home)

Question 44

Noun - a person who sells illegal drugs or stolen goods

Answer 44

Peddler (drug peddler)

Question 45

Noun - sternness or severity in attitude, strictness

Answer 45

Austerity (she lived a life of austerity and spiritual practice)

Question 46

Adj - curvy and sexually attractive

Answer 46

Voluptuous (…women)

Question 47

Adj - involving a violation of moral or social boundaries.

Answer 47

Transgressive (she was always coveting something transgressive that stimulated her socially unacceptable fantasies)

Question 48

Adj - difficult to find, catch, or achieve

Answer 48

Elusive (success will become ever more elusive)

Question 49

Noun - the fact of appearing everywhere or of being very common

Answer 49

Ubiquity (create an illusion of ubiquity - your object is seen everywhere and desired by others)(the ubiquity of phones means we don’t need a watch)

Question 50

Adj - showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable

Answer 50

Perverse (by some perverse force within us, once we possess something we want, our minds drift towards something new and different, to imagine we can have better)

Question 51

Adj - without any reduction in intensity or strength

Answer 51

Unabated (despite having gotten what they wanted, the grumbling continued unabated)

Question 52

Noun - the inability to decide between different opinions or actions; indecision

Answer 52

Vacillation, dithering