Top Words in Context

Question 1

Adulterate

Answer 1

to make impure

The chef made his ketchup last longer by ADULTERATING it with water.

Question 2

Aggrandize

Answer 2

to increase in power, influence and reputation

The supervisor sought to AGGRANDIZE himself by claiming that the achievements of his staff were actually his own.

Question 3

Anachronism

Answer 3

something out of place and time

The aged hippie used ANACHRONISTIC phrases like ‘groovy’ and ‘far out’ that had not been popular for years.

Question 4

Antipathy

Answer 4

extreme dislike

The ANTIPATHY between the French and English regularly erupted into open warfare.

Question 5

Ardor

Answer 5

intense and passionate feeling

Bishop’s ARDOR for landscape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley.

Question 6

Austere

Answer 6

severe or stern in appearance; undecorated

The lack of decoration makes Zen temples seem AUSTERE to the untrained eye.

Question 7

Capricious

Answer 7

changing one’s mind quickly and often

Queen Elizabeth I was quite CAPRICIOUS; her courtiers could never be sure which of their number would catch her fancy.

Question 8

Castigate

Answer 8

to punish or criticize harshly

Americans are amazed at how harshly the authorities in Singapore CASTIGATE perpetrators of what would be considered minor crimes in the United States.

Question 9

Chicanery

Answer 9

deception by means of craft or guile

Dishonest used car salespeople often use CHICANERY to sell their beat-up old cars.

Question 10

Credulous

Answer 10

too trusting; gullible

Although some 4-year-olds believe in the Easter Bunny, only the most CREDULOUS 9-year-olds also believe in him.

Question 11

Desiccate

Answer 11

to dry out thoroughly

After a few weeks of lying on the desert’s baking sands, the cow’s carcass became completely DESICCATED.

Question 12

Desultory

Answer 12

jumping from one thing to another; disconnected

Diane had a DESULTORY academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in three years.

Question 13

Diffident

Answer 13

lacking self-confidence

Steve’s DIFFIDENT manner during the job interview stemmed from his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.

Question 14

Dilatory

Answer 14

intended to delay

The congressman used DILATORY measures to delay the passage of the bill.

Question 15

Enervate

Answer 15

to reduce in strength

The guerrillas hoped that a series of surprise attacks would ENERVATE the regular army.

Question 16

Engender

Answer 16

to produce, cause, or bring about

His fear and hatred of clowns was ENGENDERED when he witnessed the death of his father at the hands of a clown.

Question 17

Equivocal

Answer 17

to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead

When faced with criticism of his policies, the politician EQUIVOCATED and left all parties thinking he agreed with them.

Question 18

Estimable

Answer 18

admirable

Most people consider it ESTIMABLE that Mother Teresa spent her life helping the poor of India.

Question 19

Exigent

Answer 19

urgent; requiring immediate action

The patient was losing blood so rapidly that it was EXIGENT to stop the source of the bleeding.

Question 20

Foment

Answer 20

to arouse or incite

The protesters tried to FOMENT feeling against the war through their speeches and demonstrations.

Question 21

Garrulous

Answer 21

tending to talk a lot

The GARRULOUS parakeet distracted its owner with its continuous talking.

Question 22

Gregarious

Answer 22

outgoing, sociable

She was so GREGARIOUS that when she found herself alone she felt quite sad.

Question 23

Iconoclast

Answer 23

one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions

His lack of regard for traditional beliefs soon established him as an ICONOCLAST.

Question 24

Impetuous

Answer 24

quick to act without thinking

It is not good for an investment broker to be IMPETUOUS, because much though should be given to all the possible options.

Question 25

Inimical

Answer 25

hostile, unfriendly

Even though a cease-fire had been in place for months, the two sides were still INIMICAL to each other.

Question 26

Intransigent

Answer 26

uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled

The professor was INTRANSIGENT on the deadline, insisting that everyone turn in the assignment at the same time.

Question 27

Irascible

Answer 27

easily made angry

Attila the Hun’s IRASCIBLE and violent nature made all who dealt with him fear for their lives.

Question 28

Laconic

Answer 28

using few words

She was a LACONIC poet who built her reputation on using words as sparingly as possible.

Question 29

Malinger

Answer 29

to evade responsibility by pretending to be ill

A common way to avoid the draft was by MALINGERING - pretending to be mentally or physically ill so as to avoid being taken by the Army.

Question 30

Mollify

Answer 30

to calm or make less severe

Their argument was so intense that it was difficult to believe any compromise would MOLLIFY them.

Question 31

Obdurate

Answer 31

hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion

The president was completely OBDURATE on the issue, and no amount of persuasion would change his mind.

Question 32

Obsequious

Answer 32

overly submissive and eager to please

The OBSEQUIOUS new associate made sure to compliment her supervisor’s tie and agree with him on every issue.

Question 33

Obviate

Answer 33

to prevent; to make unnecessary

The river was shallow enough to wade across at many points, which OBVIATED the need for a bridge.

Question 34

Opprobrium

Answer 34

public disgrace

After the scheme to embezzle from the elderly was made public, the treasurer resigned in utter OPPOBRIUM.

Question 35

Perfidious

Answer 35

willing to betray one’s trust

The actress’s PERFIDIOUS companion revealed all of her intimate secrets to the gossip columnist.

Question 36

Prevaricate

Answer 36

to lie or deviate from the truth

Rather than admit that he had overslept again, the employee PREVARICATED and claimed that heavy traffic had prevented him from arriving at work on time.

Question 37

Proliferate

Answer 37

to increase in number quickly

Although he had only kept two guinea pigs initially, the PROLIFERATED to such an extent that he soon had dozens.

Question 38

Propitiate

Answer 38

to conciliate; to appease

The management PROPITIATED the irate union by agreeing to raise wages for its members.

Question 39

Quiescent

Answer 39

motionless

Many animals are QUIESCENT over the winter months, minimizing activity in order to conserve energy.

Question 40

Taciturn

Answer 40

silent, not talkative

The clerk’s TACITURN nature earned him the name “Silent Bob”.

Question 41

Torpor

Answer 41

extreme mental and physical sluggishness

After surgery, the patient experiences TORPOR until the anesthesia wore off.

Question 42

Vacillate

Answer 42

to sway physically; to be indecisive

The customer held up the line as he VACILLATED between ordering chocolate chip or rocky road ice cream.

Question 43

Venerate

Answer 43

to respect deeply

In a traditional Confucian society, the young VENERATE their elders, deferring to the elders’ wisdom and experience.