Unit 9 Vocabulary

Question 1

Forebears

Answer 1

ancestor, forefather, precursor

Question 2

Gentry

Answer 2

upper or ruling class

Question 3

Autonomy

Answer 3

the quality or state of being self-governing

Question 4

Vocation

Answer 4

a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action

Question 5

Spectacle

Answer 5

something exhibited to view as unusual, notable, or entertaining

Question 6

Aristocrats

Answer 6

a member of an aristocracy

Question 7

Disdain

Answer 7

to look on with scorn

Question 8

Timidly

Answer 8

lacking in courage or self-confidence

Question 9

Sober

Answer 9

abstaining from drinking alcohol or taking intoxicating drugs

Question 10

Elevation

Answer 10

the angular distance of something above the horizon

Question 11

Avant-garde

Answer 11

an intelligentsia that develops new or experimental concepts especially in the arts

Question 12

Validation

Answer 12

to grant official sanction to by marking

Question 13

Erudite

Answer 13

having or showing knowledge that is gained by studying : possessing or displaying

Question 14

Aesthetic

Answer 14

of, relating to, or dealing with aesthetics or the beautiful

Question 15

Qualifications

Answer 15

a restriction in meaning or application : a limiting modification

Question 16

Allusion

Answer 16

an implied or indirect reference especially in literature

Question 17

Simile

Answer 17

a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as

Question 18

Tentative

Answer 18

not fully worked out or developed

Question 19

Hypothesis

Answer 19

an assumption or concession made for the sake of argument

Question 20

Obliged

Answer 20

to constrain by physical, moral, or legal force or by the exigencies of circumstance

Question 21

Equivocal

Answer 21

subject to two or more interpretations and usually used to mislead or confuse

Question 22

Vindictive

Answer 22

intended for or involving revenge

Question 23

Digression

Answer 23

the act or an instance of leaving the main subject in an extended written or verbal expression of thought

Question 24

Enigmatic

Answer 24

an obscure speech or writing

Question 25

Provocative

Answer 25

serving or tending to provoke, excite, or stimulate

Question 26

Bourgeois

Answer 26

of, relating to, or characteristic of the social middle class

Question 27

Malicious

Answer 27

having or showing a desire to cause harm to someone

Question 28

Felicity

Answer 28

the quality or state of being happy

Question 29

Elysian

Answer 29

blissful or delightful in a way that seems otherworldly

Question 30

Tranquility

Answer 30

free from agitation of mind or spirit

Question 31

Perplexes

Answer 31

to make unable to grasp something clearly or to think logically and decisively about something

Question 32

Cynical

Answer 32

contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives

Question 33

Dispassionate

Answer 33

not influenced by strong feeling

Question 34

Fundamentally

Answer 34

with regard to what is basic, essential, or fundamental

Question 35

Dispirited

Answer 35

to deprive of morale or enthusiasm

Question 36

Frivolous

Answer 36

of little weight or importance

Question 37

Monotony

Answer 37

sameness of tone or sound

Question 38

Paradoxical

Answer 38

not being the normal or usual kind

Question 39

Disillusionment

Answer 39

the condition of being dissatisfied or defeated in expectation or hope

Question 40

Strident

Answer 40

characterized by harsh, insistent, and discordant sound

Question 41

Colloquial

Answer 41

used in or characteristic of familiar and informal conversation

Question 42

Exhortation

Answer 42

language intended to incite and encourage

Question 43

Laudatory

Answer 43

of, relating to, or expressing praise

Question 44

Encapsulation

Answer 44

to enclose in or as if in a capsule