VOCAB

Question 1

Abjure (verb)

Answer 1

formally renounce a former belief

Question 2

Abrogate (verb)

Answer 2

Repeal a law or evade a duty

Question 3

Abstemious (adjective)

Answer 3

Not self-indulging (norm. eating n drinking)

Question 4

Acumen (noun)

Answer 4

Ability to make good judgements quickly, norm. in a specific thing

Question 5

Antebellum (adjective)

Answer 5

Existing before a war esp American civil war

Question 6

Auspicious (adjective)

Answer 6

Favorable; sign of future success

Question 7

Belie (verb)

Answer 7

Fail to give the true impression of something; fail to fulfill or justify

Question 8

Bellicose (adjective)

Answer 8

Having or showing a ready disposition to fight

Question 9

Bowdlerize (verb)

Answer 9

Remove improper or offensive material from a text, often making it less effective

Question 10

Chicanery (noun)

Answer 10

Trickery for a legal, political, or financial purpose

Question 11

Churlish (adjective)

Answer 11

Rude in a mean way

Question 12

Circumlocution (noun)

Answer 12

The use of many words where fewer would do, especially in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive.

Question 13

Circumnavigate (verb)

Answer 13

To travel completely around something; to avoid

Question 14

Deciduous (adjective)

Answer 14

Shedding leaves annually

Question 15

Deleterious (adjective)

Answer 15

Causing harm or damage

Question 16

Diffident (adjective)

Answer 16

Modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence.

Question 17

Enervate (verb)

Answer 17

Cause (someone) to feel drained of energy or vitality; weaken

Question 18

Enfranchise (verb)

Answer 18

Give the right to vote to; historically to free a slave

Question 19

Epiphany (noun)

Answer 19

An inspiration or divine manifestation

Question 20

Equinox (noun)

Answer 20

The time (twice each year) when the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of approximately equal length

Question 21

Evanescent (adj)

Answer 21

Soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence

Question 22

Expurgate (verb)

Answer 22

Remove matter thought to be objectionable or unsuitable from a text

Question 23

Facetious (adjective)

Answer 23

Treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor

Question 24

Fatuous (adjective)

Answer 24

Silly and pointless

Question 25

Feckless (adjective)

Answer 25

Lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible

Question 26

Filibuster (verb/noun)

Answer 26

Act in an obstructive manner in a legislature, especially by speaking at inordinate length in order to delay or prevent a decision

Question 27

Gauche (adjective)

Answer 27

Lacking ease or grace; unsophisticated and socially awkward

Question 28

Hegemony (noun)

Answer 28

Leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over others

Question 29

Hubris (noun)

Answer 29

Excessive pride or self-confidence

Question 30

Impeach (verb)

Answer 30

Call into question the integrity or validity of (a practice)

Question 31

Incognito (adjective)

Answer 31

(of a person) having one's true identity concealed

Question 32

Incontrovertible (adjective)

Answer 32

Not able to be denied or disputed.

Question 33

Inculcate (verb)

Answer 33

Instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction

Question 34

Infrastructure (noun)

Answer 34

The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g. buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise

Question 35

Interpolate (verb)

Answer 35

Insert (something of a different nature) into something else normally insert (words) in a book or other text, esp in order to give a false impression as to its date

Question 36

Irony (noun)

Answer 36

The expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect

Question 37

Jejune (adjective)

Answer 37

Naive, simplistic, and superficial; (of ideas or writings) dry and uninteresting

Question 38

Kowtow (verb)

Answer 38

Act in an excessively subservient manner

Question 39

Laissez faire (noun)

Answer 39

A policy or attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering

Question 40

Lexicon (noun)

Answer 40

The vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge; a dictionary, especially of Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, or Arabic