Vocab 3 U13-15

Question 1

adj) extremely difficult to understand

Answer 1

abstruse

Question 2

n) an open or intentional insult; a slight;

v) to insult one’s face; to face in defiance, confront

Answer 2

affront

Question 3

n) a false rumor, fabricated story

Answer 3

canard

Question 4

adj) excessively ready to find fault; given to petty criticism; intended to trap, confuse, or show up

Answer 4

captious

Question 5

adj) aware, knowledgeable, informed; having jurisdiction

Answer 5

cognizant

Question 6

adj) regretful for some misdeed or sin; plagued by a sense of guilt; thoroughly penitent

Answer 6

contrite

Question 7

n) the center of attraction, attention, or interest; something that serves to guide or direct

Answer 7

cynosure

Question 8

adj) well behaved, dignified, socially proper

Answer 8

decorous

Question 9

v) to think it appropriate or suitable to one’s dignity to do something; to condescend

Answer 9

deign

Question 10

adj, part) thoroughly dried out; divested of spirit or vitality; arid and uninteresting

Answer 10

desiccated

Question 11

n) the power to produce a desired result

Answer 11

efficacy

Question 12

v) to bring into existence, give rise to, produce; to come into existence, assume form

Answer 12

engender

Question 13

adj) light, airy, delicate; highly refined; suggesting what is heavenly (rather than earthbound)

Answer 13

ethereal

Question 14

n) the front or face of a building; a surface appearance (as opposed to what may lie behind)

Answer 14

facade

Question 15

adj) revolting in an unnatural or morbid way; suggestive of someone who robs graves or otherwise preys on the dead

Answer 15

ghoulish

Question 16

adj) not in keeping, unsuitable, incompatible

Answer 16

incongruous

Question 17

n) a crafty, scheming, or underhanded action designed to accomplish some (usually evil) end

Answer 17

machination

Question 18

v) to hypnotize, entrance; to fascinate, enthrall, bewitch

Answer 18

mesmerize

Question 19

n) disgrace arising from shameful conduct; contempt, reproach

Answer 19

opprobium

Question 20

adj) generally regarded as such; reputed; hypothesized, inferred

Answer 20

putative

Question 21

adj) blissful; rendering or making blessed

Answer 21

beatific

Question 22

n) a creature of enormous size, power, or appearance

Answer 22

behemouth

Question 23

n, pl) anything designed to flatter or coax; sweet talk, apple-polishing

Answer 23

blandishment

Question 24

adj) harsh-sounding, raucous, discordant, dissonant

Answer 24

cacophonous

Question 25

n) trickery, deceptive practices or tactics, double-dealing

Answer 25

chicanery

Question 26

v) to give over to another's care, charge, or control; to entrust, deliver; to set apart for a special use

Answer 26

consign

Question 27

n) a highly successful stroke, masterstroke, tour de force, act, plan, or stratagem; a sudden takeover of power or leadership

Answer 27

coup

Question 28

n) a mild or inoffensive expression used in place of a harsh or unpleasant one; a substitute

Answer 28

euphemism

Question 29

adj) feverish; pertaining to or marked by fever; frenetic

Answer 29

febrile

Question 30

v) to deny, contradict, controvert; to dispute, oppose

Answer 30

gainsay

Question 31

adj) about to happen, threatening

Answer 31

imminent

Question 32

adj) natural, inborn, inherent; built-in

Answer 32

innate

Question 33

adj) unwilling, reluctant, disinclined

Answer 33

loath

Question 34

adj) clear, evident to the eyes or mind; v) to show plainly, exhibit, evince; n) a list of cargo and/or passengers

Answer 34

manifest

Question 35

n, pl) small or trivial details, trifling matters

Answer 35

minutiae

Question 36

n) a suspension of activity; an official waiting period; an authorized period of delay

Answer 36

moratorium

Question 37

n) an alleged cure-all; a remedy or scheme of questionable effectiveness

Answer 37

nostrum

Question 38

n) one who is rejected by a social group or organization

Answer 38

pariah

Question 39

adj) not practical, lacking in realism; having the nature of a fantasy or dream; n) one given to far-fetched ideas; a dreamer or seer characterized by vision or foresight

Answer 39

visionary

Question 40

adj, part) dry, shrunken, and wrinkled (often as the result of aging)

Answer 40

wizened

Question 41

n) that which is pleasant or agreeable; | pl) attractive features, customs, etc

Answer 41

amenity

Question 42

n) an opening, gap, hole; orifice

Answer 42

aperture

Question 43

n) a difference of opinion; discontent

Answer 43

dissidence

Question 44

adj) devoted to the pursuit of pleasure; fond of good food, comfort, and ease; with discriminating tastes; n) a person with discriminating tastes

Answer 44

epicurean

Question 45

adj) not thrifty, failing to plan ahead

Answer 45

improvident

Question 46

n) a wickedness, sin; a grossly immoral act

Answer 46

iniquity

Question 47

adj) sacred; of such a character that it must not be broken, injured, or profaned

Answer 47

inviolable

Question 48

adj) open to or capable of change, fickle

Answer 48

mutable

Question 49

adj) just beginning to exist or develop; having just come into existence

Answer 49

nascent

Question 50

n) a deep bow or other body movement indicating respect or submission; deference, homage

Answer 50

obeisance

Question 51

n) a formal or elaborate praise; a tribute

Answer 51

panegyric

Question 52

n) a device for publicly punishing offenders; a means for exposing one to public contempt or ridicule; v) to expose to public contempt or ridicule

Answer 52

pillory

Question 53

n) a woefully meager allowance, wage, or portion

Answer 53

pittance

Question 54

v) to foreshadow or point to a future event; to predict; | n) a warning or indication of the future

Answer 54

presage

Question 55

n) descendants, offspring, children, followers, disciples

Answer 55

progeny

Question 56

n) to proclaim or issue officially; to make known far and wide

Answer 56

promulgate

Question 57

n) uprightness, righteousness; correctness

Answer 57

rectitude

Question 58

adj) restless, hard to manage, balky

Answer 58

restive

Question 59

adj) angelic, heavenly, celestial

Answer 59

seraphic

Question 60

v) to have existence; to remain alive, manage to make a living or maintain life; to persist or continue

Answer 60

subsist