vocab glossary 3

Question 1

audacity

Answer 1

noun
i) willingness to take bold risks
ii) behavior that is rude
i can’t believe you had the audacity to say that

Question 2

Abomination

Answer 2

noun

i) a feeling of hatred
ii) something that causes disgust or hatred

Question 3

Pinion

Answer 3

noun/verb
i) (noun) the terminal section of a bird’s wing including the carpus, metacarpus, and phalanges
ii) (verb) to disable or restrain by binding the arm
The police pinioned the kidnapper to his car while they handcuffed him.

Question 4

parapet

Answer 4

noun
A protective edge or rampart.
The soldiers stood behind the parapet in order to take cover.

Question 5

avarice

Answer 5

noun
i) Immoderate desire for wealth; cupidity, greed.
ii) Excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity.
The corporate world is plagued by avarice and a thirst for power.

Question 6

perturb

Answer 6

verb
i) To disturb greatly; make uneasy or anxious.
ii) To throw into great confusion.
The sound of thunder never failed to perturb my dog

Question 7

malevolence

Answer 7

noun
i) the quality, state, or feeling of being malevolent (adj; having or showing a wish to do evil to others)
ii) ill will, malice, hatred
The malevolence shown by the other team was horrible.

Question 8

sinister

Answer 8

adjective
i) threatening or pertaining evil, harm, or trouble; ominous
ii) bad, evil, disastrous, unfavorable
No one felt like mentioning the sinister comment he had declared earlier that day.

Question 9

sylvan

Answer 9

adjective
i) adj. of, relating to, or characteristic of the woods or forest
ii) adj. living or located in the woods or forest
The house is sylvan, secluded from the city.

Question 10

corpulent

Answer 10

adjective
having a large or bulky body: obese
The corpulent hamster got stuck on its back because it could not roll over.

Question 11

Vicissitude

Answer 11

noun
a change or variation in circumstances, often unwelcome.
interchange or alternation, as of states or things.
i.) Even though Shelly had many vicissitudes during her childhood, she became one of the richest women.
ii.) One vicissitude of having a dog is that they shed everywhere.

Question 12

gesticulate

Answer 12

verb
to make movements with your hands or arms, esp. to help express something when you are speaking
The coach gesticulates the next play to the captain.

Question 13

melodious

Answer 13

adjective
i) pleasant and relaxing to listen to
ii)beautiful to listen to
My brother’s band was not melodious.

Question 14

jubilant

Answer 14

adjective
showing great joy or satisfaction
feeling or expressing great happiness, especially because of success
i.) Laughing always puts people in a jubilant mood.
ii.) Finishing my research paper made me feel jubilant.

Question 15

esoteric

Answer 15

adjective
i) Understood only by a chosen few or an enlightened
inner circle.
ii) Confidential; private, secret.
I have prohibited my friends from describing vines in esoteric terms because not everyone understands.

Question 16

coiffure

Answer 16

noun
A hairstyle.
A headdress, or manner of dressing the hair.
iii.) Colonial men had impressive coiffures. Donald Trump does not.

Question 17

precipice

Answer 17

noun
a very steep rock face or cliff, typically a tall one.
a hazardous situation
i.) The country was on the precipice of war
ii.) The precipice was steep and when she looked down she could not see the ground.

Question 18

incorrigible

Answer 18

adjective
firmly fixed; not easily changed
not easily influenced
i.) Although he spent a year in jail he was not incorrigible once he was released

Question 19

venerable

Answer 19

adjective
Commanding respect by virtue of age, dignity, character, or position.
Worthy of reverence, especially by religious or historical association
i.) Okonkwo is a venerable man with many wives, yams, and titles.

Question 20

prodigious

Answer 20

adjective
Impressively great in size, force, or extent; enormous
Extraordinary; marvelous
After a prodigious dinner, I went into a food coma.

Question 21

subterfuge

Answer 21

noun
using deception to achieve one’s goal
a dishonest way to get what you want
i.) Some people believe that the paparazzi often use subterfuge when taking photos of celebrities.

Question 22

decrepit

Answer 22

adjective
worn out by age
in a weak state as an elder from a tiring life
i.)We drove our car past a street of decrepit houses.

Question 23

benevolently

Answer 23

adverb
well meaning and kindly
serving a charitable purpose
i.) Marie benevolently gave the man on the street money.

Question 24

voluble

Answer 24

adjective
speaking continuously and fluently.
easily rolling or turning
i.) Although Julian is normally a voluble speaker, he appeared speechless when he won the award.

Question 25

approbation

Answer 25

noun
 a warm expression of praise or approval
 official approval
 proof; attestation
i.) Julie’s approbation was received with bitter confusion by her rigid friend.

Question 26

contusion

Answer 26

noun
a wound or injury in which the skin is not broken, but results in discoloration and the breaking of blood vessels.
the state of being beaten or bruised; the process of beating or bruising
i.) The doctor identified the source of Jem’s leg pain to be a contusion.

Question 27

paraphernalia

Answer 27

noun
personal belongings
articles of equipment/accessory items
i.) My sewing paraphernalia stopped working, so I was forced to throw it out.

Question 28

acerbic

Answer 28

adjective
sharply or bitingly critical, sarcastic, or ironic in temper, mood, or tone
used to describe something that is spoken or written in a way that is direct, clever, and cruel
i.) The New York Times columnist had written an acerbic article on Jennifer Lawrence’s new movie.

Question 29

austerity

Answer 29

noun
The quality of being austere (“austere” meaning “severe or stern in appearance”)
Severe and rigid economy, wartime austerity
i.) The director of the play didn’t want to drive away actors because of his austerity.

Question 30

melee

Answer 30

noun
Confused, hand-to-hand fighting in a pitched battle, a violent free-for-all
A confused tumultuous mingling
i.) The melee between the 2 countries resulted in thousands of casualties.

Question 31

calamity

Answer 31

noun
an event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster
i.) The hurricane that just hit Florida was a calamity.

Question 32

Precipitous

Answer 32

adjective
dangerously high or steep.
(of an action) done suddenly and without careful consideration.
I climbed the precipitous mountain.