Vocab Words

Question 1

(adj) - Fond of the company of others; sociable.

Answer 1

Gregarious

Ex - Gregarious students often struggle with independent projects and activities.

Question 2

(n) - A dreamy sequence of usually happy or pleasant imaginings.

Answer 2

Reverie

Ex - I was angry when my children interrupted my reverie about my mansion and household servants.

Question 3

(adj) - A temporary replacement

Answer 3

Interim

Ex - While Mrs. Carter is on maternity leave, Mr. Garrett will act as interim choir director.

Question 4

(adj) - Very wicked or evil.

Answer 4

Nefarious
Ex - After coming up with a crime as wicked and nefarious as he did, that criminal deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Question 5

(v) - To say unpleasant things about someone or something; usually unfairly.

Answer 5

Malign

Ex - By spending the cruel rumor, my sister hoped to malign her ex-boyfriend.

Question 6

(v) - To stir things up; instigate

Answer 6

Foment

Ex - The celebrity liked to foment rumors by posting cryptic statements about her private relationships online.

Question 7

(adj) - Recurring

Answer 7

Chronic

Ex - For three months, I have had a chronic headache.

Question 8

(adj) - Weakly and overly sentimental

Answer 8

Maudlin

Ex - Sarah is such a drama queen that she behaves in a maudlin way to even the smallest incident.

Question 9

(n) - An idea that many people have about a thing or group that may often be untrue or only partly true.

Answer 9

Stereotype

Ex - Don’t perpetuate the stereotype of college jocks.

Question 10

(v) - To force to leave out or refuse to include.

Answer 10

Ostracize
Ex - Bullies tend to ostracize others because they have low self-esteem and want to make those around them feel shunned and unaccepted.

Question 11

(adj) - Something that is slowly and secretly causing harm.

Answer 11

Insidious

Ex - The investigators uncovered an insidious scheme to rob people of their life savings.

Question 12

(n) - A type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal is more common in speech than writing and typically restricted to a particular context or group of people.

Answer 12

Slang

Ex - Mrs. Baer does not allow the use of slang in a formal essay.

Question 13

(adj) - Clear-minded

Answer 13

Lucid

Ex - Because the medicine made Lisa drowsy, she was not very lucid.

Question 14

(adj) - Laughable because on being ridiculous.

Answer 14

Ludicrous

Ex - The gigantic yellow hat looked ludicrous on the tiny man’s head.

Question 15

(n) - Rotation around a point or axis.

Answer 15

Gyration

Ex - Staring at the helicopter’s propeller making nonstop gyrations made me dizzy.

Question 16

(adj) - Feeling no fear; bold

Answer 16

Intrepid

Ex - Even when the storm was directly over our house, the intrepid old women did not panic.

Question 17

(v) - To show devotion and honor to.

Answer 17

Revere
Ex - The students revered their teacher so much that they had a difficult time with the substitute teacher who came while she was taking maternity leave.

Question 18

(adj) - Stiffly dignified or formal in speech or literary style; pompous.

Answer 18

Stilted

Ex - It was obvious Jeff’s parents made him deliver a stilted apology.

Question 19

(adj) - Acting or taking place without any outside force or cause.

Answer 19

Spontaneous

Ex - Don’t make spontaneous and impulsive comments without thinking; you won’t be able to take your words back.

Question 20

(n) - A scolding or bad-tempered women.

Answer 20

Shrew

Ex - The shrew in our neighborhood allows her dog to chase children who come on her property.

Question 21

(adj) - To throw into disorder; make untidy.

Answer 21

Disheveled

Ex - Since Eli had not much time to comb his hair or wash his face, he looked quite disheveled.

Question 22

(n) - A brief and witty saying.

Answer 22

Aphorism

Ex - Bill began his speech with a humorous aphorism from one of his favorite authors.

Question 23

(v) - To pass into or through every part of.

Answer 23

Permeate

Ex - The light will permeate through the curtains when the sun rises.

Question 24

(v) - To speak of as unimportant not much good.

Answer 24

Disparage

Ex - As a middle school teacher, I witness students verbally disparage each other on a daily basis.

Question 25

(n) - A great difference.

Answer 25

Disparity | Ex - The disparity between the giant's height and the dwarf's height is obvious.

Question 26

(adj) - Occurring by chance.

Answer 26

Fortuitous | Ex - Mark proved to be fortuitous by picking all six winning lotto numbers.

Question 27

(adj) - Poorly done or made.

Answer 27

Shoddy | Ex - The shoddy porch collapsed one day after it was built.

Question 28

(n) - An act or instance of not following the general rule or method.

Answer 28

Anomaly | Ex - Since my son has a history of failing classes, his good grades are a welcome anomaly.

Question 29

(n) - A comparison in which an idea or thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it.

Answer 29

Analogy | Ex - Just as the sword is the weapon of a warrior, the pen is the weapon of a writer.

Question 30

(adj) - Incapable of being investigated; not easily understood.

Answer 30

Inscrutable | Ex - In situations where evidence is lacking, some murder easer remains inscrutable forever.

Question 31

(adj) - Stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.

Answer 31

Explicit | Ex - Since the tournament rules are explicit, there is no excuse for the athlete's actions.

Question 32

(n) - The literal or primary meaning in contrast to the feelings or ideas a word suggests; dictionary definition.

Answer 32

Denotation | Ex - It is important to know both the denotative and connotation associated with new vocabulary.

Question 33

(n) - The overall message or life lesson of a poem or any other literary work.

Answer 33

Theme | Ex - Nationalism is a major theme in the literature of Panama.

Question 34

(n) - When a word or phrase is used more than once of emphasis.

Answer 34

Repetition | Ex - Constant repetition makes it easier to learn how to spell a word.

Question 35

(n) - The main subject of a poem, essay, composition, etc.

Answer 35

Topic | Ex - The best consists of a 500-word essay on the topic of your choice.

Question 36

(n) - A feeling, memory or thought connected with a person, place or thing.

Answer 36

Association | Ex - His grandparent's old house had happy associations for his.

Question 37

(adj) - Especially evil or leading to evil.

Answer 37

Sinister | Ex - To make our home look sinister for Halloween, we placed fake spiderwebs all over the front porch.

Question 38

(n) - A group of lines in a poem.

Answer 38

Stanza | Ex - The line contains an equal number of stanzas and is arranged in lines of four syllables each.

Question 39

(n) - Special attention put on something to give it importance.

Answer 39

Emphasis | Ex - Our English teacher puts emphasis on spelling.

Question 40

(n) - The words that are used with a certain word or phrase to help explain its meaning.

Answer 40

Context | Ex - It was Charles Dickens who first used the word "detective" in the literary context.

Question 41

(n) - A lack of agreement generally between what one believes and how one acts.

Answer 41

Dissonance | Ex - There is a great deal of dissonance between what a liar says and does.

Question 42

(v) - To make public; disclose.

Answer 42

Divulge | Ex - Doctors must be careful not to divulge confidential information about their patients.

Question 43

(adj) - Of the same or a similar kind or nature.

Answer 43

Homogenous | Ex - At my school, the smartest students are placed in homogenous classes so they can challenge each other.

Question 44

(n) - The state of not using alcohol or illegal drugs.

Answer 44

Sobriety | Ex - Sobriety tests showed that the driver was inebriated and not able to operate a vehicle.

Question 45

(adj) - Deserving to be despised.

Answer 45

Despicable | Ex - Her despicable behavior earned her nothing but some jail time.

Question 46

(v) - To twist and turn this way and that as if from struggling or pain.

Answer 46

Writhe | Ex - The poison caused the witch to writhe in agony before she died.

Question 47

(v) - To prevent it from happening.

Answer 47

Preclude | Ex - The young gymnast has suffered an injury which will preclude him from being a part of the Olympic team.

Question 48

(adj) - Deeply upset or agitated.

Answer 48

Distraught | Ex - When my father died. I was so distraught, I dropped out of school.

Question 49

(n) - The strongest or most successful period of time.

Answer 49

Zenith | Ex - After the president brought an end to the war, his popularity his it's zenith.

Question 50

(n) - An unusual or unexpected sight, a ghost.

Answer 50

Apparition Ex - Guest at the hotel claim they have seen an apparition of the woman in the portrait wondering through the halls at night.