Word List 36

Question 1

precarious

Answer 1

uncertain; risky

Question 2

pine

Answer 2

languish; decline; long for; yearn

Question 3

pinnacle

Answer 3

peak

Question 4

potent

Answer 4

powerful; persuasive; greatly influential

Question 5

pithy

Answer 5

concise; meaningful; substantial; meaty

Question 6

plausible

Answer 6

having a show of truth but open to doubt; specious

Question 7

philistine

Answer 7

narrow-minded person, uncultured and exclusively interested in material gain

Question 8

poseur

Answer 8

person who pretends to be sophisticated

Question 9

plaudit

Answer 9

enthusiastically worded approval; round of applause

Question 10

plight

Answer 10

condition; state; predicament

Question 11

pliant

Answer 11

flexible; easily influenced

Question 12

piquant

Answer 12

pleasantly tart tasting; stimulating

Question 13

porous

Answer 13

full of pores; like a sieve

Question 14

polyglot

Answer 14

speaking several languages

Question 15

piety

Answer 15

religious devotion; godliness

Question 16

potentate

Answer 16

monarch; sovereign

Question 17

pore

Answer 17

study industriously; ponder; scrutinize

Question 18

pittance

Answer 18

a small allowance or wage

Question 19

plethora

Answer 19

excess; overabundance

Question 20

pious

Answer 20

devout; religious

Question 21

picaresque

Answer 21

pertaining to rogues in literature

Question 22

phlegmatic

Answer 22

calm, not easily disturbed

Question 23

physiological

Answer 23

pertaining to the science of the function of living organisms

Question 24

practitioner

Answer 24

someone engaged in a profession

Question 25

poignancy

Answer 25

quality of being deeply moving; keenness of emotion

Question 26

pragmatic

Answer 26

practical

Question 27

plenitude

Answer 27

abundance; completeness

Question 28

plumb

Answer 28

examine critically in order to understand; measure death

Question 29

plumb

Answer 29

checking perpendicularit; vertical

Question 30

potential

Answer 30

expressing possibility; latent

Question 31

prank

Answer 31

mischievous trick

Question 32

pied

Answer 32

variegated; multicolored

Question 33

prate

Answer 33

speak foolishly; boast idly

Question 34

phobia

Answer 34

morbid fear

Question 35

practicable

Answer 35

feasible

Question 36

phoenix

Answer 36

symbol of immortality or rebirth

Question 37

polarize

Answer 37

split into extremes or camps

Question 38

posthumous

Answer 38

after death

Question 39

politic

Answer 39

expedient; prudent; well advised

Question 40

portend

Answer 40

foretell; presage

Question 41

pontifical

Answer 41

pertaining to a bishop or pope; pompous or pretentious

Question 42

piecemeal

Answer 42

one piece at a time; gradually

Question 43

placid

Answer 43

peaceful; calm

Question 44

precedent

Answer 44

something preceding in time that may be used as an authority or guide for future action

Question 45

preamble

Answer 45

introductory statement

Question 46

pomposity

Answer 46

self important behaviour

Question 47

platitude

Answer 47

trite remark; commonplace statement

Question 48

plascticity

Answer 48

ability to be molded

Question 49

ponderous

Answer 49

weighty; unwieldy

Question 50

posterity

Answer 50

descendants; future generations

Question 51

plumage

Answer 51

feathers of a bird

Question 52

plummet

Answer 52

fall sharply

Question 53

plaintive

Answer 53

mournful

Question 54

potion

Answer 54

dose of liquid

Question 55

portent

Answer 55

sign; omen; forewarning

Question 56

practical

Answer 56

based on experience; useful

Question 57

podium

Answer 57

pedestal; raised platform

Question 58

philanthropist

Answer 58

lover of mankind; doer of good

Question 59

polemical

Answer 59

aggressive in verbal attack

Question 60

pique

Answer 60

provoke or arouse; annoy

Question 61

pragmatist

Answer 61

practical person

Question 62

pitfall

Answer 62

hidden danger; concealed trap

Question 63

placebo

Answer 63

harmless substance prescribed as a dummy pill

Question 64

plutocracy

Answer 64

society ruled by the wealthy

Question 65

polygamist

Answer 65

one who has more that one spouse at a time

Question 66

pique

Answer 66

irritation; resentment

Question 67

plagiarize

Answer 67

steal another's ideas and pass them off as one's own

Question 68

portly

Answer 68

stately; stout

Question 69

prattle

Answer 69

babble

Question 70

potable

Answer 70

suitable for drinking

Question 71

phylum

Answer 71

major class of plants; primary branch of animal kingdom division

Question 72

placate

Answer 72

pacify; conciliate

Question 73

pliable

Answer 73

flexible; yielding; adaptable

Question 74

pivotal

Answer 74

crucial; key; vital

Question 75

postulate

Answer 75

essential premise; underlying assumption

Question 76

pigment

Answer 76

coloring matter

Question 77

pillage

Answer 77

plunder