Word List 38

Question 1

unwitting

Answer 1

not knowing; unaware
not intended; inadvertent

e.g. kept truth from his unwitting friends
an unwitting mistake

Question 2

unwonted

Answer 2

being out of the ordinary; rare, unusual
not accustomed by experienced

e.g. surprised by her unwonted cheerfulness
honored for the unwonted courage

Question 3

upbraid

Answer 3

to criticize severely; find fault with
to reproach severely; scold vehemontly

e.g. His wife upbraided him for his irresponsible handling of the family finances.

Question 4

upheaval

Answer 4

extreme agitation or disorder; radical change

e.g. The civil rights movement marked a period of social upheaval in the U.S.
the emotional upheaval of divorce

Question 5

uproarious

Answer 5

very noisy or high-spirited
extremely funny

e.g. The movie follows the comic duo through a series of outrageous and uproarious escapades.
a chaotic, uproarious set

Question 6

upstage

Answer 6

to draw attention away from
haughty

e.g. My apple pie upstaged her chocolate cake.

Question 7

upswing

Answer 7

an upward swing
a marked increase or improvement

e.g. a dramatic upswing of profits
on the upswing

Question 8

usurp

Answer 8

to seize and hold in possession by force or without right
to take or make use of without right
supplant

e.g. usurp a throne
usurped the rights to her life story
must not left stock responses based on inherited prejudice usurp careful judgment

Question 9

usury

Answer 9

the practice of lending money and requiring the borrower to pay a high amount of interest

Question 10

vacillate

Answer 10

to away through lack of equilibrium
fluctuate, oscillate
to waver in mind, will, or feeling; hesitate in choice of opinions or courses

e.g. vacillate on this issue for so long that someone else stepped in and made the decision

Question 11

vacuous

Answer 11

emptied of or lacking content
marked by lack of ideas or intelligence; stupid, inane
devoid of serious occupation; idle

e.g. a dull and vacuous movie
a vacuous expression on his face

Question 12

vagary

Answer 12

an unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone’s behavior

e.g. the vagaries of a rather eccentric elderly lady
the vagaries of the weather

Question 13

vagrant

Answer 13

wanderer, rover
wandering about from place to place
having a fleeting, wayward, or inconstant quality

e.g. a vagrant breeze
a vagrant impulse

Question 14

valediction

Answer 14

an act of bidding farewell

Question 15

valiant

Answer 15

possessing or acting with bravery or boldness; courageous

marked by, exhibiting, or carried out with courage or determination; heroic

Question 16

valor

Answer 16

strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness; personal bravery

Question 17

vanquish

Answer 17

to overcome in battle; subdue completely
to gain mastery over (an emotion, passion, or temptation)

e.g. vanquished nation after nation in his relentless conquest of Europe
vanquish your fear

Question 18

vantage

Answer 18

superiority in a contest
a position giving a strategic advantage, commanding perspective, or comprehensive view

e.g. The vantage had all been ours for the first half of the contest.

Question 19

vapid

Answer 19

lacking liveliness, tang, briskness, or force; flat, dull

e.g. a song with vapid lyrics

Question 20

variegate

Answer 20

to diversify in external appearance especially with different colors; dapple
to enliven or give interest to by means of variety

e.g. Their clothes they variegate by steeping them in dyes, which produce a color not easily effaced.

Question 21

varnish

Answer 21

a liquid preparation that when applied to a surface dries to form a hard lustrous typically transparent coating
to apply varnish to
to cover or conceal (as something unpleasant) with something that gives an attractive appearance; gloss

e.g. The play has a varnish of witty dialogue.
He hoped by cunning to varnish over his want of faith and of ability.

Question 22

veer

Answer 22

to change direction or course

e.g. The economy veered sharply downward.

Question 23

venal

Answer 23

capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable consideration; purchasable; especially, open to corrupt influence and especially bribery; mercenary

e.g. a venal and easily bought judge
a venal arrangement with a police

Question 24

vendetta

Answer 24

blood feud
an often prolonged series of retaliatory, vengeful, or hostile acts or exchange of such acts

e.g. waged a vendetta against against those who opposed his nomination

Question 25

veneer

Answer 25

a thin sheet of covering material a superficial or deceptively attractive appearance, display or effect; facade, gloss also e.g. a cruel person with a veneer of kindness

Question 26

venial

Answer 26

of a kind that can be remitted; forgivable, pardonable; also, meriting no particular censure or notice; excusable e.g. Taking the restaurant's menu as a souvenir seems like a venial offense.

Question 27

veracious

Answer 27

truthful, honest | marked by truth; accurate

Question 28

verbiage

Answer 28

a profusion of words usually of little or obscure content manner of expressing oneself in words; diction e.g. such a tangled maze of evasive verbiage as a typical party platform removed some of the excess verbiage from the article

Question 29

verbose

Answer 29

containing more words than necessary; wordy given to wordiness e.g. a verbose reply / a verbose style

Question 30

verdant

Answer 30

green in tint or color unripe in experience or judgment; green e.g. a verdant oasis/lawn verdant college freshman

Question 31

verdict

Answer 31

the decision made by a jury in a trial opinion, judgment e.g. The jury reached a guilty verdict. Do you want my verdict on the meal?

Question 32

verisimilar

Answer 32

having the appearance of truth; probable

Question 33

vernacular

Answer 33

of, relating to, or being a language or dialect native a region or country rather than a literary, cultured, or foreign language of, relating to, or characteristic of a period, place, or group e.g. the vernacular architecture of the region write essays in a very easy-to-read, vernacular style

Question 34

verve

Answer 34

the spirit and enthusiasm animating artistic composition or performance; vivacity energy, vitality

Question 35

vestige

Answer 35

a trace, mark, or visible sign left by something vanished or lost the smallest quantity or trace e.g. A few strange words carved on a tree were the only vestige of the lost colony Roanoke. the fossilized vestige of a dinosaur

Question 36

vestment

Answer 36

an outer garment; especially, a robe of ceremony or office

Question 37

vex

Answer 37

to bring trouble, distress, or agitation to puzzle, baffle e.g. a restaurant vexed by slow service vexed by headache all morning a problem to vex the keenest wit

Question 38

viaduct

Answer 38

a long elevated roadway usually consisting of a series of short spans supported on arches, piers, or columns

Question 39

vicar

Answer 39

one serving as a substitute or agent; specifically, an administrative deputy an ecclesiastical agent e.g. God's vicar on earth

Question 40

vicarious

Answer 40

serving instead of someone or something else substitutionary e.g. vicarious authority a vicarious sacrifice / a vicarious thrill

Question 41

vicissitude

Answer 41

a change or variation occurring in the course of something (pl.) successive, alternating, or changing phases or conditions; ups and downs e.g. the vicissitude of seasons and human fortunes They remained friends through the vicissitudes of 40 years.

Question 42

vie

Answer 42

to strive for superiority; contend, compete e.g. vying to win the championship vied with his colleagues for the coveted promotion

Question 43

vilify

Answer 43

to lower in estimation or importance to utter slanderous and abusive statements against; defame e.g. It remains a moral crime to vilify the good cops who have made the city safe, saving thousands of lives.

Question 44

vindicate

Answer 44

``` avenge to free from allegation or blame confirm, substantiate; justify defend to maintain a right to ``` e.g. These discoveries vindicate their theory. vindicate someone's honor

Question 45

vindictive

Answer 45

disposed to seek revenge; vengeful intended to cause anguish or hurt; spiteful e.g. a vindictive person / vindictive rumors

Question 46

vintner

Answer 46

a wine merchant | a person who makes wine

Question 47

virtuosity

Answer 47

great technical skill (as in the practice of a fine art)

Question 48

virtuous

Answer 48

potent, efficacious | morally excellent; righteous

Question 49

virulent

Answer 49

marked by a rapid, severe, and destructive course extremely poisonous or venomous malignant e.g. a virulent infection / virulent bacteria virulent racists / virulent criticism

Question 50

vista

Answer 50

a distant view through or along an avenue or opening; aspect an extensive mental view (as over a stretch of time or a series of events) e.g. a gorgeous vista of the mountains from the front window a vista of the future

Question 51

vitiate

Answer 51

to make faulty or defective; impair to debase in moral or aesthetic status to make ineffective e.g. The comic impact is vitiated by obvious haste. a mind vitiated by prejudice Fraud vitiates a contract.

Question 52

vitrify

Answer 52

to convert into glass or a glassy substance by heat and fusion

Question 53

vitriolic

Answer 53

very caustic, scathing

Question 54

vituperate

Answer 54

to abuse or censure severely or abusively; berate e.g. Literature and the pulpit were inevitably the interpreters that she employed to vituperate the sins of the people.

Question 55

vivacious

Answer 55

lively in temper, conduct, or spirit; sprightly e.g. an outgoing, vivacious girl a vivacious expression love

Question 56

vocation

Answer 56

an entry into the priesthood or a religious order a divine call to the religious life occupation e.g. people who follow a religious vocation He never felt a real sense of vocation.

Question 57

volition

Answer 57

an act of making a choice or decision; also, a choice or decision made the power of choosing or determining; will e.g. She's here of her own volition.

Question 58

volley

Answer 58

a burst or emission of many things or a large amount at once e.g. hit by a volley of bullets a volley of questions

Question 59

voluble

Answer 59

easily rolling or turning; rotating | characterized by ready or rapid speech; glib, fluent

Question 60

voluminous

Answer 60

consisting of many folds, coils, or convolutions; winding large, full; numerous writing or speaking much or at great length e.g. the building's high ceilings and voluminous spaces trying to keep track of voluminous slips of paper a voluminous literature on the subject a writer of voluminous output a voluminous correspondent

Question 61

voluptuous

Answer 61

full of delight or pleasure to senses suggesting sensual pleasure e.g. voluptuous ornamentation / a voluptuous wine a voluptuous dance the voluptuous richness of the music

Question 62

voluptuary

Answer 62

a person whose chief interests are luxury and the gratification of sensual appetites e.g. a fin de siecle novel about dandies and voluptuaries

Question 63

voracious

Answer 63

having a huge appetite; ravenous excessively eager; insatiable e.g. a voracious reader

Question 64

votary

Answer 64

devotee; a devoted admirer e.g. a votary of the religious leader

Question 65

waddle

Answer 65

to move clumsily e.g A fat goose waddled across the yard.

Question 66

waffle

Answer 66

equivocate, vacillate to talk or write foolishly; blather e.g. She waffled when asked what she thought of her sister's new boyfriend. waffle tiresomely off the point

Question 67

waft

Answer 67

to move or go lightly on or as if on a buoyant medium e.g. The smell of chicken soup wafted up to my bedroom. The sound of music wafted softly into the yard from our neighbor's house. A breeze wafted the scent of roses toward our table.

Question 68

wag

Answer 68

to be in motion; stir to move in chatter or gossip wit, joker e.g. a dog wagging its tail Scandal caused tongues to wag.

Question 69

waggish

Answer 69

silly and playful e.g. waggish spoof s of popular songs

Question 70

wan

Answer 70

suggesting of poor health; sickly, pale lacking vitality; feeble dim, faint languid e.g. a wan smile/laugh look a little wan after all that tiring work

Question 71

wanderlust

Answer 71

strong longing for or impulse toward wandering a strong desire to travel e.g. Wanderlust has led him to many different parts of the world.

Question 72

wane

Answer 72

to decrease in size, extent, or degree; dwindle to fall gradually from power, prosperity, or influence e.g. The moon waxes and wanes. The scandal caused her popularity to wane.

Question 73

warmonger

Answer 73

one who urged or attempts to stir up war e.g. Fortunately, the warmongers met with overwhelming opposition.