Words 101 - 200

Question 1

Fervid

Answer 1

Intensely enthusiastic or passionate, especially to an excessive degree.

His fervid protestations of love.

Question 2

Affectation

Answer 2

Behaviour, speech, or writing that is pretentious and designed to impress.

The affectation of a man who measures every word for effect.

Question 3

Estimable

Answer 3

Worthy of great respect.

She was shown into that estimable woman’s presence.

Question 4

Adroit

Answer 4

Clever or skilful.

He was adroit at tax avoidance.

Question 5

Truculent

Answer 5

Eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant.

Question 6

Sardonic

Answer 6

Grimly mocking or cynical.

Starkey attempted a sardonic smile.

Question 7

Intransigent

Answer 7

Unwilling or refusing to change one’s views or to agree about something.

Her father had tried persuasion, but she was intransigent.

Question 8

Atavistic

Answer 8

Relating to or characterised by reversion to something ancient or ancestral.

Atavistic fears and instincts.

Question 9

Vista

Answer 9

A pleasing view.

Sweeping lawns and landscaped vistas.

Question 10

Fractious

Answer 10

Irritable and quarrelsome.

They fight and squabble like fractious children.

Question 11

Squalid

Answer 11

Extremely dirty and unpleasant, especially as a result of poverty or neglect.

The squalid, overcrowded prison.

Question 12

Ruminate

Answer 12

Think deeply about something.

We sat ruminating on the nature of existence.

Question 13

Glib

Answer 13

Fluent but insincere and shallow.

The glib phrases soon roll off the tongue.

Question 14

Malfeasance

Answer 14

Wrongdoing, especially by a public official.

Question 15

Tincture

Answer 15

A medicine made by dissolving a drug in alcohol.

The remedies can be administered in form of tinctures.

Question 16

Tenebrous

Answer 16

Dark; shadowy or obscure.

The tenebrous spiral staircase of the self.

Question 17

Prescient

Answer 17

Having or showing knowledge of events before they take place.

A prescient warning.

Question 18

Salubrious

Answer 18

Health-giving; healthy.

Odours of far less salubrious origin.

Question 19

Austere

Answer 19

Severe or strict in manner or attitude.

He was an austere man, with a rigidly puritanical outlook.

Question 20

Veresimilitude

Answer 20

The appearance of being true or real.

The detail gives the novel some verisimilitude.

Question 21

Solicitude

Answer 21

Care or concern for someone or something.

I was touched by her solicitude.

Question 22

Rectitude

Answer 22

Morally correct behaviour or thinking; righteousness.

Mattie is a model of rectitude.

Question 23

Foist

Answer 23

Impose an unwelcome or unnecessary person or thing on.

She had no desire to have an elderly relative foisted on her.

Question 24

Chagrin

Answer 24

Annoyance or distress at having failed or been humiliated.

To my chagrin, he was nowhere to be seen.

Question 25

Pique

Answer 25

A feeling of irritation or resentment resulting from a slight, especially to one's pride. He left in a fit of pique.

Question 26

Dotage

Answer 26

The period of life in which a person is old and weak. You could live here and look after me in my dotage.

Question 27

Panache

Answer 27

Flamboyant confidence of style or manner. He entertained London society with great panache.

Question 28

Susurrus

Answer 28

Whispering or rustling. The susurration of the river.

Question 29

Propensity

Answer 29

An inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way. His propensity for violence.

Question 30

Tryst

Answer 30

A private romantic rendezvous between lovers. A moonlight tryst.

Question 31

Poignant

Answer 31

Evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret. A poignant reminder of the passing of time.

Question 32

Affluent

Answer 32

Having a great deal of money; wealthy. The affluent societies of the western world.

Question 33

Pithy

Answer 33

Terse and vigorously expressive. His characteristically pithy comments.

Question 34

Moratorium

Answer 34

A temporary prohibition of an activity. A moratorium on the use of drift nets.

Question 35

Vocation

Answer 35

A strong feeling of suitability for a particular career or occupation. Not all of us have a vocation to be nurses or doctors.

Question 36

Credo

Answer 36

A statement of the beliefs or aims which guide someone's actions. He announced his credo in his first editorial.

Question 37

Epitaph

Answer 37

A phrase or form of words written in memory of a person who has died, especially as an inscription on a tombstone. A poignant epitaph to his creative career.

Question 38

Cogent

Answer 38

Clear, logical and convincing. They put forward cogent arguments for British membership.

Question 39

Surmount

Answer 39

Overcome (a difficulty or obstacle). All manner of cultural differences were surmounted.

Question 40

Inextricable

Answer 40

Impossible to disentangle or separate. The past and the present are inextricable.

Question 41

Dissonance

Answer 41

Lack of agreement or harmony between people or things. The party faithful might be willing to put up with such dissonance among their candidates.

Question 42

Conduit

Answer 42

A channel for conveying water or other fluid. Nearby springs supplied the conduit which ran into the brewery.

Question 43

Gregarious

Answer 43

Fond of company; sociable. He was a popular and gregarious man.

Question 44

Terse

Answer 44

Sparing in the use of words; abrupt. A terse statement.