VOCABULARY TESTS

Which word or phrase is nearest in meaning to each of the following headwords?

1. Mordant
a)
b)
c)
d)

drawing ones last breath

caustic or sarcastic, as in express
suggesting an unhealthy mental state
pertaining to edible mushrooms having spongy caps

2. Defenestration
a)
b)
c)
d)

the act of throwing a person or thing out of a window

design and disposition of windows and other exterior openings of a building
line of strikers of other demonstrators serving as pickets
shell of a submarine

3. Morganatic
a) pertaining to a form of marriage between a man of high rank and a woman of lower
station
b) payably at the end of the year by Wall Street brokers
c) temporarily inactive
d) living in tropical waters
4. Gullet
a)
b)
c)
d)

channel through which rain water runs

jaw of a large mouthed seabird
esophagus, or throat or pharynx
the pickoff move of a pitcher to second base

5. Polymath
a)
b)
c)
d)

female professor of mathematics

person learned in many fields
nitwit
multicoloured cube

6. Multifoliate
a)
b)
c)
d)

in a dying state
capable of moving spontaneously
motivated
having many leaves

7. Anfractuous
a)
b)
c)
d)

with both arms in slings

near a roadbed on which railroad trackage rests
sinuous
gloomily or sullenly ill-humored

8. Wizened
a)
b)
c)
d)

magical
shriveled and dried up, as from age
in intense grievous distress
swollen (as from a growth in stomach)

9. Unctuous
a)
b)
c)
d)

indisputably good
hypocritically smooth or suave
not subject to conditions
greasy

10. Dormer
a)
b)
c)
d)

sleeping mouse
snout on a polar bear
vertical window in a projection built out from a sloping roof
weeding night (slang)

11. Chaplet
a)
b)
c)
d)

knitted legging worn on each calf by a cowboy

cross that towers over a chapel
small condominium
wreath or garland for the head

12. Crenel
a)
b)
c)
d)

hoped underskirt
gong
mouth of a canon
open space between the merlons of a battlement

13. Umbrage

a)
b)
c)
d)

shelter from the media, preferably a hideway

resentful, displeasure or personal offense
shady side of politic
money passed under the table in a scene recorded secretly on videotape

14. Procrustean
a)
b)
c)
d)

fecund
tending to produce conformity by violent or arbitrary means
dealing with the rectum and anus
pertaining to underside of a sea slug

15. Hobbledehoy
a)
b)
c)
d)

donkey work
extraordinary size or amount
lame child at play
awkward, clumsy youth

16. Avatar
a)
b)
c)
d)

insatiable greed for riches

avoirdupois
emobodiment or manifestation, as a principle
daydreaming about flying

17. Mulet
a)
b)
c)
d)

grass favoured by cows in the Southwest

offspring of a male donkey and a mare
a fine, especially for a misdemeanor
thin, vertical bay, as between windowpanes

18. Threnody
a)
b)
c)
d)

group of three
sudden, keen excitement
song of lamentation
great number of persons or things crowded or considered together

19. Shibboleth

a)
b)
c)
d)

foaming of the mouth, especially among seekers of political power

peculiarity of speech that distinguishes a particular set of persons
chief law enforcement officer in northern African countries
wise saying that, because it is indeed true, becomes a clich

20. Cynic
a)
b)
c)
d)

center of attention
resident of an island country in the Mediterranean
person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions
owner of a brothel in Turkey

21. Quintessence
a)
b)
c)
d)

combination of five ingredients that makes the perfect aphrodisiac

official management of a sovereigns living quarters
the most perfect embodiment of something
popular words to describe the five roads that led into Keifent, once Chinas capital

22. Capitation
a)
b)
c)
d)

transport of prisoners to the guillotine

tax levied against each person
alcove that leads directly into a governors office
relationship between the parents of the groom and the parents of a bride

23. Pantheism
a)
b)
c)
d)

the belief that wood nymphs dictate weather patterns

the belief that the panther is really the king of the jungle
critical comment that closed a Broadway drama after one performance
philosophical doctrine that identifies GOD with the universe

24. Precursor
a)
b)
c)
d)

last word spoken before a childs first epithet

person of thing that precedes, as in a job or a method
route between Scylla and Charbdis
foreleg of a large dog

25. Sapient

a)
b)
c)
d)

dumb
wise and discerning
silly or foolish
derisive

26. Nugatory
a)
b)
c)
d)

of no value significance
golden
obnoxious
passing periodically from one region or climate to another, as certain birds

27. Megalomania
a)
b)
c)
d)

huge man-made structure

one million deaths (a unit of hypothetical casualties in a nuclear war)
lengthy account or explanation
mental illness marked by delusions of greatness

28. Diffident
a)
b)
c)
d)

widely spread of scattered

lacking confidence in oneself
hard to deal with
discursive or wordy

29. Audacious
a)
b)
c)
d)

inspiring awe and reverence

extremely daring, or insolent
factually accurate or reliable
severely stern or strict, as in manner

30. Redoubtable
a)
b)
c)
d)

to be feared
said in protest, objection, or disapproval
made more tense
mild, compassionate, or forgiving

31. Sanguine
a)
b)
c)
d)

cheerful and hopeful

like or befitting a saint
fearful or nervous
capable of being held, maintained, or defended

32. Roseate
a)
b)
c)
d)

gullible
dissipated, lecherous
optimistic or promising
shaped roughly

33. To affiance
a)
b)
c)
d)

to treasure
to oppose
to make rich
to betroth

34. Artifice
a)
b)
c)
d)

expert in pre-Raphaelite colour schemes

clever stratagem
skating rink without ice
award to a tyro watercolourist

35. Malefic
a)
b)
c)
d)

with a pastoral subject

horrendously seasick
meteorlike
producing evil\

36. Capidity

a)
b)
c)
d)

neck-gland secretion that can cause dwarfism

eager or inordinate desire, especially for wealth
the most intimate act of love
emotion felt by many men on seeing lasciviousness

37. Sedulous
a)
b)
c)
d)

preserving
upright
reversing the direction, as a electrical current
metallic

38. Ineffable
a)
b)
c)
d)

timid
oppressed or coerced
inefficient
unspeakable

39. Inductive
a)
b)
c)
d)

enlisted in U.S armed service

seductive
supplied through a pipeline
pertaining to roundabout logical reasoning

40. Empiricism
a)
b)
c)
d)

far-ranging political power

royal arrogance
doctrine that all knowledge is derived from sense experience
acquisition of overseas colonies

41. Mnemonic
a)
b)
c)
d)

forming a new word from the initial letters of an organization

intended to aid the memory
manic depressive
living in the tent of wickedness

42. Parsimony

a)
b)
c)
d)

extreme or excessive frugality

estate inherited from ones father or ancestors
jargon
garden herb with aromatic leaves used to garnish food

43. Perception
a)
b)
c)
d)

example of excellence
mental recognition
upside-down vision
extinction or oblivion

44. Hypothesis
a) two-foot-long needle used to drug, thick-skinned mammals of Africa and India before
transporting them to safe preserves
b) exaggerated position in a college seniors term paper, to insure a passing grade
c) testable assumption
d) result of having too much sugar in the blood
45. To vulcanize
a)
b)
c)
d)

to erupt like clockwork

to fizzle in a test tube, then evaporate
to treat (rubber) under heat with sulphur to make it more durable
to synchronize

46. Euphemism
a)
b)
c)
d)

scarcely perceptible difference

castrated man especially, formerly one employed by Oriental rulers as a harem attendant
exclamation of triumph at a discovery
substitution of a mild or vague expression for one thought to be offensive

47. Stygian
a)
b)
c)
d)

causing a pink colouration in the eye

sewn together
dark or gloomy,internal,hellish
pertaining to a liquid that polymerizes to a transparent material

48. Cyclopean

a)
b)
c)
d)

gigantic, vast (like cyclops, a giant with a single round eye in the middle of the forehead)
recurring with regularity
exclusive of the nucleus of a cell
referring to the machine that helped to decipher the Trojan code before Actium

49. Bastinado
a)
b)
c)
d)

a beating with a stick, cudgel, et cetera

illegitimate offspring
strong woody fiber used in cordage
utensil of bamboo

50. To beseech
a)
b)
c)
d)

to look sharply
to expectorate
to catch in or as in a trap
to beg or ask eagerly

51. Prophylactic
a)
b)
c)
d)

toxic
sterile
preventive
curative

52. Propinquity
a)
b)
c)
d)

stinginess
nearness
searching quality
absolute proof

53. Propitiate
a)
b)
c)
d)

conform
appease
influence
approach

54. Provender

a)
b)
c)
d)

dry food for animals

hawker
careful person
thriftiness

55. Prurient
a)
b)
c)
d)

impoverished
guiltless
prudish
lewd

56. Pullulate
a)
b)
c)
d)

grasp
swarm
tug
applaud

57. Purblind
a)
b)
c)
d)

dazzling
lacking understanding
incomprehensible
conceited

58. Pylon
a)
b)
c)
d)

gateway
synthetic fabric
accumulation
asp

59. Quagmire
a)
b)
c)
d)

gradual rise
large clam
bog
underbrush

60. Quietus

a)
b)
c)
d)

conservatism
comfort
soft speech
release from life

61. Quizzical
a)
b)
c)
d)

antiquated
puzzling
odd
ill-tempered

62. Quotidian
a)
b)
c)
d)

trite
occurring every day
word for word
apportioning

63. Raucous
a)
b)
c)
d)

despairing
pugnacious
immature
harsh-sounding

64. Recrimination
a)
b)
c)
d)

counter-accusation
double jeopardy
flattery
needless repetition

65. Redaction
a)
b)
c)
d)

conquest
submission
editing
rehearsal

66. Redolent
a)
b)
c)
d)

fragrant
needy
lazy
grieving

67. Refection
a)
b)
c)
d)

meditation
light meal
remedy
dessert

68. Refulgent
a)
b)
c)
d)

brilliant
unstable
capacious
explosive

69. Relegate
a)
b)
c)
d)

put in order
tie together
assign to an inferior position
relieve

70. Comprehensible
a)
b)
c)
d)

easy to grasp
blameworthy
deferential
returnable

71. Robate

a)
b)
c)
d)

sinner
deserter
stickler for accuracy
official in charge of wills

72. Reproof
a)
b)
c)
d)

check
strengthening
demonstration
censure

73. Reticulated
a)
b)
c)
d)

purchased
in a network pattern
sewed together
drawn together

74. Revulsion
a)
b)
c)
d)

change of government
a drawing back in disgust
backward motion
degradation

75. Rhapsodic
a)
b)
c)
d)

ecstatic
fervent
bombastic
tightly knit

76. Risible
a)
b)
c)
d)

shimmering
likely
inducing laughter
climbable

77. Runnel

a)
b)
c)
d)

underground passage
race track
grain stalk
small stream

78. Salacious
a)
b)
c)
d)

flavoured
briny
obscene
purchasable

79. Salutatory
a)
b)
c)
d)

healthy
leaping
spies
attacking

80. Salver
a)
b)
c)
d)

tray
ointment
salute
rescuer

81. Sartorial
a)
b)
c)
d)

costly
flashy
well-dressed
relating to a tailor

82. Scrimshaw
a)
b)
c)
d)

carved decorated object

gimlet
doodling
gadget

83. Scurf

a)
b)
c)
d)

coarse linen
menial attendant
rough water
dandruff

84. Semantics study dealing with:

a)
b)
c)
d)

earthquakes
tides
changes in the meaning of words
military signals

85. Senescence
a)
b)
c)
d)

process of growing blind

belief in hereafter
rebirth
dotage

86. Sequacious
a)
b)
c)
d)

preceding
following
isolated
forever questioning

87. Seraglio
a)
b)
c)
d)

silk culture
mediation
fracas
harem

88. Serried
a)
b)
c)
d)

notched
scattered
pursued
crowded together

89. Sibylline

a)
b)
c)
d)

poetic
oracular
hissing
luxurious

90. Simian
a)
b)
c)
d)

foolish
resembling
apelike
pertaining to Malaysia

91. Sirocco
a)
b)
c)
d)

hot wind
contagious disease
leather binding
style of painting

92. Skittles
a)
b)
c)
d)

pretzels
ale
bowling game
trifles

93. Sleazy
a)
b)
c)
d)

flimsy
disgusting
asthmatic
slippery

94. Slough
a)
b)
c)
d)

marsh
bed of coal
difficult journey
massacre

95. Sluice

a)
b)
c)
d)

microscopic section
period between two wars
multitude
artificial water channel

96. Sodality
a)
b)
c)
d)

sogginess
temperance
fellowship
saltiness

97. Soporific
a)
b)
c)
d)

indiscreet
inducing sleep
adolescent
causing trouble

98. Speleology study of:

a)
b)
c)
d)

caves
rhetoric
geysers
soil conservation

99. Splenetic
a)
b)
c)
d)

effusive
gorgeous
spiteful
damaging

100. Spoliation
a)
b)
c)
d)

marring
plundering
recession
embellishing