advanced

vocabulary
booklet
with 10
practice
tests
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 TEST 1
ad infinitum apportion bona fide buoyant clique
concede congenial lofty migration perceive
perverse prelude rancid rustic sever
sordid untenable versatile vindicate wane

1. I was relieved when my bunkmate at summer camp turned out to be

considerate and _______________.
2. We rented a _______________ cabin, with no electricity or running water,
twenty miles from the town.
3. As the moon _______________, the nights grew darker; we could hardly
see our way along the forest trails.
4. Nineteenth century reformers made people aware of just how
_______________ conditions were in city slums.
5. We were weary and anxious to get home, but our friend’s
_______________ spirits keep us going.
6. Even though the votes were all in and counted, the losing candidate refused
to _______________ the election.
7. Children who hear a favorite story read over and over _______________
are learning about language.
8. Some teenagers get _______________ pleasure from blasting music that
their parents do not like.
9. When he opened the door, there poured forth the unmistakably
_______________ odor of some ancient leftovers.
10. It was extreme of her to _______________ ties with her former best friend,
but that is what she did,
11. Though the accused was _______________ in the end, his career was all
but ruined by the allegations.
12. Minutes into the debate she had a sinking feeling that her position was
completely _______________.
13. The aging king decided to _______________ the lands of his vast kingdom
among his three daughters.
14. The queen was surrounded by a _______________ of powerful nobles who
actually ran the country.

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 15. I thought I _______________ a flicker of guilt on my brother’s face when
I asked who ate my slice of pie.
16. The orchestral _______________ to the new opera seemed more interesting
to me than the opera itself.
17. By moving from comedy to drama to musicals, he has shown himself to be
a truly _______________ actor.
18. The appraiser studied the old book and declared it to be a
_______________ first edition of Moby Dick.
19. My mentor maintains _______________ standards and works hard to
adhere to them.
20. _______________ from north to south has contributed to the political of
the Sun Belt.

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 ANSWER KEY:
1. congenial (adj): getting on well with others; agreeable, pleasant, amiable,
delectable.
2. rustic (adj): country-like; simple, plain; awkward.
3. waned (v): to loose size, strength, or power; to taper off, to slacken.
4. sordid (adj): wretchedly poor; soiled, squalid, sleazy; run-down; mean or
selfish.
5. buoyant (adj): able to float easily; able to hold things up; cheerful, hopeful.
6. concede (v): to admit as true; to yield, submit.
7. ad infinitum (adv): endlessly.
8. perverse (adj): inclined to go against what is expected; stubborn; turned
away from what is good and proper.
9. rancid (adj): stale, spoiled; decaying.
10. sever (v): to separate, divide in parts.
11. vindicate (v): to clear from hint or charge of wrongdoing; to defend
successfully against opposition, to justify; to lay claim to.
12. untenable (adj): not capable of being held or defended; impossible to
maintain, indefensible.
13. apportion (v): to divide and give out in shares.
14. clique (n): a small, exclusive group of people; an inner circle.
15. perceived (v): to be aware of through the senses, observe; to grasp
mentally.
16. prelude (n): an introduction, a precursor; that which comes before or leads
off.
17. versatile (adj): able to do many things well; capable of many uses.
18. bona fide (adj): genuine, sincere.
19. lofty (adj): very high, noble, majestic; soaring.
20. migration (n): a movement from one country or region to another.

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 TEST 2

affiliated ascertain attainment bequeath cogent

converge disperse esteem expunge finite
invulnerable malevolent nonchalant omniscient panacea
scrupulous skulk supercilious uncanny venial

1. The judge ordered the remarks _______________ from the court record.
2. The television coverage resumed as soon as delegates _______________ on
the hail to hear the keynote speaker’s address.
3. Scientists today have so much specialized knowledge that they sometimes
seem _______________,
4. Their _______________ attitude towards their servants was extremely
offensive.
5. Someone whose offense is deemed by the judge to be _______________
may be ordered to perform community service,
6. A group of legal scholars held a press conference to present a
_______________ plea for reform of the state’s prison system.
7. Medieval lords did everything possible to make their castles
_______________ fortresses.
8. You are mistaken if you think that getting more money will be a
_______________ for all your troubles.
9. Being _______________ with a well-known law firm is often the first step
on the way to a successful political career.
10. Few people will make enough money in their lifetimes to be in a position
to _______________ a fortune to their heirs.
11. It is highly unusual for a beginner to display such an _______________
skill at playing bridge.
12. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court should be someone whom all
parties hold in high _______________.
13. In addition to his abilities as a leader, Abraham Lincoln was a man of high
literay _______________.
14. You should _______________ the level of insurance cover from the car
rental company.

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 15. While pretending to be a loyal friend, Jimmy told Jack _______________
lies.
16. There are only a _______________ number of possible answers to a
multiple-choice question.
17. The elegantly dressed couple strolled down the boulevard with a
_______________ air.
18. When a scuffle broke out, the commissioner ordered the police to
_______________ the crowd.
19. Scientists are trained to record their observations with _______________
accuracy.
20. The burglar _______________ in the alley looking for a way to get into the
darkened jewelry store without attracting attention of anyone who might
be nearby.

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 ANSWER KEY:
1. expunged (v): to erase, obliterate, destroy.
2. converged (v): to move toward one point, approach nearer together.
3. omniscient (adj): knowing everything; having unlimited awareness or
understanding.
4. supercilious (adj): proud and contemptous; showing scorn because of a
feeling of superiority.
5. venial (adj): easily excused; pardonable.
6. cogent (adj): forceful, convincing; relevant, to the point.
7. invulnerable (adj): not able to be wounded or hurt; shielded against attack.
8. panacea (n): a remedy for all ills; cure-all; an answer to all problems.
9. affiliated (adj): associated, connected.
10. bequeath (v): to give or pass as an inheritance.
11. uncanny (adj): strange, mysterious, weird, beyond explanation.
12. esteem (n): a highly favorable opinion or judgement.
13. attainment (n): an accomplishment, the act of achieving.
14. ascertain (v): to find out.
15. malevolent (adj): spiteful, showing ill will.
16. finite (adj): having limits, lasting for a limited time.
17. nonchalant (adj): cool and confident, unconcerned.
18. disperse (v): to scatter; spread far and wide.
19. scrupulous (adj): exact, careful, attending to details; having high moral
standards, principles.
20. skulked (v): to move about stealthily; to lie hidden.

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 TEST 3

absolve caricature clangor contiguous cupidity

deleterious enhance enthralled extenuating implicit
incisive ostentatious paragon paraphrase politic
prosaic redundant sanctimonious scintillating winsome

1. Terryl was doing a command performance for her debate team, arguing
about the _______________ impact of violence in advertising.
2. He could picture the fiery and malicious exhilaration with which they had
made their wreckage, and their _______________, ruthless sense of right
and dedication.
3. The motives of his backers were hardly more edifying, moved as they
evidently were by a mixture of political ambition and _______________.
4. They were so _______________ by the beauty and brilliance of the
rainbow that they forgot to keep their voices low any longer.
5. The lamps the riders carry illuminate the silhouettes of the dead,
magicking them into lumbering _______________ of humanity.
6. Brigid herself was a _______________ of gentleness, teaching the new girls
all that Lyddie and Diana had taught her, never raising her voice in
irritation or complaint.
7. She fed it with fantasies, idealized it, savagely defended it, stripped it of its
_______________ truth, and turned it into the kind of love one found in
novels.
8. A third principle is that indirect discourse is not always introduced with an
expression like he said that or she thought that; sometimes it is
_______________ in the context.
9. He jerked his head with each word, the bells in his antlers sending up a
_______________.
10. Prose becomes stuffy when an insecure writer hammers the reader over the
head with _______________ indicators of a connection, as if unsure that
one would be enough.
11. Maria brought along her eldest daughter - a _______________ girl with
brown eyes and a ready smile.

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 12. She was found guilty of theft, but because of _______________
circumstances was not sent to prison.
13. In the case of where herons live, most readers know that the northern
United States is _______________ to Canada and that the two have similar
ecosystems, so they don’t need a similarly.
14. I might be lower than the ground, but that doesn’t _______________ her
from obligations to her own honor.
15. In my account I have followed the stories given by the two tragic poets
and by Theocritus, rather than Pindar, one of the most difficult of poets to
translate or even to _______________.
16. There’s a little crying going on among them, some mutual patting and
hand-holding, the _______________ use of handkerchiefs.
17. These scandals will not _______________ the organization's reputation.
18. The transformation of the central provincial relationship was in all
probability neither _______________ nor possible in the short term.
19. Beloved as a professor of law, legislator, and judge, he had a creative and
_______________ mind.
20. To me, the work more resembles an Islamic screen or a sky of
_______________ stars conjured in reverse by the optical flare of black
against white.

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 ANSWER KEY:
1. deleterious (adj): harmful, injurious.
2. sanctimonious (adj): making a show of virtue or righteousness;
hypocritically moralistic or pious, self-righteous, canting, holier-than-
thou.
3. cupidity (n): an eager desire for something; greed.
4. enthralled (adj): filled with wonder and delight.
5. caricature (n): a respresentation (especially a drawing) in which the
subject's features are deliberately exaggerated.
6. paragon (n); a model of excellence or perfection.
7. prosaic (adj): dull, lacking in distinction and originality; matter-of-fact,
straightforward; characteristic of prose, not poetic.
8. implicit (adj): implied or understood though unexpressed; without doubts
or reservations, unquestioning; potentially contained in.
9. clangor (n): a loud ringing sound.
10. redundant (adj): extra, excess, more than is needed; wordy, repetitive;
profuse, lush.
11. winsome (adj): charming, attractive, pleasing (often suggesting a childlike
charm and innocence).
12. extenuating (adj): partially excusing or justifying.
13. contiguous (adj): side by side, touching; near; adjacent in time.
14. absolve (v): to clear from blame, responsibility, or guilt.
15. paraphrase (v): to restate in other word.
16. ostentatious (adj): marked by conspicuous or pretentious display, showy.
17. enhance (v): to raise to a higher degree; to increase the value or desirability
of.
18. politic (adj): prudent, shrewdly conceived and developed; artful,
expedient.
19. incisive (adj): sharp, keen, penetrating (with a suggestion of decisiveness
and effectiveness).
20. scintillating (adj): sparkling, twinkling, exceptionally brilliant (applied to
stars, mental or personal qualities).

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 TEST 4
1. Many of the heroes of ancient myths and legends appear to be all but
_______________.
a. powerless b. omnipotent c. reticent d. guileless
2. I had absolutely no _______________ of what to expect as I entered the
room.
a. conundrum b. doddle c. assessment d. inkling
3. A certain type of life insurance contract provides double _______________
for the accidental death of policyholder.
a. indemnity b. solemnity c. serenity d. solidarity
4. His jokes seemed _______________, but were in fact carefully prepared
beforehand.
a. planned b. maladroit c. spontaneous d. bountiful
5. Snorkelers flock to the _______________ waters of the Caribbean to view
schools of brightly colored fish.
a. murky b. opaque c. limpid d. stagnant
6. Successful political candidates soon learn how to handle tough questions
fired at them by _______________ newspaper and TV reporters.
a. prudent b. immanent c. brash d. mecurial
7. The _______________ limbs of cypresses dominate many of the
landscapes painted by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh.
a. unblemished b. gnarled c. jaunty d. prosthetic
8. Adolescents are not the only people whose behaviour might at times be
considered a bit _______________.
a. judicious b. propitious c. sage d. sophomoric
9. The campaign workers _______________ in the unexpected victory of
their candidate.
a. exulted b. lamented c. reliquished d. loathed
10. In their wills many people _______________ a portion of their wealth to
favorite charities or educational institutions.
a. allocate b. masticate c. confabulate d. validate
11. State and federal laws now forbid the use of corporal punishment to
_______________ prisoners.
a. commend b. classify c. amend d. chastise

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 12. They changed the wording of the advertisement to make it more
_______________ to women.
a. edible b. palatable c. distasteful d.heartrending
13. The members of the winning team acknowledged the cheers of their
_______________ fans.
a. indifferent b. ardent c. unremitting d.lackadaisical
14. The _______________ and detailed footnotes found in most scholarly
books are designed to the authors’ sources.
a. inadequate b. nonspecific c. copious d.meager
15. Under our system of justice, the mentally ill cannot be held repsonsible
for their _______________ behaviour.
a. deviate b. orthodox c. conventional d. law-abiding
16. People who suffer from serious eating disorders may soon become
woefully _______________.
a. corpulent b. emaciated c. plump d.rehabilitated
17. An unusual degree of _______________ may creep into the tone of the
political debate in an election year.
a. rancor b. harmony c. rapport d.amity
18. Our constitutional system of checks and balances is designed to prevent
the _______________ use of power by any branch of the federal
government.
a. unwavering b. ostentatious c. renegade d. capricious
19. Workers who are conscientious in the performance of their duties are, by
definition, _______________.
a. shiftless b. abhorrent c. assiduous d. vigilant
20. There is something truly _______________ about the sight of failing
leaves in autumn.
a. poignant b. bittersweet c. unaffecting d. insipid

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 ANSWER KEY:
1. b – omnipotent (adj): almighty, having unlimited power or authority
palatable.
2. d – inkling (n): a hint; a vague notion.
3. a – indemnity (n): a payment for damage or loss.
4. c – spontaneous (adj): arising naturally; not planned or engineered in
advance.
5. c – limpid (adj): clear, transparent; readily understood.
6. c – brash (adj): prone to act in a hasty manner; impudent.
7. b – gnarled (adj): knotted, twisted, lumpy.
8. d – sophomoric (adj): immature and overconfident; conceited.
9. a – exult (v): to rejoice greatly.
10. a – allocate (v): to set apart or designate for a special purpose; to distribute.
11. d – chastise (v): to inflict physical punishment as a means of correction; to
scold severely.
12. b – palatable (adj): agreeable to the taste or one's sensibilities; suitable for
consumption.
13. b – ardent (adj): very enthusiastic, impassioned.
14. c – copious (adj): abundant; plentiful; wordy, verbose.
15. a – deviate (adj): differing from a norm, heterodox, unconventional.
16. b – emaciated (adj): unnaturally thin.
17. a – rancor (n): bitter resentment or ill-will.
18. d – capricious (adj): subject to whims or passing fancies.
19. c – assiduous (adj): persistent, attentive, diligent.
20. a – poignant (adj): deeply affecting, touching; keen or sharp in taste or
smell.

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 TEST 5
1. Perhaps the Quarter will provide me with some material: a
_______________ for taste and decency, for theology and geometry,
perhaps.
a. masquerade b. crusade c. blockade d. promenade
2. She needs to treat the matter with some seriousness, not _______________,
in her winding-up speech.
a. solemnity b. levity c. severity d. enmity
3. I grew up among nineteen first cousins, and they each played a
_______________ role in my childhood and teen years.
a. negligible b. meaningless c. trivial d. pivotal
4. All I know of heaven and all I know of death is in this park: an elegant
universe in ceaseless motion, _______________ with ruined ruins and
screaming children.
a. lacking b. scattering c. teeming d. beaming
5. Why should Republicans _______________ responsibility for
environmental protection and cede this potentially powerful political issue
to Democrats?
a. retain b. preserve c. abdicate d. delegate
6. But more often, Kleeman’s _______________ curiosity opens up a
kaleidoscopic view of an issue.
a. cramped b. bloomy c. capacious d. bountiful
7. He placed an economic _______________ on Cuba, one that prevented any
US citizen or company from doing business on the island.
a. embargo b. debar c. interdiction d. moratorium
8. Only two copies of the one-time pads existed: one held by the sender, and
the other by the _______________ of the message.
a. excipient b. recipient c. percipient d. variant
9. Her scope of reference and the number of her plot summaries show a
_______________ appetite for reading.
a. medium b. tolerable c. gluttonous d. mediocre
10. This problem is now becoming more _______________, thanks to robust
systems in development that rely on readily available energy from the sun.
a. noncompliant b. unmanageable c. tractable d. untamed

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 11. There are things he wants to prove to me, gifts he wants to
_______________, services he wants to render, tendernesses he wants to
inspire.
a. receive b. withhold c. bestow d. renovate
12. Crude pictograms _______________ the far side of the door, along with an
abundance of less orderly nicks and scratches.
a. defaced b. effaced c. annul d. infringe
13. This was done to _______________ the power of organization and to
neutralize our collective strength.
a. validate b. negate c. authenticate d. corroborate
14. Garbage defies the confines of dumpsters and rolls, Blob-like, down the
sidewalks, threatening to suffocate and _______________ anyone in its
path.
a. predicate b. sedate c. nauseate d. dictate
15. He became a _______________ and began wandering India, and was
“driven mad with mental agonies” over what he encountered: ritual,
poverty, disease.
a. friar b. mendicant c. fat cat d. nouveau
riche
16. The misconception is so common that it has been given a name: the
etymological _______________.
a. fallacy b. apothegm c. veracity d. gospel
17. This is where the new team Tony Hall is putting together strays inevitably
into the world of _______________ headlines and outraged MPs.
a. realistic b. caustic c. altruistic d. holistic
18. Just as he finished congratulating himself on his innocent
_______________ he was bumped hard by one of his opponents and
knocked to his knees.
a. fuse b. abuse c. muse d. ruse
19. Pollard knew that what he was asking his friend to do went against every
_______________ of reinsmanship.
a. tenet b. repudiation c. incredulity d. heterodoxy
20. "They were awkward and _______________, their sweaters puffed out
from the bulletproof vests underneath," he writes in the book.
a. ungainly b. graceful c. elegant d. dexterous

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 ANSWER KEY:
1. b – crusade (n): strong movement to advance a cause or idea.
2. b – levity (n): a lack of seriousness or earnestness, especially about things
that should be treated with respect; buoyancy, lightness in weight.
3. d – pivotal (adj): vitally important, essential.
4. c – teem (v): to become filled to overflowing; to be present in large
quantities.
5. c – abdicate (v): to resign, formally give up uan office or a duty; to disown,
discard.
6. c – capacious (adj): able to hold much, roomy.
7. a – embargo (n): an order forbidding the trade in or movement of
commercial goods; any restraint or hindrance.
8. b – recipient (n): one who receives.
9. c – gluttonous (adj): having a huge appetite, greedy, ravenous; excessively
eager.
10. c – tractable (adj): easily managed, easy to deal with; easily wrought,
malleable.
11. c – bestow (v): to give as a gift; to provide with lodgings.
12. a – deface (v): to injure or destroy the surface or appearance of; to damage
the value, influence, or effect of; to face down, outshine.
13. b – negate (v): to nullify, deny, bring to nothing.
14. c – nauseate (v): to make sick to the stomach; to fill with disgust.
15. b – mendicant (n): beggar.
16. a – fallacy (n): a false notion or belief; an error in thinking.
17. b – caustic (adj): able to burn or eat away by chemical action; biting,
sarcastic.
18. d – ruse (n): an action designed to confuse or mislead, a trick.
19. a – tenet (n): an action designed to confuse or mislead, a trick.
20. a – ungainly (adj): clumsy, awkward, unwieldy.

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 TEST 6

abscond anarchy arbitrary arduous auspicious

biased daunt disentangle fated hoodwink
inanimate incinerate intrepid larceny pliant
pompous precipice rectify reprieve revile

1. The senators debated a series of measures designed to _______________

the nation’s trade imbalance.
2. Many sweepstakes often _______________ people into thinking they have
already won big prizes.
3. A judge may be criticized for rulings that appear to be _______________
and without legal precendent.
4. My parents decribe the day that they first met as a most _______________
occasion.
5. Because of environmental concerns, many cities and towns no longer
_______________ their garbage.
6. Someone who steals property that is worth thousands of dollars commits
grand _______________.
7. During the Cuban missile crisis, the world hovered on the
_______________ of nuclear war.
8. They will not believe that he has ever been anything but right; they
_______________ the President when rumors of his impatience with their
general get around.
9. Athletes in certain sports may complain that judges are _______________
towards particular competitors.
10. The thieves who _______________ with several of the museum’s most
valuable paintings have never been found.
11. Although fossils are _______________, they hold many clues to life on
Earth millions of years ago.
12. Political cartoonists like nothing better than to mock _______________
public officials.
13. A judge may _______________ a first-time offender from jail time until
sentencing.

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 14. The _______________ branches of the sapling sagged but did not break
under the weight of the heavy snow.
15. _______________ Polynesian sailors in outrigger canoes were the first
humans to reach the Hawaiian Islands.
16. The tragic outcome of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is
_______________ from the play’s very first scene.
17. Recuers worked for hours to _______________ a whale from the fishing
net wrapped around its jaws.
18. Despite all its inherent dangers, space light did not _______________ the
Mercury program astronauts.
19. No matter how carefully you plan for it, moving to a new home is an
_______________ chore.
20. In the final days of a war, civilians may find themselves living in
_______________.

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 ANSWER KEY:
1. rectify (v): to make right, correct.
2. hoodwink (v): to mislead by trick, deceive.
3. arbitrary (adj): unreasonable; based on one’s wishes or whims.
4. auspicious (adj): favorable, fortunate.
5. incinerate (v): to burn to ashes.
6. larceny (n): theft.
7. precipice (n): a very steep cliff, the brink or edge of disaster.
8. revile (v): to attack with words, call bad names.
9. biased (adj): favoring one side unduly; prejudiced.
10. absconded (v): to run off and hide.
11. inanimate (adj): not having life; without energy or spirit.
12. pompous (adj): overly self-important in speech or manner; excessively
stately or ceremonious.
13. reprieve (v): to grant a postponement.
14. pliant (adj): bending readily; easily influenced.
15. intrepid (adj): very brave, fearless, unshakable.
16. fated (adj): determined in advance by destiny or fortune.
17. disentangle (v): to free of tangles or complications.
18. daunt (v): to overcome with fear, intimidate; to dishearten, discourage.
19. arduous (adj): hard to do, requiring much effort.
20. anarchy (n): a lack of government and law; confusion.

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 TEST 7

aesthetic defunct discomfit espouse fetish

gregarious hapless impeccable importune interpolate
irreparable laconic languish mendacious nadir
omnipresent perfunctory plaintive requite tantamount

1. In view of the high debt levels, budget consolidation is of

_______________ importance, also to avoid any doubt about
sustainability of its public debt.
2. Sydelle was in pain, but she wanted attention on her own terms, not as a
_______________, foolish victim of fate.
3. When asked what terms he would offer the Confederate army, General
Grant made a _______________ reply, "Unconditional surrender!"
4. I don’t know what it means to grow up with a black president, social
networks, _______________ media, and black women everywhere in their
natural hair.
5. When the subject of the barge tour came up – and it came up fairly often
– Henry played along in only the most _______________ way, and his
replies were mechanical and forced.
6. Architecture’s parameters are defined by utilitarian function and
structural system, but there is almost always an _______________
component as well, even when it consists of nothing more than a decorative
veneer.
7. It took a once popular, now _______________ genre, and for 112 pages
made me believe that one of its practitioners held all the secrets.
8. He who was too _______________, who spoke too much and too ardently
desired the company of others, their conversation and their laughter, did
not have what life required.
9. Mr. Partch, who died in 1974, was unconventional in almost every way,
from the time he spent as a hobo to the music theories he _______________
and tested with his compositions.

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 10. Every general seems to have one defeat that marks the _______________
of his military fortunes- for example, Lee at Gettysbury, or Grant at Cold
Harbor.
11. It was unlikely I would ever see these things again; I was certain they were
doomed to _______________ in storage in some dark police facility.
12. Coleridge-Taylor was keen on _______________ African-American
spirituals into the classical music tradition.
13. One wall of the museum was filled with charms and _______________
designed to ward off everything from hangnail to the evil eye.
14. Replied Odysseus: “The young men, yes. And may the gods
_______________ those insolent puppies for the game they play in a home
not their own. They have no decency.”
15. Not a sound of distress, not a _______________ cry, nothing but mass
agony and silence.
16. Inspector O is a complex, nuanced figure who understands that the regime
he serves is corrupt, brutal and _______________, but he remains loyal.
17. The _______________ damage to the Scotland campaign, nonetheless, was
dished out earlier.
18. As a tourist, you are _______________ for money the moment you step
outside your hotel.
19. The historical and social accounts of these works are _______________ and
that finally is the purpose and value of her book.
20. An agreement to hold talks on nuclear confidence-building measures is
especially heartening.The two countries used never to miss a chance to
_______________ each other.

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 ANSWER KEY:
1. tantamount (adj): equivalent, having the same meaning, value, or effect.
2. hapless (adj): marked by a persistent absence of good luck.
3. laconic (adj): concise, using few words.
4. omnipresent (adj): present in all places at all times.
5. perfunctory (adj): done in a superficial or halfhearted manner; without
interest or enthusiasm.
6. aesthetic (adj): pertaining to beauty; sensitive or responsive to beauty.
7. defunct (adj): no longer in existence or functioning, dead.
8. gregarious (adj): living together in a herd or group; sociable, seeking the
company of others.
9. espoused (v): to take up and support; to become attached to, adopt; to
marry.
10. nadir (n): the lowest point.
11. languish (v): to become weak, feeble, or dull; to droop; to be depressed or
dispirited; to suffer neglect.
12. interpolating (v): to insert between other parts or things; to present as an
addition or correction.
13. fetishes (n): an object believed to have magical powers; an object of
unreasoning devotion or reverence.
14. requited (v): to make suitable repayment, as for a kindness, service, or
favor; to make retaliation, as for an injury or wrong; to reciprocate.
15. plaintive (adj): expressive of sorrow or woe, melancholy.
16. mendacious (adj): given to lying or deception; untrue.
17. irreparable (adj): incapable of being repaired or rectified.
18. importuned (v): to trouble with demands; to beg for insistently.
19. impeccable (adj): faultless, beyond criticism or blame.
20. discomfit (v): to frustrate, thwart, or defeat; to confuse, perplex, or
embarrass.

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 TEST 8

adieu advent apex assimilate bogus

exorbitant interim inundate malign meander
metropolis momentous obstreperous pensive perilous
shoddy sprightly surly tirade vagrant

1. In the _______________ between landing and takeoff, the ground crew

cleaned and refueled the plane.
2. We admired the skill with which the artist captured the child’s
_______________ expression.
3. Passengers stranded in an airport because their flight is cancelled may
become quite _______________.
4. Cashiers receive special training so that they will be able to identify
_______________ currency.
5. When I travel, I like to _______________ through unfamiliar towns and
cities.
6. Our teacher will not tolerate _______________ behaviour in the classroom.
7. Management rejected the union’s demands for higher wages and better
benefits as _______________.
8. The _______________ of spring is particularly welcome after a long, harsh
winter.
9. Torrential rains and high tides _______________ the streets of the
picturesque seaside community.
10. Archaeologists have learnt much about the Mayans from the ruins of the
_______________ Palenque.
11. Episodes of old-time movie serials usually ended with the hero of heroine
in _______________ circumstances.
12. Though Grandmother is well into her eighties, she is still as
_______________ as a teenager.
13. Advertisers continually vie with one another to capture the
_______________ attention of fickle consumers.
14. A _______________ decision by the Supreme Court in 1956 declared public
school segregation unconstitutional.

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 15. When the hour grew late, the last of the dinner guests made his
_______________ to the gracious hosts.
16. If you want to reach the _______________ of the Washington Monument,
you can take the stairs or and elevator.
17. In every office, there are gossips who are only too willing to
_______________ their coworkers.
18. A well-read person _______________ knowledge of a wide range of
subjects.
19. That designer watch I bought from a street vendor turned out to be a
_______________ knockoff.
20. The dictator’s televised _______________ against his opponents lasted for
four hours.

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 ANSWER KEY:
1. interim (n): the time between.
2. pensive (adj): thoughtful; melancholy.
3. surly (adj): angry and bad-tempered; rude.
4. bogus (adj): false, counterfeit.
5. meander (v): to wander about, wind about.
6. obstreperous (adj): noisy; unruly; disorderly.
7. exorbitant (adj): unreasonably high; excessive.
8. advent (n): an arrival; a coming into place or view.
9. inundate (v): to flood, to overflow; to overwhelm by numbers or size.
10. metropolis (n): a large city; the chief city of an era.
11. perilous (adj): dangerous.
12. sprightly (adj): lively, full of life; spicy, flavourful.
13. vagrant (adj): wandering aimlessly.
14. momentous (adj): very important.
15. adieu (n): a farewell.
16. apex (n): the highest point, tip.
17. malign (v): to speak evil of, slander.
18. assimilates (v): to absorb fully or make one’s own; to adopt as one’s own;
to adapt fully.
19. shoddy (adj): of poor quality; characterized by inferior workmanship.
20. tirade (n): a long, angry speech, usually very critical.

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 TEST 9
1. The child’s name was minimalism, and its arrival heralded a sea change in
the relationship between musical _______________.
a. genres b. species c. brackets d. classifications
2. None of the great religions of the world promise protection from the
_______________ of life.
a. vicissitudes b. evenness c. sameness d. immutability
3. I’m willing to buy into the _______________ nature of the Pythons’
schoolboy humor that those mean, censorious Yanks were so eager to
abridge.
a. profane b. secular c. sacrosanct d. impious
4. “I am become _______________ non grata in that quarter. I am no wise
welcome in the stateroom imperial.”
a. impersonator b. persona c. façade d. guise
5. But in the final set, when the challenger has nothing left to lose, he becomes
relaxed again, _______________, daring.
a. distraught b. agitated c. careworn d. insouciant
6. We crave a witty vision of our culture _______________ with Austen’s of
hers.
a. proportionate b. sufficient c. equal d. commensurate
7. She made a brief _______________ into acting before becoming a teacher.
a. blitz b. foray c. sally d. whirl
8. That one branch of the family tree had begun to own the term ‘popular’
was to many classical music _______________ in itself a revealing and
disturbing fact of life.
a. hangers-on b. patrons c. aficionados d. zealots
9. Her palm was pale, almost _______________, and he could see the greenish
criss-cross of her veins.
a. opaque b. coarse c. diaphanous d. grimy
10. Blind, weepy jingoism from the right and cautious, boring
_______________ about hope and promise from what we hilariously
describe as the left.
a. homilies b. doctrines c. admonitions d. premonitions

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 11. Zinn is _______________ and strident and polemical and oversimplifies
everything, the others are obviously all worse.
a. impartial b. equitable c. gossamer d. tendentious
12. In short, it is the familiar _______________ of well-meaning orators in
every age against the sins of society, and the familiar regret of the good old
times.
a. eulogy b. philippic c. encomium d. panegyric
13. Several jugs of very hard cider which he had _______________ away from
some lowerclassmen were the most cautiously guarded treasure.
a. cajoled b. blowbeaten c. portended d. pontificated
14. Constantly imitating past masters does not take cooking any further
forward - it _______________ it in history.
a. immures b. emancipates c. thwarts d. touts
15. The Constitution prohibits presidents from taking “_______________”, or
payments, from foreign governments.
a. relics b. spates c. emoluments d. stratagems
16. The modern _______________ of cultural management includes
buzzwords like 'access' and 'empowerment'.
a. congregation b. cluster c. miscellany d. matrix
17. Connecting funeral _______________ and monuments to the survival of
poetic texts takes book history in directions it has rarely traveled.
a. obsequies b. sepulchre c. columbaria d. exhumations
18. The venerable tradition of the bedtime story, a story intended to soothe
anxieties and ease young children into sleep, is discarded with gleeful
_______________.
a. manner b. technique c. panache d. kind
19. A mastectomy involves more than enough pain – both emotional and
physical – without even beginning to think about the _______________
and ghoulish interest of millions.
a. prudish b. prudent c. demure d. prurient
20. In the face of this _______________ disrespect, blacks were encouraged by
their leaders to hold their heads high.
a. systemic b. localized c. confined d. circumscribed

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 ANSWER KEY:
1. a – genre (n): a type, class, or variety, especially a distinctive category of
literary composition; a style of painting in which everyday scenes are
realistically depicted.
2. a – vicissitude (n): a change, variation, or alteration.
3. c – sacrosanct (adj): very sacred or holy; inviolable, set apart or immure
from questioning or attack.
4. b – persona (n): character in a novel or play; the outward character or role
that a person assumes.
5. d – insouciant (adj): blithely indifferent or unconcerned; carefree; happy-
go-lucky.
6. d – commensurate (adj): equal in size, extent, duration, or importance;
proportionate; measurable by the same standards.
7. b – foray (n): a quick raid, especially for plunder; a venture into some field
of endeavor.
8. c – aficionado (n): an enthusiastic and usually expert follower or fan.
9. c – diaphanous (adj): very sheer and light; almost completely transparent.
10. a – homily (n): a sermon stressing moral principles; a tedious moralizing
lecture or discourse.
11. d – tendentious (adj): intended to promote a particular point of view,
doctrine, or cause, biased or partisan.
12. b – philippic (n): a bitter verbal attack.
13. b – browbeat (v): to intimidate by a stern or overbearing manner; to bully.
14. a – immure (v): to enclose or confine within; to imprison; to seclude or
isolate.
15. c – emolument (n): profit derived from and office or position or from
employment; a fee or salary.
16. d – matrix (n): a mold; the surrounding situation or environment.
17. a – obsequies (n): funeral rites or ceremonies.
18. c – panache (n): a confident and stylish manner, dash; a strikingly
elaborate or colorful display.
19. d – prurient (adj): having lustful desires or interest; tending to arouse
sexual desires.
20. a – systemic (adj): of or pertaining to the entire body; relating to a system
or systems.

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 TEST 10
1. Robert Redford delivers a glorious, sly performance in a movie that masks
its _______________ in brisk and breezy storytelling.
a. synchrony b. propinquity c. idiosyncrasy d. conspiracy
2. The voyage by boat, however, would probably _______________ me, and
I am certainly not perverse enough to attempt air travel even if I were able
to afford it.
a. invigorate b. refrain c. enervate d. deprecate
3. Whenever she felt this way, panic would slice into her at the slightest thing,
and _______________ events would become arbiters of doom.
a. unworldly b. mundane c. homespun d. kitchen-sink
4. Far from being _______________, it could only be used simultaneously by
no more than twenty people in a single city.
a. incommodious b. cramped c. poky d. ubiquitous
5. Like his father, a high cleric, 8-Deer was trained for the priesthood, but
political events and his own _______________ ambition stopped him from
following that path.
a. overweening b. meek c. vacuous d. inscrutable
6. As far as she was concerned, East Shoal and everything that had happened
was nothing but a _______________ of my imagination.
a. fabrication b. pigment c. mirage d. hallucination
7. Mr. Gitney — that is, 03-01 — reading of her arrival in the papers, went to
the dock to greet her, and being impressed with her bearing and mental
_______________, offered her a place in his home.
a. obstruseness b. platitude c. preeminence d. acuity
8. Here, she found, everything had _______________; everything had an
unrevealed side or unexplored depths.
a. degradation b. deterrent c. nuance d. diatribe
9. To be a parent is to worry, but parents’ worries in America are sharply
_______________ by race and income.
a. delineated b. eradicated c. battered d. roused
10. Noble men, sullied by femininity, were foppish, wore perfume and
_______________, bright and frivolous clothes.
a. skimpy b. niggardly c. sumptuous d. spartan

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 11. Yet Milagro was a town whose citizens had a _______________ not only
for going crazy, but also for precipitating miracles.
a. penchant b. disinclination c. lassitude d. subversion
12. The only thing to herald his return was the shame and _______________
of a white shirt.
a. accolade b. splendour c. kudos d. ignominy
13. At the end of the day, I think you would not believe the camaraderie and
esprit de corps in these _______________ halls.
a. desecrated b. hallowed c. alleged d. perverted
14. He was shocked and astounded by her _______________ subterfuge as he
tore the knife from her grasp and hurled it away.
a. virtuous b. depraved c. upright d. derogatory
15. It either went underground, becoming _______________ or occult, or it
was mislaid and would eventually turn up after centuries of lying neglected
in some monastery library.
a. esoteric b. commonplace c. intelligible d. meek
16. Phoenix song is magical: it is _______________ to increase the courage of
the pure of heart and to strike fear into the hearts of the impure.
a. antagonistic b. litigious c. reputed d. obscure
17. Thus, he resorts to _______________, blame-shifting, and obfuscation to
avoid fully confronting the fact.
a. verity b. candor c. postulate d. sophistry
18. Jill would _______________ pledges from colleges and universities to train
teachers and professors to better understand the needs of military children.
a. garner b. dissipate c. squander d. swindle
19. The overwhelming attribute of Sher’s portrayal was the lucidity he
brought to Falstaff’s _______________ wit.
a. arid b. deplorable c. fecund d. fleeting
20. Only old Benjamin was much the same as ever, except for being a little
greyer about the muzzle, and, since Boxer’s death, more morose and
_______________ than ever.
a. loquacious b. taciturn c. tactile d. truculent

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 ANSWER KEY:
1. c – idiosyncrasy (n): a peculiarity that serves to distinguish or identify.
2. c – enervate (v): to weaken, lessen the mental, moral, or physical vigor of,
enfeeble, hamstring.
3. b – mundane (adj): earthly, worldly, relating to practical and material
affairs; concerned with what is ordinary.
4. d – ubiquitous (adj): present or existing everywhere, omnipresent.
5. a – overweening (adj): conceited, presumptuous; excessive, immoderate.
6. b – figment (n): a fabrication of the mind; an arbitrary notion (phrase: a
figment of imagination).
7. d – acuity (n): sharpness (particularly of the mind or senses).
8. c – nuance (n): a subtle or slightly variation (as in color, meaning, quality),
delicate gradation or shade of difference.
9. a – delineate (v): to portray, sketch, or describe in accurate and vivid detail;
to represent pictorially.
10. c – sumptuous (adj): costly, rich, magnificent.
11. a – penchant (n): a strong attraction or inclination.b – philippic (n): a bitter
verbal attack.
12. d – ignominy (n): public shame and disgrace.
13. b – hallowed (adj): holy; very respected and praised because of great
importance or great age.
14. b – depraved (adj): brought to a state of evil and corruption, devoid of moral
principles.
15. a – esoteric (adj): intended for or understood by only a selected few, private,
secret.
16. c – reputed (adj): according to reputation or general belief; having
widespread acceptance.
17. d – sophistry (adj): reasoning that seems plausible but is actually unsound;
a fallacy.
18. a – garner (v): to acquire as the result of effort; to gather and store away, as
for future use.
19. c – fecund (adj): fruitful in offspring or vegetation; intellectually productive.
20. b – taciturn (adj): habitually reserved and uncommunicative.

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