Final Exam

harlequin (noun) The king summoned the harlequin to entertain the dinner guests.

a clown

nirvana (noun) After work, Irene sought nirvana through meditation.

a condition of great peace or happiness

recreant (noun) Benedict Arnold is one of the most famous recreants in history.

a coward; a traitor

sibilant (adjective) The guide stopped moving when he heard the sibilant sound of a snake.

a hissing sound

cataract (noun) Because of the cataract in that part of the river, you can't put a canoe in the water.

a large waterfall

paradigm (noun) The class regarded Kate as a paradigm of good manners.

a model; an example

hiatus (noun) If you take a hiatus from your studies, you might forget the things you have learned. syn: intermission; break

a pause or gap

savant (noun) Einstein was a savant would will always be remembered for E=MC2.

a person of extensive learning; an eminent scholar

nonentity (noun) "I'm right here!" she yelled, "but you treat me as a nonentity." syn: cipher; nobody

a person or thing of little importance

orifice (noun) The cavity in his tooth felt like a giant orifice, but it actually was quite small.

mouth; opening

lascivious (adjective) His lascivious smile disgusted the other people in the room. syn: wanton; obscene ant: wholesome; decent

lustful or lewd

mendacious (adjective) Everyone knew the politician was mendacious, yet the voters kept reelecting him. syn: duplicitous ant: truthful

lying; false; deceitful

necromancy (noun) Puritans often executed people who had supposedly practiced necromancy. syn: black magic, conjuring

magic, especially that practiced by a witch

contiguous (adjective) New Jersey and New York are contiguous states because they share a common boundary. syn: adjourning; abutting ant: separated; detached

making contact or touching at some point; side by side

coalesce (verb) The citizens overcame their differences and coalesced to rebuild the town after the hurricane. syn: mix; unite; combine ant: separate; divide

to blend; to merge

hector (verb) If you don't take a stand, that bully will hector you for the rest of the year. syn: badger; browbeat

to bully; to pester

regale (verb) John regaled the crowd for hours with his stories of Scotland. syn: entertain; amuse ant: anger; depress; annoy

to delight with something pleasing or amusing

elicit (verb) The attorney tried to elicit a response from his client, but the man remained silent. syn: evoke; extract ant: cover; suppress

to draw forth; to call forth

palliate (verb) She became a nurse to palliate suffering, but all she had done so far was record patient's temperatures. syn: alleviate; excuse ant: intensify; exacerbate

to ease; to lessen; to soothe

impinge (verb) Do not impinge on your neighbors by walking in uninvited. syn: infringe; intrude

to encroach; to trespass

garner (verb) During the fall harvest, extra workers were hired to garner the crops. syn: harvest

to gather; to acquire

deign (verb) "After what she did to me, I would not deign to say hello to her," said Mary about her former best friend. syn: stoop; condescend

to lower oneself before an inferior

hallow (verb) We cannot hallow this field, for the mend who died here made it holy. syn: bless, consecrate ant: desecrate

to make holy

regress (verb) If he took the job offer, Tim felt that his career might regress rather than move forward.

to move backward

obviate (verb) They delayed the release of the film in order to obviate a barrage of criticism. syn: circumvent

to prevent; to get around

ratiocinate (verb) Because alcohol had dulled his mind, he was no longer able to ratiocinate clearly.

to reason; to think

recoil (verb) Liz recoiled from the harsh words as though she had been struck.

to retreat; to draw back

flout (verb) He broke the rules and fluted all authority, and now he has to pay. syn: mock; scoff ant: esteem; revere

to ridicule; to show contempt for

rebuke (verb) The professor rebuked his students for not studying for the exam. syn: admonish; reprimand ant: praise; laud

to scold; to blame

flaunt (verb) Some people flaunt their wealth by buying islands. syn: boast; exhibit ant: conceal

to show off

foment (verb) At the convention, people were hired to foment disruptions during the senator's speech. syn: instigate; arouse ant: quell; curb

to stir up; to incite

recant (verb) The suspect recanted his confession, so the police had to release him.

to withdraw or disavow a statement or opinion

meretricious (adjective) She was naturally beautiful, so no one knew why she wore such meretricious clothing. syn: gaudy; showy; tawdry ant: restrained; tasteful

attractive in a cheap, flashy way

perdition (noun) The sermon was about the sins that lead to perdition.

damnation; ruin; hell

specious (adjective) The specious advertisement depicts the run-down resort as a heavenly place. syn: false ant: accurate

deceptive or misleading

kismet (noun) She thought it was kismet for her to be a veterinarian until she failed her biology lab.

destiny; fate; fortune (one's lot in life)

insolence (noun) Certain Greek warriors were known for their insolence toward enemies in battle. syn: offensiveness; contempt ant: humility; respect

disrespectful arrogance; rudeness

hoi polloi (noun) The hoi polloi of ancient Rome loved to watch the Christians fight the lions.

the common people; the masses

apotheosis (noun) The British Parliament has become the apotheosis of parliamentary government and serves as a model for many other nations around the world. syn: epitome; archetype

the finest example

ambiance (noun) The ambiance of the Alaskan cabin inspired the poet much more than his cramped apartment in town did. syn: milieu

the mood or quality of

proletariat (noun) While many of the rich lived in the hills surrounding the town, the proletariat lived in the valley near where they worked.

the working class or lower class

ergo (conjunction) I am broke; ergo, I can't pay the rent this week. syn: consequently; hence

therefore

hermetic (adjective) That medicine should be packed in hermetic containers. syn: airtight

tightly sealed

aggrandize (verb) Much of what they did was not intended to aid their country, but to aggrandize their own positions. The advertisement aggrandizes the new product by making it appear as though everyone owns one. (1) syn: enlarge; augment; enrich ant: decrease, diminish (2) syn: exxagerate; embellish ant: belittle; devalue

1. to increase the range of; to expand 2. to make appear larger

Paul was never very sociable, so when he tired of the hoi polloi of the city, he sought nirvana in the peace of the wilderness. At least once a week, he took a(n) salutary hike on the trail behind his house until he reached Toby Creek. A drastic change in elevation there created a sparkling cataract, and the noise of the falling water seemed to flush away any animosity that Paul had generated during the week. The despicable ruler had no empathy for the citizens who could not afford to pay higher taxes; she ordered them to be imprisoned. Fearing the queen's wrath, the servants responded to her every wish in (an) obsequious manner. The harlequin dreaded entertaining her because he feared that his wit might offend her, after all, the queen had beheaded the previous jester for making a(n) lascivious joke that she felt was too vulgar for her court. Though the queen was a self-proclaimed savant, most of the jester's jokes went right over her head. The brevity of her reign can be attributed to her assassination. Weary after working a twelve-hour shit at the seafood processing plant, Sal used the forklift to move drums of fish offal reserved for fisherman to use as chum. The task was nearly finished, but Sal was distracted by the thought that his work was impinging on his family life, and he spilled four hundred gallons of rotting fish parts onto the loading dock. Sal didn't know what would be worse: cleaning up the disgusting mess or enduring another redundant lecture from his boss about losing concentration.

The root anim means feeling, spirit, or life. The roots sec and sect mean cut. The root cand means to shine. The suffix -id means tending to. The root magn means great. The prefix un- means one. The suffix -ence means of.

The actor was a(n) miscreant who regularly flout the law. Tabloid reporters followed him around all day, hoping to catch his salacious behavior on film. He had a(n) affinity for dive bare in bad neighborhoods. The reporters paid for any salient, negative information on him. When a teacher sent a note of concern about Sara's imaginary friend, Sara's mother, Beth, realized that is might be time to have a talk about it; Sara was, after all, old enough for her behavior to cause concern. Beth palliate the talk by taking Sara for ice cream and then asked Sara if she understood that her imaginary friend was not a(n) sentient living being. "Of course, mom," Sara replied. I was just messing with some of the kids at school; they fall for anything." Relived, Beth realizes that Sara's spacious friend was just a joke. The two recreants who had run away from the battle were engaged in jocular conversation when the search team surprised them. The cowards had stolen the battalion's treasury and regale themselves with the thought of securing their fiscal futures. They had planned to melt the malleable gold coins into bars and sell them on the black market. The weight of leg irons, however, helped them to snap out of their impalpable dream.

The root derm means skin. The root fer means to bear or to carry. The prefix in- means into or against. The prefixes suf-, sub-, and sus- mean under or secretly. The prefix epi- means upon, over, or above. The prefix de- mean down or off. The suffix -al means pertaining to. The suffix -itis means inflammation of.

Low hemlock branches hid the orifice of the cave kept the rain out. The cave didn't compare to the hospice in which Ben had spent the previous night, but it was still a better alternative to sleeping in the open. As the sun sank behind the wood line, Ben sat on a decaying log and ratiocinate about his next move. He was penniless and lost, and while the the aesthetic scenery of the old forest was nice to look at, it didn't provide the food that Ben would need to survive. The temperature was dropping, and his meretricious, Italian-leather jacket looked sporty but provided little warmth. She had always hallowed her son as an angel who could do no wrong, so Mrs. Patterson nearly fainted when she read about her son's egregious crime in the police report of the local newspaper. As usual, her querulous son, Tom, blamed everyone else for his crime-his friends, the police, the storeowner, etc. Tom's mother had empirical knowledge about the fate of criminals; Tom's father had regularly fomented trouble, and he died in prison. Mrs. Patterson feared that if Tom didn't redeem himself by abandoning his criminal ways, his life also would end in perdition. Dedicated to toning her flaccid arms and legs, Rita started jogging three days a week. Every night, she took a multivitamin from a(n) hermetic sealed container. She considered this absolutely germane to her fitness goals. She saw too many people rely on pills or protein powders or similar chaff when they really just needed to get up and exercise.

The root equ means equal. The roots flect and flex mean bend. The suffix -ity means quality of. The root nox means night. The suffixes -able and -ible mean able to be, The prefix sub- means secretly. The root fug means flee. The root cent means center.

It took eight years for Megan to garner the materials that she needed to make her front lawn the paradigm of landscape design. Though she is fastidious about maintaining the lawn, she never allows herself to become bilious when the neighbor's playful children accidentally trample some of the flowers. The children always apologized, and the younger girl's darling use of the malapropism "scrubbers" instead of "shrubs" made her far too adorable to scold. Deep down, Megan didn't care what people thought of her yard; she didn't construct it to receive the blandishment of other gardeners. Megan just wanted a(n) halcyon place in which she could relax or entertain guests. She also thought that the natural ambiance would inspire her writing. When Megan wasn't working on her verdant courtyard, she was typing the manuscript for her first fantasy novel, a tale of sorcerers, goblins, and necromancy. The quality of life in Omar's homeland regress so much that people at roots to survive. The debauchery of the crooked politicians in the former government had consumed any available relief funds. Fearing the unpredictable warlords looting villages, Omar gathered his family and joined the hegira from the war-torn region. The thought of a better life gave Omar the gumption to make the arduous trek with his wife and two children. The children fared well, despite the harsh conditions of the journey; at night, the badinage between the children revealed that their kismet of having to flee from a burning homeland had not entirely ruined their childhood.

The root greg means flock or herd. Tge roots val and vail mean to be strong or to approach. The roots ven, vent, and venu mean to come to or to approach. The prefix co- means with or together. The prefix e- means out or from. The prefix seg- means apart. The prefix a- means away or from. The prefix ambi- means both or around. The prefix in- means not.

Bill, a hazardous-materials cleanup technician, kept his cool when he heard the sibilant sound of air escaping from his breathing apparatus. His air was running out, but he had to close the valve on the chemical tank before pandemic contamination forced the city to evacuate. As he struggled to turn the valve, Bull rebuke himself for not inspecting his equipment more often. Six months earlier, an injury had forced Bill to take a(n) hiatus from his career, and the ennui of doing nothing has been more painful to him than the chemical burn. Since the injury, Bill had taken on a(n) avuncular role to the rookies on his team, offering his mistakes as lessons for them to stay safe in the field. Anne's pecuniary worries made it hard for her to concentrate on her roommate's desultory rambling. Disrespectful bill collectors hector Anne every day, and she knew that her next check would not stop their insolence. She gazed at the lambent patterns of light that the aquarium cast on the floor, while allowing moneymaking ideas to coalesce in her head. Anne has already tried to beguile her boss into letting her work more hours, but the company regarded college students as nonentity who did not warrant full-time jobs. She needed to make enough money to pay for the next semester; ergo, Anne would have to find a better job.

The root lud means to play or to mock. The root grav means heavy. The root son means sound or to sound. The root und means wave, to surge, or to flood. The prefix ab- means to flow. The prefix inter- means between or among.

When Dr. Carter is not fulfilling his duties as the professor of paleontology at Ganton College, he is in the jungles of South America supervising excavations of ancient creatures. During the last dig, Dr. Carter recoiled when a poisonous snake tried to bite him. Now he wears tall boots and gloves to obviate the risk of dangerous animals endemic to the region. He will definitely elicit the need for such safety measures. Some of the incoming scientists will accuse him of self-aggrandizement despite the fact that the sociable doctor always avoids using too much panache when speaking about safety; he'll flaunt his amazing findings when he returns to the campus at the end of the summer. He can put his bombast to better use in the classroom. Baker deigned to give a semi-friendly nod to his Nazi captors, and he immediately suffered the consequences. Baker then endured the loud paroxysm of his cellmates: "What was that? What, are you working for them, too?" He understood their paranoia. Just weeks before, a(n) mendacious rebel captive had revealed the escape plan to the guard. The prisoners, including Baker, had to abandon months of secrecy and labor that went into the construction of the tunnel. They had not yet regrouped; most of the saturnine prisoners simply lay in their cells, defeated. Baker sat against the wall and thought about his capture. He had misused the shibboleth that the Nazis used to identify foreign spies. and the lack of orthography on his forged travel documents instantly signaled that he was not the German officer he claimed to have been. They must need information, he reasoned, or they would have executed him by now.

The root mon means to advice, to remind, or to warn. The roots volv and volut means to roll or to turn. The root ambuare means to walk. The suffix -ance means state of or quality of. The prefix per- means through or completely. The prefix e- means from or out. The prefix de- means down or thoroughly.

beguile (verb) Scarlet O'Hara tried to beguile all the eligible men she met. syn: charm; fool ant: irritate; bore

To deceive; to charm; to enchant

palentology (noun) The expert in palentology dated the skeleton to 2000 B.C.

a science dealing with prehistoric life through the study of fossils

hospice (noun) The new hospice for cancer patients opened in July.

a shelter for travelers, orphans, or the ill or destitute

paroxysm (noun) The class stopped its paroxysm of laughter and went silent as soon as the principal walked into the room. syn: outburst; commotion

a sudden outburst; a fit

miscreant (noun) The police were looking for the miscreant in all of the local hangouts. syn: villain; criminal; knave

a vicious person

malapropism (noun) He used a malapropism when he said "conspire" in place of "inspire."

a word humorously misused

shibboleth (noun) Pronouncing "creek" as "crick" is a shibboleth of people in mid-Atlantic states.

a word or pronunciation that distinguishes someone as of a particular group

affinity (noun) The young man had an affinity for fast cares and easy money. syn: partiality; fondness ant: aversion

an attraction to

empathy (noun) The same thing happened to me once, so I felt empathy for the person whose car broke down on the interstate. syn: appreciation; compassion

an understanding of another's feelings

bilious (adjective) No one could stand being in the same room with Sam when he was in a bilious mood. syn: grouchy; cantankerous ant: pleasant

bad tempered; cross

empirical (adjective) Her theory sounded logical, but the empirical data did not support it. syn: observable ant: theoretical

based on practical experience rather than theory

ennui (noun) The speaker sensed the ennui of the audience, so he told a joke. ant: excitement; interest

boredom; a weariness resulting from a lack of interest

brevity (noun) The brevity of the candidate's speech surprised everyone. syn: terseness; conciseness ant: lengthiness

briefness; a short duration

halcyon (adjective) The severe windstorm interrupted the otherwise halcyon week. syn: tranquil; unruffled ant: troubled; tumultuous

calm; pleasant

malleable (adjective) The sculptor wanted to keep the clay malleable until he was sure of the final design. syn: workable ant: rigid; inflexible

capable of being changed; easily shaped

querulous (adjective) The querulous child on the plane annoyed the other passengers. syn: fretful; peevish ant: complacent; satisfied

complaining; grumbling

endemic (adjective) Once it had been endemic to Africa, but now it is becoming a world-wide epidemic. syn: native; indigenous ant: alien; foreign

confined to a particular country or area

sentient (adjective) They didn't know if the girl in the coma was sentient, but they continued to hold her hand and talk to her. syn: alert; alive; cognizant

conscious; capable of feeling or perceiving

despicable (adjective) Only a despicable cad would behave so horribly. syn: vile; base ant: laudable; worthy

contemptible; hateful

orthography (noun) Anne's excellent spelling grades are testament to her grasp of orthography.

correct spelling

debauchery (noun) Sam was once wealthy, but a life of gambling and debauchery left him with nothing. syn: excess; dissipation

corruption; self-indulgence

gumption (noun) It takes a lot of gumption to succeed in this fast-paced society. syn: enterprise; aggressiveness; drive

courage and initiative; common sense

obsequious (adjective) The waiter's obsequious behavior annoyed the patrons at the expensive restaurant. syn: servile; fawning ant: domineering; haughty

excessively submissive or overly attentive

flaccid (adjective) The retired athlete's muscles became flaccid after years without exercise. syn: weak, feeble ant: solid; taut

flabby

blandishment (noun) The salesman's blandishments did not convince me to buy the expensive watch. syn: overpraise; bootlicking

flattery

hegira (noun) The flooding caused a mass hegira from the city.

flight; escape

offal (noun) No one wanted the task of carrying the offal form the butcher shop to the trash container.

garbage; waste parts

pandemic (adjective) The Center for Disease Control announced that the disease bas become pandemic.

general; widespread

saturnine (adjective) The hostess's saturnine attitude caused the party to end early. syn: sullen; morose ant: genial

gloomy; sluggish

fastidious (adjective) My neighbor is a fastidious housekeeper. syn: meticulous; exacting ant: casual; lax

hard to please; fussy

animosity (noun) There was more animosity between the opposing teams' fans than between the teams themselves. syn: ill-will; hostility ant: friendliness; congeniality

hatred

salutary (adjective) The country air had a salutary influence on the child's chronic cough. syn: beneficial ant: pernicious

healthful; wholesome

jocular (adjective) Dad's jocular manner faded when he started preparing the taxes. syn: joking; witty; amusing ant: solemn; morose

humorous; lighthearted

bombast (noun) Please, professor, spare the bombast; just give me the facts.

impressive but meaningless language

salacious (adjective) The minister denounced the movie because of its salacious nature. syn: lecherous ant: chaste

obscene; lustful

aesthetic (adjective) The house was cheap, but it lacked any aesthetic qualities. syn: artistic ant: displeasing; unattractive

pertaining to beauty

fiscal (adjective) December is the accountant's busiest month because it is the end of the fiscal year. syn: economic, budgetary

pertaining to finances

pecuniary (adjective) Jill faced many pecuniary troubles after losing her job. syn: monetary

pertaining to money; financial

badinage (noun) What began as a badinage quickly escalated to cutting insults. syn: chaff, joshing

playful, teasing talk

malfeasance (noun) The malfeasance of the congressman caused an investigation into his personal conduct. syn: corruption; crookedness

poor conduct or wrongdoing, especially on the part of a public official

germane (adjective) Make sure that all of your answers are germane to the questions. syn: appropriate; pertinent; suitable ant: irrelevant

relevant; fitting

egregious (adjective) His remark was so egregious that it shocked everyone at the party. syn: flagrant; gross ant: moderate

remarkably bad; outrageous

redundant (adjective) Saying that a person is a rich millionare is redundant. syn: wordy; excessive; unnecessary ant: essential

repetitious; using more words than needed

panache (noun) The actor always exhibited great panache, so his first appearance on the talk show didn't make him the least bit nervous. syn: charisma; spirit

self-confidence; a showy manner

salient (adjective) The judge advised the attorney to stick to the salient facts of the case. syn: important

significant; conspicuous; standing out from the rest

avuncular (adjective) Martin was not related to the children, but he had an avuncular role in raising them.

similar to an uncle

lambent (adjective) The lambent flames cast shadows throughout the cabin. syn: glowing; lucid

softly bright or radiant; flickering lightly over a surface

impalpable (adjective) He was aware of some impalpable fear as he entered the room. syn: imperceptible; indiscernible

unable to be felt; intangible

desultory (adjective) He gave his talk in such a desultory fashion that it was hard to understand. syn: disconnected; rambling

wandering from subject to subject

chaff (noun) "Give me just the facts," the professor said. "Separate the wheat from the chaff." syn: rubbish

worthless matter