Advanced Vocabulary: Definitions and Sentence Completion Practice

penultimate (d)

next to last

penultimate (s)

The ______ step before graduation will be passing my final.

bumpkin (d)

an unsophisticated, awkward person

bumpkin (s)

Pickpockets often prey on ________ who forget to protect their wallets.

pervasive (d)

permeating; spreading throughout

pervasive (s)

In 2 days, everyone in the small town had heard the ________ rumor.

Provocative (s)

The daughter considered her mother's short skin too _______.

provocative (d)

tending to excite or stimulate

recrimination (d)

a counteraccusation

recrimination (s)

The burglar had the nerve to express _________ against the homeowner for hitting him with a shovel.

soporific (d)

tending to induce sleep

soporific (s)

I stopped reading the _______ novel and found a more exciting one.

hortatory (d)

encouraging; inciting

hortatory (s)

The troops cheered during the general's ________ speech.

toady (d)

a person who flatters for personal gain

toady (s)

The _____ followed the young queen around, agreeing with every idiotic statement she uttered.

corroborate (d)

to strengthen by adding evidence

corroborate (s)

The doctor's note ________ Bill's excuse for missing a week of work.

frenetic (d)

wildly excited

frenetic (s)

The neighbors heard the _____ barks of the dog that fell into the well.

blithe (s)

The sight of his childhood home caused Jerry to reminisce about his ______ days of picking blueberries and fishing in the creek behind the house.

blithe (d)

carefree and lighthearted

culpable (d)

deserving blame or condemnation; guilty

culpable (s)

The prosecutor said that the crime boss was _______ for the murders even though he himself did not kill the victims.

orotund (d)

full and rich in sound (in speech)

orotund (s)

The narrator of the movie advertisement spoke in a deep, _____ voice.

benign (d)

beneficial; favorable

benign (s)

She let down her guard when she saw his _______ expression.

indecorous (d)

lacking good taste; improper

indecorous (s)

The heckler made ______ comments during the candidate's speech.

puerile (d)

childish; juvenile

puerile (s)

Uncle Joe refused to tolerate his teenage nephew's ______ behavior.

inveigh (d)

to disapprove angrily; to protest

inveigh (s)

Irene ______ against her company's hiring of a former competitor for a prominent position.

ameliorate (d)

to make better; to improve

ameliorate (s)

The manager asked for suggestions that might ______ working conditions at a factory.

renunciation (d)

rejection; refusal to acknowledge

renunciation (s)

Members of the club responded to Bill's ________ of their doctrine by asking him to leave.

vitiate (d)

to corrupt morally; to contaminate

vitiate (s)

Mark claims that prisons simply ______ the spirits of the inmates.

profligate (d)

wasteful and immoral

profligate (s)

The young heir lived a ______ life of alcohol, excess, and greed.

otiose (d)

useless; futile

otiose (s)

The director decided to remove the _______ scenes that increased the length of the film but failed to add to the suspense.

lionize (d)

to assign great social importance to; to treat as a celebrity

lionize (s)

The public _____ the boy for saving the child from the burning building.

recalcitrant (d)

stubbornly resistant; showing opposition

pander (d)

to exploit weaknesses of others; to cater to the vices of others

recalcitrant (s)

The _______ child kicked and screamed when the barber tried to give him his first haircut.

pander (s)

The trendy clothing store _______ to materialistic clients by selling shoddy clothing at outrageously high prices.

aleatory (d)

dependent on luck or chance

aleatory (s)

Because of the uncertain weather forecast, the success of our company picnic is purely _______.

asperity (d)

roughness or harshness; severity

asperity (s)

The teacher felt bad after his asperity caused a student to cry.

unimpeachable (d)

unquestionable; beyond doubt

unimpeachable (s)

The internet is not an _______ source of information for academic research.

allay (d)

to relieve; to alleviate

allay (s)

Mom tried to _____ my fear of flying by reading favorable airline statistics.

exegesis (d)

an explanation of a text; a critical interpretation

exegesis (s)

The students read an _____ of Macbeth to understand the play better.