VOCAB QUIZ

Admonish: to caution, scold mildly - negative

“His mother admonished him for not welcoming the guests.

”

“The teacher admonished the student for not paying attention in

class.

”

Adroit: skillful, expert in handling situations - positive

“She is adroit at handling problems.

”

“The adroit artist can turn anything into a beautiful creation.

”

Amicable: peaceable, friendly - positive

“They came to an amicable agreement after their conversation.

”

“The marriage ended in an amicable divorce.

”

Averse: opposed, unwilling - negative

“She is averse to taking chances and would rather play it safe.

”

“He is averse to getting a pet dog because of his allergies.

”

Belligerent: given to fighting, combative, aggressive/one at war -

negative

A: “All the children were scared to talk to the belligerent man.

”

N: “The goods were captured by a belligerent.

”

Breach: an open, gap, or rupture/to create an opening or break

through

N: “We found a breach in the mountain wall.

”

V: “We breached through the mountain wall.

”

Brigand: a bandit, robber, outlaw - negative

“That brigand stole all of our food we were planning to eat tonight!”

Benevolent: kindly, charitable - positive

“The girl looked at me with a benevolent smile.

”

Circumspect: careful, cautious -

“They were very circumspect in what they said during the debate.

”

Cursory: hasty, not thorough -

“I gave the letter a cursory glance as I threw it away.

”

Spurious: not genuine, not true - negative

“He gave a spurious excuse as to why he was late to school.

”

Duplicity: treachery, deceitfulness - negative

“He was accused of duplicity and has a reputation of betraying

everyone he meets.

”

Commandeer: to seize for military or official use -

“The citizens were commandeered by the army to take part in the

battle.

”

Debris: scattered fragments, wreckage -

“The city’s once clean floor was now full of debris after the

earthquake.

”

Diffuse: to spread or scatter freely or widely

“The scent from the candle diffused into the air.

”

Dilemma: a difficult or perplexing situation

“I was faced with the dilemma of whether to buy milk or juice.

”

Efface: to wipe out; keep oneself from being noticed

Muddle: to make a mess of / a mess

“A load of dirty socks were piled in a muddle on the floor.

”

“

Opinionated: stubborn and having a closed mind

“The arrogant and opinionated woman wouldn’t listen to anyone

else’s ideas.

”

Perennial: lasting for a long time, persistent

“the eagles are perennial super bowl contenders”The eagles are

perennial super bowl contenders.

”

Predispose: to incline to beforehand

“Not eating for a long period of time may predispose a person to feel

nauseous and tired.

”

Relinquish: to let go or give up

“I relinquished my old job and upgraded to a higher-paying job.

”

Salvage: to save from fire or shipwreck

N: “A salvage operation was on its way”

V: “Lots of vintage jewelry were salvaged from the wreck.

”

V: “I salvaged my cherished necklace from the fire.

”

Spasmodic: sudden and violent but brief

“The spasmodic fighting continued.

”

Unbridled: uncontrollable, lacking in resistant

‘She had unbridled

Jeopardy: danger

“His career is in jeopardy if he continues to avoid this matter.

”

Cumbersome: clumsy, hard to handle

“The process will be cumbersome and time consuming.

”

Deadlock: a standstill resulting from the opposition of two equal

forces or actions (N) / to bring to a standstill (V)

N: “The class was in a deadlock because the vote was tied between

two groups of students.

”

V:

Meticulous: extremely careful - positive

The artist is meticulous with handling small details with paint.

Nostalgia: a longing for something past -

“I was overcome with nostalgia after visiting my beloved old

elementary school.

”

Quintessence: the most purest form or essence of something -

positive

“He was the quintessence of a hardworking student.

”

Retrogress: move backward - negative (since you are moving

backwards to a

“ Chloe slowly retrogressed to a child level of maturity.

”

Scrutinize: to examine closely -

“The performances were carefully scrutinized by the judges.

”

Tepid: lukewarm, unenthusiastic - negative

“Quinn’s performance ended with a tepid applause from the crowd.

”

Impervious: not affected or hurted by - positive

“Kaleb worked the whole day, seeming to be impervious to the cold.

”

Feasible: possible, able to be done - positive

“Irina didn’t have a feasible excuse to explain why she didn’t do her

presentation.

”

Impetus: a moving force, impulse -

“The debate lost most of its initial impetus.

”

Holocaust: large-scale destruction - negative

“The holocaust resulted in many burnt homes and villages.

”

Grimace: a wry face/to make a wry face - negative

N “Quinn and gave me a slight grimace.

”

V “I grimaced at Lexi to show that I was disgusted.

”

Extol: praise extravagantly - positive

“The teacher extolled the student for his hard work.