Test your basic knowledge |

Challenging Words

Subjects : english, vocabulary
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Bourgeois/ vulgarian/ boor/ materialistic not appreciating artistic or intellectual value






2. Excess






3. Bell tower - room where bell is hung - steeple - spire






4. Rude and bad-tempered - grumpy






5. Recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish






6. Brilliant/glowing






7. Easily deceived - credulous - naiive - ingenguous






8. Temporary; lasting a brief time






9. No variation; tediously the same in sound






10. Funeral bell/ omen of death






11. Suffused with light: luminous - clear to the understanding: intelligible - sane. Ex - His ... history of this grim subject is scrupulously accurate - so far as I am able to judge ...






12. Altruism/ charity






13. Using an inoffensive word instead of an offensive one






14. Express grieve - deplore - bewail






15. Frolicsome/ playful






16. Wandering and unpredictable






17. To act confusedly or without a purpose - waver - falter - hesitate - vacillate






18. Set fire/excite






19. Speak - plead - or argue in favour of






20. Extremely generous or extravagant - exuberant - opulent - prodigal - profuse - bombastic






21. The trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally






22. Using or showing good judgment - wise - sensible






23. Pertaining to beauty






24. Clear and easily understood - limpid - intelligible






25. Expressing yourself easily or characterized by clear expressive language






26. To penetrate through spaces; to spread throughout - imbue - pervade






27. Self contradictory






28. Finely sensitive to feelings or in perception. Ex - ... of the danger posed by the approaching hurricane






29. Extreme devotion/frenzied/zealous






30. Assuage - relieve - to make more bearable - placate






31. Fluctuate between choices - to dither - vacillate - oscillate






32. Hackneyed - trite - commonplace - quotidian






33. The highest point (of something) - zenith - pinnacle






34. Submission to another's will; respect; courtesy






35. Suggest - propose an explanation






36. Peripheral - irrelevant - digressive - extraneous diverting - inconsequential






37. Bucolic - rural






38. Controversy - argument - verbal attack - refutation






39. Humble oneself in a demeaning way - cringe - fawn - toady - kowtow - bootlick






40. Undecorated - stern in appearance - bleak - grim






41. Sway/dither/flutter/fluctuate






42. To anger - to provoke - incite - vex - or pester






43. A puzzle - a mystery - conundrum - perplexity






44. Easily aroused






45. Relaxation - tranquility






46. Know or understood by only a few - abstruse - arcane






47. Inertia/standstill/ stagnation






48. Something bringing change to something else indirectly - impetus - goad - stimulant






49. Fearless - intrepid - venturesome - valiant - valorous - game - gallant - plucky






50. To expand like a woman in labor