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. (of someone) suspicious; wary; cautious






2. Social outcast






3. Stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising - adamant - intransigent - intractable






4. Clear and easily understood - limpid - intelligible






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






6. Bourgeois/ vulgarian/ boor/ materialistic not appreciating artistic or intellectual value






7. To add ornamental or fictitious details - adorn - bedeck - elaborate






8. Frolicsome/ playful






9. A song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person






10. Expressing yourself easily or characterized by clear expressive language






11. Plastic/phony/pretentious






12. Book - usually large and academic






13. Elaborated to excess: overdone - extremely excited: agitated - hectic - frenzied - heated Ex - She became ... when she heard that her child was missing






14. Respected because of age






15. Set fire/excite






16. Adamant - stubborn -unruly - obstinate - intransigent






17. Flamboyant/verve/dash






18. Recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish






19. Old/antique/bygone/stale






20. Truthfulness






21. Coalesce - fuse






22. Growing in number quickly/spawn






23. Extremely careful; particular about details - scrupulous - picky - finicky - similar to articulate






24. Deep hole






25. Coming into being; in early developmental stages






26. Dictatorial in one's opinion - imperious






27. An orator who appeals to the passions and prejudices of his audience - false leader






28. Unsettled - swaying - fluctuate - vacillate - wandering from one place to another - waver






29. Unclear or doubtful in meaning






30. Long harsh speech or verbal attack - diatribe - fulmination - harangue - vilification - obloquy






31. Tending to be thrifty or cheap - prudence - sparing - parsimony






32. Hackneyed - trite - commonplace - quotidian






33. Rebellion - mutiny






34. Temporary suppression or suspension - remission - delay






35. Controversy - argument - verbal attack - refutation






36. Funeral bell/ omen of death






37. To calm down or moderate - to temperate - quench - satisfy






38. A ghost of a living person seen just before his or her death - apparition - bogeyman - phantasm






39. To taint or tarnish - besmirch - defile






40. Dirge - lament - a sorrowful speech or poem






41. Speech in praise of someone - laud - extol - commend






42. No variation; tediously the same in sound






43. Meal or mealtime - feast - banquet






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






45. Innocent - simple - frank - sincere - naiive - credulous - gullible






46. Philistine/bourgeois/superficial/materialistic






47. Commute/replace/superceded






48. Perceptive/sharp






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






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