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. Commonplace - everyday occurrence - banal






2. Lacking energy or enthusiasm - lethargic - indolent - languid - like ready in spanish






3. To taint or tarnish - besmirch - defile






4. Old/antique/bygone/stale






5. Self contradictory






6. Fearless - adventurous - audacious - plucky - gallant






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






8. Beliefs or character of a group - ethics - philosophy






9. Pretentious/grandiloquent/pompous






10. Easily aroused






11. Philistine/bourgeois/superficial/materialistic






12. Sluggish/listless/apathetic






13. Sharp and irritating to the senses - acrid - acrimonious - piquant - caustic - poignant






14. Determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason






15. To expand like a woman in labor






16. Book - usually large and academic






17. Blocked path - dilemma with no solution - cul-de-sac - deadlock - stalemate






18. Intricate and complicated - byzantine - labyrinthine - tangled






19. Expressing yourself easily or characterized by clear expressive language






20. Suggest - propose an explanation






21. Equivalent to - alike - parallel






22. To judge a dispute - adjudge - adjudicate - intervene - referee - rule






23. Funeral bell/ omen of death






24. Capricious; randomly chosen; tyrannical






25. Wordy/not succinct/ineloquent






26. Self-evident truth - adage - maxim - apothegm






27. Credulous/ easily deceived/ simple minded/ingenuous/gullible






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






29. Airtight; secret; obscure; magical; mysterious






30. Imbue - permeate - penetrate - suffuse






31. A firmly held opinion - especially a religious belief






32. A compact or close knit body of people or animals or things - legion






33. Dirge - lament - a sorrowful speech or poem






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






35. Deceptive scheme; clever trick






36. To attack or assault - beset






37. To grow together and form a single whole - amalgamate - fuse - condense






38. To polish






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






40. To perceive or recognize






41. Commute/replace/superceded






42. Truthfulness






43. Effective writing or speaking






44. Rude and bad-tempered - grumpy






45. Coalesce - fuse






46. Dictatorial in one's opinion - imperious






47. Hackneyed - trite - commonplace - quotidian






48. Appease/mollify/to soothe or pacify






49. Undecorated - stern in appearance - bleak - grim






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