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






2. A firmly held opinion - especially a religious belief






3. Old/antique/bygone/stale






4. Sway/dither/flutter/fluctuate






5. Dormant - unused - unseeded - idle






6. Dirge - lament - a sorrowful speech or poem






7. Coalesce - fuse






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






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






10. Recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish






11. Theft of property






12. Turmoil/disorder






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






14. An amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge






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






16. Set fire/excite






17. Easily deceived - credulous - naiive - ingenguous






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






19. Cooperation - mutual helpfulness - interdependence






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






21. Absolute - certain - explicit - categorical






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






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






24. Dictatorial in one's opinion - imperious






25. A puzzle - a mystery - conundrum - perplexity






26. Impossible to see through - preventing the passage of light - obscure






27. Fresh and clean; uncorrupted ex - A ... beach






28. Growing in number quickly/spawn






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






30. A woman making a debut in high society/lady






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






32. A gradual increase or the peak of a gradual increase. Ex - complaints about stifling smog conditions reached a ...






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






34. Not harmful or injurious; harmless






35. Ductile/easily shaped/pliable/adaptable






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






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






38. An expert in matters of culture - food - or wine






39. 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 ...






40. Mournful speech - funeral hymn - elegy






41. Capricious; randomly chosen; tyrannical






42. Pretentious/grandiloquent/pompous






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






44. Well-spoken; expressive; articulate - meticulous






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






46. Deceptive scheme; clever trick






47. Perceptive/sharp






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






49. Inertia/standstill/ stagnation






50. Hackneyed - trite - commonplace - quotidian