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. Intricate and complicated - byzantine - labyrinthine - tangled






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






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






4. Courageous; brave; valiant; valorous - audacious - intrepid






5. Make impure/debase






6. To disavow/reject validity of/deny/disown






7. Consistent/uniform in composition/ opposite of heterogeneous






8. Truthfulness






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






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






11. Fundamentally distinct or dissimilar






12. Effective writing or speaking






13. Point of culmination/ pinnacle/ acme






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






15. Social outcast






16. Impossible to penetrate - impregnable






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






18. Wordy/not succinct/ineloquent






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






20. Airtight; secret; obscure; magical; mysterious






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






22. Turmoil/disorder






23. Adamant - stubborn -unruly - obstinate - intransigent






24. Perceptive/sharp






25. Philistine/bourgeois/superficial/materialistic






26. To please someone so as to gain an advantage. Ex - ... themselves with the leaders.






27. A trace of something that once was present






28. Mark of disgrace






29. Growth process from conception to birth - pregnancy - gravidity






30. Altruism/ charity






31. Ungrateful person - cad - churl






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






33. To overwhelm - to cover with water - to deluge - submerge..etc






34. Characterized by severe suffering or sorrow - serious or grave






35. Cooperation - mutual helpfulness - interdependence






36. Clever - deceptive






37. Clear and easily understood - limpid - intelligible






38. Dormant - unused - unseeded - idle






39. Imbue - permeate - penetrate - suffuse






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






41. Differing in kind; dissimilar; varied






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






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






44. Theft of property






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






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






47. Ornament against evil/talisman/fetish






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






49. Recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish






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