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. Wandering and unpredictable






2. Caution/thrift/widom






3. Growing in number quickly/spawn






4. Altruism/ charity






5. Self contradictory






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






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






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






9. Mark of disgrace






10. Mournful speech - funeral hymn - elegy






11. Having bad connotation - disparaging - belittling - insulting






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






13. Recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish






14. Tolerant - broad-minded






15. Nonsensical talk - specialized language - argot - cant - slang






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






17. Ductile/easily shaped/pliable/adaptable






18. Dictatorial in one's opinion - imperious






19. Sluggish/listless/apathetic






20. 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 ...






21. Effective writing or speaking






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






23. Brilliant/glowing






24. Bucolic - rural






25. Consistent/uniform in composition/ opposite of heterogeneous






26. Impossible to penetrate - impregnable






27. Not apparent/dormant/quiescent/inert like hidden energy






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






29. Coming into being; in early developmental stages






30. To polish






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






32. Old/antique/bygone/stale






33. Not controlled by conscience; unscrupulous






34. Sway/dither/flutter/fluctuate






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






36. Eject/discard like in excess fuel






37. Pretentious/grandiloquent/pompous






38. Deceptive scheme; clever trick






39. Commonplace - everyday occurrence - banal






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






41. Cooperation - mutual helpfulness - interdependence






42. Equivalent to - alike - parallel






43. Clearly and directly stated - opposite of implicit






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






45. Not harmful or injurious; harmless






46. To perceive or recognize






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






48. Fundamentally distinct or dissimilar






49. Airtight; secret; obscure; magical; mysterious






50. Purposeful exaggeration for effect - embellishment - inflation