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. Earthbound - commonplace - down-to-earth - tellurian - quotidian






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






3. Dirge - lament - a sorrowful speech or poem






4. Intricate and complicated - byzantine - labyrinthine - tangled






5. Well-spoken; expressive; articulate - meticulous






6. Deep hole






7. No variation; tediously the same in sound






8. Effective writing or speaking






9. Clever - deceptive






10. To taint or tarnish - besmirch - defile






11. To attack or assault - beset






12. Hackneyed - trite - commonplace - quotidian






13. Undecorated - stern in appearance - bleak - grim






14. Temporary; lasting a brief time






15. Unclear or doubtful in meaning






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






17. Temporary suppression or suspension - remission - delay






18. Passion - excitement - fervor - ardency






19. Sociable; fond of the company of others






20. Book - usually large and academic






21. Pretentious/grandiloquent/pompous






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






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






24. Fluctuate between choices - to dither - vacillate - oscillate






25. Dictatorial in one's opinion - imperious






26. To perceive or recognize






27. Pertaining to beauty






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






29. Adamant - stubborn -unruly - obstinate - intransigent






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






31. Point of culmination/ pinnacle/ acme






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






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






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






35. Sluggish/listless/apathetic






36. Impossible to penetrate - impregnable






37. Funeral bell/ omen of death






38. Consistent/uniform in composition/ opposite of heterogeneous






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






40. 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 ...






41. Fundamentally distinct or dissimilar






42. To anger - to provoke - incite - vex - or pester






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






44. Philistine/bourgeois/superficial/materialistic






45. Recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish






46. Mournful speech - funeral hymn - elegy






47. Inertia/standstill/ stagnation






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






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






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