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






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






3. Commonplace - everyday occurrence - banal






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






5. Unclear or doubtful in meaning






6. Influence or domination over






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






8. Rebellion - mutiny






9. Not controlled by conscience; unscrupulous






10. To injure or destroy the surface or appearance of; to damage the value - influence - or effect of; to face down - outshine






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






12. Temporary suppression or suspension - remission - delay






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






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. To attack or assault - beset






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






18. Altruism/ charity






19. Pretentious/grandiloquent/pompous






20. A puzzle - a mystery - conundrum - perplexity






21. Well-spoken; expressive; articulate - meticulous






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






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






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






25. Bucolic - rural






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






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






28. Ornament against evil/talisman/fetish






29. Flamboyant/verve/dash






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






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






32. A subtle expression of meaning or quality - gradation - tone






33. An investigation or inquiry






34. Easily aroused






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






36. Set fire/excite






37. To expand like a woman in labor






38. Purposeful exaggeration for effect - embellishment - inflation






39. A song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person






40. Social outcast






41. Excess






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






43. (of someone) suspicious; wary; cautious






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






45. Point of culmination/ pinnacle/ acme






46. Meal or mealtime - feast - banquet






47. Old/antique/bygone/stale






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






49. High secluded place - a nest built high in the air; an elevated - often secluded - dwelling






50. Absolute - certain - explicit - categorical