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 expand like a woman in labor






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






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






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






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






6. Not controlled by conscience; unscrupulous






7. Mournful speech - funeral hymn - elegy






8. No variation; tediously the same in sound






9. Point of culmination/ pinnacle/ acme






10. Pretentious/grandiloquent/pompous






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






12. Caution/thrift/widom






13. Adamant - stubborn -unruly - obstinate - intransigent






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






15. Purposeful exaggeration for effect - embellishment - inflation






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






17. Flamboyant/verve/dash






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






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






20. Well-spoken; expressive; articulate - meticulous






21. Turmoil/disorder






22. Make impure/debase






23. Commonplace - everyday occurrence - banal






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






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






26. Mark of disgrace






27. Sway/dither/flutter/fluctuate






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






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






30. Dictatorial in one's opinion - imperious






31. Consistent/uniform in composition/ opposite of heterogeneous






32. A trace of something that once was present






33. Airtight; secret; obscure; magical; mysterious






34. Abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will.. opposite of euphemism possibly






35. Bucolic - rural






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






37. Frolicsome/ playful






38. Imbue - permeate - penetrate - suffuse






39. To taint or tarnish - besmirch - defile






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






41. To inspire; to permeate; to fill with a mood or tone - to pervade






42. Commute/replace/superceded






43. Relaxation - tranquility






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






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






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






47. Credulous/ easily deceived/ simple minded/ingenuous/gullible






48. Rude and bad-tempered - grumpy






49. Fundamentally distinct or dissimilar






50. Social outcast