Advanced Vocabulary Test 1 – ESL Vocabulary Exercises

He admits _____ that he is a bit of a womanizer.

The farmers are obviously eager to adopt any means to _____ the salinity of their land and bring it back down to acceptable levels.

How or when my great rage began to abate I cannot say. Somehow it began to wane, and it waned quite rapidly. I _____ my composure within a few minutes.

Due to his generally frail health, the king may soon _____ the throne in favour of his son.

Police rescued the two minors who were _____ by their former nanny last week.

I find it truly _____ that scientific knowledge and some of our best human resources should be wasted on researching and developing new ways to maim and kill one another.

A civilized man respects all life and _____ cruelty to animals.

Spherical _____ is an optical effect occurring when the rays entering near the edge of a lens are focused in a different location than the central rays.

To _____ something is to renounce it or abstain from it, with the implication that this is done publicly.

Organic chemistry, as a science, I truly esteem and admire; but memorising all those lengthy formulas I really _____ and abhor.

Ancient literature _____ prose and poetry concerned with heroes and their adventures. Such works are everywhere.

Following a heated debate in the Parliament, the defence treaty signed last year was finally ratified.

To ratify means to _____.

About three kilometres from Mordoğan, the road takes an _____ left-hand turn and goes down into a valley teeming with lush olive trees.

ARGUMENT: "_____ from sweets and sugary drinks is the most effective way to avoid tooth decay."

COUNTER-ARGUMENT: "In which case, I'd rather have bad teeth."

No one in the world could solve such an abstruse problem.

Abstruse means _____.

Just point a _____ in the right direction, will you? All I am asking for is a little help in getting this program started.

The businessman, who once owned several factories, later in life became a (an) _____ opponent of industrial pollution.

Even though I was quickly sinking into a (an) _____ of despair, something in me was not ready to give up.

Süleyman, one of the most ambitious chess players in the country, was unforgiving toward his rivals. He never missed a chance to defeat Yusuf, his arch _____.

A young man was _____ by some ruffians on a lonely street. "Galatasaray or Fenerbahçe?" he was queried in a threatening manner. Not knowing which group had stopped him, the young man cleverly replied, "Beşiktaş" -- and received a few knuckle sandwiches anyway.

The fines are to continue until the company _____ the court rulings, one of which calls for a full clean-up of the river.

At the age of 64, he was now at the _____ of his career as an influential and outspoken member of parliament.

He now acquiesced in every directive he received from his boss, just as he had once acquiesced to all his parents' wishes.

Acquiesce means: _____.

I think one would be justified in saying that today we live in an acquisitive society.

Acquisitive means: _____.

Some say kımız has a _____ aftertaste. It seems that they find it somewhat "acrid". Needless to say, I quite disagree with them.

Animal _____ is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.

The boss flew into a rage at the janitor's stupidity and it took a lot of tact to _____ him.

Collaborative divorce uses negotiation and cooperation to achieve a settlement with minimal acrimony between the parties involved.

Acrimony means: _____.

His business acumen was such that with the passing of the years he rose to be a director of the company.

Acumen means: _____.

According to an old adage in medicine, “if you don’t look for it, you will never diagnose it.”

Adage means: _____.