Verbal Advantage – Level 07 Review Test

Anomalous means departing from the normal rule or pattern; irregular or abnormal: an anomalous result. Not analogous, which means similar or comparable, the near-opposite idea.

Didactic means intended to teach or instruct, often in a moralizing way. Pedagogic, preceptive (giving rules or precepts), expository (explaining) and hortatory (urging, exhorting) all share this teaching or advising sense. Ascetic means self-denying and austere, so it is not a synonym.

Obsequious means excessively eager to please or obey; fawning. Recalcitrant, intractable, refractory and intransigent all mean stubbornly disobedient or uncompromising, so they are antonyms. Sycophantic means flattering and servile, which is a synonym of obsequious, not an antonym.

Rarefied means thin or lofty, and figuratively refined, esoteric, far removed from everyday life. Ethereal (light, airy, heavenly, delicate) shares this sense. Not effusive, which means gushing and overly emotional.

Pernicious means highly harmful or destructive, especially in a gradual or subtle way. Salubrious means healthful, wholesome, promoting well-being, so it is the antonym. Malign, deleterious, baneful and noisome all mean harmful or offensive, so they are synonyms.

A redundant phrase repeats an idea already contained in a word. A fad is by nature passing, a consensus is already agreement of opinion, whence already means 'from where', and a gambit is already an opening move. Cure for all ills is not redundant: it simply defines panacea. Only panacea for all ills would be redundant.

Catholic (lower case) means universal, broad-minded, wide-ranging in tastes or sympathies. A latitudinarian is tolerant and liberal in opinions, especially in religion, so it fits. Dogmatic and parochial (narrow, provincial) are the opposite.

Reticent, diffident and taciturn all describe someone reserved and unwilling to talk or express feelings. Effusive means pouring out feelings freely and gushingly, so it is their antonym. Not laconic, which means using few words and is therefore a synonym.

Contentious means quarrelsome, given to arguing. Disputatious, belligerent, litigious (fond of disputes or lawsuits) and pugnacious all share this combative sense. Mendacious means lying or untruthful, so it is not a synonym.

Assiduous means diligent, persistent and hard-working. Sedulous means the same: carefully and persistently attentive. Indolent, languid, phlegmatic and otiose (idle, useless) all suggest laziness or lack of energy, the opposite idea.

Chicanery is trickery or deception, especially through clever legal manipulation. Casuistry is subtle but misleading reasoning used to justify wrong conduct. Both involve deceit, so they are synonyms of duplicity (double-dealing, deceitfulness). Not bombast, which is pompous, inflated language.

A genuflection is the act of bending the knee, especially in worship or respect (from Latin genu, knee, and flectere, to bend). It is often connected with religion, which makes a prayer or a blessing tempting, but the word refers only to the physical gesture.

To apprise means to inform or notify: Please apprise me of any changes. It is often confused with appraise, which means to estimate the value or quality of something.

Precipitate (adjective) describes actions or people: rash, hasty, reckless, or abrupt and sudden: a precipitate decision. Precipitous properly means extremely steep, like a cliff: a precipitous drop. The two are often confused.

In Homer's account of the Trojan War, the Myrmidons were the fierce warriors of Thessaly who followed Achilles. Their name gave us myrmidon, a loyal follower who carries out orders without question. Hector was a Trojan prince, and Odysseus was king of Ithaca.

Antediluvian literally means 'before the Flood' (Latin ante, before, and diluvium, flood). It is used to describe something extremely old or hopelessly old-fashioned: antediluvian attitudes.

Magnanimous comes from Latin magnus, great, and animus, spirit or mind. It means generous, noble and forgiving. Not pusillanimous, which by derivation means 'small-spirited' (cowardly), the exact opposite.

Billingsgate is coarse, vulgar, abusive language, named after the London fish market whose workers were famous for foul speech. Invective, obloquy and vituperation also refer to abusive or bitter language, but they do not specifically mean filthy or obscene language.

To inveigh (usually inveigh against) means to attack violently with words or protest strongly: He inveighed against the new tax. Not bombast, which is a noun meaning pompous, inflated speech, not angry attack. Coruscate means to sparkle, obviate means to prevent or make unnecessary, and capitulate means to surrender.

Deus ex machina ('god from the machine') comes from ancient drama, where a god was lowered onto the stage to solve the plot. It now means any unexpected, improbable event or device that suddenly resolves a difficult situation. A sinister plot has nothing to do with it.

A docent (from Latin docere, to teach) is a guide who gives informative talks, especially in a museum or gallery. In some universities it also means a lecturer below professor rank. Not an itinerant teacher, because a docent is not defined by travelling from place to place.

Fetid means having a strong, offensive smell; stinking. Redolent means fragrant or sweet-smelling, so it is the antonym. Putrid, graveolent, mephitic and noisome all describe bad or foul smells, so they are synonyms.

Mea culpa is Latin for 'through my fault', an admission of guilt. Culpa means fault or blame, as in culpable (deserving blame). Not mistake: culpa refers to guilt or blame, not simply to an error.

A pedant is someone who shows off learning or insists on minor rules and details in a tiresome way. Not a parvenu, who is a person newly risen to wealth or status who lacks the manners of that class.

Inchoate means just begun, not yet fully formed or developed: an inchoate plan. Nascent means coming into existence, beginning to develop, so it is a synonym. Not senescent, which means growing old, the opposite idea.

Mendacious (lying) and disingenuous (insincere, pretending to be frank) both suggest dishonesty. Veracious means truthful and honest, so it is the odd one out. In each of the other sets all three words are synonyms: scrupulous, upright, ethical (honest and moral); hypocritical, two-faced, duplicitous (insincere, double-dealing); evasive, prevaricating, deceitful (avoiding or hiding the truth).

Crepuscular (from Latin crepusculum, twilight) means relating to or like twilight. It also describes animals active at dawn and dusk: Bats are crepuscular. Not subfuscous, which means dusky or somewhat dark in colour, not specifically 'relating to twilight'.

Ribald (coarsely humorous, vulgar, indecent) is traditionally pronounced RIB-uld, rhyming with 'dribbled'. The spelling-based pronunciations RY-bawld and RIB-awld are common but not the traditional standard.

An arriviste (French, 'one who has arrived') is an ambitious social climber, often vulgar and ruthless, who has recently gained wealth or status. Not a faithful servant or subordinate, which describes a myrmidon. A convert to a religion or cause describes a proselyte.

Tractable, complaisant and docile all mean easily managed, obliging, willing to comply. Each of the other sets mixes the two opposite ideas, 'yielding' and 'unyielding'. Unrelenting and implacable are unyielding, but obliging is yielding. Compliant and compromising are yielding, but obdurate is unyielding. Inexorable and intransigent are unyielding, but acquiescent is yielding.

A sanctimonious person makes a hypocritical show of being morally superior or pious. Such a person can be called hypocritical, disingenuous, unctuous (smug and oily) and affected. Redoubtable means formidable or worthy of respect, so it does not apply.