Vocabulary Quiz

It’s word quiz time again! I will make it easier by using the words in context. I have included some foreign phrases that might be useful to know. No Fair Looking Ahead to the Answers! It might also be a good time to review the words in past quizzes. Just click on the Vocabulary Quiz label to reacquaint yourself with words presented earlier. Good Luck!

1. To which of these men could the term glabrous be used in their description? a) Sen. Robert Byrd b) Harpo Marx c) Yul Brynner
2. The guest speaker’s tendency to divagate surprised the audience. Was the speaker a) sycophantic b) divisive or, c) wandering off the subject?
3. Would you seek out the company of someone described as jejune? Yes or No?
4. The ancient Grecian hetaera are most similar to a) sibyls b) geisha or, c) the queen’s ladies in waiting?
5. The American Idol fans were perfervid in their opinions of the female singer. Were the fans a) enthusiastically for her b) mildly impressed or, c) definitely against her?
6. Jane is au fait in interior design. Is she a) new to the field b) an expert or, c) totally clueless?
7. The woman told us that she had just seen a revenant. What did she see? a) type of rodent b) a ghost or, c) a member of the clergy
8. The Duchess brought the seisin of Bordeaux as part of her dowry. What did she bring? a) the right to the title of Duke b) valuable jewels or, c) lands of her Duchy
9. The quiddity of her perfume was its rose oil. Is this the correct usage of the term? Yes or No?
10. Over lunch Jonathan traduced the work of our newest employee. Was he a) critical b) appreciative or, c) surprised?
11. The gown glimmered with interwoven golden threads. It was made of what fabric? a) samite b) toile de Jouy or, c) gossamer?
12. In the equation, 15 – 7 = 8, what is the term used for the number 15?
a) augend b) subtrahend or, c) minuend
13. The young girl has a retroussé nose. Is it a) protrudent b) turned-up or, c) narial
14. The coroner declared the cause of death to be felo de se. Was it
a) death by person or persons unknown b) accidental death or, c) suicide?
15. The debate denigrated into a war over words. Which word best describes the situation?
a) syntactical b) logomachy or, c) apologue

Answers: 1 – c: glabrous (adj) meaning smooth and lacking hairs; 2 – c: divagate (v) means to wander off the subject; 3 – No: jejune (adj) refers to someone who is uninteresting or intellectually undemanding; 4 – b: hetaera (n) were one of a special class of women who, while prostitutes, were valued as highly cultured companions; 5 – a: perfervid (adj) describes an extremely passionate or enthusiastic response; 6 – b: au fait describes an expert; 7 – b: a revenant (n) is a dead person believed to return as a ghost; 8 – c: seisin (n) refers to land that is legally possessed; 9 – Yes: quiddity (adj) means that which makes a thing what it is, its essential nature; 10 – a: traduced (v) refers to saying very critical and disparaging things about someone; 11 – a: samite (n) is very heavy silk fabric interwoven with gold or silver threads; 12 – c: the minuend is the number from which another is subtracted; 13 – b: a retroussé nose is turned-up; 14 – c: a felo de se (n) is a suicide; 15 – b: logomachy (n) is a dispute over words.

How did you do?