| Question | Answer |
| accelerate | to speed up, cause to move faster; to bring about move quickly
step up, quicken, hasten
slow down, retard, decelerate |
| bystander | one who looks on or observes, a person present but not taking part
observer, spectator, onlooker
active participant |
| canvass | to go through an area in order to procure votes, sales, or opinions; to go over in detail; to discuss
poll, survey, solicit |
| casual | happening by chance or on an irregular basis; showing little concern; informal
accidental, haphazard, offhand
formal, serious, premeditated, intentional |
| downtrodden | treated unfairly and cruelly, oppressed
mistreated, ground underfoot
uplifted, liberated |
| entice | to attract, tempt
lure, beguile
nauseate, sicken, revolt, repel |
| erode | to wear away gradually, eat away
corrode, abrade
nurture, promote, encourage |
| flounder | to thrash about in a clumsy or ineffective way
wallow, struggle |
| graphic | lifelike, vivid; relating to the pictorial arts
lively, colorful, descriptive
dull, boring, unrealistic, colorless |
| gruesome | horrible, revolting, ghastly
gory, hideous, grisly
pleasant, delightful, appealing |
| melancholy | sad, gloomy, unhappy; sadness, gloominess
depressed, dejected; dejection, depression
merry, happy, cheerful; joy, elation |
| ordeal | a difficult or painful experience, a trial
test, hardship
pleasure, cinch |
| parch | to make dry and thirsty; to shrivel with heat
dry p, dehydrate, desiccate
soak, drench, saturate, waterlog |
| persist | to continue steadily in a course of action, refuse to stop or be changed; to last, remain
persevere, keep at it, endure
give up, discontinue |
| puny | of less than normal strength or size; of no importance
undersized, pint-size, small, weak
robust, brawny, mammoth, gigantic |
| quibble | to evade or belittle a point by twisting words or raising minor objections; a petty objection
nitpick, split hairs, cavil, squabble |
| ratify | to approve, give formal approval to, confirm
endorse, sanction, uphold
cancel, repeal, annul, veto |
| regal | royal, kinglike; fit for a king
majestic, stately, princely, august
lowly, humble, abject, servile |
| stifle | to smother, prevent from breathing; to hold back or choke off
strangle, suppress, snuff
nurture, promote, encourage |
| vital | having life, living; necessary to life, essential; key, crucial
indispensable, fundamental
nonessential, unnecessary |
