| Question | Answer |
| absolve | to clear from blame, responsibility, or guilt
S: acquit, exonerate, vindicate, excuse, pardon
A: condemn, convict, incriminate, inculpate |
| caricature | a representation (especially a drawing) in which
the subject's characteristic features are
deliberately exaggerated; to present someone
or something in a deliberately distorted way
S: cartoon, burlesque, parody, lampoon |
| clangor | a loud ringing sound; to make a loud ringing
noise
S: din, clamor, uproar
A: silence, stillness, peace and quiet |
| continguous | side by side, touching, near; adjacent in time
S: adjoining, abutting next door to
A: detached, apart, distant, remote |
| cupidity | an eager desire for something; greed
S: avarice, rapacity, craving, lust
A: generosity, contentment, satiation,
gratification |
| deleterious | harmful, injurious
S: detrimental, destructive, pernicious,
damaging
A: helpful, beneficial, harmless, innocious |
| enhance | to raise to a higher degree; to increase the
value or desirability of
S: improve, magnify, heighten, elevate
A: diminish, reduce, lessen, degrade |
| enthrall | to captivate, charm, hold spellbound; to
enslave; to imprison
S: fascinate, enchant, attract, bewitch
A: bore to tears, repel, put someone off |
| extenuate | to lessen the seriousness or magnitude of an
offense by making partial excuses
S: moderate, mitigate, diminish, downplay
A: intensify, aggravate, worsen, exacerbate |
| incisive | sharp, keen, penetrating (with a suggestion
of decisiveness and effectiveness
S: acute, cutting, perceptive, trenchant |
| implicit | implied or understood tough unexpressed;
without doubts or reservations,
unquestioning; potentially contained in
S: inferred, tacit, unspoken, unconditional
A: explicit, expressed, stated, revealed |
| ostentatious | marked by a conspicuous or pretentious
display, showy
S: flashy, overdone, affected, flamboyant
A: modest, plain, simple, demure, retiring |
| paragon | a model of excellence or perfection
S: exemplar, ideal, paradigm, model, good
example |
| paraphrase | to restate in other words; a statement that
presents a given idea in new language
S: reword, rephrase, a rendition, version
A: repeat verbatim, duplicate, quote |
| politic | Prudent, shrewdly conceived and
developed; artful, expedient
S: tactful, diplomatic, judicious, circumspect
A: unwise, injudicious, imprudent, rash |
| prosaic | dull, lacking in distinction and originally;
matter-of-fact, straightforward; characteristic
of prose, not poetic
S: commonplace, humdrum, literal,
pedestrian
A: remarkable, distinctive, poetic, inspired |
| redundant | extra, excess, more than is needed; wordy,
repetitive; profuse, lush
S: unnecessary, superfluous, verbose, prolix
A: succinct, terse, laconic, scarce, inadequate |
| sanctimonious | making a show of virtue or righteousness;
hypocritically moralistic or pious, selfrighteous, canting, holier-than-thou
A: heartfelt, sincere, humble |
| scintillating | sparkling, twinkling, exceptionally brilliant (applied to mental or personal qualities)
S: stimulating, lively, glittering, flashing
A: dull, boring, insipid, flat, tame, vapid |
| winsome | charming, attractive, pleasing (often suggesting a childlike charm and innocence)
S: winning, engaging, delightful, prepossessing
A: unattractive, unappealing, repulsive |
