Vocabulary in Context Flashcards

In the sentence 'The explorer's tenacious pursuit of the lost city kept her going despite countless setbacks,' what does tenacious mean?

Answer: persistent

Tenacious means not giving up easily; showing great determination.

Read this excerpt: 'The novel's protagonist is an enigmatic figure whose true motives are never fully revealed.' What does enigmatic mean?

Answer: mysterious and puzzling

Enigmatic describes something or someone that is difficult to understand or interpret.

A teacher describes a student's essay as 'verbose.' Based on the root 'verb-' (word), what does verbose most likely mean?

Answer: using too many words

Verbose comes from the Latin root for 'word' and means using more words than necessary.

In the sentence 'Her sanguine outlook helped her recover quickly from disappointment,' what does sanguine most likely mean?

Answer: optimistic

Sanguine means optimistic, especially in a difficult situation.

The word 'paramount' appears in this sentence: 'Student safety is of paramount importance in every school decision.' What does paramount mean?

Answer: most important

Paramount means more important than anything else; supreme.

A passage describes a character who is 'loath to accept help, preferring to solve problems independently.' What does loath mean?

Answer: unwilling

Loath means reluctant or unwilling to do something.

In the text, a river is described as 'meandering through the valley in lazy curves.' What does meandering mean?

Answer: flowing in a winding path

To meander means to follow a winding, indirect course.