ADVANCED
WORD POWER
Second Edition
BETH JOHNSON
JANET M. GOLDSTEIN
© 2011 Townsend Press
Unit Four: Chapter 16
• buoyant
• marred
• enervate
• parochial
• incorrigible
• partisan
• inexorable
• pique
• irrefutable
• satirical
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
1 buoyant
– adjective
• Helium balloons are buoyant because the helium gas in them is lighter
than air.
• To help her daughter float in the pool, Barbara bought her a swimsuit
that has a buoyant tube around the waist.
Buoyant means
Photos: NASA (top), Marilyn Peddle (bottom)
A. capable of floating.
B. tending to sink.
C. invisible.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
1 buoyant
– adjective
• Helium balloons are buoyant because the helium gas in them is lighter
than air.
• To help her daughter float in the pool, Barbara bought her a swimsuit
that has a buoyant tube around the waist.
Buoyant means
Photos: NASA (top), Marilyn Peddle (bottom)
A. capable of floating.
B. tending to sink.
C. invisible.
Balloons are capable of floating in air.
A tube that is capable of floating in
water could help a child float in a
pool.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
2 enervate
– verb
• The doctor warned me that my husband’s medication might enervate him.
“While he’s taking it,” she said, “just let him rest as much as he needs to.”
• The heat wave completely enervated Janine. By the sixth day of 90-degree
temperatures, she could barely drag herself out of bed.
Enervate means
A. to frighten.
B. to exhaust.
C. to awaken.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
2 enervate
– verb
• The doctor warned me that my husband’s medication might enervate him.
“While he’s taking it,” she said, “just let him rest as much as he needs to.”
• The heat wave completely enervated Janine. By the sixth day of 90-degree
temperatures, she could barely drag herself out of bed.
Enervate means
A. to frighten.
B. to exhaust.
C. to awaken.
The word rest suggests that the
medicine might exhaust the patient.
If Janine could barely drag herself
out of bed, she must have been
exhausted.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
3 incorrigible
– adjective
• The dog trainer shook her head in frustration. “I’ll give you your money
back,” she told Prince’s owners. “This dog is incorrigible. I can’t teach him a
thing.”
• Jake has lost many friends because he is such an incorrigible practical joker.
He hides frogs in people’s beds, puts tacks on their chairs, and sprinkles
“sneezing powder” on their food.
Incorrigible means
A. incurable.
B. intelligent.
C. influential.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
3 incorrigible
– adjective
• The dog trainer shook her head in frustration. “I’ll give you your money
back,” she told Prince’s owners. “This dog is incorrigible. I can’t teach him a
thing.”
• Jake has lost many friends because he is such an incorrigible practical joker.
He hides frogs in people’s beds, puts tacks on their chairs, and sprinkles
“sneezing powder” on their food.
Incorrigible means
A. incurable.
B. intelligent.
C. influential.
If even a professional trainer couldn’t teach the dog to be more
manageable, then his misbehavior was incurable. If Jake didn’t stop
playing tricks even after his pranks cost him many friends, then he
was an incurable practical joker.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
4 inexorable
– adjective
• Although my grandmother is still in pretty good health, old age is taking
its slow, inexorable toll on her.
• The Martins have an inexorable rule against smoking in their home—no
one is allowed to do it, ever.
Inexorable means
A. lenient.
B. unyielding.
C. not exact.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
4 inexorable
– adjective
• Although my grandmother is still in pretty good health, old age is taking
its slow, inexorable toll on her.
• The Martins have an inexorable rule against smoking in their home—no
one is allowed to do it, ever.
Inexorable means
A. lenient.
B. unyielding.
C. not exact.
The effects of old age are unyielding; not even good health can
forever prevent the damage and decline caused by the aging process.
If no one ever is allowed to smoke in the house, then the no-smoking
rule is unyielding.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
5 irrefutable
– adjective
• “It’s irrefutable!” Mike said. “I saw it with my own eyes in a magazine at
the supermarket! Humans are definitely being kidnapped by aliens from
Saturn!”
• Although many people claim to have seen the Loch Ness monster, no one
has ever come up with irrefutable proof that any such creature exists.
Irrefutable means
A. easy to understand.
B. unprejudiced.
C. indisputable.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
5 irrefutable
– adjective
• “It’s irrefutable!” Mike said. “I saw it with my own eyes in a magazine at
the supermarket! Humans are definitely being kidnapped by aliens from
Saturn!”
• Although many people claim to have seen the Loch Ness monster, no one
has ever come up with irrefutable proof that any such creature exists.
Irrefutable means
A. easy to understand.
B. unprejudiced.
C. indisputable.
Mike thinks the evidence that aliens are kidnapping humans is
“definitely” true and indisputable because he saw it in a magazine.
Claims about a monster are contrasted with indisputable proof of
its existence.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
6 marred
– verb
• The shore, once so peaceful and lovely, is now marred by a row of fast-food
stands.
• The automobile company’s reputation was marred when it was learned that
executives had ignored a dangerous problem with the cars’ brakes.
Marred means
A. improved.
B. disguised.
C. damaged.
Photo: Roger McLachlan
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
6 marred
– verb
• The shore, once so peaceful and lovely, is now marred by a row of fast-food
stands.
• The automobile company’s reputation was marred when it was learned that
executives had ignored a dangerous problem with the cars’ brakes.
Marred means
A. improved.
B. disguised.
C. damaged.
Photo: Roger McLachlan
The peaceful natural shoreline was
damaged by commercial businesses.
The company’s reputation was
damaged by its executives’ negligence.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
7 parochial
– adjective
• Many young people arrive at college with little knowledge of the world, but
meeting students and instructors from other places and other cultures helps
them overcome their parochial outlook.
• Aunt Violet is interested only in her small circle of family and friends. When
we tell her she has a parochial attitude, she says, “I don’t know about other
people, and I don’t care.”
Parochial means
A. timid.
B. limited.
C. lacking enthusiasm.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
7 parochial
– adjective
• Many young people arrive at college with little knowledge of the world, but
meeting students and instructors from other places and other cultures helps
them overcome their parochial outlook.
• Aunt Violet is interested only in her small circle of family and friends. When
we tell her she has a parochial attitude, she says, “I don’t know about other
people, and I don’t care.”
Parochial means
A. timid.
B. limited.
C. lacking enthusiasm.
If first year students have little knowledge of the world, then their
outlooks are limited. Since the aunt limits her interest and concern to
only a small circle of people, her attitude toward people is limited.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
8 partisan
– adjective
• The League of Women Voters is not partisan. In every election, it
remains neutral and provides information about all the candidates.
• Rachel’s highly partisan comments sometimes annoy her friends, but
her strong views might make her a real asset to a debating team.
Partisan means
A. uncaring.
B. objective.
C. one-sided.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
8 partisan
– adjective
• The League of Women Voters is not partisan. In every election, it
remains neutral and provides information about all the candidates.
• Rachel’s highly partisan comments sometimes annoy her friends, but
her strong views might make her a real asset to a debating team.
Partisan means
A. uncaring.
B. objective.
C. one-sided.
If the League of Women Voters is
politically neutral, it is not one-sided.
Rachel annoys her friends by making
one-sided comments that express her
strong views.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
9 pique
– noun
• When her husband told her that she talked too much, a Frenchwoman
retorted, “Very well; I’ll never talk again.” Her pique lasted the rest of her
life; despite the pleas of her family, she went to her grave still silent.
• Macy’s art project got more attention than Laila’s. Out of pique, Laila told
people that Macy had stolen the idea for the project from someone else.
Pique means
A. a sense of injury.
B. a sense of duty.
C. a sense of humor.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
9 pique
– noun
• When her husband told her that she talked too much, a Frenchwoman
retorted, “Very well; I’ll never talk again.” Her pique lasted the rest of her
life; despite the pleas of her family, she went to her grave still silent.
• Macy’s art project got more attention than Laila’s. Out of pique, Laila told
people that Macy had stolen the idea for the project from someone else.
Pique means
A. a sense of injury.
B. a sense of duty.
C. a sense of humor.
The woman must have felt a strong sense of injury if her pride was so
wounded by her husband’s remark that she never spoke another
word. Laila must have felt a strong sense of injury if she resented the
other artist’s success so much that she accused her of plagiarism.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
10 satirical
– adjective
• The TV shows The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
take a satirical look at current events, mixing political criticism with humor.
• The governor was angry about a satirical article in the newspaper that
amused readers by making fun of his many broken promises.
Satirical means
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans
A. admiring.
B. criticizing through ridicule
C. boring.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
10 satirical
– adjective
• The TV shows The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
take a satirical look at current events, mixing political criticism with humor.
• The governor was angry about a satirical article in the newspaper that
amused readers by making fun of his many broken promises.
Satirical means
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans
A. admiring.
B. criticizing through ridicule.
C. boring.
The phrase “criticism with humor”
suggests the shows are criticizing
events through ridicule. The article
making fun of the governor’s failures
was criticizing him through ridicule.