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About This Quiz
Dual, replicas, clones, facsimiles, twins ... there are so many words that mean "double." From small, commonplace words like "add" and "all" to huge, asthma-inducing monsters such as "lipopolysaccharide" and "immunofluorescence," these pesky double letters are alive and well, found in even the most unsuspecting syllables. With estimates that there are as many as 470,000 words in the English language, it's no wonder that so many words have a pair of twins. They're also the cause of many failed spelling tests and countless squiggly lines in Microsoft Word, but that's a discussion for another day.Â
Regardless of how you feel about them, it's always a good idea to bolster your vocabulary, and this quiz is full of definitions aching for a word or words aching for a definition. And to get you ready, here's a sentence only containing double letters: "All successful quizzes need accomplished, exceptionally affirmative intellectuals." We have no doubt that you are, in fact, a successful, exceptionally affirmative intellectual, and you'll be doing twice the celebrating when you're done.
Fun fact: This blurb contains sixteen cases of double letters, not including this sentence and the already identified words. Do you think you can find them? (Hint: repeated words and contractions count.)
Intermittently
Unintelligibly means "incomprehensible," so in the words of Simon Cowell, "It's a no from me." If talking about syntax, use the third option. If discussing something related to differences, to nobody's surprise, use "differentially."
Unintelligibly
Syntactically
Differentially
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An ideal, model weekend
Plot twist: "Weekend" is also a double-letter word, but let's focus on "quintessential." While a busy, intellectually stimulating weekend that contains no wasted time might be your dentist's concept of a quintessential Saturday and Sunday, the word denotes the perfect representation of something.
The busiest weekend possible
An intellectually stimulating weekend
A weekend not filled with wasted time
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Intrinsically
Unilaterally
Unequivocally
When something is equivocal, it's open to interpretation. Hence, adding the prefix "un" renders it closed to interpretation or ... drum roll ... unambiguous. Something could be intrinsically unequivocal, meaning that it's inherently unambiguous.
Semantically
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Categorically
Symmetrically
"Symmetrically" refers to symmetry, which doesn't make sense in this context. All these words sound out of place, but "categorically" is another way of saying "explicitly" or "unambiguously," and "surreptitiously" denotes secretiveness. If saying something forcefully or with emphasis, use "emphatically."
Surreptitiously
Emphatically
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Scintillation
Incommunicado
Rapprochement
"Scintillation" indicates a sparkle of light or a flash, and "incommunicado" is quite the opposite of what's needed for a rapprochement — it refers to the inability to communicate. An approximation is something that's similar but not identical to another thing.
Approximation
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Disseminate
Decommission
Presuppose
Corroborate
Often used in legal settings, "corroborate" sounds a lot like "collaborate" (a fellow double-lettered word). You can remember its definition by noting that situations requiring corroboration, like confirming that a witness's testimony is true, probably involve multiple people, similar to a collaboration.
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Chaff
Knoll
With enough rupees, the Indian currency, you might be able to buy your own knoll, or maybe even a farm, where you'd undoubtedly accrue a lot of chaff, also known as corn and seed husks. Or if you're more of a water person, you could invest in a skiff, which is a type of boat.
Rupee
Skiff
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Gruff
Scoffed
Truss
Trick question! They're all correct.
Gotcha! Or maybe you got it! "Gruff" refers to tone — a low, rough voice — whereas "scoffed" relates to what they're actually saying, and describes a scornful or mocking voice. As any Martha Stewart fan would know, "truss" denotes tying up a chicken before putting it in the oven. Plot twist: "Erroneously" is also a double-lettered word.
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Clarified butter
Gee, "ghee" sure is an uncommon word, though foodies may be happy that there's a term for clarified butter. If you ever travel to South Asia, there's a fair chance you'll come across it because it's found in various recipes over there.
A type of milk
An antiquated pasta sauce
A cheese only available in Asia
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Amiss
Adder
Knell
Leery
When something's amiss, or not quite right and out of place, you might feel leery. You'd almost be 100% leery upon seeing an adder, a type of venomous snake, and the leeriness would be in full swing if you heard a knell, which denotes the sound of a bell, particularly when it's solemn.
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Efflux
Append
Rest assured, college grads and students, now you know where the word "appendix" comes from. "Appending" and "affixing" have similar meanings, but the latter is more often used for physical additions. Saying, "I affixed the audio recording to my e-mail" would sound a bit off.
Buffer
Affix
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A villa
While "hell" would've been a wonderfully sarcastic double-lettered answer, it seems unlikely that anyone could object to a holiday in a serene Italian villa. A lagoon? Different story. And most people wouldn't want to spend their days off in a quarry, a large pit where stones are extracted.
A lagoon
A quarry
None of the above
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Lacking social skills
Lacking a sense of direction or values
A rudder allows you to steer a boat, hence why "rudderless" denotes a lack of direction. Fun fact: "Rudderfull" isn't a word, which raises the question, "What's the opposite of rudderless?" The universe might be in perfect harmony if it turns out to be a fellow double-lettered word.
Lacking manners
Lacking language skills
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Heeding
Saddle
Indeed (another double-lettered word!), a saddle is a seat you put on a horse for riding. A "peer" can either be a noun, like a classmate or friend, or it can be a verb, meaning "to look intently or with difficulty."
Skills
Peered
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Wallow and dwell
It's quite common to hear these two words in a negative context, like wallowing in self-pity or dwelling on an ex. The former has several meanings, and often refers to rolling around lazily, or becoming engrossed and overindulgent. Comparatively, "dwell" can indicate living somewhere, like "I dwell in this house," or excessively focusing your attention on something.
Buzzed and buzzer
Brooch and beech
Zip and zap
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Another word for "toll booth"
A type of skyscraper
An Australian delicacy
A ring-shaped coral reef or coral island
Say what? By some estimates, there are 439 atolls in the world, several located in the Pacific and Caribbean. Atolls can even be countries, with the Maldives and the Marshall Islands serving as examples.
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Dossier
You might find a dossier in a coffer — a small chest or strongbox for holding possessions. It would be a little weirder to find it in a paddock, which is a closed field for horses. In a strange stroke of randomness, you might find a dossier about terriers, a type of dog breed.
Coffer
Paddock
Terrier
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Lattice and lettuce
Commend and command
Callous and heartless
Callousness indicates having a disregard for others and lacking sympathy. In case you're wondering, a lattice is that rectangular or square structure you often see in backyards and on top of fences, consisting of thin strips of wood that interlace and create see-through diamonds.
Emitted and omitted
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Idyllic
"Idly" looks a lot like the right answer, but it refers to doing something lazily or without a specific underlying reason. The last two answers have similar definitions, with "blotted" meaning "stained or marked" and "mottled" indicating essentially the same thing but with different colors.
Idly
Blotted
Mottled
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Assent and dissent
"Assent" means "to agree or approve," whereas "dissent" refers to having a countering opinion, hence the term "dissident." People often confuse "dissent" with "descent" and "assent" with "ascent," but you'll now dissent when people improperly use "assent."
Novella and book
Wistfully and regretfully
Appraise and assess
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Evergreens
Guerrilla
"Guerrilla" is a homophone with "gorilla," a fellow double-lettered word with a different meaning. The former is about a small, and usually independent, group that partakes in warfare, whereas the latter is the animal.
Immaterial
None of the above
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Lacking passion
Filled with passion
Nobody's blaming you if you're confused. Usually, adverbs starting in "im" denote a lack of something, but "impassioned" actually indicates the opposite. Even the adjective "dispassionate" doesn't mean "not passionate," it relates to not being easily influenced by emotions. An appropriate adjective to describe a lack of passion would be "indifferent" or something associated with disinterest and detachment.
A road that can't be passed
A road that is easily passable
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A type of retirement package
Special tax exemption
Added social status and clout
A period of paid leave from work
Sabbaticals apply to other jobs, too, but are often associated with college professors. The word relates to the Sabbath, reflecting the relaxation period observed by some major religions.
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Grammar and spelling
Enthrall and engross
Irreversible and irrevocable
Eccentricity and diffidence
Eccentricity is often affiliated with unconventionality and strangeness, whereas diffidence — easily confused with "difference" — is about shyness and modesty, oftentimes due to poor self-confidence.
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Depending on the applicant's experience
Proportionate to the applicant's experience
The first answer is technically correct, but it's more accurate to say that the salary is proportionate to experience, not merely relying on it. Did you notice that "applications" is another double-lettered word in this saga?
Unrelated to the applicant's experience
The same regardless of the applicant's experience
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Zooplankton
Aberration
Yes, "zooplankton" is actually a word, referring to a type of plankton, the small organisms that live in aquatic habitats. But back to "aberration," the star of the show. It often has a negative connotation, describing something that's atypical, but in a bad way.
Apparition
Distillation
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The brain
Honestly, nobody's blaming you if you read "hippocampus" as "hippopotamus." It's a small organ that helps create long-term memories and facilitates spatial retention so you can remember how to navigate various places
The knees
The left knee
The foot
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Excommunication
Oscillation
The verbal counterpart is "to oscillate," and the adjective is "oscillatory." There's even a similar-sounding noun — an oscillator — but it's a type of device for creating electric currents that oscillate.
Innervation
Dissemination
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Centennial
A centennial relates to the 100th anniversary of something, not the 50th. "Downtrodden" describes being oppressed or treated badly, and "concessions" in this context are things that are permitted or given, but can also refer to declaring defeat or admitting to the validity of an opposing party's point in an argument.
Downtrodden
Tyranny
Concessions
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Attenuation
Transgression
You can remember this answer by noting that the prefix "trans" relates to going across, beyond or through something, so committing a transgression is like going beyond the rules and defying them.
Aggression
Supposition
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Allegory
An allegory is very much a metaphor, but the two differ in that the first is a complete narrative whereas the second is just a phrase or figure of speech. "Metallurgy" resembles a combination of the two, but is a type of science related to metals.
Superannuation
Metallurgy
Reclassification
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Communique
Admittance
Colloquium
The conference may have released communique, a type of announcement and official communication, to share essential information. You'd also need admittance before the colloquium, which indicates entering or being permitted to enter a venue. Annotations are also popular in academia and are explanatory notes or comments added to an image or text.
Annotation
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Reallocation
Concurrence
Regression
While "digression" and "regression" look alike, the first is a deviation from the main subject of a speech or written piece. You can remember "regression" by noting that it's similar to "progression," except the two are opposites.
Digression
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Alleviate
"To disaffect" is a verb indicating dissatisfaction with and alienation from an organization or authority, which can lead to aggravation. "To desiccate" denotes the removal of moisture or the drying up of something, thereby worsening its aridity. And "to commiserate" is all about sympathizing, something that is helpful, but doesn't directly relieve aggravation.
Disaffect
Desiccate
Commiserate
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Divvying
Pizza
Ebb
None of the above
"Divvying," which may or may not look like a Harry Potter spell, is just another way of saying "share and divide." Everyone knows what a pizza is, though the word "divvying" may have made you suspect it doesn't belong. "Ebbing" refers to a tide's receding from the land.
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