About This Quiz
High school is one of the most important times in everyone's life. Whether you love it or hate it or loved it or hated it, there's no denying the significance it plays in American life. Even if you never went to high school, you've likely seen the movies and heard the stories of all the wild parties, lunchroom gossip, relationship drama and strict teachers. Somewhere in between all of that fun stuff is vocabulary, and high school vocabulary isn't exactly exciting. If you want to pass the SAT test, you need to know what words like dubious and pitiable mean. Everyday high school will test you on the meaning of words like freewheeling and egregious. It can't be described as a ton of fun.
If you thought high school English threw a bunch of big words at you, what about science class? That's where you'll learn the meaning of words like photosynthesis, symbiosis, meiosis and mitosis. History will teach you about amendments and pharaohs. Math is the class to learn about hypotenuses and circumferences and English is the class where you'll forget how to spell everything and fail your vocabulary test.
But if you didn't forget everything, this is the quiz for you. A lot of vocabulary is taught during high school. Let's see what you know.
Incognito is an adjective that describes someone whose identity is hidden. It is also a noun that defines a false identity. Using a privacy browser to surf the web is commonly known as browsing incognito.
Humans have two sets of 23 chromosomes to total 46 chromosomes. The structure carries the genetic instructions for living things and can be found in almost every living thing. Some animals have hundreds of chromosomes and some only have a few.
Equinox stems from the Latin words aequus and nox, which mean equal and night. The equinox is the day of the year when night and day are equal length. There are two equinoxes each year (in September and March).
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Usurp is a verb meaning to illegally take something by using force, and the person who does the usurping is known as a usurper. Common synonyms for usurp are overthrow, oust, topple, unseat or dethrone.
A filibuster is a political tactic that weaponizes speech to obstruct opposing legislation. Politicians use filibusters all the time in an attempt to block legislation they oppose. Senator Strom Thurmond holds the record for longest filibuster at more than 24 hours. He did this in 1957.
An epiphany is a sudden realization and it stems from the Greek word meaning to reveal. The Epiphany is a religious holiday that commemorates the day Jesus Christ was revealed as the human incarnation of God.
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Eclectic is an adjective that is commonly used interchangeably with weird or unusual, but it actually describes something that is influenced by a wide variety of sources. Someone who likes music of every genre has an eclectic taste in music. Someone who likes burp music has a weird taste in music.
A yacht is defined as a medium-sized sailboat but most people today are familiar with super yachts measuring hundreds of feet long and fully equipped with jet skis, elevators, swimming pools and more. It is a luxury water vehicle.
Nonsectarian is an adjective that describes anyone or anything that is not associated with a specific religious or political sect. Sectarian is an adjective that means the opposite of nonsectarian. Sectarian can also be a noun that defines a member of a sect.
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Paradigm in this sentence is used as a synonym for model. The word is a noun that defines an example or pattern. The "g" is silent and the only way to know that is by knowing the word and the weird rules of the English language.
Photosynthesis is a process plants use to convert sunlight into energy. The word is a noun and it has Greek roots meaning to assemble with the help of light. Synthesis is the conversion of one chemical into another and photo is something produced by light.
Hubris is a noun meaning excessive confidence and is also known as conceit or being cocky. There's a very thin line between confidence and hubris and it could be the difference between being liked or hated.
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Chicanery is a noun that defines trickery for financial or political gain. Chicanery isn't simple trickery for the sake of trickery but is sophisticated, calculated and strategic trickery for some type of gain at another's loss.
Shakespeare was well known for his use of soliloquy and his plays, "Romeo and Juliet," "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" are all famous for their soliloquies. Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy might be the most famous soliloquy in the history of literature.
Symbiosis is the interaction between organisms living in close quarters with each other. The relationship is called a symbiotic relationship and is usually beneficial to all parties involved. There are plenty of symbiotic relationships in the world.
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A virtuoso is someone who is highly skilled in a particular art. The word stems from 16th century Italian and was used to distinguish someone with impeccable artistic talent. The plural form of the word is virtuosi or virtuosos.
Gerrymandering is a political tactic used to manipulate voting districts by literally redrawing district boundaries. There are many ways the political parties in control can employ gerrymandering tactics, and although unethical, they're widely used.
Nihilism is the philosophical viewpoint that rejects the desire of many things in life. The philosophy has been debated for centuries and somewhat resembles parts of Buddhism that reject all desire and satisfaction.
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A genre is a category of art works. Horror is a genre of film, classical is a genre of music, cubism is a genre of painting and romance is a genre of fiction. Genre can simply be used as another word for category or type.
Loquacious is an adjective used to describe someone who talks a lot. Its synonyms are verbose, wordy and talkative, and it isn't used as a compliment. Loquacious people don't just talk a lot. They talk excessively.
Nomenclature is the standard lexicon of a specific field or industry. It is similar to jargon, but jargon tends to border on slang. Nomenclature, however, is more formal and official. To be a successful lawyer, you need to know the nomenclature.
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Jejune is an adjective and in this sentence, it describes something that is boring, dull, uninteresting, or tedious. Jejune lectures are the least fun part of college. The word can also be used as an adjective that means naive, superficial, or simplistic.
Mitosis is a five-step process in biology where one cell splits into two identical cells. It is the opposite action of meiosis, which is the process in which a chromosome is reduced in half so it can bind to its counterpart.
To kowtow means to act in an excessively subservient manner. The Cantonese phrase kau tau means to bow so low in admiration of someone that your forehead hits the ground. Someone who kowtows is known as a kowtow.
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The longest side of a right angle, which is the side directly opposite of the right angle, is called the hypotenuse. The word originated in the 16th century but is of little use in everyday speech. It is rarely used outside of geometry.
The Renaissance was one of the most important explosions of art, math and science the world has ever seen. Name anything that was invented, created or discovered and there's a good chance it happened during the Renaissance.
Undulate is a verb meaning to move up and down in a smooth motion. If you can roll your belly, you're undulating your belly. As you watch waves form, swell and crash in the ocean, you're watching the water undulate.
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Laissez-faire is a noun. It stems from a French businessman in the 17th century who was known for his laid back attitude to complex matters. The term eventually gained traction and is used to define things like government policies and economic strategy.
To cite something means to reference someone or something. Cite can also be used as an abbreviation for citation. A site is a location and a sight is something that someone sees. They can't be used interchangeably.
There are close to 3,000 official emojis in today's language and there have been about 1,000 Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs discovered. Hieroglyphics were the Ancient Egyptian formal writing system and they consisted of pictograms similar to today's emojis.
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Facetious is an adjective that describes the act of responding to a serious issue with inappropriate humor. Some people laugh when they're nervous or embarrassed or don't know what to do, but that is different than being facetious, which is like being flippant or glib.
Tautology is the practice of redundancy, i.e., the useless repetition of words and phrases. The above sentence is full of redundant words and should read: Each person found a surprise. Tautology is also known as redundancy or superfluity.
Deign is a verb meaning to do something one thinks is beneath their worth. Jessica might not feel like the taxi driver is equal to her and can't even fathom having a conversation with him, let alone being caught actually having one.
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A guerrilla is a noun defining the member of a military group that engages in guerrilla warfare. The word is a tricky one to spell but just remember it has two "r"s and two "l"s. A gorilla is a type of ape that lives in Africa.
Gauche (pronounced gosh) is an adjective that describes unease, gracelessness and social awkwardness. Someone who has gauche table manners is someone who has no grace at the table and may make others feel uncomfortable.