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About This Quiz
We've compiled a series of seven-letter words for you to seriously E-X-A-M-I-N-E. This vocabulary quiz may seem like a simple feat, but don't let the B-R-E-V-I-T-Y of the chosen words fool you. These words are used regularly, but many folks confuse their meanings. Do you have what it takes to score more with each question? Take this quiz and see!
As with any word test, deconstructing root words from prefixes and suffixes will help tremendously. The prefix "ex-" usually means "not," "out" or "through." "Re-" typically repeats the root word. For example, "repeat" means to "say something again." "Re-" literally means "back" and "peat" is taken from the Latin, "petere," which means "seek." Technically, the person receiving a repeated expression is ultimately "seeking" to hear it said "back."Â
Did you enjoy that word deconstruction warm-up? We hope so because the words in this quiz will require lots of enthusiasm, B-E-C-A-U-S-E this seven-letter vocabulary can get difficult. To reward you for your mental effort, we've paired answers with explanations designed to help you retain this knowledge. We've selected examples straight from a few master wordsmiths of our time. You'll see how analysts, critics and novelists articulate the events of past, present and future using seven-lettered selections. It's all really fascinating stuff!
Take your time to build up a brilliant seven-letter word vocabulary with our word drill. Share with your friends so that you can start verbalizing these terms immediately!
Can you pick the adjective that means "pressing, requiring prompt attention"?
Plaudit
Rescind
Portent
Exigent
The U.S. Supreme Court Kentucky v. King 2011 ruling holds that "the exigent circumstances rule applies when the police do not gain entry to the premises by means of an actual or threatened violation of the Fourth Amendment." Thus, warrantless entry for the sake of saving evidence is deemed valid.
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"A total disaster" is a what?
Onerous
Modicum
Debacle
Pakistan's Hamoodur Rehman Inquiry Commission determined that an intimate group of generals be tried for a debacle that occurred during the Indo-Pakistani War. The Commission concluded that in December 1971, Eastern Pakistani troops surrendered without official orders to do so.
Noisome
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Of the following choices, which verb means "to enchant or charm a person in a deceptive way"?
Beguile
In the mid-1990s, the Burmese regime of southeast Asia sought to beguile outside critics by easing its rhetoric concerning then-jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The regime had censured severely the leader who eventually won political power in the country, also called Myanmar.
Noxious
Panacea
Laconic
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"A solution for all ills" defines which of these choices?
Consign
Panacea
In 2010, Thailand's New Politics Party of the People's Alliance for Democracy warned that the Thai government not perceive new national reform panels as a panacea for the country's social ills. New Politics Party leader Suriyasai Katasila was skeptical, asserting that the panels wouldn't help much.
Exigent
Defunct
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Can you identify the synonym for "inactive"?
Impinge
Swarthy
Freedom
Defunct
The General National Congress, Libya's defunct parliament, issued a letter to the European Parliament concerning its advice and stance on the 21st-century Libyan crisis. The former legislative body emphasized its support of a united Libya.
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Something "deserving of pity" is what?
Hapless
In 2005, a customer seeking to open an account in a Manhattan bank was arrested promptly on several counts of bank robbery. The hapless customer was the victim of mistaken identity. He bore a striking resemblance to a thief who had robbed several area banks.
Surfeit
Puerile
Stamina
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"To imitate" is to do what?
Winsome
Presage
Impinge
Emulate
Richard Stagg, the former British ambassador to Afghanistan, praised the Afghan National Cricket Team for its 2016 achievements. Stagg recommended that the Afghan government emulate the unity that the team had demonstrated in order to achieve wins.
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Do you recognize the word that means "secretly conspire to cause harm"?
Surfeit
Impinge
Connive
In 2014, U.S. Congress members met with the 14th Dalai Lama, a proponent of complete autonomy for China-controlled Tibet. A China spokesperson criticized the U.S., saying "stop interfering in China's internal affairs...cease to connive and support anti-China separatist forces ..."
Expunge
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"Scarcity" is the same as what?
Paucity
In 1998, Canadian Senator Anne Cools made a fervent speech to the Canadian Senate regarding the country's Divorce Act. Cools criticized the country's hushed stance regarding divorce cases, stating, "This silence is indicative of our human paucity, the paucity and imperfections of human nature ..."
Plaudit
Mawkish
Fatuous
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How would you describe "a succinct writing or speaking style"?
Protean
Noisome
Laconic
In 2004, the Filipino Reporter reflected on the terse campaign style of former actor and Philippine presidential frontrunner Fernando Poe Jr. The New York City publication expounded, "[Poe's] laconic speeches do not provide a clue to his economic, social and political programs."
Hapless
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H-A-R-M-F-U-L is synonymous with which other seven-letter word?
Mawkish
Exigent
Puerile
Noxious
A 2008 article in the Statesman Journal warned Oregon residents to be careful when shopping for plants. The yellow flag iris plant was quarantined in the state because it had been deemed a "noxious weed" and an "aggressive invader."
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"To wipe out, delete or efface" is the definition for which of these choices?
Rescind
Expunge
In 2010, the Wisconsin Bar Association implored judges to expunge easily accessible law records that were susceptible to abuse, even if it meant acting beyond state statute limitations. Judges in the state had already been deleting the records of juvenile offenders who had committed minor crimes.
Expiate
Espouse
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Can you choose the adjective that means "feebly sentimental"?
Onerous
Laconic
Defunct
Mawkish
A 1998 item published in London's Financial Times gave commentary concerning Boris Yeltsin's choice for Russian prime minister. Included in the article was a brief analysis of Russia's foreign policy, which the publication styled as "hawkish in rhetoric - however mawkish it may be in practice."
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The antonym for "reject" is what seven-letter word?
Connive
Espouse
American author Suzanne La Follette, in her 1926 work "Concerning Women," wrote, "Most people, no doubt, when they espouse human rights, make their own mental reservations about the proper application of the word 'human.'" In her book, La Follette champions women's rights.
Expiate
Censure
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Can you identify the noun that means "warning or sign for an impending calamitous event"?
Portent
American screenwriter and novelist Larry McMurty penned "self-parody is the first portent of age" in his 2010 book, "Some Can Whistle." In the novel, McMurty tells a tragic Texas tale about the pitfalls tagged to growing older and wiser.
Expunge
Censure
Emulate
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Of the following choices, which word means "silly and nonsensical"?
Mawkish
Exigent
Fatuous
English journalist Rod Liddle was self-critical in his written rant titled "Fatuous Phrase of the Week" in which he reconciles his failure to produce the column, as he was distracted by trivial issues. A few of the terms that Liddle characterized as silly are "wrong side of history" and "community."
Protean
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"To affect negatively" is the definition for what seven-letter verb?
Impinge
A 2005 EIU ViewsWire story about South Korean politics took notice of looming issues that have agitated the country's business sector in light of its close proximity to North Korea. Concerning the North's curfew law, the article states, "[i]t did not impinge ... in the South, it was business as usual."
Espouse
Debauch
Presage
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"Possessing a repulsive smell" or something that is "unpleasant" are definitions that match the adjective, ________.
Onerous
Noisome
Journalist Michael Gartner offered an illuminating analysis of the word "noisome" in a 1988 Orlando Sentinel article titled "Noisome Has Nothing to Do With Noise." Gartner explains, "Odors are noisome, and urchins are noisome, and slums are noisome, but silence isn't noisome ..."
Laconic
Fatuous
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Do you recognize the seven-letter word that means "ever-changing"?
Hapless
Laconic
Protean
Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton coined the phrase, "The Protean Self," in his 1993 text of the same name. In the journal Research in African Literatures, David Dimeo describes the 20th century African "protean man" as "incapable of speaking for his fellow Nubians, who remain voiceless subalterns ..."
Noisome
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"An irritation or offense" is the meaning of ________.
Freedom
Stamina
Panacea
Umbrage
In a 2010 piece, Politico reporter Michael Kinsley defines what he terms an "epidemic of umbrage" in American politics. Kinsley says: "Umbrage is the engine that moves election campaigns and the fodder that feeds the media's politics maw."
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"Repeal" and "revoke" are synonyms for what seven-letter verb?
Surfeit
Rescind
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rescinded Obama-era guidelines that had served to more directly address sexual violence cases that occur on American campuses. DeVos also aims to overturn the gainful employment rule that requires schools to monitor the ​debt-to-income rates of their graduates.
Impinge
Emulate
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Can you match the definition "to formally criticize harshly" to one of the these words?
Consign
Modicum
Censure
The term "censure" was used frequently during the 1998 and 1999 impeachment hearings for former President Bill Clinton. The U.S. House of Representatives fervently debated whether censure was a viable alternative to impeachment.
Connive
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"Lot," "whole" and "entirety" are antonyms for the seven-letter noun, ________.
Protean
Modicum
Writer Doug Smith instructs Arkansas Times readers on the proper use of the word "modicum" in a 2006 article. Smith informs that "[m]odicum is a noun meaning 'a moderate or small amount.' It's preceded by a, not the, and it's not a word to describe a person ..."
Panacea
Debacle
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The verb means "to corrupt." The noun is defined as "a stint of indulgence." What is the best choice for these two definitions?
Surfeit
Winsome
Expiate
Debauch
Writer Andrew Barr gives commentary about alcohol and American cultural history in a 1999 book titled, "Drink: A Social History of America." Barr writes, "Americans have never outgrown their tendency to oscillate between binge drinking and abstinence, between debauch and ineffectual puritanism."
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A seven-letter word that means "to atone for sin" is which of the following choices?
Censure
Presage
Beguile
Expiate
The Economist magazine published a 1995 write-up examining the Bosnian government's culpability in the country's 20th-century war. The article suggests, "a truly democratic federation, generous towards the Serbs and Croats ... could expiate some of the sins ..."
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A person who is "immature" can also be called what?
Puerile
Satisfactory use of the word "puerile" is demonstrated in a review of the less-than-high-brow art history book, "Art For Dummies." About the book, critic Douglas Smith writes, "The sole drawbacks are the insulting series title ... and the collection of pithy, puerile cartoons that epigrammatically open each chapter."
Maudlin
Onerous
Swarthy
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Do you know the seven-letter adjective that means "naively charming"?
Puerile
Mawkish
Maudlin
Winsome
In her review of Anne de Courcy's "Daddy's Girl," New Statesman reviewer Lillian Pizzichini gives her own biographical account of the book's subject, former heiress Diana Mosley. Pizzichini comments, "She married at 18 to the worshipful, winsome and rather weedy Bryan Guinness."
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"To predict that something bad will happen" is the same as what seven-letter verb?
Impinge
Debauch
Connive
Presage
Writer Georgie Anne Geyer compares past events to 21st-century horrors in the Middle East. In a 2004 Chicago Tribune article, Geyer considers that the '80s saw the emergence of the Islamic group in the region, which "would come to presage ... many of the tactics of today's 'terrorists.'"
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Which of these seven-letter choices means "crushingly oppressive"?
Puerile
Paucity
Onerous
Brian Concannon Jr. expounds on Haiti's national debt crisis in a 2006 Boston Haitian Reporter article titled "Apre Bal, Tanbou Lou." Concannon discusses that "[o]nerous debt is one that a poor country simply cannot afford to repay without making life unacceptably difficult for its citizens."
Noisome
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A "dark-skinned" person has what kind of skin?
Swarthy
In a 1998 issue of Interrace, Christopher Appling offers insight concerning the alleged hidden heritage of some of America's former presidents. Appling refers to the 16th president as "Abraham Africanus the First," urging that Lincoln's father was of "swarthy complexion ​..."
Winsome
Maudlin
Onerous
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Do you recognize the seven-letter term that means "acclamation"?
Plaudit
In a review of Louis Auchincloss' book titled, "Theodore Roosevelt," Gilbert Taylor from The Booklist reconsiders Auchincloss' reasons for praising the former U.S. president. For Gilbert, "it was TR's vigorous leadership as a progressive president ... that earns him the plaudit."
Portent
Panacea
Modicum
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"To consume in excess" defines the verb; "surplus" is synonymous with the noun. Can you match these definitions to the correct seven-letter word?
Protean
Fatuous
Surfeit
In 1998, journalist Richard Dooling of the New York Times explored possible causes for former U.S. President Bill Clinton's "unpopular impeachment." In an article, Dooling blames "the surfeit of intrusive laws that would make criminals of almost anyone the Government decides to investigate."
Modicum
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Do you know the word that also means "endurance"?
Stamina
Tanya Lehr, a writer for Horse & Rider magazine, reviews the American Morgan breed of horse. Lehr comments in a 1999 issue: "This is a suitable breed for you if your horse-shopping checklist includes: versatility ... intelligence; loyalty; stamina; ability to adapt to different riding levels ..."
Maudlin
Debauch
Beguile
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"Dependence" and "captivity" are opposite meanings of which seven-letter noun?
Paucity
Protean
Umbrage
Freedom
In his "I Have a Dream" speech, Martin Luther King Jr. nuanced the meaning of freedom as it relates to the nation's oppressed groups. King expressed empathy: "Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution ..."
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"Excessively sentimental" defines the seven-letter adjective, ________.
Winsome
Maudlin
In a review of an art show held at London's Barbican Art Gallery in 1995, The Economist magazine references the work of English artists. The magazine submits that "the pictures of many of the English artists are derivative and maudlin. They lack ... swift delight in heightened sensation ..."
Portent
Defunct
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You Got:
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