In each of the following questions, out of the given alternatives,choose the one which best expresses the meaning of the given word.
Urbane
Answer: C
It is polished.
Urbane means courteous and refined in manner, from the Latin urbs, city - the polish supposed to come from town life. Well-dressed describes appearance rather than manner.
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Pertinent
Answer: C
It is applicable.
Pertinent means relevant to the matter in hand, from the Latin for reaching to. Convincing describes the force of an argument rather than its relevance.
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Befit
Answer: C
It is suit.
To befit is to be suitable or proper for. Effect, meaning to bring about, merely resembles it.
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Facetious
Answer: D
It is witty.
Facetious means treating a serious matter with inappropriate humour. Complimentary is its opposite in intent; the word is not praise, and carries a mild reproach.
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Conjecture
Answer: C
It is to guess.
To conjecture is to form an opinion on incomplete evidence. To claim asserts it as fact, which is precisely what conjecture does not do.
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Zenith
Answer: A
It is the highest point.
The zenith is the point of the sky directly overhead, and figuratively the peak of anything. Its opposite is the nadir, the point directly beneath. Both words came into English from Arabic astronomy.
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Stupefy
Answer: A
It is make dull.
To stupefy is to make someone unable to think or feel clearly, from the same Latin root as stupid and stupor. Talking nonsense is what a stupefied person might do, not what the word means.
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Nebulous
Answer: C
It is cloudy.
Nebulous means hazy and indistinct, from the Latin nebula, a cloud - the same word astronomers use. Eternal has nothing to do with it.
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Malediction
Answer: A
It is curse.
Malediction is from the Latin for speaking ill, and is the opposite of benediction. An epitaph is written on a grave; a tactless remark is merely clumsy.
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Chronic
Answer: A
It is lasting a long time.
Chronic means persisting over a long period, from the Greek chronos, time - the opposite of acute in medicine. Occasionally describes frequency, not duration.
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