English: Word Usage Questions Set 4

For each of the words given below, a contextual usage is provided. From the alternatives given, pick the word that is the most inappropriate as a substitute in the given context and mark its number as your answer.

1. Brusque: She asked for a cup of coffee and received a brusque reply: “We don’t have any.”
   A) Crusty
   B) Churlish
   C) Genial
   D) Uncivil
   
   View Answer

   Option C
   Explanation : Brusque means rude so it can be crusty (irritable, curt, tough) ; churlish (crude, rude, tough) ; uncivil but can’t be genial that means amiable / friendly.
2. Tenacious:  Your grandfather can narrate stories about his childhood in excruciating detail because he has a tenacious memory.
   A) Dogged
   B) Flaccid
   C) Pertinacious
   D) Stubborn
   
   View Answer

      Option B
   Explanation : tenacious means firm/strong so it can be used interchangeably with dogged (determined, persistent, resolute) , pertinacious (resolute) , stubborn ( inflexible ) but not with Flaccid ( loose /limp )
3. Dapper: They went to where they found the dapper warriors standing in the court in a great press of welcoming knights.
   A) Elegant
   B) Unkempt
   C) neat
   D) Spruce
   
   View Answer

      Option B
   Explanation : Dapper means fashionable/tidy so it can mean elegant , neat and spruce ( well groomed ) but not Unkempt that means messy/ disheveled.
   
4. Derision: The inept performance elicited derision from the audience.
   A) Approval
   B) Mockery
   C) Scorn
   D) Disrespect
   
   View Answer

      Option A
   Explanation : Derision means ridicule , it can mean Mockery ( scoffing) , Scorn ( disrespect ) , disrespect but not Approval.
5. Bucolic:  They are both in the study of my old farmhouse, in a room that has three nice sized windows, each with a lovely, bucolic view.
   A) Arcadian
   B) Pastoral
   C) Metropolitan
   D) Rustic
   
   View Answer

      Option C
   Explanation : Bucolic is rural/rustic , synonyms are Arcadian (rural) , Pastoral and  Rustic ( rural )  
6. Bicker :A pair of student leaders sit inches away from each other and bicker about the region Telangana becoming a separate state.
   A) Argue
   B) Wrangle
   C) Squabble
   D) Reconcile
   
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      Option D
   Explanation : Bicker means quarrel/argument , it can mean Argue , Wrangle ( quarrel) and squabble ( argue) but not reconcile .
7. Derelict : Today, all that remains of these Jewish holiday centers is a constellation of derelict buildings.
   A) vagrant
   B) remiss
   C) Inhabited
   D) Deserted
   
   View Answer

      Option  C
   Explanation : Derelict means abandoned , Vagrant ( homeless) , Deserted ( desolate ) ,  remiss ( negligent ) , Inhabited is wrong here.
8. Besmirch : Do honest men, believing in themselves, besmirch their own honor by deliberate lying?
   A) Vilify
   B) Asperse
   C) Slander
   D) clean
   
   View Answer

      Option  D
   Explanation : Besmirch means malign so it can be vilify ( disparage  ), Asperse ( criticize ) , Slander ( defame )
   
9. Debauch: So far as I could judge, he had entirely recovered from his debauch.
   A) Pervert
   B) Exalt
   C) Debase
   D) Warp
   
   View Answer

      Option  B
   Explanation : Debauch means to lower in character, dignity ; so it can be Pervert ( corrupt ) , Debase ( dishonor ) ,Warp ( damage )  but can’t be Exalt ( praise )
10. Bigot :He was a bigot, but he understood, correctly, that reproductive issues are often global.
    A) Liberal
    B) Partisan
    C) Adherent
    D) Dogmatist
    
    View Answer

       Option  A
    Explanation : Bigot means a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.
    Partisan means  follower , Dogmatist means racist/hypocrite ,  Liberal  is wrong here .