Vocabulary Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers on Vocabulary

Question 1 : Does  a biennial event occur more or less often than a biannual event?

Answer : A biennial event occurs less often than a biannual event. Biennial means “occurring every two years.” Biannual means “occurring twice a year.”

Question 2 : A gastronome, a gourmet, and a gourmand come to your house for dinner. Who has the worst manners?

Answer : The gourmand will probably have the worst manners, since he or she expresses his or her love of food in a piggish or gluttonous manner.

Question 3 :  Pick ten words form the list of one thousand that you should know. Look them up and write their definitions down.

Answer : This is a do-it-yourself question.

Question 4 : What is an eponym?

Answer : An eponym is a word, such as maverick, that has come into the language from a person’s proper name.

Question 5 :  What’s an enfant terrible, and what is the country of origin of the phrase?

Answer : An enfant terrible is, literally, a terrible child. We often use it to describe artists or celebrities who behave in an infantile manner.

Question 6 :  What’s wrong with the word co-conspirator?

Answer : The prefix co- is redundant. The simple noun conspirator provides all the information we need.

Question 7 :  What do the psychologists call  a fear of bees?

Answer : They call this fear apiphobia.

Question 8 :  Is the description “cold as hell” a palindrome or an oxymoron?

Answer : It’s an oxymoron, a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms. Since hell is hot, how can it be cold? A palindrome is a word, phrase, or sentence that reads the same forwards and backwards.

Question 9 :  If I repeat something, have I iterated it or reiterated it?

Answer : I have only iterated it. I must repeat it again to reiterate it.

Question 10 :  Does one immigrate or emigrate from Texas to Idaho?

Answer : One emigrates from Texas and immigrates into Idaho.