WordMasters Challenge #2

WORDMASTERS
CHALLENGE #2
FEBRUARY, 2014
1. HABITAT - NOUN
• The place or environment where an animal or plant
naturally occurs.
• Related Forms:
-habitable – capable of
being lived in
-habitation – a dwelling
place, occupancy,
residency, settlement
2. FLINCH – VERB, NOUN
• Verb - to shrink from or as if in pain
• Noun – the act of shrinking or wincing
from pain
• Synonym: wince
3. ALIEN – NOUN, ADJECTIVE
• Noun – a foreign-born resident who has
not been naturalized; extraterrestrial
• Adjective – belonging to another (land, world,
viewpoint, concept, etc.)
• syn. foreign, exotic
• Related forms:
alienate – to make hostile;
estrange
alienable – transferable
to another’s ownership
4. CATASTROPHE - NOUN
• A great disaster or misfortune; utter failure
• Related Forms:
• catastrophic – adjective
• catastrophically – adverb
5. GNAW - VERB
• to consume, wear away, or make by persistent
biting or nibbling; to affect as if by gnawing
• Related form:
• gnawer - noun
6. DAINTY - ADJECTIVE
• something delicious or pleasing to the taste;
synonym: delicacy
• delicately pretty; having or showing delicate taste;
synonym: choice, delicate, exquisite, rare
Related forms:
Dainty,-ier,-est; daintily – adverb; daintiness – noun
delicate, not dainty!
7. FLAW - NOUN
• A small often hidden defect
• Related forms:
• flawless – adjective; flawlessly – adverb;
flawlessness - noun
8. QUIBBLE – NOUN, VERB
• Noun – an evasion of or shifting from the point at
issue; a minor objection or criticism
• Verb – arguing or objecting over a minor issue
• Related form: quibbler - noun
9. INFIRM - ADJECTIVE
• deficient in vitality; especially, feeble from age;
• weak of mind, will or character; irresolute
• not solid or stable; insecure
•
Related forms:
•
Infirmary – a place to care for the sick
•
Infirmity – feebleness, disease, ailment;
personal failure
10. CYCLONE - NOUN
• A storm or system of winds that rotates about a
center of low atmospheric pressure, and advances
at about 20 - 30 miles per hour (30 – 50 kilometers per hour)
• Used in meteorology to name any closed, low pressure
circulation, including, more specifically tornado
• Related forms:
• Cyclonic – adjective
• Cyclotron – noun - a device for giving high
speed to charged particles by magnetic
and electric fields
11. APPROACH – VERB, NOUN
• Verb – to move nearer to; to be almost the same
as; to make advances to, especially for the purpose
of creating a desired result; to take preliminary steps
toward
• Noun – an established course for traveling from one
place to another; airport approach
• synonyms: path, route, way
• Related form:
• approachable - adjective
12. DEFIANT - ADJECTIVE
• Full of defiance; synonyms - bold, impudent
• Related form:
• defiance – noun – challenge; disposition to resist or
contend
• defiantly - adverb
13. INVALID –ADJECTIVE, NOUN, VERB
• Adjective – 1. being without foundation or force in
fact, reason or law; 2. being in ill health; sickly
• Noun – a person in usually chronic ill health
• Verb – to remove from active duty by reason of
sickness or disability; to make sickly or disabled
• Related forms: invalidism – noun;
invalidate – verb – to make invalid;
to weaken or make valueless
14. PARE - VERB
• To trim off an outside part of something (such as the
skin or a rind)- syn. peel; to reduce as if by paring
(e.g. paring expenses)- syn. cut, trim, reduce
• Related forms:
• paring (knife); parer – noun
15. INEPT - ADJECTIVE
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•
•
lacking in fitness or aptitude; unfit
foolish
being out of place; inappropriate
generally incompetent; bungling
• Related forms:
• Ineptly (adv.), ineptness (n), ineptitude (n)
– esp. incompetence
16. MISHAP - NOUN
• an unfortunate accident
17. SCOUR - VERB
• To rub (as with a gritty substance) in order to clean;
to cleanse by, or as if by rubbing
• To move rapidly through; rush; to examine
thoroughly
• Related forms: scouring (verb, adjective), scoured
18. HYBRID – NOUN, ADJECTIVE
Noun - an offspring of genetically differing parents,
(as members of different breeds or species.)
Adjective - Someone or something of mixed origin or
composition.
Related forms:
hybridization (n); hybridize (v);
hybridizer (n)
19. UPROAR - NOUN
• A state of commotion, excitement, or violent
disturbance
• Related Forms:
• uproarious (adj.) – marked by uproar; uproariously
(adv.)
• - extremely funny
20. NIBBLE – NOUN, VERB
• Noun – a small or cautious bite
• Verb – to bite gently, or bit by bit
• Related Forms:
• nibbled, nibbling
21. BLEAK - ADJECTIVE
• desolately barren, and often windswept
• lacking warm or cheering qualities
• Related Forms:
• bleakly (adv.), bleakness (n)
22. QUARRY – NOUN, VERB
• Noun – game hunted with hawks; prey
• Noun – an open excavation usually for obtaining
building stone or limestone.
• Verb – the act of obtaining stone, as above
23. RAMBLE – NOUN, VERB
• Verb – to go about aimlessly; roam, wander
• Noun – a excursion, especially an aimless walk
• Related Forms:
• rambler (n), rambled, rambling
24. DOGGED – ADJECTIVE, VERB
• stubbornly determined; tenacious
• dog (v.); dogged (v, past tense); dogging (v) – to
hunt or track like a hound; to worry as if by pursuit
with dogs; to plague
• Related forms:
• doggedly (adv.), doggedness (n)
25. WITHDRAW - VERB
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•
•
•
•
to take back or away; remove
to call back (as from consideration); retract
to go away; leave; retreat
to terminate one’s participation in,
or use of, something
• Related Forms:
• withdrew; withdrawing
• withdrawn (adj.) isolated, secluded, socially detached and
unresponsive
• withdrawal (n) – the taking away of something (e.g. withdrawal from
a bank account); the discontinuance of use of a drug; also the
period following that discontinuance, which is marked by painful
physiological and psychological symptoms