12 higher-level words - test yourself!

to intervene – to get involved in a situation in order to resolve it

to exacerbate – to make something worse

to impeach – to remove a president who had committed a crime; or, to cast doubt on a statement

to absolve – to provide forgiveness for some wrong action, to make someone pure again

to feel antipathy for s/t – not to like something

primitive – very old, original, not modern

sanctioned – approved

analgesic – something that reduces pain

punitive – something done as a punishment

meticulous – very detailed

belligerent – warlike, aggressive

a harbinger – something that predicts something else

 

1. I felt that my back pain was probably not due to anything serious, so I just went to the pharmacy and bought an over-the-counter ______________. 

2. Some people believe that the USA should act as the world’s ‘policeman’ and it should ___________ in any situation around the world where there is trouble. 

3. I saw some of the old space capsules from the 1960s at a museum.  I looked into the capsule and saw the wiring/circuits.  I was shocked by how ____________ it all looked compared to today’s technology. 

4. When Richard Nixon received a presidential pardon from President Gerald Ford, Nixon was ___________ of all guilt that he might have had due to the Watergate scandal. 

5. When the dictator used a small amount of chemical weapons to attack the rebels, the US was afraid this might be a ______________ of even worse actions.  Therefore they sought military intervention. 

6. The Republicans in Congress did not try to ___________ Bill Clinton because he had had an affair with one of his young interns.  They claimed he had lied to Congress about the affair. 

7. These days Sweden is not known as a __________ country. Yet, in the past, Sweden had a huge military and fought with the great powers of Europe.

8. I told Bob not to scratch his itch, but he did and he only _____________ the problem. 

9. Sometimes a bride’s family will feel some amount of _________ for the groom (and vice versa).  Yet, everyone has to learn to live together peacefully in a family. 

10. Bob was one of the best auditors at his company.  He was super ___________ and would spend as much time as needed to go over all the details to make sure he was doing a good job. 

11. The boxing match was just an exhibition because it had not been ____________ by the appropriate boxing authority. 

12. In a courtroom the judge or jury can award ____________ damages.  This means that one party has done something so wrong that he/she should be punished and the other person should receive extra money.  (In court, 'damages' refers to the amount of money a victim will receive to make the victim feel better about what had happened.)

 

Answers are below:

 

 

 

 

Answers:

 

1. analgesic

2. intervene

3. primitive

4. absolved

5. harbinger

6. impeach

7. belligerent

8. exacerbated

9. antipathy

10. meticulous

11. sanctioned

12. punitive