Quiz Monkey
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Quiz Monkey |
This page gives the definitions and meanings of some less-known adjectives. (It's like Definitions and Meanings, but for adjectives.)
| Last but two |
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Antepenultimate |
| Capable of being broken down by living organisms |
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Biodegradable |
| Capable of being drawn to a longer length without breaking |
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Ductile |
| Choosing the best from everything |
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Eclectic |
| Ploughed land that hasn’t been tilled or sown for at least one year |
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Fallow |
| Describes a domestic animal gone wild |
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Feral |
| Describes the Moon when more than half illuminated (from the Latin for "humped") |
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Gibbous |
| Means 'of or relating to a governor' – especially in American politics |
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Gubernatorial |
| Describes full–cream milk that's been processed in a way that stops the cream from rising to the top |
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Homogenised |
| Capable of grasping (particularly applied to the tails of certain animals, especially monkeys; also related to a verb meaning to grasp something mentally) |
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Prehensile |
| Describes an offering to a supernatural being (in Christian worship, usually used for candles lit to offer a prayer for the dead) |
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Votive |
| Austral |
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Southern |
| Boreal |
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Northern |
| Oriental |
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Eastern |
| Occidental |
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Western |
| Abyssal: of or pertaining to |
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The bottom of the ocean | |
| Aeolian: of or pertaining to |
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Wind | |
| Alate: having |
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Wings | |
| Alluvial |
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Deposited by rivers or floods | |
| Aneroid |
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Without air | |
| Anthropophagous |
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Man–eating | |
| Arboreal: of or pertaining to (esp. living in) |
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Trees | |
| Brachial: pertaining to the |
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Arm(s) | |
| Cadasteral (map) |
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Large scale (shows individual properties) | |
| Cardiform |
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Heart–shaped | |
| Caseous |
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Cheesy | |
| Ceraceous |
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Waxy | |
| Cordate |
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Heart–shaped | |
| Cerulean (sih–ROO–lee–uhn) is a shade of |
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Blue | |
| Congruous |
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Suitable | |
| Crapulous |
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Drunk |
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| Crepuscular: relating to the time of |
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Twilight | |
| Dirigible |
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Capable of being steered | |
| Diurnal |
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Daily (by day) |
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| Edentate (of a type of animal) |
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Lacking teeth | |
| Edentulous (of a person) |
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Lacking teeth | |
| Eidetic |
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Vividly clear (esp. as in memory) | |
| Ephemeral (precise original meaning) |
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Lasting only one day | |
| Episcopal: of or pertaining to a |
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Bishop | |
| Epistolary (of a novel or poem) |
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Written as a series of letters | |
| Equi–pondurate |
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Of equal weight | |
| Friable |
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Easily crumbled or powdered | |
| Gravid |
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Pregnant | |
| Hebdomadal |
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Weekly | |
| Hepatic: pertaining to the (bodily organ) |
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Liver | |
| Hibernal: pertaining to |
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Winter | |
| Hippocrepian |
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Horseshoe–shaped | |
| Immutable |
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Unchanging | |
| Inchoate (of a document – will, etc.) |
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Incomplete | |
| Infundibular |
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Funnel–shaped | |
| Jovial: of or pertaining to |
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Jupiter (leader of the Roman gods) | |
| Labial: pertaining to the |
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Lips | |
| Lapidarian: of or pertaining to |
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Stones | |
| Ligneous |
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Woody | |
| Littoral: of or pertaining to a |
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Shore | |
| Loquacious |
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Talkative | |
| Maigre (of a diet): contains no |
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Meat | |
| Marmoreal: of or pertaining to |
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Marble | |
| Melanistic |
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Black (in biology – having excess melanin) | |
| Mendacious |
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Lying, deceitful | |
| Mendicant |
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Begging | |
| Miscible |
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Capable of mixing | |
| Monomymous |
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Known by a one-word name (e.g. Elvis, Eusebio, Hitler) | |
| Motley (used as an adjective) |
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Multicoloured or heterogeneous | |
| Nubile |
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Marriageable (suitable for marriage) | |
| Occipital: pertaining to |
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The back of the head | |
| Olfactory: pertaining to |
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Smell (sense of) | |
| Otic: pertaining to (part of body) |
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The ear | |
| Paschal: pertaining to |
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Easter (or Passover) | |
| Pectoral: of or pertaining to the |
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Chest | |
| Pellucid |
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Translucent | |
| Piliferous |
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Hairy | |
| Plantar: of or pertaining to the |
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Sole(s) of the foot (or feet) | |
| Pluvial: pertaining to |
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Rainfall | |
| Potable |
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Drinkable | |
| Prandial: pertaining to a |
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Meal (especially dinner) | |
| Prognathous |
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With projecting jaw | |
| Prurient |
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Itching (hence uneasily or morbidly interested) | |
| Puerpal: pertaining to |
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Childbirth | |
| Quotidian |
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Daily; ordinary, commonplace, or everyday | |
| Raptorial (bird) |
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(Bird) of prey | |
| Reniform |
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Kidney–shaped | |
| Rhinal |
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Pertaining to the nose | |
| Riparian: pertaining to a |
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Riverbank | |
| Sacerdotal |
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Priestly | |
| Saliferous: containing or producing |
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Salt | |
| Saponaceous |
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Soapy | |
| Sororal |
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Sisterly | |
| Terpsichorean: pertaining to |
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Dance | |
| Thalassic: of or pertaining to the |
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Sea | |
| Unciform |
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Hook–shaped | |
| Unctuous |
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Slippery, greasy | |
| Untrammelled |
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Unrestrained | |
| Uxorial: pertaining to a |
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Wife | |
| Valedictory (message) |
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Farewell | |
| Venial |
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Pardonable (of a sin: not mortal) | |
| Vernal: pertaining to |
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Spring | |
| Velutinous |
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Covered with short, dense, silky, upright hairs; soft and velvety | |
| Wych (as in wych–hazel, wych–elm etc.) |
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Pliant (branches) | |
| Xiphoid |
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Sword–shaped | |
© Haydn Thompson 2017–23