provocative*(pruh VAHK uh tiv) adj. 1. provoking or tending to provoke to
action, thought, feeling, etc.; stimulating; 2. erotic
- Samuel Adams’s impassioned writings against the arbitrary actions of the
British monarchy were provocativeenough to be credited with moving the
colonists toward revolution. - The actress wore a very provocativegown to the award ceremony.
[-ly adv.]
proximity(prahk SIM i tee) adj. the state or property of being near in space or
time - The proximityof the Easter and Passover holidays is not a coincidence
because the Last Supper was a Passover Seder. - When driving, it is a good idea to stay out of proximityto the car in front
of you.
pseudonym (SOO din im) n. a false name, especially one assumed by an author
so as not to be identified by his readers; pen name - Mark Twain was the well-known pseudonymof Samuel Langhorne Clemens.
- The creator of Perry Mason, Erle Stanley Gardner, wrote other books under
the pseudonymA. A. Fair. - The French call a pseudonyma nom de plume or pen name.
quandary(KWAHN dree) n. a state of uncertainty; a puzzling position or a per-
plexing situation; a predicament - Sylvia was in a quandaryover which dress to wear to her friend Rhiannon’s
party. - The quandaryof whether to accept his friend Randy’s invitation to go to
the hockey game, or to go to the basketball game with his dad, as previous-
ly planned, reduced Howard to tears.
[Syn. predicament]
quell (KWELL) vt. 1. to crush; to put an end to; to subdue; 2. to allay or assuage;
to quiet - It was General Santa Ana’s job to quellthe rebellion of the Texans.
- Bill tried to quellAndrea’s fears about her upcoming tonsilectomy.
- It should quellyour concerns about spelling qwords to know that there’s
always a ufollowing the q—as long as it’s an English word.
querulous(KWER yoo lis) adj. complaining; peevish; inclined to find fault - Nancy was so querulousthat no hairstylist wanted to wait on her.
- The gardener finished trimming the roses and was waiting for the querulous
Mr. Jones to inspect his work, knowing that the latter would find some-
thing wrong.
[-ly adv.]
quest (KWEST) n. 1. a pursuit; 2. any journey or search in pursuit of a (usually)
noble end - Sir Galahad’s questto find the Holy Grail is legendary.
- Frank traveled from ballpark to ballpark around the country in his questto
find the perfect frankfurter.
194 Essential Vocabulary