English: Word Usage Questions Set 34

Directions: A word is given followed by its usage in options. Find the option in which there is inappropriate usage of word.

1. Cleanse
   A lack of laundry detergent made it hard to cleanse the clothing inside the washing machine.
   Illegal drug use would cleanse the athlete’s career causing people to have no faith in the young man.
   Gagging from the smell, the housekeeper tried to find a way to cleanse the sour kitchen mop.
   Saying a sincere prayer, the woman asked the Lord to cleanse her heart of any sins or wrongdoings.
   All are correct
   Option B
   CLEANSE (VERB): clean Synonyms: disinfect, purge Antonyms: dirty, corrupt

    

2. Taint
   The spilled chemicals worked to taint the experiment, forcing the students to start over.
   A ruptured pipe in the city can taint the entire water supply.
   The towering giant had a decided taint on the court, especially since he could dunk with his feet touching the ground!
   Don’t taint your soil by using the wrong fertilizers.
   All are correct
   Option C
   TAINT (NOUN): corruption Synonyms: blemish, stigma Antonyms: advantage, blank

    

3. Stray
   She dropped the bowl and watched as glass shards started to stray on the kitchen floor.
   Bored in class, Charlie’s eyes began to stray and wander around the room.
   Our new kitten used to stray around the streets looking for food, water, and shelter.
   When the twins graduated high school, they wanted to drift, stray, and explore Europe for the summer.
   All are correct
   Option A
   STRAY (VERB): deviate Synonyms: diverge, divagate Antonyms: stay, reversion

    

4. Persist
   Once the detectives decided to persist with their interrogation for ten hours, the suspect finally confessed to the crime.
   Even though she was tired, the runner would persist to the finish line by pushing herself and not letting herself quit.
   Since the flu symptoms seemed to persist, the girl went to the doctor for medicine to alleviate the symptoms.
   After the accident on the freeway, traffic slowed to a complete persistence. .
   All are correct
   Option D
   PERSIST (VERB): carry on Synonyms: endure, persevere Antonyms: discontinue, halt

    

5. Assault
   Holding a bat in her hand, the angry woman threatened to assault her husband.
   Gathering at the spiritual assault, the cult members meditated and made sacrifices to their leader.
   The man was charged with assault after he attacked another man in a bar brawl.
   During the robbery, the thief tried to assault the clerk by hitting her with a steel bar.
   All are correct
   Option B
   ASSAULT (VERB): attack Synonyms: assail, charge Antonyms: retreat, regroup

    

6. Flimsy
   Don’t give me the flimsy excuse that you were too deep asleep to hear the phone ringing.
   I never place flowers in that flimsy vase, it tips over so easily.
   The plant looked flimsy, but it was in need of sunlight.
   The judge was displeased with the lawyer, because he kept on interrupting the proceedings with one flimsy argument after another.
   All are correct
   Option C
   FLIMSY (ADJECTIVE): light, thin Synonyms: feeble, shaky Antonyms: healthy, sound

    

7. Scanty
   Since the airline lost two of my bags, I have scanty clothing for my vacation.
   Mark has eaten only a scanty amount of food since he came down with the flu.
   Because your outfit is scanty, the principal is going to ask you to change into something more appropriate for school.
   I didn’t want to bring two bags on my vacations, but the first one was scanty when I still had more clothes to pack.
   All are correct
   Option D
   SCANTY (ADJECTIVE): inadequate Synonyms: insufficient, meager Antonyms: enough, full

    

8. Dichotomy
   Since the scientists were unable to reach a dichotomy on the best way to isolate the bacteria, they had no choice other than to burn the substance in a sealed container.
   His dichotomy of heaven and hell became an excellent essay on the contrast between paradise and eternal suffering.
   Nature or nurture is a dichotomy which has long been debated by scholars.
   If we ignore the gender dichotomy between the two candidates, we can easily tell they are both equally qualified for the security position.
   All are correct
   Option A
   DICHOTOMY (NOUN): division Synonyms: disagreement, split Antonyms: unity, consensus

    

9. Wither
   The gardener’s plants began to wither in the heat of the sun.
   The young woman tried to wither a good habit of eating healthy by only buying organic fruits and vegetables from her grocery store.
   My grandfather said that he would wither away if my mother wasn’t there to take care of him.
   Because I colored my hair so often, it began to wither from the dye.
   All are correct
   Option B
   WITHER (VERB): decline Synonyms: shrink, languish Antonyms: develop, enlarge

    

10. Solitary
    Because people left the village before the volcano erupted, the lava destroyed only a solitary community.
    The downtown area is solitary because most stores have relocated near the mall.
    Standing in the corner, the wallflower was too shy to be solitary with others at the prom.
    Since the hurricane hit land, the highways have been solitary and traffic nonexistent.
    All are correct
    Option C
    SOLITARY (ADJECTIVE): alone Synonyms: sole, lone Antonyms: sociable, combined