thumbnail

Fancy Vocabulary #5

Feel smart and fancy by completing the English words from their definitions. Correct spelling is required.
The previous quiz in this series can be found here (Quiz 4)
Quiz by kiwirage
Rate:
Last updated: May 27, 2022
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedOctober 30, 2018
Times taken20,797
Average score60.0%
Rating4.66
4:00
Enter answer here
0
 / 20 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Definition
Answer
Church, temple
Basilica
Mocking, satirical
Sardonic
Flavorful, zesty
Piquant
Adversary, archenemy
Nemesis
Dramatic monologue
Soliloquy
Body of an aircraft
Fuselage
Done secretively, covert
Clandestine
A break, pause
Hiatus
Magical potion
Elixir
Volatile, capricious
Mercurial
Definition
Answer
Voice-throwing puppeteer
Ventriloquist
Inscription on a tombstone
Epitaph
Chatty, talkative
Loquacious
Cure-all
Panacea
Goblet, grail
Chalice
Mysterious, obscure
Esoteric
Conversationally informal
Colloquial
Giant, monster
Behemoth
Mass exodus of people
Diaspora
Calm, peaceful
Halcyon
35 Comments
+10
Level 91
Feb 9, 2019
Venriloquist is not a synonym for puppeteer. Not all puppets talk!
+10
Level 56
Aug 10, 2021
Agree that ventriloquist and puppeteer aren't synonymous; connected meanings certainly but not the same.

Additionally, I've always understood the word 'diaspora' to be a collective term to refer to people of a single origin who are no longer resident in their traditional homeland rather than referring to the actual process of leaving that homeland (whether voluntary or forced.) I googled it, and found that while this does seem to be the main definition, most sources include both what I said as well as the one used in the quiz. So I learned something new today :)

+1
Level 46
Oct 11, 2021
upvote this
+1
Level 67
May 27, 2022
Agreed. The "ventriloquist" definition is off.
+6
Level 53
Jun 27, 2021
oof, spelled fuselage as fusilage
+1
Level 46
Oct 11, 2021
you are not alone
+1
Level 75
Feb 24, 2025
So did I, but knew that had to be the word so I tried the correct spelling, finally.
+1
Level 68
May 27, 2022
Excellent quiz. I got them all, so stoked.
+1
Level 76
May 27, 2022
Geppetto, Jim Henson.. maybe they were ventriloquists but that word is still not synonymous with puppeteer
+10
Level 63
May 27, 2022
I learnt a whole *nine* of these from Doctor Who! 🤣

“We could eat her tonight. I could make a PIQUANT sauce.” (The Two Doctors)

Silver NEMESIS (Silver Nemesis)

“There’s a Cyberman out there on the FUSELAGE.” (Death in Heaven)

HIATUS (1985—1986; 1989—2005)

The ELIXIR of Life (The Brain of Morbius)

“Oh, I think the explanation might be you've been fooled by a simple olfactory misdirection. Little bit like VENTRILOQUISM(T) of the nose. It's an elementary trick in certain parts of the galaxy.” (The Family of Blood)

“Pity. I’d just composed a particularly nasty EPITAPH for him.” (Earthshock)

“Farewell, my LOQUACIOUS friend.” (The Trial of a Time Lord)

“I know somewhere that is truly tranquil, peaceful, restful. A PANACEA for the cares of the mind.” (Revelation of the Daleks)

Strange how much about the real world you can learn from fiction, isn’t it?

+1
Level 79
Feb 24, 2025
Children's fiction at that.
+2
Level 63
Feb 26, 2025
It’s not “children’s fiction”. It was never made by the Children’s Department nor shown on either of the BBC’s children’s TV channels.
+1
Level 79
Feb 26, 2025
Ha! Nice one.
+1
Level 76
May 27, 2022
Thank you for finally updating the clue.
+1
Level 92
Mar 1, 2023
Why won’t it accept Beer Moth?
+1
Level 80
Jan 24, 2025
I got all except the last two!
+3
Level 80
Feb 24, 2025
Got all this time except for diaspora! (I didn't know the word had this meaning)
+1
Level 59
Feb 24, 2025
Is that not the only meaning of the word?
+3
Level 72
Feb 24, 2025
Usually people use that word to refer to the people who have moved out.
+1
Level 58
Feb 24, 2025
I can't find any dictionary saying that it does. Exodus refers to a going out, whereas diaspora is a scattering. For example if a big group of (say) French people went out and settled in (say) a particular location in Spain, that would be an exodus, but it wouldn't be a diaspora. I don't think the definition given is right, but then I'm grumpy because I didn't get it!
+2
Level 72
Feb 24, 2025
Basilica and "church, temple" aren't really synonyms. It's like squares and rectangles.
+1
Level 37
Mar 1, 2025
Second to this, basilica is actually an architectural term referring to a specific building layout, many of which were built by pre-Christian Romans and then later reproposed as churches. Although today most basilicas are churches, there is nothing contradictory about the idea of a secular basilica.
+1
Level 55
Feb 24, 2025
I must've stored some words subconsciously doing crosswords, dunno how I got some of these; they're deffo cool words!
+2
Level 68
Feb 24, 2025
I thought that 'halcyon' meant golden, happy, successful, idyllic times. More than just calm and peaceful. Probably why it's got the lowest correct answers.
+1
Level 73
Apr 11, 2025
I think along with panacea it is the most obscure one on the list regardless, they are the two I have heard the least of anyway.

Interestingly the word halcyon comes from the word for king-fisher :) The myth goes that while the king-fisher was nesting, the gods made sure the seas were calm and there was no (strong) wind.

So it (originally) indeed means quiet calm serene etc. Though I have heard of it meaning happy indeed as well (on this website I think). I guess the jump from serene to happy isn't a big one.

+2
Level 61
Feb 24, 2025
So what I've learned here is that I know a lot of words, but can't spell any of them. Great quiz though!
+1
Level 44
Feb 24, 2025
Same!
+1
Level 72
Feb 24, 2025
Feeling somewhat smart and somewhat fancy! Now to tackle quiz 4 ...
+1
Level 63
Feb 24, 2025
Is hiccup not valid for "A break, pause"? Merriam-Webster: "a usually minor and short-lived interruption or disruption, or change"
+2
Level 63
Feb 25, 2025
No. The necessary part of the definition of hiccup in that sense is the (unwanted or unexpected sense of) interruption or disruption. It's more than just a generic break or pause.
+1
Level 33
Feb 26, 2025
I just discovered how bad I am at spelling
+1
Level 59
Feb 26, 2025
I always mistake epithet for epitaph. This time no exception. At least it's better than not knowing the difference between its and it's.
+1
Level 59
Mar 13, 2025
Totally enjoyed it. Two thumbs up!
+1
Level 73
Apr 11, 2025
I feel smart and dumb at the same time! I missed just 3 but apparently I can't spell (as well as I thought) I could have sworn it was elixer (I guess I could use the excuse that that is how it is spelled in Dutch, but plenty of words are spelled slightly different in English, and I do know the correct spelling most of those. So I simply wasn't aware, actually... I vaguely remember coming across this issue with elixir before haha)

the one ending in -quy was tough too as well as the one ending in -taph

I missed the cure-all, calm (though I was close) and exodus. I have only hear of the word used in the sense of having already dispersed, not the dispersing itself.

+1
Level 73
Apr 11, 2025
PS I love the thumbnail for the quiz :D