Word Test 549

Improve Your Vocabulary

There is nothing more important in life than being able to master the power of communication. A good vocabulary is a like driving a car with rocket fuel instead of leaded gasoline. Words can power your career into high gear and increase your understanding of others.

From 2002-2014 we posted our Word of the Day and subsequently our Weekend Word Tests for 650 Consecutive Weeks or 12 ½ years, to help our viewers improve and expand their vocabulary. If you are serious about improving your vocabulary, our Word Test Library will challenge you to learn words you may never have known existed.

For the Week ending 8/31/12

Directions: Choose the word that matches with the definition and appropriately fits into the blank space in the sentence.

of or relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life

The setup is simplicity itself: a small 19th century village tries to live in _______ harmony and peace, while the surrounding woods bristle with unseen creatures.

an extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene; a short description in verse or prose of a picturesque scene or incident

However much we can all appreciate the arguments in favor of renting, most of us still hanker after the long-term _______ of bricks, mortar and a white picket fence.

pleasant; not run-down; health-giving; healthy

Yet, the elements of market competition that still manage to survive have had the _______ effect of driving medical innovation and improving patient health outcomes.

whispering, murmuring, or rustling

As the _______ grew louder it began to assume a definite rhythm, rolling and booming like heavy surf.

allay or moderate (fears or suspicions); make (a disease or its symptoms) less severe or unpleasant without removing the cause

The word palliate comes from the Latin _______, "to cloak" — and providing pain relief was perceived as cloaking the essence of the illness, smothering symptoms rather than attacking disease.

We would like to thank Dr. Andrew Jamieson, MD, of Vancouver, Washington for his articulate contribution of words he supplied for the many years he served as our "eHappyLife Word Specialist."