Vocabulary Quiz: Descriptive Terms

Misanthrope

• A person who hates or avoids other people.

Pacifist

• One who favors peace over violence.

Miser

• A person with a strong desire for money but unwilling to spend it.

Nomad

• A person with no permanent home.

Nostalgia

• Memories of happiness and sadness arising from the past.

Notorious

• Known for bad deeds.

Oligarchy

• Government by a small group of powerful people.

Omnipotent

• Having infinite power.

Omnipresent

• Present everywhere at the same time.

Omniscient

• Having infinite knowledge.

Omnivorous

• Eating both meat and plants.

Optimist

• One who is always hopeful about the future.

Ornithologist

• One who studies birds.

Orphanage

• A place where children live whose parents are dead.

Parable

• A short story that makes a moral or religious point.

Pathology

• The science that studies diseases of the body.

Patrimony

• Property inherited from one's father or ancestors.

Patriot

• A person who loves his country.

Pedant

• A person who believes in the exact observance of rules.

Pessimist

• A person who always thinks about the negative side.

Philanthropist

• A person who helps the poor.

Philatelist

• One who collects or studies stamps.

Philistine

• A person uninterested in art or culture.

Pioneer

• The first to work in a new field.

Plagiarism

• The process of using another person's ideas or work without credit.