Vocabulary and Synonyms

The word "famend" appears to be a typo, likely for "famed" meaning famous or well-known. "Renowned" is the closest synonym meaning famous or well-known. Drift, idiot, and enthusiast are unrelated meanings.

Illiberal means lacking respect for individual rights, intolerant, or narrow-minded. "Intolerant" is the correct synonym. Free and neutral are antonyms, while instant is unrelated. The prefix "il-" indicates negation.

Lethal means deadly, fatal, or capable of causing death. "Deadly" is the correct synonym. Crazy, awful, and clear are not related to the concept of causing death.

Zenith means the highest point, peak, or maximum point of something. "Peak" is the correct synonym. Timely, polite, and huge are unrelated to the concept of a highest point or summit.

Difícil is a Spanish adjective meaning 'difficult' or 'hard'. The accent mark on the í is essential for correct pronunciation and meaning. 'Diferente' (different) and 'defensa' (defense) are unrelated words.

Ingenious means clever, original, and inventive - showing creativity and skill. 'Lackadaisical' means lacking enthusiasm or determination. 'Deceptive' means misleading. 'Naive' means inexperienced or unsophisticated. None of the distractors capture the positive, creative intelligence that ingenious denotes.

Polemic means a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something - essentially controversial or disputatious in nature. 'Wordy' refers to using too many words. 'Eloquent' means fluent and persuasive. 'Calm' is the opposite of polemic's confrontational nature.

The correct spelling is 'flabbergast' (with 'g-a-s-t'). This verb means to stun or astonish someone. Common misspellings include 'flabberghast' or 'flaberghast' which incorrectly use 'gh' instead of 'g'.

The correct spelling is 'hypocrisy' with '-ysy' at the end. The word comes from Greek 'hypokrisis' through Late Latin 'hypocrisis'. The spelling has stabilized to '-ysy' in English. Options A, B, and C are all misspellings.

The correct spelling is 'genius' with 'iu' not 'ui'. Option A is the only one with the correct vowel sequence - the common mistake is reversing these vowels. Options B ('genious'), C ('geniuss'), and D ('genous') all have incorrect letter patterns.

The correct spelling is 'hassle' with double 's' and ending in '-le'. Option D is correct. Options A ('hasle') and B ('hassel') are missing an 's', while C ('hastle') incorrectly uses 't' instead of 's'.

The correct spelling is 'embarrass' with double 'r' and double 's'. Option C is correct. This is a commonly misspelled word - the key is remembering BOTH consonants are doubled. A helpful phrase: 'embarrass' has two r's and two s's because it's really embarrassing. Options A, B, and D all miss one of the double letters.

Awry means crooked, off course, or not going as planned - something that has gone wrong or is askew. Option C 'straight' is the direct antonym. Option A 'original' and option B 'beneficent' are unrelated. Option D 'nonpoisonous' is also unrelated - awry has nothing to do with toxicity. The question correctly identifies 'straight' as the opposite.