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Quiz about Words Too Easily Confused Set Seven
Quiz about Words Too Easily Confused Set Seven

Words Too Easily Confused, Set Seven Quiz


Some English words are entirely too much like others, while having completely different meanings. How many of these too-similar words can you properly sort?

A matching quiz by FatherSteve. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
FatherSteve
Time
3 mins
Type
Match Quiz
Quiz #
384,084
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
1160
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: BurgGurl (10/10), Guest 107 (8/10), Guest 72 (4/10).
(a) Drag-and-drop from the right to the left, or (b) click on a right side answer box and then on a left side box to move it.
QuestionsChoices
1. Negative magical words, a curse  
  Mallet
2. The stem of a palm tree frond   
  Malefactor
3. A criminal   
  Malacca
4. That which can be shaped without breaking   
  Malabsorption
5. Being malicious or spiteful, wishing harm   
  Malediction
6. Tent caterpillars   
  Malleable
7. A waterfront esplanade or embankment   
  Malasada
8. A kind of hammer  
  Malecón
9. The failure of the digestive system to absorb nutrients  
  Malevolence
10. A deep-fried ball of sweetened yeast dough   
  Malacosoma





Select each answer

1. Negative magical words, a curse
2. The stem of a palm tree frond
3. A criminal
4. That which can be shaped without breaking
5. Being malicious or spiteful, wishing harm
6. Tent caterpillars
7. A waterfront esplanade or embankment
8. A kind of hammer
9. The failure of the digestive system to absorb nutrients
10. A deep-fried ball of sweetened yeast dough

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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Negative magical words, a curse

Answer: Malediction

"War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace." ~Gen. William T. Sherman.

The word "malediction" entered English from the Old French "maledicion" meaning a curse. It, in turn, derived from the Latin 'maledictio" meaning to speak ill of or to slander.
2. The stem of a palm tree frond

Answer: Malacca

"Dry and spare, as lean as a jockey and as tough as whipcord, he might be seen any day swinging his silver-headed Malacca cane, and pacing along the suburban roads with the same measured gait with which he had been wont to tread the poop of his flagship." ~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "Beyond the City."

Malacca is a place: a state in Malaysia, a city in Malaysia, and a strait. Malacca is also the stem of the rattan palm which is harvested and used to make walking sticks, umbrella handles and the like.
3. A criminal

Answer: Malefactor

"And there were also two others, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left." ~Luke 23:32-33, Authorized (King James) Version.

Malefactor appears in English from the middle 15th Century on. It derives from the Latin "malefacere" meaning to do evil. The Latin verb is a compound of "male" meaning badly and "fecere" meaning to do, perform, or make.
4. That which can be shaped without breaking

Answer: Malleable

"The world is more malleable than you think and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape." ~ Bono.

The English adjective carrying the sense of that which can be hammered into a desired shape is taken directly from the Medieval Latin "malleabilis" which means to beat with a hammer. Used for many centuries to describe metals, the figurative use of it to describe persons who can be molded appears in the early 17th Century.
5. Being malicious or spiteful, wishing harm

Answer: Malevolence

"The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding."
~Albert Camus.

The noun malevolence entered English from the Middle French in the 15th Century. The French derived the word from the Latin "malevolentia" meaning hatred.
6. Tent caterpillars

Answer: Malacosoma

"Malacosoma is a genus of moths in the family Lasiocampidae." ~James R. Meeker.

The two common species of tent caterpillar in the US are Malacosoma americanum (the Eastern tent caterpillar) and Malacosoma californicum (the Western tent caterpillar).
7. A waterfront esplanade or embankment

Answer: Malecón

"It makes no sense for me to return to Cuba in body, but not in soul. It serves no purpose for them to allow me in, but not my books. I am what I write; what I think; what I do. I cannot return peacefully if all those things can't accompany me. It makes no sense for me to abandon them now, to betray them (and myself), in exchange for a stroll down the Malecón." ~Juan Manuel Cao, Cuban author and journalist, El Nuevo Herald, 7/23/15.

In Spanish-speaking countries and especially in Latin America, the Malecón is a stone and concrete esplanade or embankment along a waterfront. Strolling the paved walkway is a popular pastime. Some are the sites of public art or of street performers or vendors.
8. A kind of hammer

Answer: Mallet

"I want to feel myself in you when you taste food,
in the arc of your mallet when you work,
when you visit friends, when you go
up on the roof by yourself at night."
~Rumi, The Love Poems.

The noun "mallet" entered English from the Old French in the late 14th Century with the meaning "a small wooden hammer." It derived from the Latin "malleus" meaning hammer.
9. The failure of the digestive system to absorb nutrients

Answer: Malabsorption

"Intestinal malabsorption could have been triggered by parasitic infections." ~Dr. Sundardas D. Annamalay

Malabsorption occurs when the intestine fails to absorb proteins or fats or carbohydrates or vitamins or minerals or some combination thereof. The term has been used in English since 1879. It was compounded from the Latin "mal", meaning ill, poorly or incorrectly and "absorptio", meaning to swallow up.
10. A deep-fried ball of sweetened yeast dough

Answer: Malasada

Hawaiian pidgin: "Ho, Tutu's malasadas so ono, brok da mout." (English translation: Amazing! Grandmother's malasadas are so delicious they will break your mouth.)

From the Portuguese mal assada (poorly cooked or under cooked) comes the delightful deep-fried dough balls called malasadas. They are basically coated in granulated sugar. Non-purists glaze them and fill them with custards and such. They are Mardi Gras food in Roman Catholic countries. They are extremely popular in Hawaii year 'round.
Source: Author FatherSteve

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ponycargirl before going online.
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Related Quizzes
This quiz is part of series Words Too Easily Confused:

There are many English words which are devilishly similar but unrelated in meaning. These quizzes are an opportunity to sort some of those out.

  1. Words Too Easily Confused Easier
  2. Words Too Easily Confused, Set Two Easier
  3. Words Too Easily Confused, Set Three Very Easy
  4. Words Too Easily Confused, Set Four Very Easy
  5. Words Too Easily Confused, Set Five Easier
  6. Words Too Easily Confused, Set Six Very Easy
  7. Words Too Easily Confused, Set Seven Easier
  8. Words Too Easily Confused, Set Eight Very Easy
  9. Words Too Easily Confused, Set Nine Easier
  10. Words Too Easily Confused, Set Ten Easier
  11. Words Too Easily Confused, Set Eleven Easier

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