Help, I'm Feeling "Ill" Trivia Quiz

Answer: deceptive

The adjective illusory means based on or producing illusion, and is thus synonymous with deceptive. Although both words are of Latin origin, illusory tends to be used in more formal (higher-register) contexts, such as literature, science, and journalism, while the use of deceptive is more generalized. A specialized use of this word is found in US contract law: "illusory promise" is one that courts will not enforce as a contract.

First used in English in 1631, illusory comes from Late Latin "illusorius" (mocking) an adjective derived from the verb "illudere" ("in-" + "ludere", which means play or trick) meaning mock. Illusive, often confused with elusive, has a very similar (though not identical) meaning to illusory.

Answer: illegitimate

In its broader meaning, illegitimate means not authorized by law or accepted standards, and is thus similar in meaning to illegal. However, this adjective is mostly used to mean to denote someone born out of wedlock, and as such not recognized as lawful offspring. It is the antonym of legitimate, formed with the addition of the negative prefix "in-"; legitimate comes from Latin "legitimus", which in turn is derived from "legis" (law). Illegitimate was first used in English in the 1530s, about a century later than legitimate; both words entered the language via Old French.

In heraldry, a bend sinister ("left-sided band") was a mark of bastardy added to the arms of the illegitimate children of European nobility and their descendants. The arms of legitimate offspring bore a bend dexter, i.e. a diagonal band running from top left to lower right.

Illicit (often confused with elicit) means not permitted - generally because contrary to social norms or values - while illaudable means deserving no praise. All four words listed as answers feature the negative prefix "in-".

Answer: inference

Illation is defined by most dictionaries as the act of inferring or concluding. As surprising as it may seem, it actually has the same etymology as inference: both nouns come from the irregular Latin verb "ferre" (meaning carry or bring), preceded by the preposition "in". While infer comes directly from the infinitive "inferre" (bring in), illation comes from the past participle "illatus" through the noun "illatio", meaning the act of bringing in.

First attested in English in 1533, illation - like many other higher-register words of Latin origin - is not exactly common. It is, however, frequently confused with its homophone elation.

Answer: a grammatical case

Derived from the Latin "illatus" (brought in), and as such closely related to illation, illative can be used either as an adjective or a noun. As the latter, it denotes a grammatical case found in a number of European languages - namely Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian (which belong to the Uralic family), as well as Lithuanian and Latvian (which are Indo-European languages of the Baltic branch). Classical Quechua, the language spoken in the Incan Empire, also had an illative suffix meaning inwards, which was applied to verbs rather than nouns.

As its etymology suggests, the illative case indicates movement into something. In Finnish, it is one of eight locative cases: an example of illative would be "taloon", meaning into the house.

All the wrong answers were inspired by real nouns ending in "-ive": archive (the library), beehive (the hairstyle), and khedive (the ruler).

Answer: analphabet

From Latin "illiteratus" (negative "in-" + "literatus", meaning educated), "illiterate" means having little or no education; it generally denotes someone who is unable to read and write. Analphabet (from the Ancient Greek "analphábetos" through Late Latin "analphabetus"), is somewhat more precise, as it emphasizes a person's lack of knowledge of the letters of the alphabet (or, metaphorically, the basics of something). While this word is rarely used in English (its first known use dating from 1881), in other European languages - namely French, German, Spanish, and Italian - the standard word for illiterate is derived from "analphábetos".

While all the words listed begin with "ana-", only analphabet and anaerobic ("without oxygen") have a negative meaning, as they both feature the Greek negative prefix "an-", corresponding to the English "un-" or "in-". In anabaptist (a follower of a Protestant Christian movement), "ana-" means again, while in anadromous (used of fish that live in the sea and breed in fresh water) "ana-" means up.

Answer: a US state

The name "illite" applies to a group of clay minerals that is frequently found in sedimentary rocks. Illite is often used for the production of ceramics, and also in the cosmetic industry (where it is called French green clay) for its oil-absorbing properties, useful in preventing acne and other skin blemishes. Its name, however, has nothing to do with making one "ill" (as a toxic chemical would do) but comes instead from the US Midwestern state of Illinois, where the mineral was first identified and described in 1937.

Illinois also has nothing to do with illness, but is the French spelling of Illiniwek, the name of the Native American people who lived in that area of the Midwest when French colonists arrived in the mid-17th century.

Answer: repressive

The antonym of liberal, illiberal is a word that frequently appears in recent news, especially in the phrase (an apparent oxymoron) illiberal democracy - that is, a governing system that deprives its citizens of civil liberties, though allowing elections. The Latin word "liberalis" (from "liber", meaning free) meant suitable for a free person (as in liberal arts, seen as the opposite of narrow-focus professional or technical training), and later came to mean generous. The political connotation of liberal came into being much later, around the turn of the 19th century.

While the original meaning of illiberal in English (where it was first attested in the 1530s) was unworthy of a gentleman, in the 17th century the word acquired its modern denotation of being unconcerned with the rights or liberties of others, and thus repressive or authoritarian.

Answer: finance

Unlike its antonym liquid, which is used in a wide variety of contexts, illiquid is used exclusively in the world of finance, where it refers to something (generally assets) that cannot be readily converted into cash. In finance, the adjective liquid and the noun liquidity refer to the ready availability of cash, or the ease with which an asset can be converted into cash. Real estate, antiques and other valuable collectibles are examples of illiquid assets, whose sale in exchange for cash is likely to cause a loss to the seller. The first known use of illiquid in English dates from 1913.

The antonym of liquid when used in its primary sense (i.e. flowing freely, and keeping no shape) is solid. One of the many words of Latin origin that entered Middle English from Old French, liquid comes from the verb "liquere", meaning to be fluid.

Answer: eminent

Illustrious comes from the Latin "illustris", meaning bright or shining, which in turn was derived from the verb "illustrare" (light up or elucidate - from "in-" + "lustrare", meaning purify or brighten). The English word luster is also related to "lustrare".

Illustrious was originally used in its literal meaning of brightly shining, but in more recent times it has been exclusively used as a synonym of eminent or distinguished. The word was first attested in English in the 1560s. Prior to that, the French loanword "illustre" (now obsolete) was used in the same meaning.

Answer: illuminated

The past participle of the verb illuminate, illuminated has the primary meaning of brightly lit. It comes from the Latin verb "illuminare" ("in-" + "luminare", meaning make light). A more specialized meaning of this word, however, was influenced by Old French "enluminer" (also derived from "illuminare"): it describes the painstakingly decorated pages of medieval and early Renaissance manuscripts. The long, costly process of illumination involved several stages and the use of gold and silver leaf, as well as vividly coloured paints derived from valuable materials - such as lapis lazuli for blue, and malachite for green.

Illuminated can also be used as a synonym of "enlightened" (in a spiritual or intellectual sense). The etymologically related noun illuminist (influenced by French "illuminisme", which in English is called Enlightenment) mainly refers to people who claim to possess special knowledge of something (such as the "Illuminati" in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code"). Illegible, on the other hand, means impossible to read, and illuviated is the past participle of the verb "illuviate", a term used in geology meaning the process of leaching from an overlying stratum and accumulating in suspension.