Am I Mature, or Immature? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Immediate

To mediate is to act as the negotiator between two, or more, parties in the hope of reaching an agreement acceptable to all.

Immediate means instant or without delay - 'this report needs your immediate attention'.

Although the words mediate and immediate don't seem to be related in modern English, the root is the same. The Latin word 'mediatus' relates to intervening, while 'immediatus' is not intervening, as in time.

Answer: Immoral

Most of us can remember being taught Aesop's fables, such as 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf', with the moral being not to raise false alarms as nobody will believe you when a real emergency happens. Moral can also refer to the 'right' way of behaving.

Immoral is the opposite of the second usage quoted, and refers to bad behaviour, often of a sexual nature.

This is another word with Latin roots - 'moralis' meaning custom. The plural version, 'mores', is still used to describe the accepted standards of society.

Answer: Implication

Plication can refer to the fold itself, or to the method of folding.

Implication refers to something unstated, where the meaning can be inferred from the context.

Both words originate from Latin, with 'plicare' meaning to fold. Implicare originally referred to entwining or being 'folded in'.

Answer: Impound

Pound has several meanings, with repeated hitting being just one of them. It can also mean a unit of currency or weight, or a place where a lost animal can be kept.

To impound something is to confiscate it, often in a legal sense: 'the customs officer impounded the illegal drugs found in the traveller's luggage'.

Pound, in the sense used in the question, derives from the Dutch. Impound is linked to the 'dog pound' sense, relating to cattle, for example, being seized by the law and impounded.

Answer: Impact

A pact usually refers to an agreement between countries to do, or not do, something together. The Warsaw Pact of 1955 was an agreement between various Eastern European countries.

An impact is a collision, often a forcible one, which could involve a traffic accident or a missile hitting its target.

Both words have their origins in Latin, with pact coming from the Latin word 'pactum', meaning an agreement. Impact has a different root, though, coming from the Latin word 'impingere', with the meaning of driving in. This also gives us the word impinge.

Answer: Imbalance

Balance can refer to keeping matters in proportion, as in balanced reporting of current affairs. You can also lose your balance, by falling over. It can also be used to refer to scales - a balance used to weigh items.

Imbalance is its direct antonym, and both words originate from the Latin word 'bilanx', the traditional scales seen in the astrological symbol for Libra or the scales of justice.

Answer: Impartial

Partial is another word that can be used in more than one sense. It can be something which is not complete, particularly in an abstract sense as in 'we have only partial information'. It can also mean to show favour towards someone or something - a bias or preference, as in 'I am very partial to coffee after my meal'.

To be impartial is to be scrupulously fair and unbiased - in a court of law, the judge has to be totally impartial.

The root of these words is the Latin word 'partialis' which itself derives from 'pars' meaning part. The antonym can be seen in the sense of 'partial' meaning to favour something or somebody, while 'impartial' is being unbiased.

Answer: Imposing

Posing can be used in the sense I gave you - to take a particular position for a photograph or as a model. It can also refer to asking a question, or to pretend - 'he was posing as my friend, but was really trying to trick me'.

Imposing refers to something or someone impressive. Buckingham Palace could be described as an imposing building, or you could say that someone's height makes them an imposing figure. It can also mean to intrude upon - to be a nuisance or even a fraud.

Both pose and impose came into English from the Latin word 'pausare' via French.

Answer: Immobile

Mobile refers to the ability to move easily. The meaning I used for the clue relates to this, but is using the word as a noun - a mobile can be a type of sculpture or something hung over a baby's cot to amuse him or her. In the UK, it is also used to describe what other countries call a cell phone.

Immobile means the exact opposite - not moving or stationary.

In this instance, both words have the same root and are direct antonyms. The derivation is once again Latin, with 'mobilis' meaning movable.

Answer: Impenitence

Penitence means to be sorry for, or regret, your misdeeds or bad behaviour - repentance has the same meaning.

In this instance, we have another antonym, with impenitence meaning a lack of remorse.

Both these originate in Latin, again, with 'paenitere' meaning to regret. Penance, something carried out to atone for a misdeed, is another word from the same root.