GRE vocabulary W
Terms
undefined, object
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- whiff
- puff or gust (of air, scent, etc) hint
- whimsical
- capricious, fanciful
- whinny
- neigh like a horse. eg. when he laughed through his nose, it sounded as if he whinnied.
- whit
- smallest speck. eg there is not a whit of intelligence or understanding in your observation.
- whittle
- cut off bits, pare. eg. As a [resent for Aunt Polly, Tom whittled some clothespins out of a chunk of wood.
- whorl
- ring of leaves around stem, ring
- willful
- intentional, headstrong. eg Scott Peterson had planned to kill his wife for months, clearly, her death was a case of deliuberate, willful murder, not a crime of passion comitted by a hasty, willful youth unable to foresee the consequences of his deeds.
- wily
- cunning, artful (smart). eg. she is as wily as a fox in avoiding trouble.
- wince
- shrink back, flinch. The screech of the chalk on the blackboard made her wince.
- windfall
- fallen fruit, unexpecte lucky event.
- winnow
- sift, separate good parts from the bad. eg. This test will winnow out the students who study from those who don't bother. (Me)
- winsome
-
agreeable, gracious, engagng.
by her winsome manner, she made herself liked by everyone who met her. (me) - wanderlust
- strong longing to travel. Don't set your heart on a traveling man. He's got too uch wanderlust to settle down. (me)
- wane
- decrease in size or strength, draw gradually toan end.
- wangle
- wiggle out, fake. She tried to wangle an invitation to the party.
- wanton
- unrestrained, wilfully malicious, unchaste. Pointing to the stack of bills, Sheldon criticised sarah for her wanton expenditures. In response, sara accused sheldon of making an unfounded, wanton attack.
- warble
- sing, babble. Every morning the birds warbled outside her window.
- warranted
- justified, authorised. Before the judge issues the injunction, you must convince her this action is warranted.
- warranty
- gurantee, assurance by seller
- warren
- tunnesl in which rabbits live, crowded condition in which people live. The tenement was a veritable warren, packed with people too poor to live elsewhere.
- wary
- very cautious. The spies grew wary as they approached the sentry.
- wastrel
- profligate, parasite, useless person. (me) He was denounced as a wastrel who had dissipiated his inheritance.
- wax
- increase, grow. With proper handling, her fortunes waxed and she became rich.
- waylay.
- ambush, lie in wait. They agreed to waylay their victim as he passed through the dark alley going home.
- wean
- accustom a baby not to nurse, give up a cherished activity. He decided he would wean himself away from eating junk foodand stick to fruits and vegetables.
- weather
- endure the effects of weather or other forces. He weathered the changes in her personal life with difficulty,as he had no one in whom to confide.
- welt
- mark from beating or whipping. The evidence of child abuse was very clear; Jennifer's small body was covered with welts and bruises.
- welter
- wallow, people getting aggressive /protest. At the height of the battle, the casualties were so numerous that the civtims eltered in their blood while waiting for medical attention.
- wheedle
- cajole, coax, deceive by flattery. She knows she can wheedle almost anything she wants from her father.
- whelp
- young wolf, dog, tiger, etc. This collie whelp wont' do for breeding, but he'd make a fine pet.
- whet
- sharpen, stimulate. The odors from the kitchen are whetting my appetite; I will be ravenous (starved to death) by the time the meal is served.
- vulpine
- like a fox, crafty. She disliked his sly ways but granted him a certain vulpine intelligence.
- waffle
- speak equivocally about an issue. When asked directly about the governor's involvement in the savings and lan scandal, the press secretary waffled, talking all around the issue.
- waft
- moved gently by wind or waves. Day dreaming, he gazed at the leaves that wafted past his window.
- waggish
- mischievous, humorous, tricky. He was a prankster who, unfortunately, often overlooked the damage he could cause with his waggish tricks.
- waif
- homeless chid or animal. Although he already had eight cats, he could not resist adopting yet another feine wait.
- waive
- give up temporaily, yeild
- wake
- trail of ship or other object through water, path of something that has gone before. The wake of the swan gliding through the water glistened in the moonlight.
- wallow
- roll in, indulge in, become helpless. The hippopotamusloves to wallow in the mud.
- wan
- having a pale or sickly color, pallid. Suckling asked, 'why so pale and wan, fond lover?'
- volatile
- changeable, explosive, evaporating rapidly.
- volition
- act of making a consciouss choice. She selected this dress of her own volition.
- voluble
- fluent, glib, talkative. An excessively voluble speaker suffers from logorrhea: he continually runs off at the mouth. (me)
- voluminous
- bulky, large