GRE Words 3

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n symbiosis: interdependent relationship (between groups, species) often mutually beneficial; ADJ. symbiotic; CF. together + life
n penumbra: partial shadow (in an eclipse); CF. almost shadow
n pestle: tool for mashing or grinding substances in a hard bowl or mortar
n somber: dark; gloomy; melancholy; depressing; CF. shadow
s horoscope: diagram of the positions of stars at a given moment (eg. of a person's birth) used by astrologers
n sardonic: scornfully mocking; disdainful; sarcastic; cynical; Ex. sardonic smile
n upbraid: reprimand; severely scold
n raconteur: story-teller; one who tells stories with wit and skill
n verisimilar: having the appearance of truth or reality; probable or likely to be true; plausible
n supererogatory: superfluous; more than needed or demanded
n rancor: long-lasting hatred; bitterness; Ex. negotiation without rancor; ADJ. rancorous
vaunted: boasted; bragged; highly publicized; V. vaunt: boast; brag
n plaudit: praise; enthusiastic approval; round(succession or series) of applause; polyglot speaking several languages; multilingual; Ex. polyglot person/society; N.
paucity: scarcity; dearth
n protean: able to take on many forms; versatile; CF. Proteus: sea god to change his shape at will
supercilious: haughty; arrogant; condescending; patronizing; CF. eyebrow, cilium
pique: irritation; resentment from wounded pride (eg. loss in a contest); V: provoke; arouse; annoy; cause to feel resentment; Ex. pique her curiosity
n panegyric: formal praise; encomium; Ex. I don't deserve such panegyrics.
n sibylline: prophetic; oracular; N. sibyl: woman prophet (in the ancient world)
n surfeit: satiate; feed or supply to excess; stuff; indulge to excess in anything; n swarthy (of a skin or complexion) dark; dusky; Ex. swarthy Italian ?
n parquet: floor made of wood strips inlaid in a mosaic like matter; CF. strip: long narrow piece
n prevaricate: lie; hide the truth (by equivocating)
n prate: talk idly; speak foolishly; boast idly
n sundry: miscellaneous; various; several; N. sundries: small miscellaneous items
n vegetate: live in a monotonous way (without interests or activity); CF. vegetation: plants of an area; CF. vegetarian; CF. vegan
n titular: of a title; in name only; nominal; having the title of an office without the obligations; Ex. titular head of the company
n stricture: severe and adverse criticism; critical comments; limit or restriction
n pugnacity: combativeness; disposition to fight; ADJ. pugnacious: (of people) belligerent; combative in nature
pertinacious: holding tenaciously to an action; stubborn; persistent
transmute: transform; change; convert to something different
n sidereal: relating to stars; Ex. sidereal day
n propitiate: appease; conciliate; make peaceful; ADJ. propitiatory
n tensile: capable of being stretched; of tension; Ex. tensile rubber
somatic: pertaining to the body; bodily; physical
n supine: lying on back; passive; inactive; Ex. The defeated pugilist lay supine; Ex. supine acceptance of the decision
n sunder: separate; part; CF. asunder
pecuniary: pertaining to money
n umbrage: resentment; anger; sense of injury or insult; Ex. take umbrage at his rudeness
n somnolent: half asleep; drowsy; N. somnolence
n propinquity: nearness (in space or relationship); proximity; kinship
n stygian: unpleasantly dark; gloomy; hellish; deathly; CF. Styx: the chief river in the subterranean land of the dead
n quisling: traitor who aids invaders; CF. Vidkun Quisling
n pundit: authority on a subject; expert; learned person
n prolixity: tedious wordiness; verbosity; ADJ. prolix: wordy; verbose; diffuse
punctilious: minutely attentive (perhaps too much so) to fine points; stressing niceties of conduct or form; N. punctilio, punctiliousness: careful attention payed to every small exact detail
n simian: monkeylike; N: ape or monkey
n piquant: pleasantly tart-tasting; spicy; pleasantly stimulating; Ex. piquant situation when my old enemy asked for my help
n welter: confusion; turmoil; confused mass; bewildering jumble; Ex. welter of data
n scintilla: trace; minute amount; shred; least bit; Ex. There is not a scintilla of truth; CF. spark
n pusillanimous: cowardly; lacking courage; fainthearted
n suffuse: spread through or over (with a color or liquid); charge; Ex. A blush suffused her cheeks.
remunerative: (of work) compensating; rewarding; profitable; well-paid; V. remunerate: n repast meal; feast; banquet
n stipple: paint or draw with dots or short strokes
n sybarite: lover of luxury; person devoted to pleasure and luxury; CF. Sybaris: an ancient Greek city in Italy
n subterfuge: stratagem(deceptive scheme); pretense; evasion; Ex. resort to a harmless subterfuge
sanguine: optimistic; cheerful; hopeful; of the color of blood; red
n ragamuffin: dirty child in torn clothes; person wearing tattered clothes
n virulent: (of a disease or poison) extremely harmful or poisonous; (of a feeling) hostile; bitter; N. virulence; CF. virus; CF. venom
n poultice: soothing application applied to sore and inflamed portions of the body
n spoonerism: accidental transposition of sounds in successive words; Ex. ``Let me sew you to your sheet'' for ``Let me show you to your seat''; CF. William Spooner
n solder: repair or make whole by using a metal alloy; N: metal alloy (usually tin and lead) used in the molten state to join metallic parts
n sagacious: wise; perceptive; shrewd; having insight; N. sagacity
s variegate: change the appearance of (by marking with different colors)
n progeny: children; offspring; descendants
n vise: vice; tool for holding work in place; clamping device
pastoral: rural; of rural life; idyllic; of a pastor
s pucker: gather into wrinkles or folds; N: wrinkle or fold
n visage: face; appearance
n sonorous: resonant; producing a full deep sound; producing sound
n querulous: given to complaining; complaining; fretful; whining
n unguent: ointment
n victuals: food; provisions; V. victual: provide with food
n solecism: nonstandard grammatical construction; construction that is flagrantly
remonstrate: protest; objection; V. remonstrate: say in protest
n vitreous: of glass; pertaining to or resembling glass; V. vitrify: change into glass; CF. petrify
n puissant: powerful; strong; potent; N. puissance: power
s penology: study of prison management and criminal rehabilitation
n rebus: representation of words in the form of pictures or symbols; puzzle in which pictures or letters stand for words; Ex. ``R U 18'' is a rebus for ``Are you 18''.
n variegated: (esp. of a flower or leaf) many-colored
n testator: maker of a will; CF. testatrix
n seethe: be violently disturbed; boil; (of a liquid) move about wildly as if boiling; Ex. The nation was seething with discontent.
s Shangri-la: imaginary remote paradise on earth; CF. Lost Horizon
n seine: seine net; net for catching fish
n petulant: touchy; peevish; ill-tempered
parry: ward off a blow; deflect; Ex. He parried the unwelcome question very skillfully; s parsimony stinginess; excessive frugality; ADJ. parsimonious
n patois: local or provincial dialect
n tonsure: shaving of the head especially by person entering religious orders; V.
n swathe: swath; wrap around; bandage; Ex. one's head swathed in bandages
n propitious: favorable; auspicious; advantageous; fortunate; Ex. propitious day/sign
tactile: pertaining to the organs or sense of touch
n peroration: conclusion of an oration; perorating; V. perorate: conclude a speech; perspicacious (of someone) having insight; penetrating; astute
n roseate: rosy; optimistic; Ex. roseate views
n taciturn: habitually silent; talking little
n roil: make liquids murky by stirring up sediment; disturb
n vicissitude: change (esp. from good to bad); change of fortune; CF. the last emperor of China
n prurient: having or causing lustful desires and thoughts; arousing immoderate sexual desire
n rostrum: raised platform for speech-making; pulpit
n sartorial: pertaining to tailors or tailoring; Ex. a man of great sartorial elegance; CF. sartor: tailor
n suavity: urbanity; polish; ADJ. suave: smooth and courteous
viscous: (of a liquid) thick and sticky; gluey; viscid; CF. consistency
n quiescent: dormant; temporarily inactive; at rest; N. quiescence
n quixotic: idealistic but impractical; CF. Don Quixote
s phalanx: formation of infantry carrying overlapping shields and long spears; group of men packed together (for attack or defense)
pungent: stinging; acrid; sharp in taste or smell; (of speech or writing) caustic; N. pungency
n stodgy: dull; stuffy; boringly conservative; Ex. stodgy book
sycophant: servile flatterer; bootlicker; yes man; ADJ. sycophantic
somnambulist: sleepwalker; V. somnambulate; N. somnambulism
perspicuity: clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity
n wastrel: waster; profligate
perfidious: treacherous; disloyal; N. perfidy: treachery
paramour: illicit lover
n ventral: abdominal
ravel: fall apart into tangles; entangle; unravel or untwist
n prosaic: lacking in imagination; dull and unimaginative; matter-of-fact(concerned with facts, not imagination or feelings); factual; CF. prose
n truculence: aggressiveness; ferocity; ADJ. truculent: aggressive; pugnacious; fierce
n proscenium: part of stage in front of curtain; front arch of a stage
n physiognomy: face (as showing the character and the mind); art of judging human character from facial features
n saturnine: morose; gloomy; Ex. Do not be misled by his saturnine countenance.
n palimpsest: parchment or piece of writing material used for second time after original writing has been erased
prey: target of a hunt; victim; V: hunt and eat as prey; victimize; Ex. Cats prey on mice.
n pellucid: transparent; limpid(crystal clear); clear in meaning; easy to understand
n piebald: of different colors; mottled; spotted in different colors (esp. in black and white); Ex. piebald horse; CF. pie+bald
pugilist: boxer; CF. pugilism: boxing
n stentorian: (of the voice) extremely loud; CF. Stentor: a loud herald in the Iliad
syllogism: logical formula consisting of a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion; deceptive or specious argument
n vagary: capricious happening; caprice; whim; CF. wander
n piscatorial: pertaining to fishing; CF. Pisces
uniformity: sameness; monotony; ADJ. uniform: the same all over
n patrician: noble; aristocratic; N: person of high rank; aristocrat; CF. member of the governing classes in ancient Rome; CF. plebian
penury: extreme poverty; stinginess; ADJ. penurious: very poor; stingy
n venial: (of a fault or sin) forgivable; trivial
n pulmonary: pertaining to the lungs
n tessellated: mosaic; inlaid; Ex. tessellated pattern
n potentate: monarch; sovereign
n repine: fret; complain; be annoyed; Ex. repine over the undone work
n sinecure: well-paid position with little responsibility; CF. sine cure: without n skulduggery(skullduggery) dishonest behavior or action; Ex. skulduggery in the election
n septic: of or causing sepsis; putrid; producing putrefaction; N. sepsis: poisoning of part of the body (producing pus)
n pulchritude: beauty; comeliness; ADJ. pulchritudinous
n vitriolic: causing sharp pain to the mind; caustic; corrosive; sarcastic; of vitriol; n vulpine like a fox; crafty
n ribald: marked by vulgar lewd humor; wanton; profane; N. ribaldry: ribald language or joke
n waif: homeless child or animal; Ex. waifs and strays
stratagem: deceptive scheme; clever trick
n patina: green crust on old bronze works or copper; tone slowly taken by varnished paintings varnish paint used to coat a surface with a glossy film; glossy coating produced by using this substance; Ex. nail varnish; V.
soliloquy: talking to oneself (esp. in a play); CF. monologue: soliloquy; long speech by one person (often monopolizing a conversation)
n verisimilitude: appearance of truth; quality of appearing to be true or real; likelihood; Ex. verisimilitude of her performance as Lady Macbeth
perspicuous: (of something) plainly expressed; easy to understand; Ex. perspicuous comments
n untoward: unexpected and adverse; unfortunate or unlucky; Ex. untoward encounter
propulsive: driving forward; N. propulsion
n sluice: artificial channel for directing or controlling the flow of water (with a gate to regulate the flow)
n scad: a great quantity; Ex. scads of clothes
n pastiche: imitation of another's style in musical composition or in writing; work of art openly imitating the works of other artists
n uxorious: excessively submissive or devoted to one's wife; CF. uxor: wife
n viscid: adhesive; gluey
n superannuated: retired or disqualified because of age; outmoded; obsolete
progenitor: ancestor
n prosody: art of versification; study of the metrical structure of verse
n unwonted: unaccustomed; unusual; Ex. He arrived with unwonted punctuality.
n raiment: clothing; garments; Ex. I have no raiment fit to wear.
n primogeniture: seniority by birth; state of being the first-born child; right of the eldest child (to inherit the entire property of one or both parents)
n putative: supposed; reputed; generally regarded as such; Ex. putative father of the child
n urbane: suave; refined in manner; elegant
n veracious: (of a person) truthful
n supernumerary: person or thing excess of what is necessary; extra; ADJ: additional to the usual or necessary number
n titter: nervous giggle; nervous laugh; V.
n tertiary: third in order or rank
s recreant: disloyal; cowardly; N: disloyal and cowardly person
n vainglorious: boastful; excessively conceited; N. vainglory: great vanity
pachyderm: thick-skinned animal
vertigo: severe dizziness; giddiness
n scintillate: sparkle; flash; be animated; be full of life; Ex. scintillating conversation
n pore: study industriously; ponder; scrutinize; Ex. pore over the book; N.
n turpitude: depravity; baseness; Ex. moral turpitude
n quotidian: daily; commonplace; customary; Ex. quotidian routine
n recalcitrant: disobedient or resisting authority even after being punished; obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly; Ex. recalcitrant child
n rarefied: made less dense (of a gas); V. rarefy: make less dense; N. rarefaction
partial: incomplete; favoring one side over another; having a liking for something
n verdigris: green coating or patina on copper which has been exposed to the weather
sedentary: requiring sitting; done while sitting; not moving from one place to another; settled; Ex. sedentary job/population
n sylvan: pertaining to the woods or the country
n regale: entertain
n staid: serious and sedate; sober; Ex. staid during the funeral ceremony
s parvenu: upstart; newly rich person

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Deck Info

Number of cards 182