Steve Eckhoff's GRE Vocab Set #3
Terms
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Boor
Noun [bohr] -
Crude person, one lacking manners or taste
"That utter boor ruined my recital with his constant guffawing!" wailed the pianist.
Synonyms: clod; lout; vulgarian; yahoo -
Burgeon
Verb [-buhr- juhn] -
To grow and flourish
Faulkner neither confirmed nor denied stories about himself, allowing rumor to burgeon where it would.
Synonyms: Bloom; burgeon; flourish; prosper; thrive -
Burnish
Verb [-buhr- nihsh] -
to polish
He burnished the silver coffee pot until it shone brightly.
Synonyms: buff; luster; polish ; scour -
Cabal
Noun [kuh -bahl-] -
A seceret group seeking to overturn something
The boys on the street formed a cabal to keep girls out of their tree house.
Synonyms: camp; circle; clan; clique; coterie; in-group; mafia; mob; ring -
Cacophony
Noun [kuh -kah- fuh nee] -
harsh, jaring noise
The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable cacophony as they tried to tune their instruments.
Synonyms: chaos; clamor; din; discord; disharmony; noise -
Calumny
Noun [-kaa- luhm nee] -
a fake and malicious accusation; misrepresentation
The unscrupulous politician used calumny to bring down his opponent in the senatorial race.
Synonyms: defamation; libel; slander -
Canard
Noun [kuh -nard-] -
A lie
That tabloid's feature story about a goat giving birth to human child was clearly a canard.
Synonyms: falsehood; falsity; fib; misrepresentation; prevarication;tale; untruth -
Candid
Adj [-kaan- did] -
Impartial and honest in speech
The observations of a child can be charming since they are candid and unpretentious.
Synonyms: direct; forthright; frank; honest; open; sincere; straight; straightforward; undisguised -
Capricious
Adj [kuh -pree- shuhs] [kuh -prih- shuhs] -
Changing one's mind quickly and often
Queen Elizabeth I was quite capricious; her courtiers could never be sure which one would catch her fancy.
Synonyms: arbitrary; chance; changeable; erractic; fickle; inconstant; mercurial; random; whimsical; willful -
Cartography
Noun [kahr -tahg- ruh fee] -
Science or art of making maps
Gail's interest in cartography may stem from the extensive traveling she did as a child.
Synonyms: charting; surveying; topography -
Castigate
Verb [-kaa- stih gayt] -
To punish or criticize harshly
Martina castigated her boyfriend for not remembering her birthday.
Synonyms: admonish; chastise; chide; rebuke; reprimand; reproach; reprove; scold; tax; upbraid -
Catalyst
Noun [-kaa- tuh lihst] -
Something that brings about a change in something else
The imposition of harsh taxes was the catalyst that finally brought on the revolution.
Synonyms: accelerator; impetus; stimulant -
Catholic
Adj [-kaa- thuh lihk] [-kaa- thlihk] -
Universal; broad and comprehensive
Hot tea with honey is a catholic remedy for a sore throat.
Synonyms: extensive; general -
Caustic
Adj [-kah- stihk] -
Biting in wit
Dorothy Parker gained her reputation for being caustic from her cutting, yet witty, insults.
Synonyms: acerbic; biting; mordant; trenchant -
Chaos
Noun [-kay- ahs] -
Great disorder or confused situation
In most religious traditions, God created an ordered universe from chaos.
Synonyms; clutter; confusion; disarrangement; disarray; disorder; disorderliness; disorganization; jumble; mess; muddle; scramble; snarl; topsy-turviness; turmoil -
Chauvinist
Noun [-shoh- vuh nist] -
Someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs
The attitude that men should earn more money than women is common among male chauvinist.
Synonym: biased; colored; one-sided; partial; partisan; prejudicial -
Chicanery
Noun [shih -kayn- ree] [shi -kay- nuh ree] -
Deception by means of craft or guile
Dishonest used-car salesmen often use chicanery to sell their beat-up old cars.
Synonyms: artifice; conniving; craftiness; deception; deviouness; misrepresentation -
Circumspect
adj [-suhr- kuhm spehkt] -
Cautious, aware of potential consequences
She was circumspect in her language and behavior when introduced to her fiancee's parents.
Synonyms: alert; cautious; heedful; mindful; prudent; solicitous; vigilant; wary -
Cloying
adj [-kloy- ing] -
Sickly sweet; excessive
When Enid and Jay first started dating, their cloying affection toward one another annoyed most of their friends.
Synonyms: excessive; fulsome -
Coalesce
Verb [koh uh -lehs-] -
To grow together to form a single whole
The sun and planets eventually coalesced out of a vast cloud of gas and dust.
Synonyms: amalgamate; blend; condense; consolidate; fuse; unite -
Coffer
Noun [-kah- fuhr] -
Strongbox; large chest for money
The bulletproof glass of the coffer is what keeps the crown jewels secure.
Synonyms: chest; exchequer; treasury; war chest -
Cogent
Adj [-koh- juhnt] -
Convincing and well-reasoned
Swayed by the cogent argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.
Synonyms: convincing; persuasive; solid; sound; telling; valid -
Collusion
Noun [kuh -loo- zhuhn] -
Collaboration, complicity, conspiracy
It came to light that the police chief and the mafia had a collusion in running the numbers racket.
Synonyms: connivance; intrigue; machination -
Condone
Verb [kuhn -dohn-] -
To overlook, to pardon, to disregard
Some theorist believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as condoning an air of lawlessness. -
Connoisseur
Noun [kah nuh -suhr-] -
A person with expert knowledge or discriminating taste
Dr. Crane was a connoisseur of fine food and wine, drinking and eating only the best.
Synonyms: authority; epicure; expert; gastronome; gourmet -
Contrite
Adj [kuhn -triet-] -
Deeply sorrowful and repentant for a wrong
After three residents were mugged in the lobby while the watchman was away from his post, he felt very contrite.
Synonym: apologetic; regretful; remorseful -
Contumacious
Adj [kahn tuh -may- shuhs] -
Rebellious
The contumacious teenager ran away from home when her parents told her she was grounded.
Synonyms: factious; insubordinate; insurgent; mutinous; rebellious; seditious -
Convoluted
Adj [kahn vuh -loo- tehd] -
Intricate and complicated
Although many people bought the professor's book, few people could follow its convoluted ideas and theories.
Synonyms: Byzantine; complex; elaborate; intricate; knotty; labyrinthine; perplexing; tangled -
Corroborate
Verb [kuh -rahb- uhr ayt] -
To support with evidence
All the DA needed was fingerprints to corroborate the witness's testimony.
Synonyms: authenticate; back; buttress; confirm; substantiate; validate; verify -
Cosset
Verb [-kah- suht] -
To pamper, to treat with great care
Marta just loves to cosset her first and only grandchild.
Synonyms: cater to; cuddle; dandle; fondle; love; pamper; pet; spoil