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gre tough words

Terms

undefined, object
copy deck
penury
extreme poverty
perfidy
treachery; falsehood (perfidious is the adjective)
manque
unfulfilled; frustrated (literally: maimed)}"He was an artist manque."
bereft
to be deprived of something valuable}"He was bereft of reason."
heuristic
an idea or speculation acting as a guide to an investigation
solecism
an ungrammatical combination of words
meretricious
deceitful; tawdry(Note that the two words above are pejorative, but if the}meaning is not known, they "sound" meritorious.)
cynosure
{(from the Greek: "dog's tail")}center of attention; point to which all eyes are drawn.(Really? From "dog's tail"? Yes. The "dog's tail" appears in a constellation, } locating the North star, which rivets the attention of sailors at sea. Thus: } center of attention.)} } (see also: sinecure)
punctilio
(noun)}a fine point of etiquette; precise observance of formalities}or ceremony; precise to the letter
gratuitous
given freely
venal
a sacrifice of honor for profit
inimical
unfriendly; hostile
turpitude
depravity
lagniappe
{(noun) (a Creole word)}something given away as a gift for buying something else;} (such as an ashtray given for buying a full tank of gas)
hubris
arrogance from excessive pride or passion (hubristic)
cosseted
pampered
calumny
a slander or false accusation
poignant
An adjective with multiple flavors:}1: appealing to emotion 2: physically painful 3: sharp, pungent}4: piercing, incisive 5: astute, pertinent 6: neat, skillful
dilettante
1. having superficial/amateurish interest in a branch of knowledge;}2. a connoisseur or lover of the fine arts
arrogate
to make an unreasonable claim
cant
insincerity
peripatetic
walking about; itinerant (Often used to describe Aristotle)
nugatory
trifling; worthless; ineffective
misanthrope
a person who dislikes the human race
insuperable
not able to be overcome
luddite
a person who tries to halt progress by smashing machines
concatenation
things linked together or joined in a chain
atavistic
reverting to a primitive type
leitmotif
a dominant or recurring theme or pattern
saturnine
morose; gloomy
spurious
alse
perdition
future misery, such as in going to Hell
sanguine
cheerful, confident
recondite
hard to understand; profound; obscure; concealed
poltroon
a thouroughly cowardly person
egregious
conspiculously bad; flagrant; shocking
rapacity
act of seizing that which is coveted; greed
pejorative
tending to be worse; downgrading; disparaging
sobriquet
a nickname or an assumed name ("Minnesota Fats")
mendacious
{(adj.)}untruthful. {(the noun is mendacity)
specious
appearing to be right; deceptively good looking
haik
a large piece of cloth worn as an outer garment by Arabs.
polymath
a person of great or (more usually) varied learning.}(poly=much {math=learning)
canard
a fabricated story (French="duck"; morte canard=dead duck)
epigone
a second rate imitator or follower
aphorism
a short, witty saying or concise principle
puerile
(Fr.: "puer" - child)}juvenile, immature, childish
discursive
covering a wide field of subjects
propitiate
pacify
peremptory
a command which may not be refused
parvenue
an upstart; someone trying to rise above their proper place
unctous
oily and persuasive
jeremiad
a series of doleful, dismal complaints
sinecure
a job (usually politically appointed) requiring little or no}work.}(See also: cynosure)
seriatim
occuring one after another; in serial fashion
regnant
reigning; predominant; widespread
samizdat
an underground newspaper
perfunctory
done routinely, with little interest or care
comitatus
loyalty to one's band or group
presentiment
a foreboding of misfortune
anodyne
anything that sooths or comforts
paradigm
"side by side"; a pattern or example. A "paradigm shift" is}usually used to signify a major change in thinking or acting,}in the sense of employing new examples.
avuncular
"like an uncle"; benevolent
docent
a teacher, but not regular faculty; a museum tour guide
opprobrium
disgrace arising from shameful conduct;}a reproach mingled with contempt}"That word - a term of opprobrium - cut him like a knife."
fatuous
foolish; stupid; silly
apostate
person who has left the fold or deserted the faith.
inveigh
attack verbally
verisimilitude
the quality of appearing to be true or real
felicity
bliss; a pleasing aptness in speech and deportment; grace
voracity
greed(very close to veracity in spelling and pronunciation, but mean quite different things.)
incisive
displaying sharp mental perception; direct and effective
sanguinary
bloody(note the huge difference in meaning between the above two}similarly sounding words)

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