3 Gre Hit Parade V6.3

Front 1

abate (v.)
But as the rains abate and fertile land shrivels up, locusts crowd together in the remaining green patches.

Back 1

to lessen in intensity

Front 2

avarice (n.)
We effectively live in a plutocracy that only answers to avarice and to the benefit of our oligarchs

Back 2

greed, esp. for wealth

Front 3

castigation (n.)
These discussions are frequently carried out amid a backdrop of self- and program-castigation.

Back 3

severe criticism

Front 4

catalyst (n.)
Finally, they add a catalyst to form an acrylic polymer shell around the wax.

Back 4

accelerates the chemical reaction without changing itself

Front 5

caustic (adj.)
His caustic and satirical humour expressed itself in a style that astounded government departments.

Back 5

burning or stinging

Front 6

chary (adj.)
Americans have traditionally been chary about intellectual-property rights.

Back 6

cautious

Front 7

cogent (adj.)
It seems as though both extremes have cogent arguments arguing salubrious benefits.

Back 7

appealing to reason; convincing

Front 8

contrite (adj.)
After inmates submit and act contrite, they are often again treated kindly.

Back 8

regretful

Front 9

dearth (n.)
Given the author's creativity and output, there is no dearth of material.

Back 9

lack of quantity; scarcity; a lack

Front 10

demur (v.)
Her mother and father had consented without demur, and were happy in her happiness

Back 10

to question or oppose

Front 11

didactic (adj.)
Better still, and unlike his more didactic colleagues, he has usually managed to be funny too.

Back 11

intended to teach or instruct

Front 12

dogmatic (adj.)
Take, for instance, his dogmatic assertions concerning faith and works.

Back 12

stubbornly opinionated

Front 13

ebullience (n.)
It was his personality, his ebullience, that allowed him to serve a record five terms as mayor here.

Back 13

lively expression of feelings

Front 14

emollient (adj.)
It works as an emollient and has germicidal properties.

Back 14

making less harsh, esp. to the skin

Front 15

empirical (adj.)
The trouble is that it turns out largely to be a fiction, based more on anecdotal observation than empirical evidence.

Back 15

based on observation

Front 16

esoteric (adj.)
Even by the standards of alternative investors, this is esoteric stuff.

Back 16

understood by a small group

Front 17

exonerate (v.)
However, this report is not meant to excuse their ethical failings, or exonerate them from their wrongdoings.

Back 17

to remove blame

Front 18

furtive (adj.)
Still, here was the author's attempt to allow opposites-peril and bliss, furtive lovers and traditional family-to harmonize.

Back 18

marked by stealth; covert

Front 19

harangue (v.)
He complied with my request and made a lengthy harangue to his village.

Back 19

to deliver a pompous speech

Front 20

impecunious (adj.)
Statutory heirs may recover funeral and burial expenses only if the estate is impecunious.

Back 20

lacking funds

Front 21

incipient (adj.)
The symptom in the true neuroses is frequently the nucleus and incipient stage of development of the psychoneurotic symptom.

Back 21

beginning to come into being

Front 22

inert (adj.)
The lure of gold can be electric to some people, even though the element is chemically inert-on the large scale.

Back 22

unmoving, sluggish; ethargic

Front 23

innocuous (adj.)
Others were utterly innocuous, such as deciding whether to take a train or a bus to work.

Back 23

harmless

Front 24

intransigent (adj.)
Two years later, as opposition to his intransigent style grew within his own party, the president suffered a stroke and resigned.

Back 24

refusing to compromise

Front 25

inveigle (v.)
Their testimony confirmed the defendant's successful efforts to inveigle them into investing in the hedge fund.

Back 25

to obtain by deception

Front 26

odious (adj.)
My only surprise is that this odious group hasn't yet managed to cause many more atrocities.

Back 26

evoking intense aversion or dislike

Front 27

prodigious (adj.)
The legal costs involved in this enormous litigation could be prodigious.

Back 27

abundant in size or force; extraordinary

Front 28

putrefy (v.)
The carcass has been here for at least a week, see it is putrefying

Back 28

to rot or decay

Front 29

urbane (adj.)
They didn't want to be better informed or urbane, or to know what is great in human achievement.

Back 29

sophisticated; refined; elegant

Front 30

accolade (n.)
It means good or very good; I have no real hope of achieving the accolade.

Back 30

an expression of praise

Front 31

adulation (n.)
And the tides of his reception have likewise shifted between adulation and disdain.

Back 31

excessive praise; intense adoration

Front 32

aesthetic (adj.)
She was as influential as any director was in helping me develop my aesthetic.

Back 32

appreciative of beauty/art

Front 33

burgeon (v.)
Even the smallest backyard woods can burgeon with space for wildlife when you plan for the third dimension.

Back 33

to grow rapidly/flourish

Front 34

cacophony (n.)

Back 34

harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance

Front 35

canon (n.)
The priest reminded his audience of the importance of the canons described in the past scripture

Back 35

a set of rules/laws

Front 36

complaisance (n).
Most politicians lack the complaisance to truly follow the wishes of their constituency only seeking their place in office.

Back 36

willingness to comply to the wishes of others

Front 37

discretion (n.)
Majority of teenagers lack the discretion to choose between their social lives and their academic success, heavily favoring their social worth

Back 37

ability to make responsible decisions

Front 38

disinterested (adj.)
Fans of this tournament have been tagged a rowdy, disinterested bunch.

Back 38

indifferent; free from self-interest

Front 39

elegy (n.)
Their dancing was both celebration and elegy.

Back 39

mournful poem

Front 40

enigmatic (adj.)
Astronomers are on the verge of explaining the enigmatic variety of galaxies.

Back 40

mysterious; obscure; puzzling

Front 41

fallacy (n.)
They employ fallacy and conspiracy to sow seeds of fear and distrust, and then cry when someone labels them for what they are.

Back 41

a mistaken belief

Front 42

gregarious (adj.)
For a shy man, his gregarious generosity of spirit was remarkable.

Back 42

sociable

Front 43

heretical (adj.)
All this questioning has yielded conclusions, some more useful than others, and many of them heretical in culinary circles.

Back 43

violating the norm

Front 44

morose (adj.)
Because it was hopeful and positive, even joyous, rather than morose.

Back 44

sad; sullen

Front 45

opaque (adj.)
Natural light hits the cement floors through opaque skylights in an insulated tin roof.

Back 45

impenetrable by light

Front 46

peruse (v.)
Readers should peruse sensational stories with a healthy dose of skepticism and do their best to sort fact from fiction.

Back 46

to examine with great care

Front 47

preen (v.)
Birds can ingest oil when they preen their feathers, drink water, or eat food containing oil.

Back 47

to dress up; to groom with care

Front 48

quaff (v.)
Best of all is hot tea, poured generously, and a welcome quaff on a cold winter's night.

Back 48

to drink deeply

Front 49

sanction (n.)
It will be used only for the purposes of collecting debt under the license sanction law.

Back 49

authoritative approval; penalty to enforce compliance

Front 50

viscous (adj.)
Scientists believe the magma chambers-or reservoirs of molten rock-under dormant volcanoes are filled with sticky, viscous mush.

Back 50

thick; sticky