500 Gre Words Set 4

Front 1

lionize

After the success of his novel, the author was lionized by the press.

Back 1

to treat as a celebrity

Hint 1

feast, honor, ply, regale

Front 2

lissome

The lissome yoga instructor twisted herself into shapes that her students could only dream of.

Back 2

easily flexed, limber, agile

Hint 2

graceful, lithe, supple

Front 3

ostensible

The ostensible reason for his visit was to borrow a book, but he secretly wanted to chat with the lovely Wanda.

Back 3

apparent

Hint 3

represented, supposed, surface

Front 4

arrogate

Gretchen watched in astonishment as her boss arrogated the credit for her brilliant work on the project.

Back 4

to claim without justification, to claim for oneself without right

Hint 4

appropriate, presume, take

Front 5

prattle

Her husband's mindless prattle drove Heidi insane; sometimes she wished he would just shut up.

Back 5

meaningless, foolish talk

Hint 5

babble, blather, chatter, drivel, gibberish

Front 6

listless

Listless and depressed after breaking up with his girlfriend, Raj spent his days moping on the couch.

Back 6

lacking energy and enthusiasm

Hint 6

faineant, indolent, languid, lethargic, sluggish

Front 7

livid

Andre was livid when he discovered that someone had spilled grape juice all oer his cashmere coat.

Back 7

discolored from a bruise, pale, reddened with anger

Hint 7

ashen, black-and-blue, furious, pallid

Front 8

tacit

Although not a word was said, everyone in the room knew that a tacit agreement had been made about what course of action to take.

Back 8

done without using words

Hint 8

implicit, implied, undeclared, unsaid, unuttered

Front 9

apocryphal

There is no hard or authoritative evidence to support the apocryphal tales that link the Roswell, New Mexico, incident to a downed UFO.

Back 9

of questionable authority or authenticity

Hint 9

disputed, doubtful, fictitious, fraudulent

Front 10

largess

She had always relied on her parent's largess, but after graduation she had to get a job.

Back 10

generous giving (as of money) to others who may seem inferior

Hint 10

benevolence, boon, compliment, favor, present

Front 11

syncopation

A jazz enthusiast will appreciate the use of syncopation in this musical genre.

Back 11

temporary irregularity in musical rhythm

Front 12

loquacious

She is naturally loquacious, which is a problem in situations where listening is mre important than talking.

Back 12

talkative

Hint 12

effusive, garrulous, verbose

Front 13

aesthetic

THe aesthetic movement regarded the pursuit of beauty to be the only true purpose of art.

Back 13

concerning the appreciation of beauty

Hint 13

artistic, tasteful

Front 14

ford

Because of the recent torrential rains, the cowboys were unable to ford the swollen river.

Back 14

to cross a body of water by wading

Hint 14

traverse, wade

Front 15

invidious

It is cruel and invidious for parents to play favorites with their children.

Back 15

envious, obnoxious, or offensive, likely to promote ill-will

Hint 15

discriminatory, insulting, jaundiced, resentful

Front 16

affected

The affected hairdresser spouted French phrases, though she had never been to France.

Back 16

phony, artificial

Hint 16

insincere, pretentious, put-on

Front 17

raconteur

The raconteur kept all the passengers entertained with his stories during the six hour flight.

Back 17

witty, skillful storyteller

Hint 17

anecdotalist, monologist

Front 18

misanthrope

The Grinch was such a misanthrope that even the sight of children singing made him angry.

Back 18

a person who dislikes others

Hint 18

curmudgeon

Front 19

innocuous

Some snakes are poisonous, but most species are innocuous and pose no danger to humans.

Back 19

harmless

Hint 19

benign, harmless, inoffensive, insipid

Front 20

pristine

Since concerted measures had been taken to prevent looting, the archeological site was still pristine when researchers arrived.

Back 20

fresh and clean, uncorrupted

Hint 20

innocent, undamaged

Front 21

lipidary

Most lipidary work today is done with the use of motorized equipment.

Back 21

relating to precious stones or the art of cutting them

Front 22

hyperbole

When the mayor claimed his town was one of the seven wonders of the world, outsiders classified his statement as a hyperbole.

Back 22

purposeful exaggeration for effect

Hint 22

embellishment, inflation, magnification

Front 23

profligate

Some historians claim that it was the Roman's decadent, profligate behavior that led to the decline of the Roman Empire.

Back 23

corrupt, degenerate

Hint 23

dissolute, extravagant, improvident, prodigal, wasteful

Front 24

fortuitous

It was fortuitous that he won the lotto just before he had to pay back his loans.

Back 24

happening by chance, fortunate

Hint 24

chance, fortunate, haphazard, lucky, propitious, prosperous

Front 25

quotidian

The sight of people singing on the street is so quotidian in New York that passersby rarely react to it.

Back 25

occuring daily, commonplace

Hint 25

everyday, normal, usual

Front 26

erudite

THe annual meeting of philosophy professors was a gathering of the most erudite, well published individuals in the field.

Back 26

learned, scholarly, bookish

Hint 26

learned, scholastic, wise

Front 27

distend

Her stomach was distended after she gorged on the six-course meal.

Back 27

to swell, inflate, or bloat

Hint 27

broaden, bulge

Front 28

inquest

The police chief ordered an inquest to determine what went wrong.

Back 28

an investigation, an inquiry

Hint 28

probe, quest, research

Front 29

obdurate

The president was completely obdurate on the issue, and no amount of persuasion would change his mind.

Back 29

hardened in feelings, resistant to persuasion

Hint 29

inflexible, intransigent, recalcitrant, tenacious, unyielding

Front 30

explicit

In Reading Comprehension, questions that ask directly about a detail in the passage are sometimes called Explicit Text questions.

Back 30

clearly stated or shown, forthright in expression

Hint 30

candid, clear-cut, definite, definitive, express, frank, specific, straightforward, unambiguous, unequivocal

Front 31

vestige

Vestiges of the former tenant still remained in the apartment, though he hadn't lived there for years.

Back 31

a trace, remnant

Hint 31

relic, remains, sign

Front 32

impious

The nun cut herself off from her impious family after she entered the convent

Back 32

not devout in religion

Hint 32

immoral, irreverent, profane

Front 33

articulate

She is extremely articulate when it comes to expressing her pro-labor views, as a result, unions are among her strongest supporters.

Back 33

able to speak clearly and expressively

Hint 33

eloquent, expressive, fluent, lucid, silver-tongued, smooth spoken

Front 34

abdicate

With the angry mob clamoring outside the palace, the king abdicated his throne and fled.

Back 34

to give up a position, right, or power

Hint 34

cede, relinquish, resign, quit, yield

Front 35

mercurial

Her mercurial personality made it difficult to guess how she would react to the bad news.

Back 35

quick, shrewd, and unpredictable

Hint 35

clever, crafty, volatile, whimsical

Front 36

mendicant

"Please, sir, can you spare me a dime?" begged the mendicant as the business man walked past.

Back 36

beggar

Hint 36

pandhandler, pauper

Front 37

diatribe

The trucker bellowed a diatribe at the drier who had cut him off.

Back 37

an abusive, condemnatory speech

Hint 37

fulmination, harangue, invective, jeremiad, malediction, obloquy, tirade

Front 38

kudos

The actress happily accepted kudos from the press for her stunning performance in the film.

Back 38

fame, glory, or honor

Hint 38

acclaim, accolade, encomium, homage, praise

Front 39

sagacious

Owls have a reputation for being sagacious, perhaps because of their big eyes, which resemble glasses.

Back 39

shrewd, wise

Hint 39

astute, judicious, perspicacious, sage, wise

Front 40

florid

The palace had been decorated in an excessively florid style, every surface had been carved and guilded.

Back 40

excessively decorated or embellished

Hint 40

baroque, elaborate, flamboyant, ornate, ostentatious, rococo

Front 41

itinerant

The itinerant tomcat came back to the Johansson homestead every two months.

Back 41

wandering from place to place, unsettled

Hint 41

nomadic, vagrant

Front 42

eclectic

Budapest's architecture is an eclectic mix of eastern and western styles.

Back 42

selection from or made up from a variety of sources

Hint 42

broad, catholic, selective

Front 43

glower

The cranky waiter glowered at the indecisive customer.

Back 43

to glare or stare angrily or intensely

Hint 43

frown, lower, scowl

Front 44

connoisseur

Dr. Crane was a connoisseur of fine food and wine, drinking and eating only the best.

Back 44

a person with expert knowledge or discriminating taste

Hint 44

authority, epicure, expert, gastronome, gourmet

Front 45

lament

The children continued to lament the death of the goldfish weeks after its demise.

Back 45

to express sorrow, to grieve

Hint 45

bewail, deplore, grieve, mourn

Front 46

unequivocal

The jury's verdict was unequivocal, the organized crime boss would be locked up for life.

Back 46

absolute, certain

Hint 46

categorical, clear, explicit, express, unambiguous

Front 47

polemic

The candidate's polemic against his opponent was vicious and small-minded rather than convincing and well-reasoned.

Back 47

controversy, argument, verbal attack

Hint 47

denunciation, refutation

Front 48

bonhomie

The aspects of her job that Dana loved the most were the flexible hours and the pleasant bonhomie in the office.

Back 48

good-natured geniality, atmosphere of good cheer

Front 49

lachrymose

Marcella always became lachrymose when it was time to bid her daughter good-bye.

Back 49

tearful

Hint 49

teary, weepy

Front 50

abjure

The spy abjured his allegiance to the United States when he defected to Russia.

Back 50

to reject, abandon formally

Hint 50

forswear, recall, recant, retract, take back