Cracking The Gre 2008: Hit Parade Group 2

Front 1

abate

Back 1

v - to lessen in intensity or degree

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accolade

Back 2

n - an expression of praise

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adulation

Back 3

n - excessive praise; intense adoration

Front 4

aesthetic

Back 4

adj - dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful

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ameliorate

Back 5

v - to make better or more tolerable

Front 6

ascetic

Back 6

n - one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion

Front 7

avarice

Back 7

n - greed, esp. for wealth (adj. form: avaricious)

Front 8

axiom

Back 8

n - a universally recognized principle (adj. form; axiomatic)

Front 9

burgeon

Back 9

v - to grow rapidly or flourish

Front 10

bucolic

Back 10

adj - rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants

Front 11

cacophony

Back 11

n - harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance (adj. form: cacophonous)

Front 12

canon

Back 12

n - an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature (adj. form: cononical)

Front 13

castigation

Back 13

n - severe criticism or punishment (verb form: castigate)

Front 14

catalyste

Back 14

n - a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change

Front 15

caustic

Back 15

adj - burning or stining; causing corrosion

Front 16

chary

Back 16

adj - wary; cautious; sparing

Front 17

cogent

Back 17

adj - appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing

Front 18

complaisance

Back 18

n - the willingness to comply with the wishes of others (adj. form: complaisant)

Front 19

contentious

Back 19

adj - argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement

Front 20

contrite

Back 20

adj - regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness (noun form; contrition)

Front 21

culpable

Back 21

adj - deserving blame (noun form: culpability)

Front 22

dearth

Back 22

n - smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack

Front 23

demur

Back 23

v - to question or oppose

Front 24

didactic

Back 24

adj - intended to teach or instruct

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discretion

Back 25

n - cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions (adj. form: discreet)

Front 26

disinterested

Back 26

adj - free of bias or self-interest; impartial

Front 27

dogmatic

Back 27

adj - expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles. (noun form: dogma)

Front 28

ebullience

Back 28

n - the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings (adj. form: ebullient)

Front 29

eclectic

Back 29

adj - composed of elements drawn from various sources

Front 30

elegy

Back 30

n - a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead (adj. form: elegiac)

Front 31

emollient

Back 31

adj/n - soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin

Front 32

empirical

Back 32

adj - based on observation or experiment

Front 33

enigmatic

Back 33

adj - mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand (noun form: enigma)

Front 34

ephemeral

Back 34

adj - brief; fleeting

Front 35

esoteric

Back 35

adj - intended for or understood by a small, specific group

Front 36

eulogy

Back 36

n - a speech honoring the dead (verb form: eulogize)

Front 37

exonerate

Back 37

v - to remove blame

Front 38

facetious

Back 38

adj - playful; humorous

Front 39

fallacy

Back 39

n - an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief (adj. form: fallacious)

Front 40

furtive

Back 40

adj - marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious

Front 41

gregarious

Back 41

adj - sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people

Front 42

harangue

Back 42

v/n - to deliver a pompous speech or tirade; a long, pompous speech

Front 43

heretical

Back 43

adj - violating accepted dogma or convention (noun form: heresy)

Front 44

hyperbole

Back 44

n = an exaggerated statment, often used as a figure of speech (adj. form: hyperbolic)

Front 45

impecunious

Back 45

adj - lacking funds; without money

Front 46

incipient

Back 46

adj - beginning to come into being or to become apparent

Front 47

inert

Back 47

adj - unmoving; lethargic; sluggish

Front 48

innocuous

Back 48

adj - harmless; causing no damage

Front 49

intransigent

Back 49

adj - refusing to compromise (noun form: intransigence)

Front 50

inveigle

Back 50

v - to obtain by deception or flattery

Front 51

morose

Back 51

adj - sad; sullen; melancholy

Front 52

odious

Back 52

adj - evoking intense aversion or dislike

Front 53

opaque

Back 53

adj - impenetrable by light; not reflecting light

Front 54

oscillation

Back 54

n - the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uniterupted rhythm (verb form: oscillate)

Front 55

penurious

Back 55

adj - penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous

Front 56

pernicious

Back 56

adj - extremely harmful; potentially causing death

Front 57

peruse

Back 57

v - to examine with great care (noun form: perusal)

Front 58

pious

Back 58

adj - extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion (noun form: piety)

Front 59

precursor

Back 59

n - one that precedes and indicates or announces another

Front 60

preen

Back 60

v - to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care

Front 61

prodigious

Back 61

adj - abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary

Front 62

prolific

Back 62

adj - producing large volumes or amounts; productive

Front 63

putrefy

Back 63

v - to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor (adj. form: putrid)

Front 64

quaff

Back 64

v - to drink deeply

Front 65

quiescence

Back 65

n - stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest (adj. form: quiescent)

Front 66

redoubtable

Back 66

adj - awe-inspiring; worthy of honor

Front 67

sanction

Back 67

n/v - authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority to

Front 68

satire

Back 68

n - a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision (adj. form: satirical)

Front 69

squalid

Back 69

adj - sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect (noun form: squalor)

Front 70

stoic

Back 70

adj - indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast (noun form: stoicism)

Front 71

supplant

Back 71

v - to take the place of; supersede

Front 72

torpid

Back 72

adj - lethargic; sluggish; dormant (noun form: torpor)

Front 73

ubiquitous

Back 73

adj - existing everwhere at the same time; constantly encountered; wide-spread

Front 74

urbane

Back 74

adj - sophisticated; refined; elegant (noun form: urbanity)

Front 75

vilify

Back 75

v - to defame; to characterize harshly

Front 76

viscous

Back 76

adj - thick; sticky (noun form: viscosity)