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by lndz8503, Jun. 2011

Subjects: gre words

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	DELVE	-to deeply search through Many philosophers and scientists delve into the secrets of the universe.
	DEMISE	- the end of existence; death The demise of the dinosaurs is a topic of much debate among palentologists.
	DENIGRATE	- to speak ill of; describe You should not denigrate a person whose opinion differs from yours.
	DEPICT	- to represent or describe Many people disapprove of how Native Americans are depicted in Old Westerns
	DEPLORE	- to condemn; disapprove of or regret. Environmental advocacy groups delore deforestation and industrial pollution.
	DERISION	- use of ridicule to show contempt Joe's harsh derision of his pesky younger brother set everyone on edge at the dinner table.
	DERIVATIVE	adj. - copied or adapted. n. - somthing derived. There are zero-calorie sweeteners available that are derivatives of real sugar.
	DESULTORY	- inconsistant and irregular, aimless The project leader's rather desultory speech left the team members uncertain of how to proceed.
	DEXTERITY	- skill and ease of movement, especially of the hands; cleverness. It took great dexterity, but the politician managed to evade answering every difficult question that the reporters threw at him.
	DIATRIBE	- an abusive, insulting verbal attack. The environmental activist launched into a lengthy diatribe against the developers who wanted to build a new mall in place of the city park.
	DIDACTIC	- intended for the purpose of moral teaching or instructing, even when such instruction is not necessary or welcome. Professor McFarland's didactic presentations in the classroom tended to bore some students and outrage others.
	DILATE	- to make larger; expand Jesse's pupils began to dilate as the sun set and the room darkened.
	DILIGENT	- continuously putting in great effort. Ben diligently trained for the marathon, running at least 40 miles per week.
	DISABUSE	- to free someone of believing something that is untrue. I hope that this most recent scandal will finally disabuse the public of its notion that the senator is infallible.
	DISCERN	- to differentiate or distinguish; to perceive. The moon's distance from Earth makes it difficult to discern most of the features on the surface of the moon with the naked eye.
	DISCONCERTING	- unsettling Linda had the disconcerting habit of staring at the ground whenever she spoke.
	DISLODGE	- to remove from a former position. The small earthquake dislodged several tons of rock from the mountain.
	DISPARITY	- the state of being different or unequal. There was much disparity between my perception fo the judicial process and the actual manner in which the process worked.
	DISPERSE	- to scatter or spread out. The crowd began to disperse as the concert came to an end.
	DISSEMBLE	- To disguise or conceal The platoon's effort to dissemble their preparations resulted in a swift ambush of the enemy the following day.
	DISSIDENT	- adj. disagreeable n. one who disagrees. It took hours of careful diplomacy for the staunch political dissidents to reach an accord.
	DISSIPATE	- to drive away; scatter The wind helped to dissipate the smoke from our campfire.
	DISSONANCE	- lack of harmony; discord Band leaders know immediately by the piercing dissonance that a wrong note has been played.
	DIVERGE	- to move apart, or extend in different directions; to differ in opinion Through they agreed on most things, their opinions diverged on the topic of abortion rights.
	DIVEST	- to get rid of Howard was extremely lucky; he divested himself of 10 million worth of electronics stock days before its value plummeted.
	DOCILE	- easy to train or teach The normally docile students became very rowdy as the day's pep rally drew near.
	DUBIOUS	- Mike was very dubious when his older brother, infamous for playing pranks, told Mike that he had a surprise for him.
	ECCENTRIC	- adj. departing from convention. n. one who deviates from the norm Mary's style, considered to be very eccentric when she was young, led her to become one of the most popular fashion designers of all time.
	ECLECTIC	- combining elements from many different sources or styles Jenny's eclectic taste in movies ranged from musicals to comedies, dramas to action films.
	EFFRONTERY	- rude and presumptuous behavior. The general was unaware that his imperialist effrontery was only breeding contempt among the colonists.
	EGREGIOUS	- noticeably bad or offensive William committed an egregious error when he failed to mention his wife during his acceptance speach.
	ELOQUENT	- very clear and precise; qualtiy of being skilled in clear and precise speech. Julie's valedictorian speech was quite eloquent; she clearly articulated her hopes and dreams for a prosperous future.
	ELUCIDATE	- to clarify Recent efforts to elucidate the text on certain ancient scrolls have yielded curious new perspectives on the political history of Babylon.
	EMANCIPATION	- the act of freeing or liberating Minor children may petition a court for emancipation from their parents.
	EMOLLIENT	- adj. softening or soothing. n. a softening agent. Sarah rubbed an emollient over her dry, peeling skin.
	EMPIRICAL	- based on or provable by observation and experiment. The hypothesis had to be backed up by empirical evidence in order to be considered credible.
	EMULATE	- to follow an admirable example; imitate. As she entered the school, she hoped to emulate the success of her sister.
	ENDORSE	- to support or sign The sports superstar was paid more than 10 million to endorse the new athletic shoe.
	ENGENDER	- to give rise to; originate Professor Evan's good nature engendered a positive attitude among his students.
	ENIGMATIC	- unexplainable, puzzling. The Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile is legendary.
	ENTITY	- a discrete unit or being Though the corporations worked in conjunction with each other, they remained separate legal entities.
	ENUMERATE	- to state things in a list At his performance review, the employee listened to his boss enumerate several ways he could improve his performance in the workplace.
	EPHEMERAL	- temporary, fleeting Considered a "one hit wonder" the pop star enjoyed only ephemeral fame.
	EQUIVOCAL	- uncertain or ambiguous Many lengthy court battles could be avoided if the legislature took more care to avoid equivocal language in the criminal statutes.
	ERUDITE	- learned; having great knowledge After earning three doctoral degrees, Dr. Kidman was considered one of the most erudite professors on campus.
	ESOTERIC	- understood by few people, mysterious. Most of the subject matter in the novel is quite esoteric; the author is forced to overwhelm the reader with too much background information.
	ESPOUSE	- to choose to follow or support something. Abraham Lincoln was famous for his refusal to espouse slavery in the North.
	ESTIMABLE	- admirable; deserving of esteem. His first attempt at writing a novel was estimable; nearly 1 million copies of the book were sold.
	ETHICAL	- in line with the principles of right and wrong. Only the most ethical people would return money from a wallet they find in the street.
	EUPHEMISM	- an inoffensive expression substituted for one that is deemed offensive. The word borrowing is sometimes used as a euphemism for stealing.
	EXACERBATE	- to intensify bitterness or violence. The terrorist attacks exacerbated the already strained relations between the two countries.
	EXCEPTIONAL	- having uncommonly great qualitites. Kevin was an exceptional basketball player, and received many offers to play a the collegiate level.
	EXCORIATE	- to denounce; to chafe The film critics excoriated the film that was supposed to be that year's biggest blockbuster, emphasizing how overrated it was.
	EXCULPATE	- to remove blame; acquit The defendant was exculpated of the homicide charges when new evidence was found at the crime scene.
	EXHORT	- to urge or try to persuade After graduating from college, Diana exhorted her parents to lend her the money to start her own business.
	EXIGENT	- demanding immediate attention; urgent In the exigent circumstances of the coupd d'e'tate, thousands of troops were dispatched to the capital city.
	EXPLICATE	- to explain or make comprehensible. The graduate student was unable to successfully explicate his thesis; therefore, he did not earn his degree.
	EXPUNGE	- to get rid of or erase. The speeding infraction would be expunged from John's driving record after he paid a $600 fine.
	EXTANT	- currently existing There are few extant copies of the Gutenberg Bible, four of which are in NYC.
	EXTENUATING	- partially justifiable Extenuating circumstances surrounding the motive for the assault meant Sean would serve less jail time.
	EXTOL	- to praise or glorify. Ever the proud mother, Anna extols her child's accomplishments to no end.
	EXTROVERT	- a person characterized by concern with things outside of himself or herself; an outgoing gregarious person. In order to be successful as a salesperson, you must be somewhat of an extrovert.
	EXTRICATE	- to free or disentangle It took rescue crews several hours to safely extricate all of the passengers from the plane that had crashed earlier in the day.
	EXULTANT	- gleeful because of success The exultant crowd cheered the soccer team on to victory in the World Cup.
	FALLACY	- an error in reasoning It is a common fallacy that first-year law students spend every waking moment studying.
	FAMILIAL	- relating to the family Her familial ties kept her from moving too far away from the town in which she grew up.
	FATHOM	- v. to come to understand the meaning of something. n. a measure of distance equal to six feet. The complexity of the situation made if difficult to fathom a simple outcome.
	FATUOUS	- foolish or delusive; smug. We ignored Brendan's fatuous remarks about politics; he spoke strictly from opinion with no regard for the facts.
	FECKLESS	- lacking in purpose; careless Beacuse more than half of the legislators are not running fro reelection this fall, pundits predict another feckless session of the State House.
	FEIGN	- to fabricate or deceive She feigned astonishment when she walked into her surprise party; her best friend had previously told her about the event.
	FEINT	- n. a deceptive, diversionary action. v. to make a deceptive show of The robbers used some smoke bombs in the parking lot as a feint while they discreetly took money from the cash drawers.
	FIDELITY	- faithfulness or allegiance; often used to denote faithfulness in a romatic relationship. I admire dogs for their unshakeable fidelity to their owners.
	FLORID	- flushed with color; ornate The stark realism of neoclassicism in painting replaced the florid idealism of the Rococo period.
	FOIL	- to keep from being successful. Her plans were often foiled by failure to plan ahead.
	FOMENT	- to incite or agitate Ryan tried to hold his tongue; he knew that one of his sarcastic remarks would be foment a fight that he didn't want to start.
	FORAGE	- to search for food or provisions. During the cold winter months, many wild animals are forecd to forage for scarce food.
	FORMIDABLE	- capable of arousing fear or awe. The current championship team was a formidable opponent for the yet unranked team.
	FORTUTIOUS	- happening by accident or chance. The defenseman scored easily with a quick shot after the puck's fortutious bounce toward him.
	FORUM	- a public meeting place; a medium for open discussion. The mayor held an open forum for discussion to learn what the people thought of his new propsoal.
	FRACAS	- a noisy fight; a brawl James was arrested for disorderly conduct after getting into a fracas outside the restaurant this weekend.
	GAINSAY	- to deny or contradict. There can be no resolution if all you do is gainsay each of my suggestions.
	GARRISON	- a military post; the troops stationed at a military post. The garrison was currently home to nearly 400 troops.
	GARRULOUS	- very talkative The normally garrulous teenager was very subdued at the party; she barely spoke to anyone.
	GENRE	- a type, class or category His favorite genre of music was claissc rock.
	GIST	- main idea. I'm in a hurry, so please tell me the gist of the story.
	GLIB	- seemingly slick and clever, but lacking sincerity. The president's glib speech about the financial state of the company resulted in a general sense of unease among the members of the staff.
	GRATUTIOUS	- for no reason or at no cost. Her gratutious acts of kindness earned her fondness and respect within the community.
	GREGARIOUS	- sociable; enjoying the company of others. It's a wonder Lynn can get a word in edgewise when speaking with her extremely gregarious sister.
	GRIEVOUS	- causing grief or pain; serious. The spokesperson knew he had made a grievous error whne he prematurely announced that all the victims had survived the accident.
	GUILE	- cunning; shrewdness. I employed all of my guile to convince my housemates that I truly deserved the largest bedroom in the house.
	HACKNEYED	- unoriginal, overused. The hackneyed plot of the television show led to its cancellation after only three episodes.
	HARROW	- to torment or cause suffering and agony. The prospect of a beach landing in broad daylight harrowed the troops for days before the battle.
	HIERARCHY	- a way to rank or place things in order. The busines's hierarchy allowed room for all employees to advance within the company if they worked hard enough.
	HETEROGENEOUS	- made up of dissimilar elements; not homogeneous, Switzerland has a heterogenous culture, in which German, French and Italian influences are intermixed.
	HYPOTHESIS	- a tentative explanation that can be tested by further investigation and experimentation. The graduate students working on the project presented a viable hypothesis regarding the outcome of their experiments.
	IDIOSYNCRASY	- a peculiar characteristic. One of the most annoying idiosyncrasy of the computer is that it must be completely restarted every two hours.
	IMMUTABLE	- not subject to change. People should know that their freedom is not immutable and must be protected whenever necessary.
	IMPENDING	- threatening to occur. We changed our tee time to later that afternoon because of impending rain.
	IMPERTURBABLE	- hare to excite or upset, very calm. Kevin's imperturbable demeanor during the storm helped keep his wife and children calm.
	IMPETUS	- a stimulus encouraging a particular activity. The upcoming race provided the impetus she neede to expand her training regimen.
	IMPLOSION	- a violent, inward collapse. A careful implosion of the old stadium would prevent damage to adjacent structures and onlookers.
	INADVERTENT	- unintentional, often related to carelessness. His inadvertent pull of the lever started a chain reaction of leaks throughout the building's plumbing.
	INCHOATE	- poorly fromed or formless. His inchoate political opinions were based largely on ignorance.
	INCINERATE	- to set fire and burn until reduced to ashes. The leaves were incinerated quickly in the raging campfire.
	ININFERCONGRUOUS	- inconsistent; lacking in harmony. Carrie's colorful joke was incongruous with the deep converstation going on around her.
	INCORRIGIBLE	- native; innate. The Maori are the indigenous people in New Zealand.
	INEVITABLE	- impossible to avoid; predictable. After spending the weekend doing everything but studying, it was inevitable that she would fail her exam.
	INFER	- to conclude from evidence. Mr. Mauro was able to infer from his employee's attitude that she was not satisfied with her job.
	INGENUITY	- cleverness or imagination. The world relies on the ingenutiy of people such as Bell and Edison to conceive of tomorrow's technology.
	INHERENT	- naturally occuring, permanent element or attribute. The risks inherent in driving a care are suprisingly greater than those associated with riding in an airplane.
	INIMICAL	- harmful or unfriendly. Doctors agree smoking is inimical to good health and longevity.
	INNATE	- possessed at birth; a natural characteristic. Linguists still don't know why humans have an innate capacity for language while other animals do not.
	INSCRUTABLE	- difficult to understand; having an obscure nature. Science still has little explanation for the inscrutable origins of matter and energy in the universe.
	INSINUATE	- to subtly imply or insert. Andrew attempted to insinuate himself into the converstaion by replying to a question that was not directed at him.
	INSIPID	- dull; lacking in flavor or zest. Waiting in line for the movie, I was forced to listen to an insipid converstaion between two young girls who could not decide which actor they found most attractive.
	INSULAR	- isolated; narrow-minded. They villagers displayed the typical insularity of small communities.
	INTERGRAL	- essential or necessary. The quarterback was an intergral part of the football team's seven game winning streak.
	INTERCEDE	- to mediate, or plead on another's behalf. When Kelly learned that she had become the prime suspect in a police investigation, she called upon her lawyer to intercede.
	INTRACTABLE	- difficult to manage; stubborn. Paul's intractable temper landed him in jail after a brief altercation with a police officer.
	INTERPOLATE	- to insert or introduce between; often to falsify. No one can be sure what fanciful stories were interpolated into the old chronicle by medieval scribes
	INUNDATE	- to quickly overwhelm or exceed capacity. The government was inudated with requests for help after the hurricane destroyed or damaged over 10,000 homes and buisnesses.
	INURE	- to cause to accept something that is undesirable; habituate. Every winter it snows heavily in this area, but by now I am inured to the harsh climate.
	INVARIABLE	- not subject to question or change; constant. Judge Owens is famous for his invariable demanor, which is lauded by prosecution and defense counsel alike.
	IRASCIBLE	- easily angered. Grizzly bears are irascbile beasts, which one would do well to avoid.
	JOVIAL	- full of joy and happiness. Noelle was in a jovial mood for weeks after getting engaged to her school sweetheart.
	JUDICIOUS	- sensible, having good judgment. Kate's decision not to take the job was quite judicious because she had no previous marketing experience.
	JUXTAPOSE	- to place things next to each other in order to compare or contrast. The artists juxtaposed some of his early sketches with some of his later works to show how much his style had changed over time.
	KEEN	- quick-witted, sharp. His keen sense of smell allowed him to figure out what was for dinner long before he reached the kitchen.
	KUDOS	- praise for achievements. The volunteers all received kudos for their work week at the homeless shelter.
	LAMBASTE	- to scold or criticize sharply; to beat. The critics lambasted the author's newest novel, saying he had become lazy in the wake of his last book's success.
	LANGUISH	- to exist in a dreadful or gloomy situation; to become weak. The convict had been languishing in prision for nearly 20 years.
	LATTER	- the second of two things mentioned; nearer the end. My parents offered either to buy me a new computer or to pay for a trip to Europe for my graduation, and I chose the latter, having never been abroad.
	LAUDABLE	- deserving praise; favorable Jenny's effort to raise money for breast cancer research were laudable.
	LAVISH	- adj. elaborate and luxurious. v. to freely and boundlessly bestow. He showered her with lavish gifts of jewelry and clothes in an attempts to win her over.
	LENIENT	- easy-going, tolerant Sarah's parents were not lenient at all when it came to grades; she was expected to earn straight A's.
	LETHARGIC	- deficient in alertness; lacking energy. Linda was lathargic all day; she had not slept at all the night before.
	LISTLESS	- characterized by a lack of energy. During his long illness, Michael became very listless and spent most of his time in bed.
	LOATHSOME	- offensive, disgusting His loathsome behavior ultimately resulted in his being fired; his employers had received numerous complaints from his coworkers.
	LOQUACIOUS	- very talkative or rambling. My plans for a quiet dinner were disrupted by a loquacious patron seated at the next table.
	LUCID	- easily understood; clear The speaker presented a series of lucid arguments in favor of the antismoking law.
	LUDICRUOUS	- laughable or foolish Mark's ludicrous budget estimatsions resluted in large financial losses for his company.
	MAGNANIMOUS	- courageous, generous, or noble. Coach Davis was magnanimous in defeat and congratulated the winning team on a game well played.
	MALEVOLENT	- purposefully wishing harm on others. The villain in the movie was a malevolent old man who would stop at nothing to gain power over the citizens in his community.
	MANIFEST	- adj. clearly recognizable. v. to make clear. n. a list of transported goods or passengers used for record keeping. The airline workers' dissatisfaction with their wages manifested itself as a two-week-long strike.
	MAR	- to inflict damage or blemishes on. The surface of the antique table was marred during the move from the storage facility.
	MELANCHOLY	- adj. glum. n. deep contemplative thought. Reid attributed his melancholy mood to the weather; it had been raining for nearly a week.
	MELODRAMATIC	- overaly emotional or sentimental. "I'm never talking to you AGAIN!" she exclaimed melodramatically to her sister.
	MERCURIAL	- prone to sudden unpredictable change; volatile. Michale had a very mercurial temperament; he could go from cheerful to irate in a matter of moments.
	METAMORPHOSIS	- a transformation or change. The new CEO vowed that the struggling business would undergo a complete metamorphosis, and that it would soon be thriving and successful.
	METICULOUS	- devoting a high amoung of attention to detail. Janine was meticulous about her appearance, refusing to be seen in public withough makeup.
	METTLE	- courage The troops showed their mettle in the face of armed combat.
	MINUSCULE	- extremely small; unimportant. The acceptable error for this test is minuscule, so the research team takes the utmost care in exectuing it.
	MISCREANT	- villain; evildoer In typical fairy tale style, the heroine of the story overcomese the local miscreant, teaching him a lesson and earning the esteem of the townspeople.
	MITIGATE	- causing something to be less intense, forceful, or harmful. The Country Road Commission authorized the use of extra snowplows to help mitigate the hazardous road conditons.
	MOLLIFY	- to calm down or alleviate; to soften. The experienced referees attempted to mollify the angry players before a fight broke out.
	MUNIFICENCE	- the act of liberally giving. The soup kitchen was bale to feed more than one thousand homeless people every day, thanks to the munificence of the community.
	NASCENT	- just beginning to exist. Brett's nascent career in politics ended before it began when the public learned that he had been arrested for the purchase of narcotics.
	NEGLIGENT	- charcterized by carelessness and neglectfulness. His often negligent behavior led to his being replaced by a more diligent manager.
	NEGLIGIBLE	- meaningless and insignificant. The difference between the two brands of baby food was negligible; both offered the same nutritional value.
	NOSTALGIA	- a bittersweet longing for the past. Every time I hear that song, I feel a wave of nostalgia for my college days.
	NOXIOUS	- unwholesome or harmful Envrionmentalists protested the construction of a new factory that would emit large quantities of noxious gases into the atmosphere each day.
	OBDURATE	- firm, stubborn The governor was obdurate in her beliefs that schools needed additional funding for their art and music programs.
	OBSCURITY	- the condition of being unkown. The 1962 hit single propelled him from relative obscurity in the Canadian north to fame and fortune in LA
	OBSOLETE	- no longer in use; outmodeled or old-fashinoned
	ODIOUS	- arousing or deserving strong hatred. The odious crimes committed by the gange members put them at the top of the city's most-wanted list.
	OBTUSE	- lacking intellectual clarity; blunt, or slow-witted. My law professor insinuates that his students are incredibly obtuse if they don't know the answer to one of his questions.
	OBVIATE	- to render unnecessary. The brand new underpass obviates the railroad crossing gates at the intersection.
	ONEROUS	- very troublesome or oppressively difficult. THe police had the onerous task of somehow convincing the assailant to set his hostages free.
	OBSTRACIZE	- to eliminate from a group. Coworkers have ostracized the young welder since he first spoke out against the union.
	PARADOX	- a self-contradiciton; something that appears to be self-contradictory, but is nonetheless true. It was a strange paradox that adding more capacity to the network actually reduced its overall performance.
	PARAGON	- an example of excellence. Mother Theresea was a paragon of piety and generosity.
	PARSE	- to break down into components Mrs. Antoinette assigend our French class 100 sentences to parse into subject, very and tense.
	PENCHANT	- a tendency or fondness. Her penchant for designer clothes was something that her meager salary could simply not support.
	PEDANTIC	- characterized by a narrow concern for detail, particularly in academics. My history teacher's hopelessly pedantic lectures left the class in a state of utter boredom.
	PERCEIVE	- to become aware of something, usually through the sense. Perceiving the sadness in his voice, I asked him if anything was wrong.
	PERCOLATE	- to slowly pass through. Mountain spring water is generally safe to drink because it has spent decades slowly percolating through porous layers of rock.
	PERIPATETIC	- adj. moving or traveling from place to place. n. one who travels frequently from place to place. My grandmother loves to hear stories from the peripatetic salespeople who occasionally come to her door.
	PERIPHERY	- the outermost boundary of an area. Paul jogged daily along the periphery of the lake, enjoying the view of the water as he worked out.
	PERJURY	- knowingly lying under oath. Witnesses whose intent is to deceive the court with their testimony may later be found guilty for perjury.
	PERPETUATE	- to prolong the existence or idea of; to make everlasting. That a high grade point average leads to a high standarized test score is a myth perpetuated among some educators.
	PERTINENT	- releveant or appropriate. Our professor warned us to read chapter eight very carefully; the information was pertinent to what would be found on our exam.
	PERUSE	- to examine or review something. Each day Liz persued the want ads in the newspaper, desperately trying to find a job.
	PERVASIVE	- capable of spreading or flowing throughout. Because we lived on a farm, it was impossible to avoid the pervasive smell of cow manure at certain times during the year.
	PHENOMENON	- observable fact or event; an unusual, significant, or outstanding occurrence. Plural is phenomena. Many cosmolgical phenomena have yet to be fully explained.
	PITH	- significance, importance. Politicians seems to have a knack for obscuring the pith of an issue.
	PLACATE	- to calm. The waitress tried to placate her angry patron by offering him a free meal.
	PLACID	- calm or quiet. The placid lakesideresort in the mountains of Colorado was my favorite place to get away from it all.
	PLAGIARIZE	- to copy another's work and pretend that it is orginal. The journalist was sued for plagarizing an article from another writer and selling it to a national magazine.
	PLAUSIBLE	- reasonable, likely. Her reasons seemed highly plausible; nonetheless, her friends found it hard to accept her unusual tardiness.
	PLETHORA	- excess or overabundance The library has a plethora of books on the Civil War.
	POIGNANT	- profoundly moving; incisive. The audience sat stunned, moved to silence by the speaker's poignant remarks.
	POLARITY	- the possession of two opposing attributes or ideas. The novel was based on the ironic polarity of the identical tiwns.
	POSTULATE	- to put forth or assert. Karl Marx postulated that Communism was the only successful way to oraganize the economy; he was wrong.
	PRAGMATIC	- practical. She was pragmatic in her approach to applying for the job; she thoroughly reserached the company prior to her interview.
	PRECARIOUS	- in a dangerous state, lacking security or stability. Many start-up compaines find themselves in a vary precarious position when seeking additional funding.
	PRECEDENT	- an example or event that is used to justify similar occurrences at a later tim; custom arising from long-term practice. The student broke her family's long-running precedent and attended the University of Colorado instead of Colorado State.
	PRECIPITATE	- to cause something to happen to very suddenly or prematurely. The bombings precipitated a massive wave of antiterrorism among the people of the target country.
	PRECEPT	- a guiding rule of principle The fraternity's founding precepts were love and equality among all of its brothers.
	PRECLUDE	- to prevent or make impossible. John's embezzlement convition precluded him from getting another high powered accounting job.
	PRECURSOR	- one that precedes or suggest the approach of another. The peasant uprisings of earlier decades are now considered to be precursors of the French Revolution.
	PRESAGE	- an omen or other waring sign. Some sailors beleive that a red sky in the morning is presage of storms coming that day.
	PRESCIENCE	- foresight; the power to see the future. The captain's prescience for trouble at sea promted him to replace the old life jackets he had on board.
	PREVARICATE	- to lie It was obvious that Emily prevaricating when her story changed slightly every time she told it.
	PRESUME	- to take something for granted as being fact. Many college graduates with high grade point averages presume that finding employment will be easy.
	PROBITY	- integirty and uprightness. It is important that those working at the clothing store display probity, for it would be far too easy for greedy employees to take whatever they wanted from inventory.
	PRODIGAL	- wasteful; extravagant. Gone are the days of prodigal expenditures on social services by the government.
	PROFUSE	- plentiful or abundant After her foolish mistake, Maria offered profuse apologies.
	PROGNOSIS	- forecast or prediction. The economic prognosis was bleak; it looked like the recession had only just begun.
	PROLIFERATE	- to grow or increase rapidly. Computers, like any other technology, proliferate rapidly as production costs decrease and materials availability increases.
	PROPAGATE	- to cause to mulitply or spread. The newly introduced plant species began to propagate quickly in the humid environment.
	PROTOTYPE	- an original form of something. The prototypes of countless sports cars will be debuted at the auto show next week.
	PROTRACT	- to lenghten or prolong. Our train trip was annoyingly protracted by a series of unexplained delays.
	PROWESS	- great skill or ability in something. Chandler's athletic prowess was overshawdowed by that of his legendary older brother, who was named MVP.
	PRUDISH	- exaggeratedly proper; righteous. My prudish mother wouldn't allow me to wear miniskirts, no matter how hot it got all summer.
	QUAFF	- to drink heartily After a long day at work, Chad quaffed mulitple beers while waiting for his dinner.
	QUERULOUS	- characterized by constant complaining or whining. The losing candidate's querulous remarks regarding his opponent were not included in the newspaper article.
	QUIXOTIC	- unpredictable and impracticle. The quixotic nature of the weather in April requires that you carry an umbrella with you whereever you go.
	QUOTIDIAN	- ordinary, occurring daily. Cell phone use has become quotidian part of our existence; it's hard to imagine that only 20 years ago cell phones were used primarily in emergencies.
	RANCOR	- bitter resentment The prisoner's rancor was increasingly evident in his malicious glance at the warden.
	RECALCITRANT	- stubbornly resistant; defiant. Joanna seemed to morph overnight from a polite child to a recalcitrant teen.
	RECLUSE	- someone who is withdrawn from society. Although the movie star has been in countless blockbusters, she lives as a recluse and refuses to give interviews or appear at publicity events.
	RECOMPENSE	- n. payment in return for something. v. to award compensation to. You are certainly entitled to some recompense after all of your hours of hard work.
	RECONCILIATION	- difficult to understand. Many students feel it is more hlepful to read the textbook than attend the professor's recondite lectures.
	REFUTE	- to prove to false; to deny the truth of. The testimony provided by the prosecution's star witness refuted the statements previously made by the defendant.
	RELEGATE	- to refer or assign to a particular place or catergory. The journalist was relegated from investigative reporting to writing obituaries after submitting too many substandard articles.
	RENOUNCE	- break; reject Because of the scnadal, the senetor renounced all ties to the disgraced lobbyists.
	REPARATION	- compensation given to make amends. Some countries were unable to pay the reparations demanded after the war.
	REPROACH	- to express disapproval Zach's wife reproached him for spending all of his time watching sports on TV.
	REPUDIATE	- to reject or refuse as valid. Ellen repudiated the accusation that she had cheated in order to pass her exam last week.
	RESOLUTE	- deinite, determined. Kelly is reloute in her decision to run a marathon this year, despite her current inablity to run more than one mile without a break.
	RESPLENDENT	- dazzling or birilliant in apperance. The bride looked absoultely resplendent walking down the isle in her white gown.
	RESONANT	- strong and deep; lasting The resonant voices of the choir rang out through the concert hall.
	RESURRECT	- to bring back life. Each summer, Renaissnace festivals try to resurrect the spirit of the Middle ages across the country.
	RHETORIC	- effective use of language; a style of speaking or writing. The politician used his rhetoric to be voted into office.
	RIGOR	- strictness or severity. The nature of the study demanded extreme rigor in setting up the experiments.
	SAGE	- one revered for experience and wisdom. It is not wise to disobey the teachings of the tribal sages.
	SANCTIMONIOUS	- feigning piety or righteousness. After a few years, the sanctimonious preacher was finally exposed and run out of town.
	SANCTION	- n. authoritative permission. v. to give offical approaval to. Our research proposal received offical sanction from the unviersity last week.
	SATIRIZE	- to insult using witty language. Television shows such as Saturday Night Live satirize many people and current events.
	SEDULOUS	- persevering, industrious. In spite of the declining poll numbers, the senator's campaign manager remained sedulous to the end.
	SKEPTICISM	- an attitude of doubt or disbelief Miranda's claims to be a psychic were met with skepticism by her friends and family.
	SOLACE	- comfort, safety Paul sought solace fromt the cold near the roaring fireplace in his living room.
	SOLICITOUS	- concerned; thoughful For a week after my surgery, my solicitous neighbors brought me meals so I wouldn't have to cook.
	SPECIOUS	- appearing to be true or genuine but actually deceptive. Despite sounding credible, all of Jordan's aruguments were specious.
	SPECULATE	- to theorize on the basis of inconclusive evidence. The tabloids have been speculating for months that the celebrity coupld is getting a divorce.
	SPONTANEOUS	- arising without apparent external cause; unrestrained. Charlotte's spontaneous laughter cuased an uncomforatble pause in the conversation; nothing that had been siad was meant to be funny.
	SQUELCH	- to crush or silence. The dictator squelched any sign of rebellion by making it public that those who spoke out against him would be jailed indefinitely.
	STANCH	- to stop or check the flow of Carrie pressed a towel firmly onto the wound to stanch the flow of blood.
	STATIC	- fixed or stationary The typically static price of corn rose dramatically when a major drought hit the Midwest and millions of acres of crops were lost.
	STINT	- a lenght of tiem spent in a particular way. Samantha's two-year stint as a court reporter was one of the most fascinating jobs she ever held.
	STOIC	- indifferent or unaffected. Kevin's stoic expression gave no clue about what he was thinking.
	SUBJECTIVE	- depending or based on someone's personal attitudes or opinions. I think that my best friend is the greatest actress in the world, but my opinion of her is rather subjective.
	SUBSTANTIATE	- to validate or support I had to provide a list of all sources used in my reserach paper to substantiate the fact that i didn't plagiarize.
	SUBSUME	- to contain or include The new Corporate Policy Manual now subsumes both the Customer Contract Manual and the Internal Procedure Manual.
	SUBVERT	- to undermine, ruin, or overthrow My desire to go to class was subverted by my body's need for more sleep.
	SURFEIT	- an overabundance or excess. The farmer donated his crop surfeit to a charity dedicated to feeding the poor.
	SUSCEPTIBLE	- easily influenced or likely to be affected. People who don't wash their hands frequently are much more susceptible to illnesses than are those people who regularly wash their hands.
	SYNCHRONIZED	- occurring at the same time rate. The lights in the show were synchronized with the pulsing rhythm of the music.
	TACTIC	- using no words With a smile, Rob's girlfriend implied tacit approval of his gift of a dozen roses.
	TANGENTIAL	- slightly connected; superficially relevant. Chandra's tangential remark added nothing relevant to the conversation.
	TEMPERANCE	- moderation and self-restraint. When the consitutional prohibition of alcohol was lifted, citizens were left to manage their own temperance.
	TENUOUS	- very thin or consisting of little substance. My sister has a tenuous grasp of physics; she does not completely understand how the physical world works.
	TORPOR	- state of physical or mental sluggishness. No amount of incentives or creature comforts could lift the cloud of torpor that had overcome the office.
	TOUT	- to promote or solicit Salespeople tend to tout the obvious benefits of a product, while distracting from any negative aspects of ownership.
	TRACTABLE	- easy to control or work with Teachers are charged with the powerful task of molding tractable young minds.
	TRANSCEND	- to go above and beyond; to rise above. Through luck and hard work, he was able to transcend his humble origins.
	TRANGRESS	- to exceed or violate. Joel has repeatedly transgressed the laws against using a cell phone while driving.
	TRANSPOSE	- to reverse the order of; interchange When I copied down her telephone number, I foolishly transposed two digits.
	UNALLOYED	- pure; complete The detectives needed more than four hours to extract the unalloyed version of events from the witness.
	UNILATERALLY	- performed in a one-sided manner. When the high school prinicpal failed to respond to numerous requests for more information, the school board unilaterally terminated his contract.
	UNPRECEDENTED	- having no previous example The coffed shop franchise launched new locations at an umprecedented rate, opening an average of eight new stores per day across the country.
	UNSTINTING	- very generous; bestowed liberally. Sometimes the boss's unstinitng praise of our work can be construed as disingenous.
	URBANITY	- refinement and elegance. Cindy's urbanity was apparent in the way she dressed herself- classic clothes with a touch of style.
	UTILITARIAN	- useful or practical The workers' coveralls were very utilitarian, but had no regard at all for style or looks.
	VACILLATE	- to swing or waver. In an emergency situation there is no time to vacillate, so first responders are taught appropriate courses of actions for a myriad of crises.
	VARIEGATED	- having a variety of colors or marks. Calico cats have variegated coats of many shades of brown, tan, black, and white.
	VEHEMENT	- forceful; displaying extreme emotion. In spite of vehement protests from his parents, Joey left Harvard and moved to Las Angeles to become an actor.
	VENAL	- corruptible, open to bribery. The success of mafia crimes relies on a steady supply of venal police officers and judges.
	VENERABLE	- highly esteemed or respected; commanding respect. Dr. Sanford, a most venerable professor, received a standing ovation at his retirement party.
	VARACITY	- truthfulness The veracity of his alibi was questioned when several witnesses saw him fleeing the scene of the crime.
	VERBOSE	- wordy; long winded Most students were yawning and half-asleep by the end of the dean's verbose commencement speech.
	VERISIMILITUDE	- the quality of appearing to be true or real. Carol added several specific details to her story to lend it verisimilitude.
	VERITABLE	- genuine or authentic After months of privation in the wilderness, the Andersons enjoyed a veritable feast of turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing.
	VERSATILE	- having many uses or a variety of abilities. She is a very versatile singer and is equally comfortable singing operatic arias or country-western ballads.
	VILIFY	- to make negaitve statements about; to malign She was vilified in the press as "the other woman" in the divorce case of a married actor.
	VIRTUALLY	- in almost all instances; simulated as by a computer Surviving a plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel was virtually impossible prior ro the invention of reliable foam padding and rigid plastics.
	VITUPERATE	- large in volume or bulk. He produced a voluminous amount of published works during his 50 years as an author.
	VORACIOUS	- excessively greedy; ravenous After his two-week wilderness camping trip, Pat had a voracious appetite.
	WANE	- to gradually decrease. Randy's interest in his baseball card collection began to wane as he got older.
	WARY	- cautious and untrusting. Emily threw a wary glance at the man who had been following her for nearly five blocks.
	WHET-	- to sharpen or stimulate Before a large meal, I like to whet my appetite with a little wine and cheese.
	WILY	- very sly, deceptive They wily salesperson convinced my friend to purchase a car that was well beyond my friends financial means.
	XENOPHOBIC	- distrustful of strangers or foreign people. Before traveling aborad, I had a xenophobic mistrust of all people who weren't American.
	ZEALOUS	- very passionate or enthusiastic As a dedicated and honest attorney, Kara remained committed to the zealous pursuit of the truth.
	ZENITH	- the peak point. Winning the Academy Award for Best Actor was the zenith of the actor's career.

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